Benilde-St. Margaret’s Technology Department Receives Award

From a BSM press release:

The technology program at has been honored by the Minnesota Independent School Forum (MISF) because it “clearly demonstrates how competitive and advanced private and independent schools are in the area of technology when educating students.”  BSM will receive the Story Award, Program category, at the fourth annual MISF Minnesota Private and Independent Education Awards ceremony on May 3.

Nine schools were considered for the Story Award.  The BSM technology program received a score of 8.3 on a scale of 1.0 to 10.0 from the MISF selection committee.  They said, “Schools such as BSM give kids a solid education through teachers who are skilled at using cutting edge technology in the classroom to ultimately provide hands-on opportunities that are technologically transformative for their students.”

“In the four years since the inception of the BSM technology program, we have seen our efforts grow from pockets of creative technology use to being fully integrated across all disciplines,” said Dr. Sue Skinner, principal of the BSM senior high.  “The success of this program is due to the visionary, skilled personnel who create the necessary infrastructure, inspire teachers to transform their teaching and provide the indispensable technical and educational support to create 21st century opportunities for students.”

The BSM technology team consists of four technicians/classrooms teachers, three hardware/computer specialists, and two student technicians.  The team leader is Steve Pohlen, a 1986 BSM alumnus, who returned home because of his passion for Catholic education.

“Our technology program isn’t just about the laptops or interactive whiteboards,” said Pohlen.  “It’s about the teaching and learning.  It’s about using technology to create a learning environment that fosters creativity and innovation.  We inspire students to actively participate and take responsibility for their own learning.”

BSM’s technology program trains not only the school’s teachers, but reaches out to teachers and administrators from other schools to visit the BSM campus through summer technology academies.

Apple recently recognized BSM as a leader for best practices in implementing and sustaining one-to-one laptop programs.