The Cherokee County
School District is known
nationally as a leader in its
use of instructional technology,
with significant
work undertaken in recent
years to raise its use of
business technology.
For more than two
decades, CCSD has forged
its reputation as a leader in
both instructional technology
training and investment
in technology infrastructure.
The Office of
Technology & Information
Services, guided by its
annually updated longrange
technology plan and
fueled by community
support through Education
Special Purpose Local
Optional Sales Tax renewals,
has stayed ahead of
trends to provide the best
blended learning opportunities
possible for students.
“Technology will never
replace our experienced,
talented and caring teachers,
but it’s a critically
important and incredibly
powerful tool to advance
instruction and student
learning,” Superintendent
of Schools Dr. Brian V.
Hightower said.
This long-time investment
paid off during the
pandemic, when CCSD
teachers and students
made an easier transition
to online learning than in
other parts of the country.
The benefits continued as
some students opted to
pursue digital learning
through the newly
launched i-Grad Virtual
Academy, which opened
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last school year for grades
9-12 and which expands
this school year to grades
4-12.
CCSD was recognized at
the 2021 Future of Education
Technology Conference
as the winner of the
Districts of Distinction
Award for Educational
Technology. CCSD earned
the national honor for its
Minecraft: Education
Edition initiative, which
began during the 2017-18
school year when the
District was selected by
Microsoft to pilot the
school version of the
popular video game. CCSD
was one of only 20 school
districts worldwide selected
to implement the educational
version of the game,
through which students
create, innovate and collaborate
in the Minecraft
world while learning and
developing problem-solving
skills.
Today, CCSD teachers
use the program as part of
lesson plans that focus on
student mastery of standards
based content, while
also reinforcing soft skills
that amplify digital citizenship,
effective and appropriate
communication and
team collaboration. The
program has evolved to
include lessons than cross
curriculum and an annual
districtwide competition.
Last school year’s third
annual Minecraft Student
Build Challenge gave
students across the district
the opportunity to demonstrate
their technology
skills and creativity by
building their ideal colony
on Mars using select
materials from Minecraft:
Education Edition.
The initiative is in
alignment with CCSD’s
adoption of International
Society for Technology
(ISTE) Standards for
Students, which provide a
framework school districts
can use to educate students
on technology use in
learning. ISTE’s Standards
for Educators call for every
teacher to be a: Learner,
Leader, Citizen, Collaborator,
Designer, Facilitator
and Analyst, and for teachers
to guide each student to
become an: Empowered
Learner, Digital Citizen,
Knowledge Constructor,
Innovative Designer,
Computational Thinker,
Creative Communicator
and Global Collaborator.
Students in CCSD begin
as early as kindergarten to
develop and build on basic
computing skills aligned
with the standards. In
addition to daily technology
usage for teaching and
learning across all curriculum,
students received
focused technology instruction
beginning with elementary
school Specials
classes focused on computer
enrichment, continuing
TECH SAVVY
STAFF AND STUDENTS