Digital Wellness Update and Conference Day Keynotes

As we welcome our students back to school, I wanted to share a little of the work our educators have been doing to prepare for the year ahead. During our Superintendent’s Conference Days, we spent significant time thinking about technology—not how to use more of it, but how to use it more intentionally.

At Pocantico Hills, digital wellness is an important part of that work. We define it as using technology in ways that support our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. When making decisions about technology, we consider not only what it adds to learning, but also how it impacts the people using it. This work is guided by our formal Digital Wellness Committee, which brings together members of our Technology Committee and Social Emotional Wellness Team to ensure we are considering technology through both an instructional and wellness lens.

We began with Jordyn Zimmerman, an educator and disability advocate who uses technology to comunnicate. Her experience reminds us of the powerful role technology can play in providing access, removing barriers, and creating opportunities for students to communicate, engage, and participate in ways that might not otherwise be possible.

We continued this conversation on day two with Dr. Carmalita Seitz, Managing Director of Online Learning and Innovation for the International Society for Transforming Education (ISTE), one of the world’s leading organizations for educational technology and innovation. Together, we explored what intentional, meaningful, and purposeful technology use looks like across different grade levels and classrooms. We talked about moving beyond using technology simply because it is available and instead asking what it adds to the learning experience, how it supports students, and when another approach might be better.

Both Jordyn and Dr. Seitz also spent dedicated time with our administrative team, helping us consider how we can support this work from a leadership perspective and ensure these ideas carry into classrooms throughout the year.

Since digital wellness starts with the adults, I led a session with our staff focused first on our own relationships with technology, exploring settings and strategies educators can use to create healthier boundaries with their devices. We often talk about putting on your own oxygen mask first, and this is no different. If we want to help students develop healthy, balanced relationships with technology, we need to give our educators the tools to model those habits themselves—at work, at home, and everywhere in between. 

So, what will this look like for students this year? You’ll see technology used with greater intention. Sometimes screens will be the right tool, particularly when they increase access, allow students to create, make their thinking visible, connect with others, or do something that would not otherwise be possible. Other times, the most meaningful learning experience won’t require a screen at all. Our goal is not more technology or less technology. It is the right technology, for the right reason, at the right time.

This work will continue throughout the year through classroom experiences, teacher collaboration, instructional coaching, student voice, and our ongoing Digital Wellness Initiative. We look forward to partnering with our families as we help students learn not only how to use technology, but how to use it with intention.