The Houston Independent School District’s efforts to embrace and expand the use of technologies district-wide, including in the classroom, have been recognized by the Center for Digital Education and the National School Boards Association. HISD was ranked fifth on the top 10 list of the 10th annual Digital School Districts Survey, which is conducted by the two organizations.

“Team HISD’s efforts to transform teaching and learning through the district’s PowerUp initiative have only just begun, and we are honored that our work is being recognized and acknowledged,” said Chief Technology Officer Lenny Schad.

As part of the PowerUp initiative, the district distributed laptops this year to students at 11 high schools, and by 2016 all high school students will have laptops to use for learning at school and at home. However, Schad and Superintendent Terry Grier said that PowerUp is about more than just any single device.

“PowerUp is going to create a personalized learning environment for today’s 21st century learners and enable our teachers to more effectively facilitate instruction, manage curriculum, and engage today’s digitally wired students,” Grier said.

HISD is undergoing a major technology program to upgrade all of the district’s devices to Windows 7 and plans to implement an online teaching and learning platform that will allow teachers to more effectively manage curriculum and instruction and collaborate with their peers, students and parents.