Students at San Jose middle school welcomed back to class with standing ovation

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ByMatt Keller KGO logo
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Students at San Jose middle school welcomed back to class with standing ovation
Students at Fischer Middle School in San Jose were welcomed back from summer vacation with a standing ovation.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Students at Fischer Middle School in San Jose were welcomed back from summer vacation with a standing ovation.



Volunteers from Verizon were there to celebrate the first day of class but it's what they've left behind that's most important.





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This is the second year for the "Verizon Innovative Learning" at Fischer. That means all 280 or so students and 20 teachers get a free tablet and wireless data.



Verizon Spokesperson Heidi Flato says, "We think it's really great to give the kids an early introduction to technology and get them jazzed about using them."



Fischer Middle had to apply to the program. Verizon says they're focused on helping under-resourced schools bridge the digital divide.





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Verizon says teachers at Fischer and others schools involved in the program also get trained for a technology-infused curriculum.



"They do modules to help them know about different apps that they can infuse in their respective content areas and we just had an in person professional development training last thursday with EdTech teacher to go over more applications that teachers can use," says Fischer Middle School principal Imee Almazan.



Verizon says students in this program are three times more successful in math and two times more successful in reading.



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