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Superintendent's RemarksDue to changing parental expectations and rapidly changing demographic realities in the four communities that make up our school district, we have undertaken an aggressive effort at program review throughout our pre-K/12 curriculum. We are determined to demonstrate what a truly "world class" school system might look like. We have not gone so far as to suggest we are designing the "school of tomorrow" through this process, but tomorrow is very much on our minds.To state the obvious, our technology plans must reflect our larger goals and aspirations related to program and must insure that we maximize the limited financial resources we have at our disposal. As a non-traditional school administrator, I have seen how other sectors approach the use of technology and how they measure the value of their investments along those lines. There is no direct parallel between what I've seen in those sectors and the scenario we face in public schools, but there are some lessons to be learned. I hope to bring that perspective to our current and future discussions on the subject. Finally, let me just observe the frequent tension I see in decision-making around education between choices that best serve the needs of kids, versus choices that best serve the needs of staff, versus choices that reflect the demands of parents, versus choices that reflect the interests of other stakeholders. Sometimes these choices, and the breakdown of interests along these lines, are unavoidable and sometimes they are not. Our goal in the arena of technology planning is to remain true to the interests of kids, to make "kid-centered" decisions. In the digital world where the grown-ups are "language learners" and the kids are "native speakers," we acknowledge this will not be easy. Nevertheless, it will be our goal and this plan is "step one." David Jennings Superintendent | ||||||||||||||
