"robust technology device"

How robust is any technology device after 6 months?

Kids sure are hard to teach these days.

Randy, thank for starting this thread and posting some links. I'm visiting family out of town over Spring Break, but will try to provide some pertinent info.

The IT investments will initially be for infrastructure improvements, so our schools can have wi-fi and sufficient electricity. Actual devices issued to each student will be icing on the cake, not the main investment. Currently only 17 of our 80+ facilities are wi-fi ready.

Why is technology an important tool for education?

1. On-line assessments will soon be required, as part of new Common Core Curriculum
2. Kids find Tech engaging, as a complement to traditional teaching methods
3. Quality IT at school can help bridge the digital divide
4. Theoretically textbooks can be replaced or greatly supplemented by digital content

More and more assessments are being done on-line, and soon that will become a requirement. While I'm concerned about too many assessments, and assessments being improperly interpreted, I think doing them on-line is an improvement for several reasons:

1. It takes less time. Most everyone would rather click on an answer than fill out a bubble. Also smart assessment gauge a student's mastery as they go, so if they demonstrate that they can do fractions well, then they can move on directly to another topic, or to harder levels of the same topic.

2. You can get results right away. This is a huge advantage, so tests can be used periodically throughout the year to identify strengths and weaknesses of given students, so teachers can re-teach or intervene as necessary, or move on when students are ready, not when some pacing guide says its time.

3. It can make assessments seamless parts of the school day, not high-pressure 4-day slogs every Spring, where kids aren't even allowed to read when they've completed the test.

My hope is that one day kids won't even know when exactly they're being assessed, it will be integrated into the learning. And if they don't demonstrate mastery, that won't be seen as a monumental failure by the student, teacher or school, but just a way to identify the shortcomings and try again. When kids play video games they expect to repeat levels until they master it. Defeats are temporary and surmountable, a challenge not a failure. Academic learning should be similar.

So this is not about 'I-Pads for all', although some kind of devices may be possible once the infrastructure is in place.

Indya

I wholeheartedly support the Community Schools effort. Stick is right that it's been spear-headed by Dr. Bob Kronick from UT. It's been tried at various schools at various times, but resources and commitment ebb and flow. The current effort at Pond Gap is funded through a generous donation by Randy Boyd. The school is open every day til later in the evening. There are resources for kids and their families, tutoring, computer time, library access, food, enrichment classes. I haven't been there this school year, but hear it's truly impressive, and becoming a true center of the Pond Gap community.

We have these great public facilities, that are under-utilized outside school hours. In our current budget we can't afford to staff schools for longer hours, or to coordinate more programs, but clearly there is demand and need for it, in some communities more than others.

Cincinnati schools are doing this well. They have a paid coordinator at each school to connect families to other services, e.g. health or job training. Schools have greater means to help kids obtain decent food, clothing and shelter, so they can learn. Often schools are asked to handle all these non-academic needs, but don't have the means to do so.

Indya

It makes everyone feel like they're doing something important to improve education, without actually dealing with the very real problems affecting student learning. A clean building with a decent HVAC system, a safe playground/gym with the necessary equipment, and a cafeteria capable of producing a safe, healthy breakfast/lunch enhance the education environment a helluva lot more than white boards.

Teaching students effectively is not a function of technology. Everyone would agree that you need trained, dedicated teachers in the classroom, a secure, comfortable environment in which to learn, and sufficient scholastic texts and other supplies to support the education effort. But technology won't help a student whose parents are uninvolved/uncaring about their education, a student whose home life is so chaotic that he doesn't get enough rest or food, or a student who's dealing with addiction or gang affiliation or any of a hosts of other ills. These are the real issues affecting education that teachers deal with on a daily basis. These are also the issues for which technology, so far, offers no solution and for which teachers inexplicably are blamed by Republicans and others set on ending public education as an institution.

Randy,

With all due respect, I disagree. This budget is more strategic than any I've ever seen.

When teachers talk to me the two things they say they need to do a better job is more support and more time. This budget proposal would provide more support in the form of more instructional coaches, more helpful Professional Development, more Lead teachers. These are all intended to help our current teachers grow and evolve as their students require. It also gives teachers more opportunities to vary their work while still staying directly involved in instruction.

As for more time, the proposed budget would add 5 instructional days to the school year. Of course more time isn't useful unless it's used wisely. Well, we've raised standards for teachers and students, raised expectations, increased the rigor, and now we need more time to reach these new higher goals. Most schools I visit seem to be going at a frenetic pace. Teachers, staff and students are working hard. Adding instructional time will help.

Money and time are necessary, but not sufficient, ingredients to getting better student outcomes. There are many essential components to a good school that cannot be readily bought, such as leadership and positive culture. We can and do invest in a Leadership Academy to give future principals some on-the-job training, before they are thrust into the daily pressures of the job. We can give teachers and students more support which can contribute to a stronger school culture.

Randy, which nearby school system spends more per capita and gets worse outcomes? I know several (Alcoa, Maryville, Oak Ridge) that spend more per capita, have higher teacher salaries, AND get better outcomes, even on value-added results (which measure growth, not just raw achievement, thus minimizing the effect of socio-economic status.)

In Knox County only 47% of our students are reading on grade level by 3rd grade. More than half of our students who took the ACT last year didn't score a 21 or higher. We are improving, but the rate of improvement is too slow.

I want to get better outcomes for students who are in school today. Incremental change is not going to get it done. Investing more in education will help us get better academic outcomes.

This proposal also divides the increase between operating and capital investments, so the growth in operating funds will be gradual, $7m/year until by Year Five the full $35m would go to operating costs.

This is a strategic budget.

Indya

Hi Alan,

This is confusing, but I will try to clarify.

This proposal asks for schools to get the typical share of natural revenue growth, PLUS an investment of $35m/year.

The $35m per year increase would initially go primarily to capital investments, but gradually (20%/year) migrate over to the operating budget.

Since this (FY12) fiscal year is 3/4 over, we have a lot of actual data on revenues, so the proposal projects a 3.2% natural increase in tax revenues. By 'natural' I mean thanks to a better economy rather than a tax increase. That is the $12.45m under FY13.

In the next 4 years the proposal conservatively estimates 1.5% natural revenue growth, which is about $6.5m per year.

On top of that natural revenue growth, this proposal asks for $35m increased investment in education. Absent Draconian cuts to all other government services, which I do NOT condone, this would require a tax increase.

Schools currently get 72% of sales tax revenues from both Knoxville and Knox County. Our share of property tax revenues is not pre-determined.

I hope that makes better sense.

Indya

Can I get a piece of that action?

Thanks to an outside grant, every student at the L&N STEM Academy has his or her own I-Pad. Kids love it, teachers too.

Does it generate better academic outcomes? Does it cost more or save money? To be determined. But it's a good case study.

All schools do some form of formative assessment, i.e. interim tests with quick feedback. It's sort of like quizzes I suppose, but more strategically deployed. Some schools do formative assessments on computers, others still use paper and pencil.

Indya

Karen,

Can you point us to the study comparing central office staffing to other districts? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did an interesting comparison within the last handful of years, but I've never seen reports of one in the Sentinel here.

Also, can anybody tell me what happened to the TIP program, which was supposed to lure "star" teachers from the suburban schools to the inner-city schools with a yearly bonus of $10k? I'd love to see the data on how they performed with a very different population. Thanks!

I wasn't aware that was already in place,. that is excellent! And I would caution everyone against drawing conclusions from just a few years of data, as the technology, I would think, is still in its infancy in terms of how to apply the hardware to teaching strategies. I suspect some of the better software to do this is still being developed, and better tools will come out every year. It's like the first computers we used at work for word processing and basic spreadsheets- we could not forsee the possible future uses initially.

In the back of my head, I'd like to teach HS physics part time, and I can imagine lots of neat tools for the iPad to teach some of the more difficult concepts more easily. I recall seeing a simple gravity and orbital mechanics simulation for the Apple II that really put it all together for me.

I assume the comments about budget needs were aimed at somebody else? I don't subscribe to the criticism that the school budget is "fat", or that the central office is overstaffed. I've said for a long time KCS does a good job with limited funds. So, I hope that was meant for somebody else!!!