The Technology Department manages all areas of technology related to helpdesk support, purchasing, networking and infrastructure. PACS employs a full-time staff to support District-level and Building-level technology initiatives.
The effective use of technology enables our students to learn in a 21st Century classroom. We work to ensure that every piece of hardware, each online program subscription, and all of our employed methods of teaching with technology are in support of one or more of the District’s strategic goals: mastery of academic standards, mastery of 21st century competencies, collaborative opportunities, and fiscal responsibility.
The mission of the Technology Department is to provide students and staff with technological resources to ensure the seamless integration of technology into curriculum and operations for the learning community.
Contact Technology:
Visit Technology Helpdesk by Clicking Here
What We Offer
Delivering the highest level of performance, the ActivPanel Titanium (new to the K-5th Grade) interactive display provides the most intuitive and integrated learning experience available.
Every classroom at the Grade School has Promethean Technology, each having an interactive whiteboard, projector and interactive tools for the students. Several sets of Classroom Response Systems are available for classroom use.
Philadelphia Academy’s District has approximately 1,250+ devices. Each school has 2 project based labs for complex year long assignments and mobile devices to accomodate their education. The specialty classes has 8 student computers per classroom and all faculty has a Macbook Air.
Access Points
Philadelphia Academy has expanded their WIFI reach to cover both buildings with highspeed wireless access. In the summer of 2021, we upgraded our bandwidth to 2 gigs at each school.
Apple TV
Apple TV is a device that wirelessly streams content from the Internet to the classroom television. It allows the teacher to stay in front of the room, or walk around with their device. It also allows instant feedback, more dialogue and improved motivation.
The 1-to-1 program enables students to easily transition projects and research between home and school. High School Students enjoy 24/7 access to the software that they use in school. They can easily exchange ideas and remain connected with classmates and teachers while being protected by GoGuardian. The result is a learning environment in which problem-solving, critical thinking and leadership skills are developed and enhanced through the responsible use of technology and continuous access to digital resources.
iPad Initiative
During the 2016-17 school year, the iPads were distributed to Kindergarten & 1st grade. The children will use the iPads at various times throughout the day to support their curriculum. Periodically students would practice a particular skill together during a whole class lesson, individualized setting, or small group instruction.
The Philadelphia Academy IT Department moved all district email accounts to Google Apps for Education. One of the major incentives is to have both students and staff on the same platform making it easier to collaborate, to take advantage of Google’s cloud based tools including Google Classroom, and to provide larger mailbox storage.
To support the district’s technology initiatives, Instructional Technology Coordinators are based in each school to assist teachers in developing teaching and learning strategies for technology use. The purpose of this initiative is to provide teachers with “just in time” support as they use new instructional strategies that require the use of technology. These individuals work with teachers, provide instructional resources to teachers, and offer cutting edge trainings in whole group, small group, and individualized settings.
