Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 6, 1995 TAG: 9506060105
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Two years ago, a community group charged with mapping the future of Montgomery County's public schools gave county educators an ambitious list of the schools' top needs - from smaller classes to new schools.
The No. 2 item on Focus 2006's list of 22 goals is one that many educators endorse: Improve educational technology.
Montgomery County, it seems, is heeding the group's advice. Next year's budget includes almost $500,000 in technology funding, two new staffers to help teachers and students use technology in their classrooms and a full-time grant writer to find money for technology projects.
"Without those positions, [technology] won't be of any use to anyone at all," said Larry Arrington, the school system's technology coordinator - the person everyone turns to with computer questions. "We can't go on replacing some of the equipment if there's no one there to show the teachers and students how to implement it."
Arrington himself is an example of how important technology is becoming in Montgomery County schools. His position didn't exist two years ago.
"For several years, the teachers complained that the district has not paid enough attention to technology," Arrington said. "This was a way to start making a real effort at improving what we're doing."
Arrington's job is mainly administrative, keeping track of the latest in technology and helping the school system purchase the most affordable, up-to-date equipment. He works closely with the county librarians - now called media specialists who look after the huge assortment of electronics in their respective schools.
The county also has its first-ever technology planning document, a six-year plan that spells out needs and approximate costs for upgrading technology.
"We didn't even have technology listed as a line item on the budget," Arrington said. "This plan will guide us for six years" and start bringing the county up to speed.
Harvey Boothe has seen a lot of changes during the past quarter-century in his job with Montgomery County Public Schools.
When he first started as a part-time electronics technician 24 years ago, Boothe's job was mainly to repair tape players and televisions.
Now, as supervisor of electronics and maintenance, Boothe and his 10-person staff oversee the telephone systems and copy machines, and make sure the computers are working in all of the county's 20 schools. Unlike other school systems which pay contractors to maintain their computers, Boothe's department does the work on their own.
"The volume of electronic [equipment] to look after has changed," Boothe said. "From a parent's point of view, it makes me feel like my job's more worthwhile, seeing the end result of what you're doing."
Technology is changing rapidly, Boothe said, and the county must stay ahead.
"Usually not a day goes by that we don't learn something new," said Robert Reed, foreman of electronics and maintenance."
While technology is not a passing fad, but rather a shift in how schools will educate our children, it comes at what cost?
The School Board in May adopted an operating budget that spends more on technology than it does on employee salary increases.
Teachers and other school employees will receive a 1.2 percent raise (versus a proposed 4 percent increase) at a cost of $406,890.
Technology equipment, the grant writer and the two technology teaching positions will cost $612,261.
Teachers, dismayed at the low salary increase, have vowed to make up for the School Board's decision in its first board elections this November.
"The MCEA [Montgomery County Education Association] has consistently maintained the position that teachers should never be forced to choose between the needs of their family and the needs of the children in their classroom," said B.J. Mullins, association president. New initiatives "are continually funded on the backs of teachers. The [school system] must pay its professionals as well as find the funds to progress."
So, what's in store for our children and their education?
Look for computers that can see. Watch for interactive video classrooms that teach one subject simultaneously to students at several different schools. Watch the computer classes grow as other, more traditional subjects fall by the wayside. And don't be surprised to see computers in all classes, from English and foreign languages to geometry and calculus.
Business and industry are seeing the benefit of having computer-literate graduates from which to hire, too.
That's where the grant writer comes in, soliciting money from businesses to support technology projects in the public schools. And Montgomery County, with its ties to Virginia Tech and Radford University, has already hit it lucky on that end.
Last fall, Montgomery County formed a partnership with Virginia Tech, the Blacksburg Electronic Village and Busch Gardens for a $100,000 "virtual schools" grant, which will make access to the information superhighway simple and easy. Boothe and his workers have installed the high-speed computer lines to make that project a success.
Last fall, the state awarded the county $50,000 to explore interactive classrooms, one of which is just getting started at Christiansburg High School. Interactive classrooms will allow students to take classes from community colleges or other high schools in a more personal setting. Cameras will allow the teacher to see the students in all areas, and likewise, the students will see their teacher.
And Monday, Montgomery County received an even larger grant, this one from Bell Atlantic in the amount of $165,500, to link schools in eight counties, three cities and several area colleges. (See today's story on the Bell Atlantic grant in our Virginia section.)
by CNB