Technology

Challenge and Commitment:

Endowment Opportunities at Breck School

Breck believes . . . that each student’s intellectual growth is enhanced by the acquisition of knowledge, analytical and language skills, the development of creative and critical thinking, and the cultivation of artistic appreciation and expression.

From the school’s statement of values

The Challenge: Providing Technology for Enhanced Teaching and Learning

In our twenty-first century world, constantly changing technology is a fact of life. Breck is committed to using state-of-the-art technology: not as an end unto itself but rather to help us accomplish the educational mission of the school.

Implementing constantly changing technological solutions is a very real challenge for any school.  The need to provide access to technology in a way that is respectful of the school’s commitment to economic diversity requires an even greater annual expenditure.

In 2001, Breck drafted a technology plan whose main purpose was the integration of technology in each discipline we teach.  Since that time, much has been accomplished. A wireless network has been completed throughout the school and servers have been upgraded.  In 2002, the school provided a laptop and appropriate training for every faculty member to use in communications, management of classroom tasks and lesson design.  Phase I of a student program was initiated in 2005 by providing a laptop for every student in grades 4 and 8.  And finally, the complete student laptop initiative was launched for all students in grades 4 – 12 in 2006.

The school’s experience with laptops thus far has been overwhelmingly positive.  Faculty members report feeling more creative, productive and better able to share work with colleagues.  With easy access to a variety of online resources, teachers can make curricular material come to life for students in ways that were previously impossible.

For students, the laptops provide equal access to resources, enriched opportunities for study and review, better communication for group projects and an important organizational tool to help them access assignments, worksheets and handouts from home.

Laptops have also been a much-appreciated way for teachers to provide material to students who have different learning styles.  As one eighth-grade teacher has observed,  "Computers aren’t changing what we teach, but they’re definitely changing the way we teach."

However, the challenge of maintaining a technology program remains.

The Commitment: Equitable Access to State-of-the-Art Technological Resources

The Breck Board of Trustees is committed to enabling the school to provide technology that can truly enhance both teaching and learning and to make it available and accessible to all. It invites the entire Breck family to help.