Apple Distinguished Schools

[soapyfish]

Is anyone here working at a school that has Apple Distinguished Schools status? I have been asked to look into this for our school and I have a few questions regarding the assessment process and where we could get help or sponsorship to help with the initial costs. Looking at the list of schools in the UK it looks like a pretty short list.

 

please feel free to pm me if details if that is preferred

[Primus]

Are you 1:1 with Apple devices? If not that's your first step. Then ask your educational Apple re-seller to put you in contact with your Apple regional sales manager.

[soapyfish]

We are not, I did see that as a requirement, are Apple immovable on that point do you know?

[Primus]

I *think* they're flexible if you have a high ratio of devices to students that could be close but if you're nowhere close then my understanding (this is from a year or two ago and may be wrong) is that you've no chance.

[RLR]

We use to be an apple distinguished school. We might still be but I'm not sure if it needs renewing every so often. I wasn't involved in it so not sure of requirements. We had someone work for us that went on to work for the apple education department. Edited January 30, 2020 by RLR

[Primus]

I believe it's awarded for 3 years, I don't know how it's renewed.

[RLR]

We're still listed on their site: https://www.apple.com/uk/education/apple-distinguished-schools/

 

It also has some information at the bottom on how to become one. They say invite only so not sure how you can get that invite.

[Primus]

You get the invite by engaging with their regional representatives at the first instance is my understanding.

[Sibrows]

So we're working towards it at the moment.

 

I don't mean to be too skeptical but what is the benefit?

 

We're still listed on their site

@RLR has it been worth it?

[Brimstone]

Becoming an Apple Distinguished School is NOT it tick box exercise, the school should be working with an Apple Education Solution Expert (ASE) if your not then it's very unlikely to happen.

 

Here are the main points;

 

You don't necessarily have to be 1:1 with iPads or Macs but there are very few exceptions to this

 

Vision - Your school has to have a clear vision that captures your schools aspirations for learning, teaching and the school environment for technology

Learning - This is centred around learning experiences that are active, personal, collaborative and relevant

Teaching - Teaching is celebrated and inspired by a growth mindset and a school culture that supports the teacher

Environment - Your school environment is reliable and dynamic and inspires innovative learning and teaching

Results - Evidence of student success is dcoumented through school based practices that measure year to year improvement and sustainability

 

This is just a starting point many schools have had iPads for years before they reach ADS status

[edmokeski]

I believe you'll also need to get (most of) your teaching staff the Apple Teacher credential as part of the application process. They've been putting a lot of work into developing the Apple Teacher Learning Centre site, and it seems to have become the sort of epicentre of communication between Apple and schools, I think. The application process includes an ebook that you produce that discusses your vision, strategy, values, etc.. You can find a number of these for existing Apple Distinguished Schools on the Apple Book Store. Huge engagement with your reseller isn't an absolute requirement (although I'm guessing you do need some level of tie-up with an ASE-badged reseller), but they'd be able to help you get in touch with the right people. That said, so can EduGeek.

What sort of school are you? A good starting point may be getting in touch with an existing and similar-ish ADS, or even engaging with your local Apple Regional Training Centre, just to put you on the radar. Also, RLR's 'guy who went to work for Apple' is really excellent if RLR's at the current ADS in Cambridge. He helped to get us started on our 1:1 program. We're not an ADS (partly due to the Apple Teacher requirement, plus a certain level of 'what's in it for us'-ness), but we're 5+ years into a really successful 1:1 program.