Join Verizon Innovative Learning Schools

Yes, a number of our district and school leaders would welcome the opportunity to speak with you. Please email vils@digitalpromise.org with your request, including the type of questions.

Midway through Year 2, districts will be invited to apply for an additional two years. The fidelity with which the district and participating schools have implemented the program to date will be a primary consideration in determining if the extension will be granted. If the extension is awarded, data plans will be continued for two (2) years (Years 3 and 4), coach funding at $25,000 will be continued for one (1) year (Year 3), and School IT funding will be continued for one (1) year (Year 3).

We will provide a minimum of $25,000 per year per coach for Years 1 and 2 of the program. It’s possible the final amount will be higher, but that won’t be confirmed until the majority of schools for Cohort 11 are selected. Funding is sent after the MOU is fully executed by both the district and Digital Promise.

We will provide $5,000 per year per school for schools with 50 teachers or less in Years 1 and 2 of the program. We will provide $8,500 per year per school for schools with 51 or more teachers in Years 1 and 2 of the program.

School and district leadership will engage in onboarding activities beginning in January 2024, and students will receive Verizon Innovative Learning Schools devices at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

The MOU consists of two main parts: 1) The agreement between the district and Digital Promise; and 2) Exhibits that outline Verizon requirements (End User Agreements) around the devices, access, and data collection specifics. Digital Promise will work directly with each district to finalize the MOU.

The final MOU will be released to districts by January 2024. Coach funding and student devices will not be fulfilled until the MOU is signed by all parties

No. Districts are responsible for ensuring the devices are filtered on and off campus. Also, mobile device management (MDM) must be in place. Verizon Innovative Learning Schools will provide licenses with a provider for filtering and MDM if the district is in need of either solution.

Districts can choose from the following:

• CTL NL72 LTE Chromebooks
• 9th Generation iPads with WiFi + Cellular
• Orbic Hotspots
• 4G LTE SIM cards or eSIMs (Verizon network compatible)

Branded cases are provided and required. A limited quantity of keyboards (for iPad districts) and additional charging units are provided as well.

Devices are assigned to the school, not the student. For example, as eighth graders move on to high school, their devices are distributed to incoming sixth graders.

Each device is equipped with a 30GB per month Verizon Wireless LTE data plan.

If enrollment increases, additional devices will be provided. The opportunity to request additional devices due to enrollment increases takes place three times a year.

• High-quality cases which are provided by Digital Promise and required to be properly installed on each 1:1 device.
• Our team works with school leaders to implement digital citizenship and device care instruction and monitoring to reduce loss and breakage.
• District-developed repair/replacement process, which is reflected upon monthly to ensure it’s working well.
• Loss and theft of Verizon Innovative Learning Schools devices is historically minimal; however, the district will need to develop a process for replacing lost or stolen devices, while ensuring no family is responsible for the full cost of a device.

Devices are covered by a manufacturer’s warranty for a limited amount of time. In addition, Digital Promise provides an Accidental Damage Device Protection Plan for VILS teacher and student devices.

Usage controls make it so that as a user hits the 30GB per month limit, access is throttled to a slower speed until data plans refresh at the beginning of the billing cycle. The school/district should include responsible data use in the digital responsibility curriculum.