School & District News
Last year at Moss Hill Elementary School, a small group of students began meeting with a simple purpose: learn the tools on their iPads well enough to help others use them better. What started as the Moss Hill Tech Team has now grown into Student Innovation Teams in every school across Lenoir County Public Schools.
The idea is straightforward, but the impact is anything but small. Students are not just completing assignments on a device. They are building presentations from the ground up, animating ideas, troubleshooting problems, and walking into classrooms ready to support both peers and teachers.
For 8th grader Amado Ray at Contentnea-Savannah K-8, joining the team meant taking a risk.
“It sounded like a good opportunity to learn more about technology and branch out my skills,” the student said. “I really stepped out of my comfort zone and gained new skills.”
That growth has been both practical and personal. Ray has learned how to animate in Keynote and design stronger presentations that carry over into everyday classwork. But the biggest change has been in confidence.
“I started communicating with people I didn’t even know existed,” Ray said. “That really helped my social skills.”
Across the district, that blend of technical skill and personal growth is intentional. Student Innovation Teams are structured to give students space to discover strengths they may not have realized they had.
“Instead of just using technology, they learn how to build with it, solve problems, and teach others,” said Megan Lawson, Digital Learning Specialist at Woodington Middle School. “They become creators and leaders, not just consumers.”
Lawson says the teams often bring together students who might never have crossed paths otherwise.
“They find a kinship with students they might have never met or worked with,” she said.
The district’s commitment to digital learning provides the foundation for that work. LCPS operates a 1:1 digital learning initiative, ensuring every student has access to a device, and 15 of its schools have been recognized as Apple Distinguished Schools. That recognition highlights campuses that demonstrate innovative use of technology to support teaching and learning, but district leaders say the real difference is what students do with those tools.
Towards the end of February, that student-centered approach was on full display when an Apple Professional Learning Specialist spent three days working directly with Student Innovation Teams from elementary, middle and high schools. The training strengthened students’ command of the Apple ecosystem, from video and photo workflows to apps like Keynote, Pages and Numbers, while also sharpening their ability to lead.
“The goal of this training is to build the student skill set, but also to build their ability to work side by side with other learners,” the specialist said. “If they’re going into a classroom to work with first graders, what’s the best way to teach and show them? We’re helping them develop communication skills and build on their strengths so they can contribute.”
In sessions that mixed grade levels, younger and older students collaborated, shared ideas and learned from one another.
“The unique power of this is pulling them together in the same room,” the specialist said. “We had elementary, middle, and high school students interacting, supporting each other, inspiring each other. That collaboration across grade levels is powerful.”
According to the specialist, the district’s model stands out nationally.
“I work in a lot of different places across the country on the national team, and I don't see anywhere that they have student innovation teams that are in every building, that are building their skill set and doing what Lenoir is doing with students,” she said.
Training also emphasized creative problem-solving. Students explored when to use specific tools and how to match the right app to the right idea.
“Knowing their tool belt has lots of tools on it and when to use those tools is very powerful,” the specialist said. “If a younger student says, ‘I want to make it rain,’ they know to use Keynote and animation. They understand what the apps can accomplish so they can guide other learners.”
Back at Contentnea-Savannah, that sense of shared purpose is just as important as the skills themselves.
“My favorite thing about the Innovation Team would probably have to be the camaraderie, the companionship, the family that we have,” Ray said. “Our slogan is ‘three halls, one paw.’”
As Student Innovation Teams continue to expand, their role is evolving. Members are not only supporting classmates but also partnering with teachers to create digital resources. In the process, they are strengthening leadership, communication, creativity and collaboration across every grade level.
What began as a single school initiative has become a districtwide culture shift. Students are stepping forward, sharing their expertise, and helping shape learning in their classrooms, one idea at a time.