Davis School District Digital Teaching and Learning Grant

Future Ready Schools Needs assessments of stakeholders revealed 4 main categories requiring attention as Davis District endeavored to shift to a new era of 21st century digital teaching and learning.
These categories were: (1) Building Human Capacity (Personalized Personal Learning), (2) Accessing and Integrating Digital Curriculum, (3) Creating and Maintaining a Robust Infrastructure, and (4) promoting essential Change Leadership.
It was within the context of these four categories that the following Davis District Digital Teaching and Learning Program activities are being developed:
• Leading EDGEucator Academy: Participants will receive compensation and cutting-edge devices as they attend hours of face-time in-service combined with hours of online pre and post learning activities. Instruction will provide 21st century instructional skills to enhance digital teaching and learning in respective instructional assignments.
• All district administrators will be trained in a comprehensive Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning course.
• All secondary schools will receive upgrades to bandwidth capacity and other updates were made to district networks.
• Innovative Technology Grants: Process will be established for any instructional staff within Davis District to apply for funding for quality innovative tech ideas in their classrooms and schools.
• Science and Engineering: The grant will provide resources with which significant progress will be made in 6, 7, and 8th grades toward meeting new state science and engineering (STEM) standards. Digital stem curriculum will be created, teachers will be trained, and mobile computer labs (sets of 40 devices) will be obtained for use by STEM classroom teachers and students who will use them to access digital science and STEM curriculum.

Digital Personalized Learning: Portrait of A Graduate

In the Davis School District (DSD), our vision is to systemically personalize the instruction of each student to give them flexibility, voice, and choice in how they achieve and demonstrate proficiency of the Utah Core Standards. We are building a system that equitably promotes self-direction, cultivates responsibility, and develops higher order problem solving skills in all students. We will use DTL funds to strengthen student connections with our amazing teachers and supplement that relationship with engaging digital curriculum, devices and software that are socially safe and that reliably work. 24/7 access to instructional content and feedback is also essential. We have the best teachers on earth and through targeted personalized professional development and using digital collaboration tools, we can become even better at preparing students technically for college, cutting edge careers, and help them achieve their definition and vision for their own success. For more information on the importance of personalization in Davis, visit our webpage and click on “Personalized Learning/Standards Based Grading” under the “District” or “Parents and Family” tabs, or visit this link: https://personalizedlearning.davis.k12.ut.us

We will support this work with DTL funds by:
• Prioritizing investment in infrastructure.
• Ensuring adequate support for the digital system by adding key personnel.
• Increasing organizational capacity through personalized professional development bundled in stackable badges and micro-credentials.
• Providing professional coaching and mentorship.
• Purchasing devices, essential software and other digital tools.
• Giving additional support and access to “at-risk” populations of students.

As we personalize instruction for each student in our system:
• Our best long-term measure of student success associated with our goal of personalization is our graduation rate. Graduation requirements summarize our locally elected school board’s best understanding of the Utah Core Curriculum and what is essential that our students will be able to know and do.
• Because graduation requirements are further removed and less relevant to our kindergarten and 1st grade teachers, it is imperative for us to define what “On-track” to graduate looks like at every stage of student development and to define profiles of success for students in 3rd, 6th, 9th and graduates.

Our intermediate outcome measures will assess the cultural, social and emotional, and practical changes that occur within our system. We will: Build a student self-direction landing site in MyDSD and track student use of that resource. Use student surveys to track student feelings of efficacy and growth as we encourage self-directed learning. Use “5-minute walk-through” coaching forms completed by School Technology Specialists (STS). Measure the number and amount of post-high school certifications that students achieve. Use GPA to assess all subjects and classes quarterly. Track device distribution data and software use.

Our direct outcome measures will identify changes in behavior occurring in students and teachers. To measure this, we will: Continue to track and monitor student use of digital tools and resources that are provided. Create stackable professional badges for teachers and track their engagement and completion rates. Survey teachers to assess their confidence and efficacy in using digital tools.

By using our DTL plan and DTL funds wisely, we intend to greatly enhance our students’ experience. We are very appreciative of the Utah State Legislature, USBE, Metiri, and the network of colleagues and support found within the DTL Grant System for this opportunity. We look forward to working and learning together!

Driving Equity, Reliability, and Innovation Through Technology Integration

Davis School District is committed to advancing equity, high reliability, and student achievement by strategically integrating educational technology. The district’s key priorities include:

1. Equity and Inclusion: Personalized learning experiences for all families through adaptive platforms, multilingual tools, and inclusive engagement strategies.

2. High Reliability Schools (HRS) Framework: Using real-time data, collaborative planning, and systematic monitoring to ensure every student learns at high levels.

3. Grade-Level Proficiency & Portrait of a Graduate: Leveraging digital assessments, LMS platforms, and progress monitoring tools to ensure students meet grade-level standards and develop essential competencies.

To support these priorities, Davis offers extensive professional learning resources. A team of 56 School Technology Specialists provides in-school coaching, device management, and professional development. The Leading-Edge-U-Cator program cultivates teacher-leaders in technology integration, complemented by the state’s digital badging program and hundreds of self-paced learning modules.

Looking ahead, the district seeks grant funding to expand advanced professional development, send educators to premier conferences, pilot innovative tools, and develop custom digital training modules. Substitutes will be funded to support walkthroughs at model schools. By blending existing resources with grant-supported innovations, Davis aims to strengthen teacher capacity, sustain meaningful technology use, and ensure equitable, technology-enhanced learning for all students.