05.17 APS to Celebrate Ed Farm Innovation Fellows Now Equipped to Better Engage Students Using Technology, Wednesday

ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Communications and Public Engagement
130 Trinity Avenue SW | Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Seth Coleman, Director of Media Relations & Television Broadcast
404-802-2891, office
404-406-5570, cell
seth.coleman@atlanta.k12.ga.us  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                
May 17, 2022 

APS to Celebrate Ed Farm Innovation Fellows Now Equipped to Better Engage Students Using Technology, Wednesday

Atlanta Public Schools will showcase its commitment to innovation in the classroom on Wednesday when the district celebrates 100 educators who have completed a unique program designed to equip them with tools, skills, and strategies specifically related to the integration of technology and personalized learning in both virtual and physical classrooms.

In August, APS partnered with Ed Farm – a non-profit organization focused on increasing educational equity, improving learning outcomes through technology, and preparing the nation’s future workforce for careers in the 21st Century – for the establishment of the Innovation Fellows Program. The overall goals of the partnership and program are to design and facilitate future-focused learning experiences that prepare both teachers and students to thrive in and positively impact our ever-changing world. 

The EdFarm Innovation Fellows program is the first in the United States.  APS identified 100 Innovation Fellows that met monthly with EdFarm coaches to learn various skills including topics such as equity, digital citizenship, innovation, professional learning, etc.

The Fellows earned badges for the completion of Learning Experience Designs (LEDs) every month. All Fellows are Apple Certified Teachers and have earned 16 Apple Teacher badges through the Apple Teacher Center, including Swift Coding and various Macbook and iPad badges that familiarized IFs with how to incorporate Apple tools (Keynote, Pages, Numbers, iMovie and Garageband) into their teaching practice.

The Fellows will put their new skills on display Wednesday during a demonstration session at 10 a.m. and will be honored at a Celebration of Learning event at 1 p.m., at the Coan Middle School building (1550 Hosea Williams Drive, NE).

WHO:             Atlanta Public Schools and EdFarm, a non-profit organization focused on increasing educational equity, improving learning outcomes through technology, and preparing the nation’s future workforce for careers in the 21st Century. 

WHAT:           100 Innovation Fellows will be honored for their achievements of learning various new skills and incorporating Apple tools into their teaching practices. 

WHEN:          Wednesday, May 18 | 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.                        (B-roll of the morning demonstration session will be made available.)

WHERE:        Sammye E. Coan Middle School Building | 1550 Hosea Williams Drive, NE

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About Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in the state of Georgia, serving approximately 50,000 students across 87 schools and five programs. The District is organized into nine K-12 clusters with 64 traditional schools, 19 charter schools, six partner schools, two alternative schools and five alternative programs. To learn more about Atlanta Public Schools, follow us on social media – Twitter (@apsupdate), Facebook (Atlanta Public Schools), and Instagram (apsupdate) – or visit us online at www.atlantapublicschools.us.