Surrey School District Wins 2015 Sylvia Charp Award

THE Journal and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) today announced the winner of the 2015 Sylvia Charp Award for District Innovation in Technology: Surrey School District, in British Columbia, Canada.

Named for the founding editor of THE Journal, Sylvia Charp, this award recognizes a school system for exhibiting effectiveness and innovation in the application of technology. The award focuses on both the innovation of the new technology/idea and the widespread implementation of it for all students in the system.

Surrey School District, the first Canadian winner, was honored with the Sylvia Charp Award for focusing its technology planning on transformative learning with the student at the center. All of the district’s technology decisions are made in the service of the needs of learners and educators with a commitment to ensuring that all students can learn on any device, anytime, anywhere. Surrey's entry rose to the top not because of any flashy hardware, but because of the planning and accountability that are baked into every tech initiative the district has launched. 

Surrey School District is led by Superintendent Jordan Tinney; Dan Turner, director of information management services; and Elisa Carlson, director of instruction. They will be recognized at the ISTE Conference & Expo, which takes place June 28 through July 1 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

About the Author

Christopher Piehler is the former editor-in-chief of THE Journal.

Featured

  • teen studying with smartphone and laptop

    OpenAI Developing Teen Version of ChatGPT with Parental Controls

    OpenAI has announced it is developing a separate version of ChatGPT for teenagers and will use an age-prediction system to steer users under 18 away from the standard product, as U.S. lawmakers and regulators intensify scrutiny of chatbot risks to minors.

  • robot brain with various technology and business icons

    Google Cloud Study: Early Agentic AI Adopters See Better ROI

    Google Cloud has released its second annual ROI of AI study, finding that 52% of enterprise organizations now deploy AI agents in production environments. The comprehensive survey of 3,466 senior leaders across 24 countries highlights the emergence of a distinct group of "agentic AI early adopters" who are achieving measurably higher returns on their AI investments.

  • conceptual graph of rising AI adoption

    AI Adoption Rising, but Trust Gap Limits Impact

    A recent global study by IDC and SAS found that while the adoption of artificial intelligence continues to expand rapidly across industries, a misalignment between perceived trust in AI systems and their actual trustworthiness is limiting business returns.

  • laptop displaying a network map with connected blue nodes and red warning icons

    Report Identifies Surge in Credential͏͏ Theft͏͏ and͏͏ Data Breaches͏͏

    A recent report from cybersecurity company Flashpoint Cyber͏͏ detected an escalation of threat activity across͏͏ multiple͏͏ fronts͏͏ during͏͏ the͏͏ first͏͏ half͏͏ of͏͏ 2025.