Brookwood gets wired up over Apple Distinguished School
Brookwood School has seen a goal come to fruition by receiving the designation of Apple Distinguished School. However, the journey is not over as we continue to strive to be a leader in innovation, technology, and education.
THOMASVILLE — Brookwood School celebrated the completion of years of hard work Wednesday morning, but Headmaster Dr. Randy Watts insisted the efforts for Wednesday’s morning achievement will continue.Brookwood officially was named an Apple Distinguished School, and representatives from the technology giant visited the school to hand the recognition to Watts at the Joe and Mary Beverly Athletic Center. “This is a really exciting moment in the school’s history,” Watts said. “The history with technology in Brookwood goes back many, many years.”
The school set the goal of being an Apple Distinguished School in the last four years. There are 400 Apple Distinguished Schools in 29 countries and only five other schools or school systems in Georgia have that distinction.
Becoming an Apple Distinguished School means more than just having Apple products in the classroom, Watts said. The school completely replaced its network, upgraded its wi-fi and increased its bandwidth.
Along with the nuts and bolts changes, Brookwood teachers visited the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, and several teachers also have attended technology conferences.
“We had to do a lot of work,” Watts said. Watts said the computers and devices used in classrooms assist teachers but don’t overtake the teaching.
“One of the most important things is to not let it interfere with teaching and the relationship between students and teachers,” he said. “We’re moving forward with innovation and moving forward in education has a lot to do with more than simply putting devices in the hands of our students.
We have moved forward with innovation in our curriculum. In each and every class, technology has been infused.” Watts pointed to the school’s design thinking class, which put together a proposal to the City of Thomasville for Paradise Park renovations, to how the technology is being put to use. “The excitement shows in the moments when they experience this new world,” he said. “It wasn’t about the technology itself but about the process that led them to do that.” The Apple Distinguished School designation is a recognition for being innovative, creative and leaders in education, Watts said. The school is steadfast about the importance of the teacher to the students, he added, and what technology can do to serve that relationship. “We are preparing students for jobs that don’t exist right now,” he said.
“We want our students to have the future ready skills they will need, such as creativity and critical thinking and collaboration, communication. It gives me a lot of excitement that we are preparing our kids for the future and we are giving them the resources for college and beyond.” Watts said he wants to challenge the Brookwood community to continue to be a leader in innovation, technology and education.
“This is a great point,” he said of the Apple honor, ‘but the journey isn’t over.”
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.