Amy Stewart, Warren County’s director of instructional technology and communications, returned from the Seattle National School Boards Association (NSBA) conference this past fall ready to share what she had learned there about one-to-one computing. Working with Brian Collopy, the district technology and information management systems specialist, she created a proposal – based on research from pioneering districts such as Virginia’s Henrico County Schools (profiled in K12Blueprint’s latest eBook) – and presented it to the Warren County School Board.

The three-tier project would include building a district wireless network, K-12 teacher and classroom development, and secondary student deployment. Classroom improvements would include laptops for teachers and projectors and interactive whiteboards in each of the classrooms. The plan also provides for professional development for teachers on how to use the equipment in the classrooms.

"Right now the figures we are presenting are just the ballpark numbers. We need to get more information as well as the committee's input on the matter before we go any further," Stewart says. The board is exploring different options for upgrading the technology, including one that would give laptops to each of the students in the district at a cost of $1 million for grades 9-12 and $650,000 for grades 6-8. Stewart plans to present more detailed information at the next meeting.

Source: Times Observer, Computers for Everyone, by Lauren Vokish