Forbes, the renowned financial news magazine, lists McAllen ISD on a list of national leaders in the iPad tablet rollout. In an article which appears on Forbes’ website, the district is listed among private industry, higher education and K-12 (Kindergarten-12th grade) entities that have distributed the most of these revolutionary devices.
The district is listed 17th on the list for having distributed 5,000 iPads by April 25. Another 1,500 iPads were assigned to teachers in May, giving them time to master the devices by the time they return for fall classes. The district plans to provide nearly 20,000 more devices (either the iPad or iPod Touch) to its students in the fall 2012.
The operation is part of a greater framework known as TLC3 – Transforming Learning in the Classroom, Campus and Community. It is a ‘game-changer’ with the goal of getting students college and career ready in today’s rapidly developing world.
“This Forbes listing provides a stamp of validation to reassure our community we are on the right track and ahead of the curve as far as where education is going,” McAllen ISD Superintendent, Dr. James Ponce, said.
The Forbes list includes San Diego (Calif.) Unified School District, second with 25,000 iPads, and Chicago Public School District, seventh with 10,000. McAllen ISD is 17th at 5,000, ranking it behind North Carolina’s Rowan-Salisbury School District which is 12th at 7,000.
Number one on the list is Korea Telecom which provided iPads to all 32,000 of its employees, the article states. Other notables on the list include the U.S. Air Force (18,000), Teach for America (9,000) and Cisco Systems (8,100). Cisco, a high-tech company, is currently writing a case study on McAllen ISD.
According to the article by Mr. Eric Lai, in October 2011, when McAllen ISD announced its launch of the iPads, “Apple said that 92 percent of the Fortune 500 are deploying or testing iPads. Meanwhile, 2,300 school districts in the U.S. are using the iPad, including 600 that have 1:1 iPad:student programs.”
Of the top 50 organizations, 20 are K-12 education entities with three more from higher education. Other industries represented include high technology, airline transportation, health care and government.
This is the latest major publication or website to tout McAllen ISD’s move toward electronic devices. Other articles have been published on Texas Monthly magazine’s website, Texas School Business, Texas Lone Star, Scholastic Administrator, School Administrator, Parent & Child magazine, San Antonio Express-News, Houston Chronicle, Huffington Post, ABC News and NBC Latino.
Click Here to Read the Forbes Article