Arkadelphia School District superintendent attends digital-learning conference
ARKADELPHIA — Schools have changed greatly since the days of the one-room schoolhouse. Given the rapid progress of technology, more change is sure to come.
Arkadelphia School District Superintendent Donnie Whitten is aware of the ongoing changes in education and has pledged to help make Arkadelphia students “Future Ready.”
Whitten joined 99 other school superintendents and educators from across the United States in signing the Future Ready District Pledge during his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he participated in the one-day ConnectEd to the Future conference hosted by President Barack Obama at the White House.
The focus of the “pledge” is a commitment to digital learning and involves the school districts working with students, educators, families
and members of the community to become “Future Ready.”
The Future Ready District Pledge can be found on the website tech.ed.gov and involves the following activities for those who sign it:
• Fostering and leading a culture of digital learning within the schools;
• Helping schools and families transition to high-speed Internet connectivity;
• Empowering educators through professional learning opportunities;
• Accelerating progress toward universal access for all students to quality devices;
• Providing access to quality digital content;
• Offering digital tools to help students and families reach higher; and
• Mentoring other districts and helping them transition to digital learning.
“The conference was initiated by the White House and led by the U.S. Department of Education,” Whitten said. “The ConnectEd Initiative (announced in June 2013 by President Obama) is to promote digital learning and to make sure schools have the proper Internet connectivity so students can access school and district websites.
“There are so many rural school districts that are not able to get connected to the Internet,” Whitten said. “And there are so many students that don’t have access to a computer or the Internet.
“This program is about enabling schools to be able to connect to the outside community and other resources and also to encourage the use of digital learning.
“We are seeing a huge shift in traditional schools that have relied [solely] on textbooks,” Whitten said. “There is so much more available through the Internet, such as distance learning, online classes and other digital resources. There is so much more we can now offer in the classroom.”
Whitten, 42, has been in the Arkadelphia School District for 18 years, the past seven as district superintendent. Born in Texas, he came to Arkadelphia to attend Henderson State University.
“I came here in 1990 and never left,” he said with a laugh. He has both a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in education from Henderson and a doctorate in education from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Whitten said he thinks one of the reasons he was selected to attend the conference is because the Arkadelphia School District is already committed to digital learning.
The stated mission of the school district is to create a quality learning organization where student achievement results in excellence within the local and global community.
“We started using the 1:1 Initiative four years ago in the high school,” Whitten said. “That means one [laptop] to one student.”
Whitten said digital learning is “a priority for our board and administrators. We think our students are worth the investment.”
Whitten said he thinks another reason he was selected to attend the conference is because of Arkadelphia itself.
“Arkadelphia is the site of two universities (Henderson State University and Ouachita Baptist University) and a local education cooperative (Dawson Education Cooperative),” he said. “We have a lot of resources here.
“Even our geographical location of being on the interstate is a factor. You can find digital Wi-Fi in a lot of places.”
Whitten said he was “proud” to represent the Arkadelphia School District and the state of Arkansas at the national conference.
“I got to meet the president and talk with decision-makers,” he said. “I was the only one from Arkansas.”
Whitten said the White House conference was the “kickoff ” of the Future Ready Initiative and will be followed by a series of 12 to 15 regional summits.
Whitten said he will try to “get the word out about the ConnectEd Initiative and keep it on the forefront until 2018,” when, according to the president’s plan, the goal of connecting 99 percent of students across the country to next-generation high-speed broadband should be met.
Whitten said he will also encourage other superintendents in Arkansas to become involved by signing the Future Ready Pledge.
Whitten said that when he was in college in the 1990s, “we still did research in libraries. We didn’t have computers.”
“We’ve come a long way in the last 20 years,” he said. “We have a new breed of student, an entirely different way of learning. Everything is digital. That’s all they know.
“We, as educators, have to help them make smart decisions about using online resources.”
Whitten said students need to learn how to manage the social-media resources that are available to them.
“On the flip side, however, students can now learn outside the classroom,” Whitten said. “Students can Skype with other students in schools across the world.
“I have three sons, ages 13, 10 and 5. When they are getting ready to enter college, they will have an advantage.”
Whitten said the Arkadelphia School District has five campuses and seven schools — one high school, one middle school, three elementary schools and two pre-K centers. There are approximately 2,100 students in the district.
“Pre-K students each have their own iPads,” he said. “My 5-year-old can navigate his iPad as well I can.”