Apple has been named the 2001 Georgia Friend of Education “for its exceptional level of support for public education in Georgia.” The Friend of Education Award is given to an individual or organization that has “substantially impacted public education on a statewide basis.”
Apple received the award before 700 school board members, superintendents and educational leaders at the Georgia School Boards Association/Georgia School Superintendents Association Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA. The Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) is a voluntary association of the state’s 180 public school systems.
“Apple has teamed with the Georgia School Boards Association and many other educational organizations and individual school systems in our state,” said GSBA Executive Director Jeannie M. Henry, in an online report. “Apple has continually shown unending support and dedication to assisting the educational community in raising student achievement through the effective use of technology.”
Apple also was cited for teaming with the Georgia School Boards Association on a number of initiatives, including technological assistance at each of the association’s conferences, and co-developing the New Millennium Leadership Program (NMLP). The NMLP seeks to change the way boards of education manage information to improve student achievement.
To accomplish this initiative, the GSBA has partnered with Apple to develop and implement a leadership program that encompasses the hardware, software and professional development to successfully achieve this goal, according to the GSBA Executive Summary of the program. In the program, GSBA says it will model and explore innovative and advanced uses of the Internet to deliver information, training and administrative procedures.
The NMLP was put together through a joint effort of the GSBA and Apple. By partnering together, GSBA says it was able to place its emphasis on content and needs specifically for school board members, while Apple was able to focus on technology solutions to support the content needs in the delivery of the program.
“Apple’s sincere interest in working towards turn-key solutions to integrate technology at the governance level from every aspect of hardware, software, training and support made Apple the perfect fit to partner with GSBA in the delivery of such an innovative program,” the Executive Summary states.
Through the program, the school board, superintendent and leadership teams have at their fingertips all of the information they need to manage and govern school systems of today, according to the GSBA. School board policies, state rules, laws and regulations, board meeting agendas and supporting documentation, and more are available to decision-makers using NMLP.
“Apple has long been honored to serve Georgia’s educators and we pledge our continued support,” Jim Marshall, vice president of the Apple education division, said in accepting the award for Apple.