July 2004 — SETDA
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Pennsylvania: Penn-Delco School District Reaches Its Goals by Holding Fast to Technology Vi
In February, the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology published a comprehensive vision of its pathway to the future of education technology. As superintendent (Leslye Abrutyn) and board president (Keith Crego) of Penn-Delco School District, we embody the concepts and practices of that vision. In a time when No Child Left Behind (NCLB) demands an increase in student achievement, but funds for technology are scarce, we know that leadership is crucial to using technology wisely.
A board president's role is to ensure that resources are available to carry out the superintendent's educational vision. According to Latham (1999): 'We need to figure out the most effective way to allocate limited resources. ... The question thus is not so much whether technology matters, but rather how we can make it matter the most and cost the least.' We must be responsible to our taxpayers while ensuring that our students have the advantage of technology.
As superintendent of Penn-Delco for the last six years and board president for the last three years, we have enjoyed seeing the promise of technology become a reality in helping us increase student achievement and meeting the goals of NCLB. But it may be surprising to many that the most challenging part has been staying true to the vision of how technology can help us. Without adherence to the vision, the tendency is to be reactive and instinctive, which leads to a lack of focus and purpose. However, Penn-Delco has been focused and purposeful.
The cornerstone of our vision for technology has been to use it to accomplish what individuals cannot. In this way, technology adds value. We most often communicate this vision through questions. When a committee wishes to purchase technology we ask: 'How will the technology increase student achievement?' When we have a problem we always ask, 'Can technology help solve it?' When we plan the next curricular initiative we ask, 'What data support this request?' And the ultimate question each administrator is charged with is, 'What is the most cost-effective technology (high impact/low cost) to get us where we want to be?'
Effective Technology Uses
The following section provides examples of how similar questions have been answered, demonstrating how Penn-Delco's most effective uses of technology help meet the requirements of NCLB and improve student achievement:
How will technology increase student achievement? The true promise of technology lies in its ability to customize and individualize learning. In Penn-Delco, we have focused on the individual child for many years. The secret to our success has always been to move each child forward; thus, collectively moving our district forward. We do not focus on blanket staff development initiatives or on broad programs, but on individual students. We have used integrated learning systems to improve math and reading because these systems have the ability to target instruction at exactly the level each child needs. We also have used reading software to check comprehension on individual books that students have read.
Can technology help solve the problem? Recently we were presented with a problem: Many high school students are not doing their math homework, thereby impeding student achievement.
