SK educator honored for ‘digital literacy’

Washington Educators Dennis Wright, who teaches at South Kitsap High School (SKHS) in Port Orchard and Julia Fallon of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Education (OSPI) in Olympia will be honored by Certipoint, Inc., in Orlando, Fla., this month for their commitment to raising the level of “digital literacy” in local schools.

Certipoint, Inc. is a company that administers certification tests on technological skills and programs. South Kitsap School District (SKSD) is a pilot site in the national Career Cluster Initiative, in conjunction with OSPI in Washington state. The Initiative was created to establish technology-education program standards based on industry certification skills, while preparing students for higher education and the workforce.

“This is basic knowledge that everyone needs to know,” said Dale Green, director of professional and technical education at SKHS. “It’s an international certification, recognized everywhere in the world.”

Thanks to Wright, SKSD has become a model for other districts who want to offer teachers and students access to the necessary technology literacy skills.

This past school year, nearly 75 SKSD students earned four college credits each after successfully completing Certiport, Inc.’s digital literacy course. Teacher’s often earn their certifications alongside their students.

Students are eligible to earn college credit at Olympic College, South Seattle Community College and Highline Community College while attending their junior high school classes and completing the Tech Prep program with a B grade or higher.

“It’s been a great program as we try to establish what our literacy level in technology should be for both students and staff,” Green said. “This is the perfect way to measure it.”

Wright and Fallon will be two of only a dozen individuals worldwide to receive the “Champions of Digital Literacy” title at the Certiport PATHWAYS 2005 conference.

Washington is the only state from which two honorees have been selected.

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