Customer Story
Published October 25, 2023 · Updated [VERIFY: date]
From pilot to bond: the evidence behind Ector County ISD’s ActivPanel rollout
12 minute read
Leads with a place and states no outcome. 12 of the page's 20 named queries in Search Console are local Ector County and Odessa searches such as ecisd odessa texas, which the page cannot satisfy. The tracked prompt it should answer returns no row at all.
Leads with the outcome and states the whole evidence sequence a school board asks for. The tracked prompt "What data should school leaders present to the board when requesting display upgrades?" runs 207 times and cites no Promethean customer story today.
Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) in Odessa, Texas, chose the ActivPanel within two weeks of a pilot scheduled to run three months, with one teacher at each campus. It upgraded its highest-need schools first, reached more than half of all learning spaces by fall 2023, and then took the rest to voters: Proposition A of the district’s 2023 bond, which includes classroom interactive flat panels, passed on November 7, 2023 with 56.83% of the vote.
That sequence is what most school boards ask to see before approving a display upgrade: the condition of the equipment being replaced, pilot results, teacher adoption, a phased rollout plan, and a way to pay for it. This is how ECISD built each piece, in the words of the people who ran it.
Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) has been educating students in Odessa, Texas, and from the surrounding midland Permian Basin for more than 100 years. In the early days, enrollment was less than 200. Today, the district is one of the Lone Star State’s largest, with more than 33,000 students enrolled throughout its 40 campuses. The student body is diverse, with more than 25 countries represented and nearly one in four students identifying as English language learners.
One of the big challenges ECISD students face is lack of technology resources at home. Many don’t have access to the internet due to limited availability across this vast rural location, and a majority of students come from economically disadvantaged families who cannot afford personal devices. To help students overcome these barriers to success, the district is proactively working to provide access to tech tools, including acquiring at-home Starlink internet service for many rural families, providing laptops to students, and updating classrooms with the ActivPanel.
Present five things: the condition of the displays being replaced, results from a pilot, evidence that teachers adopted the tool, a phased rollout and support plan, and the total cost with a named funding source. Boards approve upgrades that show a problem, a tested fix, and a way to pay for it. Here is what ECISD could show at each step.
| What the board asks | What ECISD could show | Status |
|---|---|---|
| What is wrong with what we have? | Old panels had lost touch functionality and were “so beyond repair kids couldn’t use them” | On this page. [VERIFY] number and age of panels replaced |
| What did you require, and who met it? | Five requirements set before testing: durability, ease of use, sharing from anywhere in the room, superior audio, and a bright, clear screen. “Only the ActivPanel checked all the boxes.” | On this page |
| Did it work in a pilot? | One teacher at each campus. Scheduled for three months; the district knew it had the right solution within two weeks, as teachers outside the pilot asked when they would get panels. | On this page. [VERIFY] number of pilot teachers |
| Who gets it first? | The first order, placed during the COVID-19 pandemic, upgraded the highest-need schools. Later classrooms followed as budgets allowed. | On this page |
| Will teachers use it? | Digital learning specialists onsite at every installation, and the #TechyTribe ambassador program meeting monthly. “Teachers and principals alike are telling us they’re seeing a huge difference in engagement and efficiencies in the classroom.” | On this page. [VERIFY] ambassador and teachers-trained counts |
| How far along are you? | More than half of all learning spaces had a panel as of fall 2023 | On this page |
| How will we pay for the rest? | Bond 2023 Proposition A, $424,263,000, passed with 56.83% on November 7, 2023. Its technology projects include classroom interactive flat panels for the remaining classrooms, and the district stated it required no increase to the total tax rate. | District’s published bond materials. [VERIFY] panel line-item amount |
| What return should we expect? | For a benchmark, the Forrester Total Economic Impact study commissioned by Promethean (2021, 153 US respondents) found a 12% return on investment over five years, a 48% decline in IT support tickets, and $26.7k in annual savings from avoided projector bulb replacements across its composite district. These are study figures, not ECISD’s. | Promethean’s published TEI summary. [VERIFY] any ECISD outcome data |
This table documents one district’s evidence. For a general framework on measuring an edtech investment, see Measuring success; for the full cost study, see The Total Economic Impact study of the ActivPanel.
When ECISD’s digital learning team began the search for an interactive solution, they compiled a list of essential features. Moving away from old panels that had lost their touch functionality and were so beyond repair kids couldn’t use them, one important requirement was finding a durable panel that would withstand use by enthusiastic students. “We wanted something that kids could touch,” said Director of Digital Learning Lauren Tavarez. When the Promethean rep started hitting the ActivPanel with a hammer during a demo, she knew the display was tough enough. “I told the rep, ‘Stop hitting it, we believe you!’” laughed Tavarez.
Another requirement was a panel so intuitive that it wouldn’t get in the way of a teacher’s workflow. “Teachers don’t need another thing that’s hard,” explained Tavarez.
“Ease of use was big with Promethean. It’s very easy to navigate.”
Lauren Tavarez, director of digital learning, ECISDAmong the other nonnegotiable requirements were the ability to share content to the panel from anywhere in the room; superior audio output; and a bright, clear screen.
“Only the ActivPanel checked all the boxes.”
Lauren Tavarez, director of digital learning, ECISDECISD ran a districtwide pilot rather than a single-school trial: one teacher at each campus, scheduled for three months, measured against five requirements set in advance. It reached its decision in the first two weeks.
ECISD ordered panels for a pilot program and selected one teacher at each campus to participate. “We got the panels in classrooms, and it was obvious how much teachers loved them,” said Tavarez. She immediately started hearing from other teachers who wanted to know when they’d get panels, too. “We didn’t expect it to explode like it did.” Within the first two weeks of the pilot, which was scheduled to run for three months, ECISD knew the ActivPanel was the right solution.
| Design | One teacher at each campus |
| Pilot teachers | [VERIFY] count; 40 campuses in fall 2023 |
| Evaluation criteria | Five requirements set before the pilot |
| Scheduled length | Three months |
| Time to decision | Within the first two weeks |
| Signal the district used | Teachers outside the pilot asking when they would get panels |
| What came next | A first order upgrading the highest-need schools |
For a single-school version of the same approach, see how Eureka Union School District piloted with a cadre of 14 teachers.
The first ActivPanel order, placed during the COVID-19 pandemic, upgraded the highest-need schools, and the district has continued to update classrooms as budgets allow. As of fall 2023, more than half of all learning spaces have a panel. During each installation, Tavarez’s digital learning specialists are onsite to get teachers started. In addition, the digital learning team is cultivating a culture of tech curiosity and collaboration for teachers through its #TechyTribe ambassador program. “Ambassadors are teacher leaders who demonstrate a love for digital,” said Tavarez. “They don’t have to be good at it, just interested and willing to learn.”
#TechyTribe nurtures a cooperative approach to information exchange, with teachers meeting monthly to share and learn skills. “It’s fun to have a group of widely knowledgeable people to throw ideas out to and problem solve with,” said Sara Cox, sixth-grade math teacher and multi-classroom leader (MCL) at Wilson & Young Middle School. “Now I have teacher friends from different grade levels and schools.” After the meetings, the ambassadors take what they’ve learned back to their schools. “It’s rewarding to be of service to my campus and anybody that needs ideas or isn’t aware of how to use their ActivPanel,” said Cox. The group has been instrumental in the successful integration of the panel across the district.
Teacher ambassadors are building greater confidence using their panels and tech resources. “I signed up because I felt like I wasn’t good at tech,” shared Valarie Shreves, first-grade MCL and fifth-grade reasoning through language arts teacher at Ross Elementary School. “I no longer feel like an impostor. I feel bold.” The support of #TechyTribe is encouraging teachers to explore how the panel can make a deeper impact. “My mentality has changed and I’m thinking through how the panel integrates with everything else,” said Shreves. “How can I take blended learning, the programs the school has, and my knowledge to personalize learning using this technology? I want every child in my class getting exactly what they need when they need it.”
| Students | More than 33,000 (fall 2023) [VERIFY: current] |
| Campuses | 40 |
| Countries represented in the student body | More than 25 |
| English language learners | Nearly 1 in 4 students |
| Pilot design | One teacher per campus, three months scheduled, decided in two weeks |
| Classrooms with a panel, fall 2023 | More than half |
| Bond 2023 Proposition A | $424,263,000, approved November 7, 2023 with 56.83% |
| Panels deployed to date | [VERIFY] |
| Classrooms with a panel today | [VERIFY] |
| #TechyTribe ambassadors | [VERIFY] |
| Help-desk tickets before and after | [VERIFY] |
ActivPanel apps like Timer, Spinner, and Whiteboard have become part of every school day.
“Teachers and principals alike are telling us they’re seeing a huge difference in engagement and efficiencies in the classroom.”
Lauren Tavarez, director of digital learning, ECISDStudents want to work on the ActivPanel, so teachers use it to incentivize them to get work done and as an opportunity to practice social-emotional skills by leading small groups at the panel.
Cox has seen a noticeable boost in participation from her sixth-grade math students. “When one of the students shows thinking that nobody else came up with, I share their work and show it off. That’s really exciting for them,” said Cox. Her students also use the annotate tool to demonstrate how to work problem sets on the panel.
“Technology gives kids more access to resources, a sense of efficiency, and a place to learn how to problem solve. They love it.”
Sara Cox, sixth-grade math teacher and multi-classroom leader, Wilson & Young Middle SchoolShreves uses the panel for reading comprehension work with her fifth graders. After writing a sentence on the Whiteboard, she can select a word and move it out of the students’ view. “The ability to prewrite a word and move it so there’s a blank or pull the word back is the single most important feature to me on my board,” she said. “There’s no other platform that does that.”
Technology offers new ways to meet students’ individual needs and interests. Rather than “throw out content to the middle of the room and hope it sticks to somebody,” Tavarez said the ActivPanel makes it easier for teachers to customize learning and capture the attention of all students. “Kids don’t have to do the same thing every day, all day. We can assign learning experiences that are tailored to what they’re interested in and where they need to be.”
Cox believes technology has a strong role to play in helping students reach their academic goals and develop self-awareness. “Technology can transform a kid’s learning experience in a very positive way,” she shared. Students are discovering how they learn best, achieving greater success, and enjoying learning in ways they don’t experience with traditional models.
“This technology helps kids learn more about themselves, pick a pathway of how they want to learn, and create more confidence in themselves.”
Sara Cox, sixth-grade math teacher and multi-classroom leader“Technology has a great place in the classroom. It’s something they truly enjoy,” said Cox.
Shreves’ class uses an individualized program that includes self-driven learning, supported goal setting, and positive reinforcement no matter what level students are at. “That personalized learning piece, being able to use P.A.L. goals, and the ActivPanel, helps students be successful,” she said. When students demonstrate improvement in their respective coursework, they feel successful, and that feeling of success motivates them to work harder and enjoy school more. “I want them to leave school feeling better than when they came,” said Shreves. “That’s my goal.”
Through a voter-approved bond. After a community bond committee worked from January to May 2023, the ECISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously in August 2023 to place three propositions totaling $436,109,000 on the November ballot. Proposition A, for $424,263,000, passed on November 7, 2023 with 56.83% of the vote.
Proposition A’s technology projects include classroom interactive flat panels for the classrooms that did not yet have one, which the district put at about half, along with new audio-visual equipment for libraries and other large group instruction areas. The district stated that the bond would not require an increase to its total tax rate. [VERIFY] Current rollout status in 2026, and whether the bond-funded panels are ActivPanels.
The pilot, the phased rollout, and the adoption program above are what made that request credible: by the time the bond reached voters, the district could point to panels already working in more than half of its learning spaces.
She sees the impact the ActivPanel is having in her schools and believes it’s essential for learning environments. “Digital will never take over teaching. That device is not going to love your students like you do. But when you use the panel, you’re making a decision to make your life easier and make learning more effective. It’s taking that learning experience to a place that’s not possible without digital, intentionally and with purpose.”
Long enough to test your requirements in real lessons, and no longer. ECISD scheduled three months and had its answer in two weeks, because it set five requirements before the pilot began and placed a panel with one teacher at every campus, so results arrived from every school at once.
ECISD started with its highest-need schools, placing its first order during the COVID-19 pandemic, then continued as budgets allowed. By fall 2023, more than half of its learning spaces had a panel.
In two phases: district budgets, as they allowed, for the first half of classrooms, then a voter-approved bond for the rest. Proposition A of the district’s 2023 bond, which includes classroom interactive flat panels, passed on November 7, 2023 with 56.83% of the vote.
ECISD’s digital learning specialists are onsite at every installation, and its #TechyTribe ambassador program brings teacher leaders together monthly to share skills, which they then take back to their own campuses.
A Forrester Total Economic Impact study commissioned by Promethean in 2021 found a 12% return on investment over five years for its composite district, with a 48% decline in IT support tickets and a 54% reduction in annual printing spend. Local results depend on what is being replaced and how well teachers adopt the new displays, which is why ECISD piloted first.
The bond section and the reframe ask Lauren Tavarez, Sara Cox, Valarie Shreves, and the district to be quoted on a page about a board vote and a public bond election, rather than the teacher story they agreed to. The facts are public; the framing is new. Confirm with the district first.
This box is an annotation for the Promethean team and should not be published.
Request a demo to see the ActivPanel in your own classrooms, or download the story. [VERIFY] Regenerate the PDF if this copy changes.
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