[pull quote: "School has changed over the past two decades--from posters and models to gadgets and Gizmos. In Gulfport, Project ACTIVATE has changed what we do in school and how we do it." --Technology Director Terri Burnham]

"Change the cat; change the cat!" 
"Egg-cellent!" 
"Lock ‘em down!"

These are comments by students in classrooms participating in Gulfport School District's Project ACTIVATE (Assisting Children Through Inclusion in Vigorous Activities with Technology Everyday). In what was once an environment typified by teacher lectures, information output, and passive listening, classrooms in the Gulfport School District have transformed and are now rich with student engagement. 

Background

Following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, teachers, students, and staff of the Gulfport School District were traumatized. Thousands of families and a third of the teaching staff were displaced from their homes. Preparing for state assessments while living in temporary dwellings made the school year intensely difficult for everyone. However, at the end of the 2005-06 school year, results from the state assessments indicated that the Herculean efforts of our teachers were an astonishing success.

In the summer of 2006, areas exhibiting the greatest achievement gaps were identified and shared with school-based design teams and the district's technology committee. Through much collaboration, teams identified research-based instructional strategies and current technologies they believed would generate the most enthusiasm among teachers and increase student engagement. That's when the district launched Project ACTIVATE, a long-range plan to incorporate the use of interactive whiteboards and student response devices into every classroom in the district. 
 
Phase 1

The initial phase of Project ACTIVATE began in the summer of 2006, less than a year after Hurricane Katrina. Based on analysis and disaggregation of local and state assessment data, the first group of classrooms was identified for participation in Phase I of the project. Using a combination of local and federal funds, the district purchased and installed Promethean Activclassroom systems in these 31 classrooms. The initial group included all fifth grade classrooms, four sixth grade classrooms, one high school English classroom, and five classrooms at the district's alternative education school.

To ensure teachers were comfortable with the new equipment, the district planned and implemented a comprehensive professional development model. First, district technology trainers were certified by Promethean to offer training. Then, in the summer, trainers offered a five-day ActivInstitute to help teachers learn to use the new hardware, software, tools, manipulatives, and online resources. Training sessions also were offered throughout the school year and on Saturdays. In addition, trainers provided ongoing guidance and coaching for teachers.