The new building for Alvarado Intermediate School opened in January, 2009, with a laptop for every student. When the school adds a fourth grade next year, that will add up to about 750 computers.

The $22.5 million building is a source of community pride, with 119,00 square feet, a library that holds 10,000 volumes, a large gymnasium, and a spacious cafeteria with murals.  But the technology – ranging from student laptops to a high-tech energy system with sensors that turn off lights when rooms are not in use – is the true highlight. According to principal Chris Everett, “The original computer allotment was 10 per teacher. When the numbers came back, we were so far under [the budget] that we were able to look at going 1 to 1.”

For now, the computers stay at a school. There is a cabinet in every classroom to store them and a battery charging station.  The school plans extensive professional development as part of the new program. “The kids won’t need a lot of training,” Everett said. “They’re way ahead of the adults. The teachers will spend one day a week after school for about an hour for some very specific training. That’s a huge shift from paper and pencil.”

Everett doesn’t expect teachers to work from behind their desks much anymore. “They’ll be walking around, talking to students, watching them work, asking questions about what the students are finding out. The key thing is helping students take those next steps. … We can teach the students in a way that translates to the world they live in. When they have a question, they can pop on the Internet and find out the answer, then talk about how that relates to the topic in question. Kids connect to that kind of learning.”

Source: Cleburne Times Review, High-tech school open for learning, by Pete Kendall