Dearborn Heights — Have iPads become the new textbooks?

Well, maybe not yet. But backed by a 30-year renewal agreement between the Archdiocese of Detroit and Sprint Corporation, St. Anselm School in Dearborn Heights and Cardinal Mooney High School in Marine City each are receiving 25 iPads to better integrate technology into the curriculum.

The agreement announced July 21 allows the archdiocese to lease frequency bandwidth from its Catholic Television Network of Detroit satellite to Sprint in exchange for service credits to purchase products to enhance the technological capabilities of its  Catholic schools.

“We had this opportunity through a Sprint partnership, so we looked at which schools had the greatest need and the greatest challenges with being able to provide their students with technology because of budget constraints,” said Melissa Lipsmeier, regional associate superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Northeast Region.

The 25 new iPad Minis will be used for grades 1-4 at St. Anselm, principal Angela Kraetke said. The upper grades of the school already have access to 25 iPads, but the added technology will allow younger students to get acquainted with technology that’s more and more becoming ubiquitous in education and work.

“The iPads are going to be used in conjunction with the other technology we have in the building, including the Smart TVs and Smartboards,” Kraetke said. “This helps the teachers create balance between the technology and the textbook.”

Lipsmeier said the Office of Catholic Schools originally considered St. Anselm for the iPads — the schools were eventually chosen by a random draw — because many students at St. Anselm don’t have access to the technology at home.

“Having this technology allows students who don’t have it at home to be able to type out papers and research using different venues,” Kraetke said. “A lot of times, students don’t have the means to do research or type out a paper. So we can provide that here to prepare them for the future. We have some students who don’t have access to the Internet at home.”

The iPads operate from a cellular signal, meaning they can turn into hotspots to give students Internet access to complete research assignments away from campus.

“The iPads now give us the opportunity so students can take one home,” said Cardinal Mooney principal Jason Petrella. “So if a student needs a device, they can sign them out and take them home, like a library book. This will also be great for our robotics team where they can upload their programs to the device and will have the ability to make changes on site.”

Cardinal Mooney director of advancement Dan Kilian said the iPads will allow teachers to integrate technology into lesson plans with greater ease.

“What’s great about this technology is it allows us to be more versatile in the classrooms,” Kilian said. “You won’t have to move students into a lab to use computers; you can bring the iPads into the classrooms. We’ll have the computer right there at the desk, so they can report their results in a science lab.”



Cardinal Mooney High School is situated right next to the St. Clair River. Visual arts instructor Andrea Lazar said the new devices’ hotspot capabilities will allow students to go to the waterfront to take photos or draw using styluses and upload their work to an email account.

“The great thing about these devices is they come with some really great art applications,” Lazar said. “One of the best programs, Procreate, allows them to basically use different types of tools, like a brush stylus pen or a charcoal stylus pen, and take them outside and draw whatever they want.” This year marks the rollout of the credits program with Sprint, but Lipsmeier believes the pilot program will lead to more iPads making their way to the classroom via the Sprint partnership.

“We always say in Catholic schools, God comes first, but we are educating the whole child,” Lipsmeier said. “We are educating our children so they are operating for the future, and that means incorporating technology into the curriculum. This will allow them to learn and grow fruitfully in areas of spirituality, academics, athletics and technology.”