At Devonport Christian School, being a small school is part of what shapes the experience.
With just over 200 students, relationships between teachers, students and families sit at the heart of school life. The school describes its approach around partnership, authentic community and guiding each student through their learning journey.
So when learning suddenly had to extend beyond the school grounds, maintaining that sense of connection mattered.
Schoolbox became a place where the school could carry more of its everyday experience into a digital setting, keeping learning moving while giving students, teachers and families a familiar place to come together.
Taking the school experience beyond the campus
Devonport Christian School had already been considering how a learning management system could support learning and communication. COVID accelerated the decision.
Students could be learning at school one week and from home the next. Teachers needed a way to keep curriculum moving, communicate clearly and understand how students were progressing wherever they happened to be.
Schoolbox gave them a central place to do that.
Teachers could share learning content, adapt work for different student needs, see engagement and provide feedback. Families could stay connected to what was happening at school. The platform became part of the rhythm of the school community, even when that community was physically apart.
“Schoolbox has been a success because it allows our students, our parents and families, and the team to all be connected.”
Keeping the people around the technology
Trust comes through strongly in the school’s story. The principal already knew Schoolbox from a previous school and returned to it because of that experience. What mattered during the rollout was knowing the relationship extended beyond the platform itself.
“Schoolbox became part of our team. From a small school, we became a super team.”
Staff came to the rollout with different levels of confidence. Coaches spent additional time where it was needed, while the school’s own teacher leaders were encouraged to build confidence across the team.
The result was a very practical implementation. Teachers worked together remotely, asked questions as they went and began putting their own curriculum into Schoolbox straight away.
There was little separation between learning the platform and making it feel like their school.
Making the digital space feel familiar
Once students returned to campus, Schoolbox stayed.
For the Year 3-4 team, it continued to be part of the day: announcements, notices, morning devotion and learning content all had a place there.
“It is a platform that I personally enjoy using when teaching.”
That continued use says something important about the role of technology in a school like Devonport Christian.
A digital platform has to fit around the community using it. It needs to support the language, routines, learning and relationships that already make the school distinctive.
For Devonport Christian School, Schoolbox became another place where those things could happen.
If you’d like to learn more about how Schoolbox can support both your educators and your students, request a demo of our platform.
