Put your hands together for Classroom of the Future Foundation’s very own Bruce Braciszewski! The Executive Director of CFF has been awarded the Certificate of Collaboration from Vista Unified School District. Each month, the superintendent of Vista Unified recognizes an individual or an organization for demonstrating outstanding support for their district values: trust, respect, and collaboration. 
At January’s board meeting, Superintendent Devin Vodicka presented the collaboration award to Dr. Braciszewski for guiding and supporting Vista’s efforts toward innovative education.
The purpose of this recognition was to honor Bruce and the Classroom of the Future Foundation for being a cohesive and dedicated partner to Vista Unified. Bruce’s collaborative efforts helped bring pilot programs to the school district, gave supportive guidance to Vista Unified, and assisted the district in finding the best ways to incorporate technology resources in the classroom.
Dr. Braciszewski noted that his partnership with Vista is a model for how he would like to work with every school district. He explained that superintendent Devin Vodicka really understands the value of using technology and really appreciates the benefits as well. After working with Vista over the course of the last school year, Bruce Braciszewski explained, “What is unique about this district is their willingness to plan and prepare before implementing digital devices into the classroom. And what is commendable of Vista Unified is how they approach these pilot projects in a systematic way, so that they can learn what works best for when they go to a larger scale.”
Bruce Braciszewski received this collaboration award because of his leadership in the evolving education world and his partnership with Vista Unified while the district has made the move toward revolutionizing their education system. Bruce and Vista Unified crossed paths in 2013, when Devin Vodicka was awarded innovative superintendent at Classroom of the Future Foundation’s innovation awards program. Since then, Bruce has teamed up with Vista and involved them in several education technology programs.
One program of note that Bruce was honored for introducing to Vista Unified is Project RED, which stands for “Revolutionizing EDucation”. This pilot project conducted a national study that surveyed 1,000 schools to discover a way to successfully bring technology into the classroom and improve student performance. Bruce and Devin met each month over the 2013-2014 school year to discuss the best practices for implementing Samsung tablets into classrooms. Teachers were given analytic software to see what the students were working on and the resources they were utilizing, which gave instructors more understanding by reviewing the students’ connections to resources.
In addition, Bruce also introduced Vista Unified to the nonprofit organization, Computers 2 San Diego Kids, whose mission is to provide a computer and technical training to every child’s family, regardless of economic status. Through this partnership, many Vista families who were once without computers now have them in their homes. Dr. Braciszewski proclaims that the Vista Unified school district is a “model of excellence and innovation,” and feels that the collaboration award was a thoughtful acknowledgment of his relationship and partnership with Vista Unified school district.
CFF would like to thank Vista Unified for the honor of receiving their Certificate of Collaboration.
Story contributed by: Christie Santos