Catapulting into the 21st century with equitable tech access for every student

In the Compton Unified School District in Compton, CA, technology isn’t simply a tool to get things done; district leaders see technology as a means for transformation — and they’re determined to give every student equitable access.

“We want to move our students from being consumers of technology to creators of technology,” says Alvaro Brito, team administrator for the district.

The Compton Unified School District had already taken the first step on this journey. Working with Verizon and its nonprofit partners, the district established Verizon Innovative Learning Labs in seven of its 36 schools. The Verizon Innovative Learning Lab program integrates emerging technology with a project-based curriculum in a custom-designed, state-of-the-art experiential learning lab within Title I schools. Powered by an emerging tech-infused curriculum, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and 3D printing, the Verizon Innovative Learning Labs support students to explore opportunities to help move the world forward by leveraging technology, social innovation and design thinking to impact their communities.

Having seen the powerful impact of the Verizon Innovative Learning Lab program in these seven schools, educators in the Compton district wanted to find ways to expand the benefits to all 36 schools in the district.

"We wanted to make sure that not only these few select schools that got those awesome Verizon Innovative Learning Labs have access to those technologies, but try to replicate it throughout the whole school district,” Brito explains.

The Verizon Innovative Learning Lab program empowers schools across the country to become hubs of innovation. Every student in the district, school leaders felt, would benefit from the STEM curriculum and access to emerging tech, based on the success at Davis Middle School, the first district school to join the Verizon Innovative Learning Lab program.

“We saw an increase in engagement. We saw an increase in attendance. We saw an increase in interest in solving real world problems in the community, and so did Verizon,” says Michele Dawson, senior director of innovation and technology for Compton Unified.

Using the Verizon Innovative Learning Lab as a model to replicate, the educators came up with a plan. “It was a tall order, but the innovation and the creation that came from it — that was incredible,” Brito says. Each school’s leadership identified rooms that could be transformed into the labs, and principals ordered technology and furniture for the build-out, using the existing Verizon Innovative Learning Labs as a model.

And, of course, there was staffing. During the summer of 2022, 30 teachers attended a week-long professional training session organized independently by Arizona State University, which creates the tech-infused STEM curriculum and provides professional development for the Verizon Innovative Learning Lab program. “So, in the summer, we had a cohort of educators from across the district who were trained on all these different types of technologies that they would see in the Lab.”

The result was an instant expansion of STEAM labs across the district, benefiting students and teachers alike. “Those STEAM labs became a hub of innovation and creation, not only for students, but also a space where teachers, they come in, learn how to use new technology and build capacity,” Brito explains.

Students, of course, take to tech easily, and sometimes without knowing that the fun they’re having is actually teaching them something, too. “They think they're playing a lot of times, but they’re really learning skills that are useful and could one day be fruitful for them and their families,” says Susanna Miranda, principal of Clinton Elementary School.

That mission of preparing her students for their futures is one Miranda says she is passionate about. “I wanted my students to think of themselves as engineers. I wanted my students to think of themselves as coders,” Miranda says. “I come from this community,” she says. “I am those kids; I watch those kids. And now I want to make sure that I can provide for them as many opportunities as I can to be successful in life.”

“I know that we've accelerated the speed that we can bring our kids up to the 21st century learning and innovation that we want to see them have in their future,” adds Dawson. “This program has changed the trajectory of Compton Unified School District and has catapulted it into the future."