Gulf Shores City Schools (GSCS) received designation as an Apple Distinguished School District, which Courtney Jerkins, Apple Inc.’s K-12 educational leadership executive, explained as …
Gulf Shores City Schools (GSCS) received designation as an Apple Distinguished School District, which Courtney Jerkins, Apple Inc.’s K-12 educational leadership executive, explained as recognition of an “exclusive group of schools that are leaders in innovation.”
“As an Apple Distinguished School District, you will be connected with other districts around the world to participate in exclusive leadership events,” Jerkins said, “but we are going to bring the world to you because we believe everyone should see the great things that you’re doing here in Gulf Shores City Schools, so please be prepared. This is only the beginning.”
Jerkins said there are “just over 1,000” Apple Distinguished Schools in the world, present in 39 countries. Since each of the city’s schools earned the distinction, GSCS joined Andalusia City Schools in being “one of the first two” Apple Distinguished School Districts in the State of Alabama.
According to the award’s section on apple.com, “Apple Distinguished School leaders, faculty and the extended community have a clear vision for how their technology-rich environments support learning goals.”
The website also states that the award is received “by invitation only” after the school has met program qualifications, which include an “established one-to-one program, innovative use of the Apple platform, leadership and faculty proficiency with iPad or Mac and continuous innovation leadership team.”
Jerkins presented Gulf Shores Elementary, Middle, High School and Board of Education with the Apple Distinguished School awards Jan. 30 in the high school’s Hangout Music Lab, one of the examples of technological innovation as the room is encircled with computer monitors, sound and lighting equipment.
Gulf Shores Superintendent Matt Akin reflected on when he first taught computer science where they had “one Macintosh computer for 30 students with a 20-megabyte hard drive" in a different district. Now, each Gulf Shores student has their own personal MacBook or iPad for schoolwork.
“The recognition is not just about the tools we use; it’s about how those tools are transforming the way we teach, learn and grow,” Akin said. “Apple’s technology has empowered our teachers to create engaging, personalized learning experiences that has given our students opportunity to explore, imagine and innovate in ways to prepare them for tomorrow.”
Apple technology is used in a variety of programs offered at GSCS, Akin said, including but not limited to coding, robotics, music production and environmental labs. Akin said he chose Apple products because of their focus on education.
Starting out, Akin said, “Apple was the only company that had education reps that came in and said, ‘Let us show you how we can improve teaching and learning,’ and they still do have education reps that do that.”
Assistant Superintendent Stephanie Harrison also spoke at the event on GSCS’s technology “innovation in action.”
“This award is really meaningful to our district because it really reflects and awards the innovation of our teachers, the creativity of our students,” Harrison said. “Getting the Apple award is not about using technology all the time every day, but it’s about having the tool available to make our work easier, to help us be more creative and to help us be more productive.”
Harrison said she felt the award showed how everyone involved with and enrolled in GSCS “work together to try to personalize education and give students the opportunities to fulfill their dreams, to figure out what they’re interested in, to be successful and ultimately to be productive citizens.”
Gulf Shores Board of Education President Kevin Corcoran spoke at the event on the district's ability to transition to online learning in 2020 “when COVID-19 reared it’s ugly head” with “every student already in possession of an Apple computer.”
“Apple has changed our world, and most importantly they’ve focused on education, and we are so grateful for that,” Corcoran said, “that they’ve decided to invest in education and so our future.”
Before each award was handed out, Jerkins played the schools’ application videos to the room of guests.
In the Gulf Shores Elementary School (GSES) video, Principal Alicia Early said GSES works to build a “school culture” with the resources in place for students to have “every opportunity to learn to lead themselves."
“There’s different levels of technology, and depending on what you have, the sky is the limit for what kids can accomplish,” Early said in the video.
One GSES student in the video said, “I would really encourage other schools to use the iPads that we use because they are just great. They give us a bunch of opportunities for learning, and it’s really fun.”
Gulf Shores Middle School (GSMS) Principal Tim Webb said in GSMS’s video technology allowed students to recently build and fly their own airplane, build and drive electric race cars in Talladega and work on environmental issues like landfill overfill and recycling practices.
“We want our students to be immersed in a technology-rich diversified curriculum,” Webb said in the video. “We want our kids to be able to see and do anything that they could possibly imagine or envision.”
Gulf Shores High School’s (GSHS) video featured Principal Cindy Veazey, who said she felt GSHS students were able to “thrive” in the “ever-changing” world due to the technology provided at GSHS.
“Kids think they’re tech savvy, but they’re not,” Veazey said in the video, “and we want them to be tech productive, and there’s a difference. Our teachers have embraced that and try to use technology in real-world ways every day, not as an add-on, but as a tool that helps the student be able to discover, research, analyze data and not be afraid to.”
According to a release from GSCS on the award, GSCS has implemented numerous forward-thinking initiatives, such as:
The release also states the Apple Distinguished Schools program recognizes educational institutions that demonstrate innovative leadership, robust technology integration, and measurable academic success. This honor reflects GSCS’ commitment to integrating cutting-edge technology into an aspect of teaching and learning.