School Surplus Input Requested

Believe me, there is plenty of need in our public schools. In this particular case, the district is spending money on items that had to be cut in previous years and it essentially comes down to making up for what schools were told they would get and didn't. I don't see a lot of waste going on in my local elementary school. In fact, as a parent volunteer I can tell you there are things that I expected to find being done that were not because the money isn't there. How those things translate into the bigger picture and the budget I don't know, but it's weird to hear people talk about the waste in LCPS schools when I'm in one a couple of days a week and see how it all plays out at the individual school level. If there is a lot of waste going on, it isn't there.

One of the local Ashburn elementary schools was told they would receive a bunch of interactive white boards a few years ago when the county promised them. So the PTA voted to spend the money they had saved to purchase them on something else. Oh, snap! LCPS can't buy the boards after all! Swell, now even the PTA can't help make up for the shortfall. Now the county has promised them again so we'll see what happens this time.

I remember when I was in junior high and some classes received Apple computers (yeah, I'm old). I bet parents and taxpayers had this same discussion then about why kids needed computers in schools.

 

The white boards may be good but remember it is not the technology but the teacher.

I went to school with overhead projectors and film strips and knowing what white boards can do today does not make me think my education lacked for not having them. It was the teacher that inspired me to learn. Not the toys.

 

Projecting a computer screen in the classroom is good, but the actual "interactive" part of IWB is overstated, often by administrators and above who haven't taught in years.
Most of the boards are really only "interactive" for one person, the teacher.
Get data projectors, but not the boards. They will end up being white elephants soon enough.
I'm not saying they're bad...they are good. Just not worth the price. But if they make parents and administrators feel like they are giving a top education to the kids, then they may have a positive placebo effect.

 

I haven't seen one in action so I can't really say much about the IWBs. However, I know they are often used in business with many interactive features. You can visit the Promethean World website and watch videos of the boards in use and see what they can do.

One popular interactive device is the ActiVote. You can see it in action here.

Out of curiosity I Googled "technology in the classroom" to see what research shows and what's happening these days. Below are some links to articles and studies I found.

• U.S. Department of Education: Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students
  
• Article by MIT: Using the Technology of Today, In the Classroom Today

 

Upon reaching capacity at Briar Woods, where will all these kids from the new townhouses and single family homes that are going up in Brambleton gonna go? Has anyone heard if Loudoun County is going to build more schools to handle the overflow or ? Am wondering if the overcrowding of schools is due to the builders building more townhouses than single family homes in the area? Can't help but notice that more townhouses are going up near BriarWoods as well as right across from Brambleton Town Center (Across Northstar Blvd) as well off of Belmont Ridge Road near Creighton Road).

I'm hearing from one of my co-workers that more townhouses than single family homes are going up off of Belmont Ridge road closer to Arcola. Not sure if this information is correct or not. But with the amount of land available in Loudoun, Im wondering why can't the county limit the number of townhouses and instead require more single family homes be built instead? Wouldn't this help slow the population growth since townhouse communities have more people per square mile. I read somewhere some years ago that townhouses offer more profitability to the builders than single family homes do. Not sure if theres truth to that or not.

In the end, Im just surprised at BriarWoods' student population growth rate and can't help but think that the county is going to have to build more HS to handle the student population explosion. I would think that this would mean that all of us are going to have to pay much more in taxes to handle the costs of constructing these schools. Don't builders have to pay some of the costs as well in exchange for being allowed to build more homes per square mile (townhouses)?

 

Did some research and found an article in Loudoun Times that some schools were going to be built and some were going to be delayed. Saw that "HS-8" (as the paper reports) was going to be built in Ashburn in FY12 instead of FY13 but they didn't exactly report where it was going to be put in Ashburn and Ashburn is quite big (Im assuming that Broadlands is part of Ashburn, right? Correct me if Im mistaken).

I've been hunting on the web for a possible map of potential new HS locations where they are going to be constructed but haven't had much luck finding it either on Loudoun Govt site or elsewhere.

Am curious how often Loudoun Public School system changes the school boundaries over the last five years? Have the boundaries changed frequently due to the student crowding at all?

 

This reminded me that when I was at the school board meeting a woman, I think a principal somewhere (maybe Emerick ES?), spoke before the board. She said that one time she was interviewing a well qualified candidate and the candidate asked her if she would be using an IWB in her classroom. The speaker's answer was no. The speaker stated that she hoped that would not be a deterrent to being able to hire good teachers.

I wonder if regardless of what we as individuals think about the expense and value of the boards if the apparent industry-wide positive opinion of them is too strong to deny. Aside from the educational aspect, maybe the use of these boards is important for being able to hire good (and tech-savvy) teachers. I wouldn't want to lose a potential teacher because they prefer to take a job that utilizes more of their training and skills. Is technology - and IWB technology - taught in colleges offering teaching degrees?

 

I would want to hire teachers that can TEACH. If they can only do it by having gadgets, then go on to the next one that knows how to TEACH.

I've talked to many teachers and schoool staff. I find the results about 50/50 as to the IWB value in TEACHING.

Ask teachers whether they want an IWB or a pay raise, and the answer isn't even close. You can guess what it is. And guess which one, in the long run, will make it easier to recruit and hire teachers?

 

I expect that the opening of HS-7 will provide some relief for Briar Woods.

 

Well, sure, who wouldn't want a pay raise?

But that option wasn't on the table in this proposal. When it is, I'll definitely vote for raises for the teachers. No doubt about it.

 

I don't work in Loudoun, but I certainly pay my share of Loudoun taxes. Will stick to my knowledge and recommend that any surplus not be used for "Interactive Whiteboards". I read the posted research and visited the Promethean site (again), mostly to see how they are marketing their system. They are doing a great job, SmartBoard doing very well as well.
The IWBs may be accepted and viewed positively, but that doesn't mean they are worth it. Again, I want technology in the hands of our children, not in the front of the room being manipulated by the teacher.
Activote things are great, get them. But not the actual 96" board. The software is good, but the actual board is going to be waste. I rarely work with only 2 students at time (like in the videos on the site) so I end up using the board ten times more than the students. Also, products similar to Promethean have much cheaper wireless slates for the teacher/students to use. The teacher doesn't have to be in front of the class.
The power of the software is great, and easy to update. The power of the hardware is mediocre and expensive to update/maintain.
So while I am well versed in the benefits of technology in the classroom, I do not recommend the Interactive Whiteboards.

 

Thanks...I used such keywords such as "Loudoun County School Construction Plans or Loudoun County School construction maps like that. I didn't get much hits and some of them were videos from the local newspaper (Those videos are useless to me since they aren't "open captioned" so I could understand. What keywords or phrases did you use to find the information? Once again, thanks.

 

HS 7 is actually going to do more to address the overcrowding at Freedom than at Briar Woods. Our projection is to be overcrowded until some time 2014 when HS 8 opens. I don't know what the answer is to the over crowding, other than to stop building, but as a staff, we will continue to educate all of the students sent our way

 

Im leaning towards your answers because pay raises, IMHO, would attract and retain very good teachers whether they have the technology background or not.

 

I guess it seems that IWBs are an easy sell to administrators and teachers but not so easy for taxpayers.

 

Disclaimer: I am not a marxist

If you actually took that 4 million for interactive whiteboards and cut a check to the families of economically disadvantaged students in the county, you would see an increase in academic performance greater than what the boards would provide. You could even give this money to those families who only have kids in K-4.
You would have better fed kids, perhaps with less chance of moving during the school year, and happier parents. The socioeconomic status of children is a greater factor in their academic success than whether or not their teachers have access to an IWB.

 

I agree, but just relieving Freedom will mean a half empty school. With Briar Woods overcrowding, they should also use it to relieve Briar Woods until HS-6 gets built in Loudoun Valley Estates.

 

Stop by and visit some classrooms at Virginia Tech. You know, one of the best colleges in the state. They use overhead projectors and chalkboards.
Oh the horror! How will the kids get educated without the latest and greatest gadgets!?!?