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Only two people showed up to provide input on the budget last night. I still can't figure out why the Supervisors get hundreds of speakers about school budgets and we get two, when we determine 75% of County spending. Where were all the people last night who are so angry that teachers might get any pay raise at all, that LCPS ever purchased a smart board, who demand that Dr. Hatrick take a pay cut? Where were all my blog commenters?
I have received a very few emails, no phone calls and had one really great meeting with 10 LCPS moms. I'm taking all of that input very seriously, because there are no opposing voices.
LCPS released additional information on the impact of the Superintendent's proposed cuts in his new personnel request yesterday, please read about them.
I do not support some of the Superintendent's recommendations for budget cuts.
- Educational Diagnostician ($90,523)
- Eligibility Coordinator ($109,842)
- Paid Holiday initiative for Classified employees ($685,000)
- Speech Therapist ($146,530)
- Social Worker ($90,523)
- Full day Kindergarten expansion, ($213,823)
- Data Analyst for Pupil Services ($71,244)
- Digital Video Distribution System ($80,000)
- Expiring visitor badges ($64,600)
- Health & PE PDAs ($42,075)
- New scoreboard for Potomac Falls High School ($30,000)
- Promethean Smart Boards ($2,994,800)
21 Comments:
John, welcome to the apathy.
Thanks for continuing to advocate and make informed decisions.
I think the projected rise in enrollment is overstated and needs to be looked at again. I asked my local school about enrollment patterns -- did we have an increase in ESL students moving from PWC or a decrease because of families migrating back home or to areas with a better construction market? The answer wasn't scientific but suggested that estimates from 6 months ago aren't accurate anymore.
In addition, this quote from a hiring newsletter: "Washington Growth Rate below National Average : The Census Bureau reported last week that Greater Washington's population barely increased last year, continuing a pattern of weak growth since the start of this decade. Most of the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan areas are in the South and West."
Since Loudoun has a tax rate significantly higher than Fairfax and with higher fuel prices and lower interest rates real estate in Fairfax will look cheap compared to Loudoun for newcomers.
I don't have the experience of the LCPS people who do the estimation but I'd want them to revisit their estimates using more recent Census and construction data.
John, As a teacher, I applaud what you do for students and teachers in our schools. I realize in times of budget cuts, tough decisions need to be made. However, I do encourage you to reconsider one of your proposed cuts. In the short time that my school has had the Promethean, Interactive Whiteboards (SmartBoard is the brand name of another Interactive Whiteboard), I have seen a new excitement in my colleagues. I myself was skeptical at first about how the boards would be received and utilized by the teachers. Now that we have them, teachers are collaborating on ways to reshape how they teach their students. Our teachers do not use technology for technology's sake, they use it because it is the most appropriate tool to teach the students. Today a teacher and I worked on converting an old paper SOL practice test into an interactive worksheet using the Promethean Board. Instead of simply giving the students the paper practice test and grading it over the weekend, we will now be able to work through the problems with the students, check for understanding, provide immediate feedback, and reteach if necessary while it is still fresh in their minds.
Putting the Promethean Boards in the Middle Schools, may not have community support, yet, but they are a vital tool that has come of age in a world where kids are inundated with visual, interactive input. This is a tool that teaches to all students' learning styles, not just the ones who learn from reading a chalk board and the lecture that goes with it.
I am not the one to normally present a problem without a solution, but in this case, I do not know what to cut in place of the Promethean Boards. I just hope you will use your best judgment, and do what is best for the kids, not what is necessarily popular. jf
A couple of questions:
Where can I get a demonstration of a Promethean whiteboard?
Can the LCPS budget be created as a searchable document?
What is the process of re-evaluating the mission of the School Board and the LCPS?
I do apologize for not being at the work session. I teach in the evenings. I will make a better effort to pass along comments via email or in this forum.
I will say that at first blush, the proposed cuts did not look draconian.
John, I am pleased that you take all the budget concerns in front of you seriously and are thoughtfully considering all cuts. I would ask that you reconsider your position on interactive whiteboards. I have one child in a middle school without these boards and another in a high school that has recently received them. I am absolutely amazed at what I am hearing from my high schooler. He is excited and has expressed that classes that could be boring are now much more engaging. He feels like he is interacting with information and retaining/understanding more. My middle schooler would certainly benefit from such possibilities as getting him to school each day seems to be a battle. He isn't real enthused about school. I have done some research on the brain and learning and there is strong new research on what needs to happen for real learning to occur. The functional MRI work being done by neuroscientists is making it possible to see what is happening in the brain when learning is taking place. There is much research on how the brain processes images versus words etc. The whiteboards seem consistent with what the brain research is saying. It would be worth you doing a little research before you cut a tool that can be very valuable in preparing our students for the changing world. We need thinkers, problem solvers... not test takers. Thank you. ww
Amazing, 2 whiteboard advocates come from out from the woodwork with similarly worded entries on this blog. As John would say, what is this regurgitation?
I call BS on the whiteboards. As the first pro-whiteboard poster noted:
"In the short time that my school has had the Promethean, Interactive Whiteboards (SmartBoard is the brand name of another Interactive Whiteboard), I have seen a new excitement in my colleagues."
This is what is important - a new excitement for the TEACHERS, not the students. Our elem has one whiteboard in the computer lab - when I asked my daughter about it she said it is rarely used because the teacher doesn't want to be bothered, so the excitement may not be widespread.
How about having the students correcting each other's tests in groups of 2's and 3's to reinforce the material instead of taking the weekend to grade them? Reteaching can happen from paper, nothing has to wait over the weekend.
I just saw a demonstration of an interactive whiteboard at a venue other than a school setting, there were six 7 years olds in the room with a couple older kids. The person using the whiteboard was very jazzed, loved technology, spoke on level with the kids, but the enthusiam did not filter down to the audience. Most kids sat staring and the only question during Q&A was why the whiteboard screen was the same was the computer. Not sure how SOL study compares to the subject matter I witnessed, but can't think that it is that exciting. Zoning out in front of a large screen happens in meetings all over the world to adults, kids are no different.
As for the last poster, good luck with your middle schooler. When he won't get out of bed next time I am sure the promise of an interactive whiteboard lesson will make him jump out of bed and run to school. As brain research will undoubtedly continue, maybe they will figure out why the one room school house and chalkboards produced better grades than the present public education system. Homeschoolers don't have interactive whiteboards, but these students consistently outperform public schools as well. Just sayin.
In response to Edmund's questions:
Where can I get a demonstration of a Promethean whiteboard?
My suggestion would be that you contact the principal of the nearest high school and ask for a demonstration. If you don't have any luck there let me know and I'll find another avenue for you.
Can the LCPS budget be created as a searchable document?
I have requested that all budget documents be available electronically and be searchable in the future.
What is the process of re-evaluating the mission of the School Board and the LCPS? Both missions are primarily defined by state code, but our mission statement and goals are defined by the School Board and are the road map that should guide the Superintendent's day to day decisions. The mission statement and goals were last revisited in 2004. At Tuesday's meeting the Board will set a date for the next review, which will take place before the end of summer. Current Mission Statement and Goals
A poster above said, "Homeschoolers don't have interactive whiteboards, but these students consistently outperform public schools as well."
You're right--no interactive whiteboards, just a 1:1 student-teacher ratio. I'd gladly trade interactive whiteboards if kids could have that kind of teacher attention!
Since they can't, interactive whiteboards give them a chance to get involved with their learning and to use touch and visual aids to help them grasp new ideas. After seeing kids at my school interact with them, I'd never advocate against them. It seems like a grave misstep to cut them from the budget. Teachers can do more with these than they can with new textbooks, etc., so it's a better long-term choice.
I don't think it was apathy. I try to pay attention to everything taxpayer related in Loudoun but I wasn't aware that this forum was even scheduled until the day before it happened. It sure wasn't well publicized in advance. Anyway I found out about it when the Leesburg Today published a story a day before the forum was to take place which was too late to alter my plans and attend. I suspect a number of taxpayers were in the same boat.
Hi Mr. Stevens,
As both a citizen (with children in the system) and a teacher, the interactive white boards have proven to be extremely valuable. When my students enter the classroom, one of the first things many do is look to see whether I have the interactive white board -- they are excited when I have it and disappointed when I do not. There is a level of excitement with the interactive programs I create that can compete with their video games, iPods and television. Bottom line, the students are excited to learn and have a level of engagement unlike anything that I have seen before. I truly believe the more white boards, the more learning.
And regarding the blogger who wrote about TEACHERS getting excited about the white boards - yes, crazy as it sounds, teachers get excited when their students are excited about learning! Yes, crazy as it sounds, teachers are motivated by having their students learn. This new technology does help students learn.
I hate to break the news to all the overly excited teachers and parents, but I don't think you are going to get the interactive whiteboards, despite the apparent backflips everyone is doing all over the country. I'm not sure how you got along without them up till this point, but somehow I am sure you will all persevere! I have faith that minus the whiteboards kids will still learn and perhaps teachers will find another way to get excited.
Homeschoolers usually have more than one kid, so the 1:1 ratio is bogus. The homeschooling network usually does swaps with other homeschoolers for various subjects but it is true that the ratio is smaller. The tools and accessories homeschoolers possess are not replicas of classrooms, but somehow these kids do very well.
A large segment of the general public is irritated at that the arguements for something like whiteboards during a fiscally restrictive period. It is more about what the whiteboards represent than the whiteboards themselves. The schools have had run away budgets for years and people are starting to react. Next year will be the big text when budgets are even tighter, so it may be 2-3 years before the beloved whiteboards are installed - good luck without them.
To the last anonymous post, isn't this blog "technology" great that allows a greater percentage of the population to express views publicly much more efficiently than either writing letters to a newspaper or attending a public meeting. I would imagine that many, many citizens are getting involved in this budget process due to this technology. (This is an obvious analogy to students getting involved with the use of technology.) Our county’s children rely even more on technology than we ever will.
Sure, teachers will always “persevere” and use whatever resources available to best teach their students. What supporters of the purchase of interactive whiteboards are suggesting is that these resources are valuable and believe them to be more valuable in budget dollars than other areas considered for cuts. Mr. Stevens, I would hope that you would reconsider your position.
I would like to share some thoughts about one of the latest technology tools that LCPS, as well as other schools across the nation, have endorsed for daily use in the classroom.
Interactive whiteboards are a tool that helps the classroom teacher not only convey curriculum information but helps to engage the learner. In the world today, people and students alike are keyed into the multimedia aspect of their environment. The old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words has been taken to heart by media and advertisers alike because it works. Use of images and sounds in interactive kiosks, vehicle dashboards, supermarket checkouts and handheld entertainment and communication devices has become a part of our 21st century environment. It is said that our schools are just a reflection of our culture and environment but a quick look at the equipment found in most of the schools in Loudoun County would confirm that they are a far cry from what most of our parents and youth see and expect in their day-to-day life in their homes and community.
Take a look at our schools. We do have chalk or markers that schools have had for over a hundred years, we have books and rows of desks and a teacher for each room of children. These are all good things. We have televisions that display the latest educational videos and Internet sites that are mounted at ceiling height and seem to our students about as small as the window of the microwave ovens in our kitchens. These are also a good thing. But why should our children attend schools that do not have the latest tools that could help them learn? Our society seems to ensure that these same children have the latest in fashion and entertainment but not the best that education can deliver. Which in the long run is more important? A strong educational foundation using the best equipment available to help our children learn in the way the 21st century has geared them to receive information? Or continuing to use outdated equipment just because it has been part of our classrooms over the last 15 years or longer?
Take a look at interactive whiteboards. One key element is the word “interactive”. One key feature of the board is the fact that students can manually manipulate images, text and numbers on the board by using their finger or stylus. Students become instantly engaged in authentic learning situations. Group discussions can take place among the students and teacher as to why the choices are being made and changes can easily be made as the discussion and experiments progresses by just a swipe of a finger. No erasing or re-writing is necessary. Patterns can be shown, variations regarded and collaborative decisions made. These same lessons can simultaneously be digitally recorded and stored for later use in the classroom, launched to an Internet site or sent home to be viewed again on a computer screen as test review or remediation.
In the typical LCPS classroom we do not have the luxury of class sizes where everyone in the classroom can effectively see the screen of the average size television or computer screen. On the interactive whiteboards, images, Internet sites and curriculum videos can be displayed in a manner that even the student in the back row can easily see without having to take the time to squint or focus trying to see something that is too small to be analyzed in detail. Student frustration over not understanding a concept simply because they could just not see what’s actually on the screen would be vanquished. Students stay engaged because they can see clearly and easily the information that is being presented by their teacher and feels part of the lesson being presented.
Our schools need to keep up with the latest information whether it is new discoveries in science, new political and social heroes, new information about health and nutrition or the various ways in which children in the 21st century learn. I hope that you would take another look at just what interactive whiteboards can offer to all of the students of LCPS not just the lucky minority of students fortunate enough to currently have this equipment in their classrooms.
Edmund, in case you're still following this thread, Catoctin District Representative Jennifer Bergel called me today after reading your question about getting an interactive whiteboard demonstration and offered to provide the demonstration for you herself if you are able to take the time.
I will contact Jennifer. Thanks.
Ed, way up thread, brings up a good point. Where do the numbers on enrollment originate?
Hey guys I would love to see this demonstration myself. I am in the field of design that has moved quite a bit from hand drawings to the use of computers and technology. So this would be fascinating to see technology I have never seen and it's potential.
But why should our children attend schools that do not have the latest tools that could help them learn? Our society seems to ensure that these same children have the latest in fashion and entertainment but not the best that education can deliver. Which in the long run is more important?"
This is probably one of the most irresponsible and niave remarks I have ever read. "Our society" should not be providing children with fashion and entertainment, that is a parent's responsibility if they so choose. Now the county is responsible for getting kids cool clothes, cell phones and ipods? Comparing technology and fashion is quite simply - stupid. "Our Society" has created a bloated, overbearing bureacracy that expects schools to do it all. The fabric of our society is that we expect the county, state and federal government to do everything for us, we are raising a bunch of nanny staters.
I have an idea, if Johnny or Janie needs additional technology in their lives perhaps there parents can step up and get them instruction in whatever area they see fit. Raising taxes so that children can have "the best of the best" whether it be fashion or technology is a fool's game. There is always something better and more beautiful and I think it is would benefit "our society" to learn that the county can not provide it all.
We have an excellent school system. If your child is lacking in some key area that the county can not accomodate, I suggest you get out your wallet and pay for it yourself. I don't want to pay it anymore. I have 2 kids in school, whiteboards or no, I am confident they are getting everything they need in class, and if they aren't, I will take it on. We are our children's FIRST teachers, please remember this.
Sorry - misspelled naive.
As a teacher in LCPS (with two children soon to be attending our schools), I must comment on your recommendations to the changes in the budget. I was unable to be at the hearing on Thursday night, however I did watch it live via the webcast.
First, I have had the opportunity to have an interactive whiteboard in the classroom for two years now. It is absolutely amazing how this tool has elevated my teaching to a new level! One solid piece of data--I have always had a 100% pass rate on the Algebra EOC test in each of my five years in the district. However, my advanced proficiency rate on the SOL increased by almost 30% for the students that had the whiteboard available to them the entire year! I do not attribute it to a different caliber of student nor to different SOL preparation on my part or our school's. I strongly correlate the improvement due to the way I was able to use the interactive whiteboard to supplement my instruction.
Many teachers in the county have received their masters degree in curriculum and instruction--and more specifically integrating technology into the curriculum (GMU program). Two key points are learned by those that go through this program: #1, we have a group of students in our classrooms today who are wired to learn in such a different way than students even 8-10 years ago. #2, Technology is a tool to facilitate learning--it is what is done with that tool that makes a difference in the classroom. To this end, our TRT's in our buildings and our teachers are becoming more and more creative in the way that the technology tools given to us are being used in the classroom. As a staff, we are thinking differently about how to use technology to interact with this new digital generation of learners.
What is transpiring in our classrooms is incredible! I will send you a personal invite to step into my classroom to watch what is happening on a daily basis. I am proud of the daily efforts of myself and my colleagues!
On another note, if there is one of the recommend cuts that I would like to see supported, it would be that of the classified staff. This group of personnel is such a critical part of the daily operations of our school. I hate to see them not earn pay for days in which the schools are closed for holidays.
One final comment, last week a problem we worked on in class referred to cell phones. In the conversation that ensued, students began to volunteer information about how much extra their parents have been billed because the students had gone over the minutes limit, but more often the text message limit on the plan. The result--an overage of $100+ that month. To me it strongly stated two things--we have a different genteration of learners and sometimes the budget crunch in our Loudoun homes is due to lifestyle choices.
I wish you and the school board wisdom as you meet tonight to begin to reconcile the budget!
I am a current full time itinerant LCPS foreign language teacher who teaches at 2 middle schools and 1 high school. I would like to put in my input about the interactive whiteboards and the postive impact I have seen in my classroom.
I feel that I have an interesting perspective to share because of the different resources available at my schools. I have a SmartBoard at one middle school, a Promethean Board at the high school, and the other middle school does not have this technology yet.
First of all, this is a new technology for the students and teachers, so there is a learning curve involved. I did not start using the electronic white boards right away, just because it was ONE more thing to figure out among all the other things teachers have to do. It can be overwhelming for teachers as far as getting trained and understanding the different things that can be done with the promethean board.
In the last few months, I have had more time to familiarize myself with the technology and plan the use of the electronic whiteboards in my lessons. This may be why there hasn't been a lot of notice yet in the community, because teachers like me are just now starting to use them more and more.
Teaching in the classrooms that have a whiteboard makes a HUGE difference to me as a teacher. I could list many many examples of activities I do using the whiteboard that are much more difficult to construct in a classrom without this ability.
I feel like the whiteboard opens up a whole realm of possiblities for activites and interaction between the students and the subject material which becomes very laborious when done in a classroom/computer lab without one.
Some of these are very little things, like having the "Bell ringer" activity being projected bright and clear on the board for all the students to see. I don't have to rewrite it again and again on the chalkboard, or on a overhead that is sometimes blurry and hard to read. After we are done with the "Bell ringer" studnets can come up and actually write their answers and we can all see and correct it clearly- using different colored pens. I can use my hand or a pen to move around a word that is in the wrong place.
I don't know if I could offer any statistics about the actual GRADES being better in the schools with the boards in comparison to the schools without...I think there are many other factors that go into play with the grade average difference between classes, however I absolutely notice a difference in student PARTICIPATION with the white boards.
Before I even used the whiteboards I was satisfied with the level of participation of my students due to the high expectations and energy in my classroom. However, when I ask students to volunteer an answer or come and write something up on the chalkboard, I only get a few hands raised and I usually call on people.
At the schools with the whiteboards, there is so much more interest -- many students (not all) but many more students wave their hands frantically, wanting a chance to interact with the board. Students absolutely want to participate more in the activities in which I am using the white board.
Another big difference I can measure is the number of students who do their homework, and do it well. When I can demonstrate something on the whiteboard, rather than just verbally explain it or write it up on a chalkboard, I have found that in those classrooms, more students tend to do the homework and retain how to do it much better.
There are other little things, like being able to bring up a huge timer for a countdown during a game or an activity...having the homework running across the screen or the many different icons and images in the library that pertain to a certain topic area.
These tiny little things make a teacher's life easier and happier. One poster commented that this should be about the excitement of the student, not so much the teachers. I would strongly disagree. An excited and happy teacher creates a better learning environment for the classroom. Having this resource has inspired me to do more with my lessons, and incorporate real life contextual elements into my lessons via the internet.
There are bigger advantages as well: Students who used to squint at the chalkboard or have to come up to the front of the room to copy notes can see everything clearly from the back row. This is very important, especially when a teacher has a large class.
When teaching vocabulary using Powerpoints, I can actually write on the slide I created, showing how the word is used in the sentence, or have the students do it. At the other school without the white board, I have to hook up the computer to the TV, which is hard to see, or try and loan a projector out from the library (not always available). Even when using the projector on the cart, the image is not as big, not as clear and does not have the advantage of being able to write on the screen. Having a whiteboard is more than a "fancy" chalkboard. It truly does take the lesson to a higher level.
In the computer lab, (or in the classroom) when doing an internet based activity, I can demonstrate the steps I want the students to take on the big screen, AS the students are following along-- intead of giving instructions several times over, running from computer to computer to make sure everyone is in the right place. The students and I can go to a website and actually write on it- for clothing vocab, we went to a clothing website, wrote a sentence about the item pictured- added up the price of the shirt, shorts, belt on the big screen, then went to another website where we converted the money from $US to EUR to show that real-life application. Yes, I was able to adapt that lesson to the school without the white board, but it sure wasn't as easy or clear to teach as in the schools that had that capability.
I am sorry to write such a long comment, however I wanted to give some examples of how this is being used. I would be devastated if this resource was taken out of my classrooms.
Another concern I have in regards to the "apathy" being referred to. This is my first year in LCPS and I am a relatively new teacher. I feel like I have no idea that my opinion could matter or in what forum I have to voice my opinions. I don't know when important meetings might be and if going there (instead of doing grades, planning, or enjoying personal time with my family) would make a difference. THe only way I found out about this blog was an email I got from a TRT at one of my schools. I had no idea that the electronic boards were in danger of being cut. I just assumed they were here to last and that they would be put in all of the schools eventually.
Perhaps the school board members do not hear from teachers like me because we do not know how to connect with you, or do not know how much impact our opinions may have.
Thank you for the work you do in behalf of my students. Please consider my perspective when making these important upcoming budget decisions.
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