Apple gave this Idaho school hundreds of iPads. Its CEO says the ‘real gift’ isn’t about the money

Apple’s Tim Cook came to an Idaho school on Tuesday to check in on a gift the company gave in 2016: hundreds of iPads, one for each of 500 students. But the CEO may not have realized he’d receive a gift in return.

In 2013, President Barack Obama launched the ConnectED initiative, which aimed to infuse $2 billion of technology into schools across the country. U.S. technology companies, including Apple, agreed to provide $1 billion in products and services to ConnectED.

For its part, Apple set about identifying, evaluating and selecting 114 low-income schools in 29 states to receive $100 million worth of iPads and other Apple hardware along with training.

Among those schools selected was Canyon County’s Wilder Elementary and Middle/High schools, which comprise Wilder School District, home to about 500 students.

Wilder’s two schools are the only Idaho schools in Apple’s ConnectEd program. Apple officials came to Wilder in March 2016 to officially launch the program.

On Tuesday, Apple’s Cook traveled to Wilder Elementary School, which is now in its third year of the program.

Cook visited with students and watched them deftly navigate the devices. They proudly explained to him what they were creating and learning.

As the visit concluded and Cook prepared to the leave, Wilder school officials lined up to shake his hand. The leaders thanked him for gifting the school hundreds of iPads along with the training and technology to make their school among the more innovative in the state and country.

In a quiet, heartwarming response, the CEO of one of the largest tech companies in the world said he was the one who was grateful for getting to visit the students at the rural Idaho school: “The real gift is seeing it.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2018 at 6:25 PM.