I finally got to read all the posts on this. I was writing an article for community papers and I will share that here. At running the risk of stating the obvious, there is no replacement for human interaction. The district has no plans or wishes to replace teachers with computers as was implied by Mr. Mann. Good teacher/student relationships are the core of education. But so many students have no phones, let alone computers. It is becoming commonly accepted that the future will be controlled by those in the know. Access to all the information that is accumulating in the world is through the computer. My middle schoolers have more information available to them on line than I had the whole time I was in college and also taking grad courses back in the old days. For many of our students, schools are the only place they ever get access to using computers or being on line. Some kids start at a very early age in their homes to use computers for all sorts of things. To give all kids access to computers so they develop an understanding is to better prepare them for life in the future. To deny them familiarity and understanding is to keep them in the dark and from access to information in the future. The trick is to find the balance, as every child has different needs and that's why quality teaching is so important.
And now excerpts from the community paper article I wrote this month: Information Management Assessment and the Minneapolis Public Schools By Audrey Johnson, Minneapolis School Board Director Technology Analysis of MPS The state faces a large shortfall in revenue for the coming year, estimates are that it will be at about $1,000,000,000. Our school district is also facing more cuts than the thirty million already experienced this year, currently it is an estimated 24 million for the next fiscal year 2002-2003. The Board had expressed concerns to the Superintendent about the financial accountability of the district very early in 2001. The Board and Superintendent believe that it is of the utmost importance to enhance the teacher/student relationships, that relationship is the core of successful learning. To that end, in the last year, Superintendent Carol Johnson has obtained pro bono (donated) services of two excellent consulting firms, McKinsey Group and EDS. McKinsey and Co, a national consulting firm, has been researching and evaluating the district's spending and is developing a plan for cost containment. This report will be presented to the Board and the community at the December 11th School Board meeting. EDS (Electronic Data Systems) has been working with the school district over the past 6 months performing an information management assessment of our school system. The goal is to identify ways to help MPS achieve a better level of performance and to accelerate implementation of initiatives and achieve goals. EDS will loan MPS an executive to help with the implementation of its recommendations, as well as help MPS to seek additional support in the business community for this effort. This work was reported and discussed at the November 13 Board meeting. In their findings, EDS made 16 critical recommendations to the Board. Of those the top six are: 1. To establish electronic communication as the mode of communication at all levels, 2. To align the technical support organization in order to provide the best support to school sites, 3. to obtain an appropriately sized data warehouse/reporting server, 4. To standardize all processes and procedures that involve the flow of information between the school and the central office, 5. Set up a project management office to oversee the implementation of the plan and 6. to establish frequent communication by District leadership to staff throughout the organization. EDS reported that although the District is currently taking a number of steps to address the new demands of the digital economy, the lack of resources is putting MPS initiatives at risk. Because of the funding shortages from the state, the technology staff is shrinking while demand for services is increasing. The report also found that the community has a significant stake in seeing that the educational initiatives set forth by the Superintendent are successful. One of those initiatives is the 95% attendance policy that went into effect this past September. Research clearly shows that students who attend 95% of the time achieve at much higher levels than student who attend less. Our own research has been tracking the effects of attendance on student success for many years. However, in order for this policy to be completely effective, at the site and district level, the information about student attendance must be timely and accurate. Schools must be able to track students and communicate with other sites as well as other school districts given the high mobility rate of many students. Some of these recommendations could be implemented with a very small amount of money, others will require larger investment. Given the current dismal fiscal climate for education, EDS believes community support for the technology and expertise to improve information management should be sought through business community involvement in the form of time and inkind donations as well as coordinated fundraising activities. The Minneapolis Public Schools Foundation is using this as a blueprint for fundraising. Currently, there are 2 different formulas that provide revenue for technology uses. Neither of those formulas can begin to fill the needs for information management in a system as large as Minneapolis Public Schools. This is one of many examples of how the district is working on creative solutions to problems with the community because the needs of both really are the same: successful schools make for a successful community and vice versa. The report is available to the public. Audrey Johnson 10th Ward LHE MPS BOE _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
