TECHNOLOGY AT MOUNT VERNON EMPOWERING LEARNERS TO DESIGN A BETTER WORLD
As a School of Inquiry, Innovation, and Impact, Mount Vernon leverages technology to deepen learning, spark creativity, and strengthen connections. Anchored in Google Workspace, our digital tools empower students to collaborate and create with purpose. With a focus on responsible use and thoughtful integration, technology supports each learner’s Journey of Purpose and real-world readiness.
THE ESSENTIALS, SIMPLIFIED
Student Information System (SIS)
This streamlined technology map distills Mount Vernon’s full digital ecosystem into its core components making it easier to understand how our primary platforms connect to support every learner, educator, and family:
VERACROSS Parent Portal, Forms, Billing, Schedule, etc.
GOOGLE WORKSPACE Email, Drive, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Gemini Notebook, etc.
Learning Management System (LMS)
TODDLE & CANVAS: Classroom Updates Feedback, Progress Tracking, Curriculum, Assignments, etc.
TECHNOLOGY BY DIVISION LOWER SCHOOL (K - GRADE 5)
MIDDLE SCHOOL (GRADES 6-8)
In the Lower School, our approach to technology focuses on teacher-guided exploration and building foundational digital literacy skills. We teach students to begin thinking critically about how technology works. Through this guided exposure, our learners begin building the digital literacy and curiosity they need to navigate an AI-powered world responsibly. All while maintaining inquiry-based learning.
In Middle School, students leverage technology to enhance learning, collaborate, and solve real-world problems. They build digital fluency and take greater ownership of their tech use, developing the skills to navigate a connected world responsibly and creatively.
Learning Management System — Toddle Toddle serves as the central platform for managing classroom learning and family communication. Teachers and students use it to capture and share student learning through photos, videos, reflections, and assessments. Toddle supports documentation of growth over time and enables teachers to keep families connected to what’s happening in the classroom in real time. Tech Devices • Access to iPads • Access to 3D Printers & Laser Cutters/Engravers • Access to Microcontrollers • Access to Robots & Coding Technologies • Access to Graphic Design Software • Access to Programming/Coding (Scratch) • Access to Minecraft for Education
Learning Management System — Toddle Toddle supports academic organization, communication, and student accountability. It provides a streamlined system for accessing assignments, submitting work, receiving feedback, and tracking progress. Teachers and students rely on Toddle to manage daily workflows, while parents stay informed through regular updates and shared learning snapshots.
Lower School
Toddle Student View
Middle School
Toddle Parent App
Tech Devices & Software* • Assigned 13” MacBook Airs • Access to VR Headsets • Access to iPads • Access to 3D Printers and Laser Cutters/Engravers • Access to Microcontrollers • Access to Graphic Design Software • Access to Programming/Coding (Python) • Access to Minecraft for Education
DATA SECURITY & DIGITAL SAFETY Mount Vernon prioritizes student safety and data privacy through a proactive, evolving approach to technology. • Firewall Protection: Adaptive firewalls block threats as they emerge • Bark Monitoring: Flags potential concerns in student communication and internet use • Securly Controls: Allows parents to manage school-issued devices at home • Gradual Release Model: Digital access grows with student maturity and responsibility
THE SCHOOL VALUES IN BEING SUCCESSFUL PRACTICE AND EMERGING INNOVATIVE PRACTICES.
research-informed
— The Impact Ready Project
CELL PHONES & SMART WATCHES We prepare students to thrive in a connected world—equipping them with the tools, ethics, and critical thinking to navigate emerging technologies with confidence. At the same time, we are mindful of research, including findings from the U.S. Surgeon General and Pew Research Center, which highlight links between social media overuse and rising youth anxiety and depression. To support digital wellness, we take a phased approach to personal devices: • Lower School: Cell phones, smartwatches, or Metaglasses are not permitted. • Middle School: Devices may come to school but must remain off and stored during school hours. • Upper School: Devices may come to school but must remain in students’ backpacks or purses during all instructional times, unless explicitly under the direction of teachers.
UPPER SCHOOL (GRADES 9-12) Upper School students use technology to innovate, research, and solve real-world problems. With greater independence, they develop responsible digital skills and integrate technology deeply into their personalized learning to prepare for college and beyond. Learning Management System — Canvas Canvas serves as the central platform for course management, communication and academic reporting, and most of our students will utilize Canvas in college as well. Students have 24/7 access to syllabi, digital textbooks, resources, assignments, and teacher feedback, encouraging self-direction and time management. Canvas also allows families to stay informed through powerful feedback and progress tracking, while giving teachers the flexibility to design and deliver personalized, rigorous learning experiences. Tech Devices & Software* • Students access the tools matched to their learning: iPads, 3D Printers & Laser Cutters, Microcontrollers, Robots, Graphic Design Software, Coding (Scratch) • Mount Vernon is the only school in Georgia with an onsite Shared Studios Portal where students connect in real time with peers and professionals across 20 countries, building global relationships and engaged citizenship.
Related Courses in Upper School Computers, Society, and Programming, Computer Science II: Game Design, Computer Science III: Machine Learning and AI, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, User Experience Design
PARENT & GUARDIAN PARTNERSHIP Parents and guardians play a crucial role in supporting their child's responsible use of technology. We encourage you to: • Monitor your child's technology use at home. • Review the MVPN TechWise Guidelines. • Reinforce the importance of taking care of school-issued devices. • Support the School's technology guidelines. • Utilize resources like Securly and Bark (to be shared by the School) to set boundaries and guidelines for device use at home.
*These lists are not exhaustive but aim to provide an understanding of the quality and level of hardware and software available at each age level.
TECHNOLOGY POLICY Personal Devices & Social Media
TechWise Guidelines
AI POSITION & APPROACH In alignment with our mission to prepare learners who are Impact Ready, we support the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in ways that strengthen discernment and deepen learning, while concurrently upholding the dignity, privacy, and agency of every member of our community. Our approach is human-centered, developmentally appropriate, and ethically grounded, ensuring that learners remain the decision-makers and meaning-makers in an AI-influenced world. Mount Vernon supports the responsible integration of AI across teaching, learning, and operations guided by three core principles: 1.
Human-Centeredness: AI enhances, but never replaces, human agency and meaning-making.
2.
Developmental Appropriateness: AI access and expectations scale with the user’s age and stage.
3.
Ethical Integrity: AI standards of conduct prioritize data privacy, bias awareness, and environment-AI stewardship.
MOUNT VERNON AI FLUENCIES
Discernment & Information Sense-Making
Creative Expression & Communication
Evaluating the quality, credibility, and limitations of information using evidence and reasoning; knowing what to trust, what to verify, and when human expertise matters most.
Communicating ideas clearly, authentically, and purposefully while maintaining human authorship, voice, and creative agency. Using tools strategically without outsourcing the thinking that makes work distinctly your own.
Responsible Use, Choice & Decision-Making
Systems, Patterns & Data Reasoning
Ethics, Fairness & Societal Impact
Making informed decisions about when and how to use AI tools, with awareness of integrity, privacy, transparency, and the responsibility that comes with those choices.
Understanding how machine systems work, how inputs affect outputs, how to identify patterns and limitations, and how to test and trace machine behavior.
Recognizing bias, evaluating impacts on individuals and communities, and acting with ethical responsibility in a world increasingly shaped by AI systems.
HUMAN • AI • HUMAN FRAMEWORK Humans bring the creativity, spark, expression, ownership, and, voice. AI processes by analyzing data and generating patterns. Finally, humans work to make sense of what the information actually means by exercising responsible decision making and discernment. Student privacy is foundational to everything we build. All technology and AI tools at Mount Vernon are vetted for privacy and security before student use, and no personally identifiable information is ever shared with or entered into AI tools.