BY THOMAS COLLINS
Stepinac leads the way with digital textbooks
Since we first introduced our customized digital textbook library at the start of the school year, the buzz has quickly spread about the innovative, state-of-the-art technology that is making learning convenient and efficient for high school students in the community.
In September, we knew we were introducing a cutting-edge program to our students, but we never could have imagined how widespread the impact would be. We have found ourselves the focus of educators across the United States, being named the nation’s first high school to provide a customized digital textbook library with more than 40 electronic textbooks.
All of our academic textbooks are easily accessible in this customized program.
The Rev. Thomas Collins, president of Archbishop Stepinac High School.
At Stepinac, students are charged a one-time annual fee of $150 and can visit the digital textbook library through a website or application for various Android tablets and iPads to gain access to its college prep digital library and the honors/AP digital library. In the past, students typically spent $500 to $600 to purchase seven hard-copy textbooks for the school year. Over the past two years, we have invested more than $1 million in infrastructure to support this customized digital library.
Created in partnership with Pearson, a provider of educational materials, technologies, assessments and related services, the digital textbook library has made the school a trend setter in technology and education. Students log in to an account and have access to all of their academic textbooks, including ones they may have used in previous years. They also have the option to watch a video to complement their history class, view a video for math enrichment, complete virtual science labs or listen to audio language labs to help with a foreign language class. Tools, including highlighting and note-taking are other features to this interactive way of learning.
The first customized digital library of its kind has headlined national, regional and local news over the last several months. Our faculty has been managing inquiries from school districts and educators throughout the country, including schools in Georgia, Tennessee, California and New York. We have also received dozens of phone calls and emails seeking information about the program. Representatives from school districts in the New York metropolitan area and beyond have even visited the school to learn firsthand how the program works. In recent weeks, educators from Shenendehowa Central School District in Clifton Park, near Albany, and Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens have visited.
We were pleased to have Ed Cameron, Molloy’s assistant principal for academics, at Stepinac to sample the customized digital library hands-on. Molloy plans to implement the program soon and we believe this trend will continue to pick up as more schools visit our school to see the positive impact it has had on our students and faculty.
We plan to continue advancing our technology at Stepinac in an effort to prepare our students for higher education. Collaborative learning is vital to prepare our students for the future. Blended learning has become a key component of higher education. When they walk into their first class as a college freshman, we want them to be ready for the challenges ahead.
Founded in 1948, Archbishop Stepinac High School’s mission is to offer young men a highly competitive academic and extracurricular program that will prepare them for college and leadership roles. The faculty and staff accomplish these objectives by pursuing excellence and creating a supportive, disciplined atmosphere with a strong sense of camaraderie and Christian values that are unique to the Stepinac experience. For more information on Stepinac High School, visit stepinac.org.
The Rev. Thomas Collins is the president of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains.
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