See what this year’s Speak Up 200 schools and districts had to say about why they participate in Speak Up, and learn how they utilized their school/district’s data!

There's still time to get involved! Check back tomorrow to learn out "Speak Up, America", a week long event beginning next week to celebrate Speak Up participants, past, present and new! 

To take the survey today visit: www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2013

“We use the data to help us write our school's technology plan.” 

— Jennifer Whitt, Madison County, Alabama.

 “The data from the report gives insight into the perception of technology and its importance in life, not just education.” 

— Vincent Scheivert, Albemarle County Public Schools, Virginia

 “To give the students a voice in the direction we take in implementing more technology-based opportunities.” 

— Amy Whitener, Kearney R-1 Schools, Missouri

  “The survey gives us a clear picture of where we are at in our implementation of technology and 21st Century Skills in our teaching and the effect on student learning. This is a work in progress and every year we can see how we have progressed and see where the weak links are and take steps to make positive changes.” 

— Maureen Koenig, Yorba Linda Middle School, California 

“The South Carolina Virtual School Program looks forward to reviewing our Speak-Up survey responses every year, because it allows us to put a finger on the pulse of our students’ learning experiences. We are able to identify ways to expand and grow our program based on student feedback. The South Carolina Virtual School Program always focuses on the students’ open, written comments in the Speak-Up surveys, because this present students with the opportunity to openly express their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions about how we can adjust our program and adapt it to stay at the cutting edge in the growing field of online education.” 

— Vicki Williams, South Carolina Virtual School Program, South Carolina

  

 “[To] help improve communication with our stakeholders.” 

— Joanne Hammond, Shawnee Local School District, Ohio 

 “It was wonderful to see that each year students and parents are understanding the importance of integrating technology with learning experiences in the classroom.” 

— Patricia Smith, Apache Junction Unified, Arizona

 “We want to better understand our students and to help identify what engages and motivates them.” 

— Rob Residori, City of Chicago School District #299, Illinois

 “We certainly value the data...but we truly put a high value on the opportunity for our students and staff to contribute to the national conversation around the role of technology in education.” 

— Ann McMullan, Klein Independent School District, Texas

“The Speak Up data are useful to us as we develop various action plans and strategies. We also like being part of a national conversation; it's interesting to see how our responses compare to those from our peer districts in the state and around the country.” 

— Matt Frey, Brevard Public Schools, Florida

  

“I was impressed with the honesty of the students, their very specific ideas of what they wanted for themselves and classmates, and their astuteness. I felt that the students had a good grasp of what would help them educationally and that their suggestions were reasonable and doable.” 

— Linda Ficsher, St. Mark’s High School, Delaware

“I wanted to make sure we were on the same level with the nation. I wanted our students to be able to compete with other students. Technology can level the playing field.” 

— Rosie Bailey, Surgoinsville Middle School, Tennessee

“We believe it is important to know how our students feel about technology at school. The Indiana Dept. of Education highly recommends school corporations to participate.” 

— Janice Curtis, Plymouth Community School Corporation, Indiana