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From the initial statewide competition, three schools were selected
to be the pilot programs for Digital School Districts. As the schools
implement their plans, you'll be able to follow their progress on this
page. Below are the proposals submitted by the winning districts:
 Carlisle
Area School District
Estimated number
of students impacted: 5,000
Proposal
Highlights
Quaker
Valley School District
Estimated number
of students impacted: 1,839
Proposal
Highlights
Spring
Cove School District
Estimated number
of students impacted: 2,135
Proposal
Highlights
The three winning districts were selected from an initial pool of 77
applicants. These applicants were narrowed to 30 semi-finalists, and again
to six finalists by our judges before the winners
were chosen.
Carlisle Area School District
Contact: Debra K. Ferguson
Staff Development Coordinator
(voice) 717-240-6865
fergusod@planetcable.net
Estimated Number of Students Impacted: 5,000
Estimated Number of Teachers Impacted: 400
Estimated Number of Community Members Impacted: 10,000
Awards
- Carlisle School District has long been recognized as a leader in public
education in Pennsylvania. In 1996, Carlisle was named one of the 100
Best Buys in Education nationwide by Money magazine
Demographics
- 12 percent of the students are African-American and approximately
three percent are of Asian or Hispanic descent.
- The district is composed of seven neighborhood elementary schools
(two of which have nearly a 50 percent free - and reduced-lunch population),
two middle schools, and one comprehensive high school.
- One of every five students (or roughly 20 percent of the students)
in the Carlisle Area School District lives in poverty.
- Parts of the district are considered urban, while other areas are
suburban and rural. Thus, the district reflects the demographics found
in all areas of Pennsylvania.
Faculty
- Professional staff for the district numbers more than 370 full-time
professionals, of whom 50 percent hold Master's degrees or beyond. Nearly
five percent of the staff is African- or Asian American and the male/female
split is approximately 35/65.
- Working with its bargaining unit, Carlisle embedded a training requirement
into its union contract.
- As a result, faculty today receives a minimum of 18 hours of educational
technology training annually, and the central focus has changed from
technology tools to technology integration.
Partnerships
- United States Army War College: Training, technical support, and links
to military bases/families throughout the world
- Carlisle Victory Circle: A community-based agency that works with
teenagers with an emphasis on minority students
- Housing Authority of Cumberland County: Support in community outreach
and remote site access to low-income families
- Unisys Inc. is the systems integrator
- Aldelphia will provide several telecommunications services (crucial
because of the Statewide Telecommunications Contract and what it does
for all schools)
Key Technologies
- Education portal tools
- Laptops
- Data warehouse to track and measure progress
Digital Divide
- Parents will be able to purchase this technology through special low-interest
loans through a partnership with P.N.C. Bank, or they could borrow it
from the school district to participate in an innovative, web-based,
home-tutoring program featuring live sessions with tutors created by
Sylvan Learning Systems, one of the district's partners.
- Carlisle Area School District plans to offer virtual courses to its
home-schooled students who have registered with the district. Beginning
with high school virtual courses in 2001-2002, home-school students
may enroll for credit. These services will expand to other grades in
the future.
- Parents and students will be able to tap into powerful online live
tutorial and enrichment programs at home, thanks to a revolutionary
partnership with Sylvan Learning Systems, which specializes in such
services. Each program will be individually designed to meet specific
student needs. These programs will be delivered at home, or in some
cases, at community satellite centers. In addition to individualized
lessons online, this program will provide a 3-to-1 ratio of students
to teacher.
- In a two-pronged approach, the district first will first make Internet
access available to all families by establishing satellite stations
throughout the community. These sites will be established in cooperation
with the Carlisle United Way, the Housing Authority, the Victory Circle
and local libraries. This plan has the potential to create up to seven
separate sites. Next, Carlisle Area School District will link directly
to each household when the web portal comes online in May 2002.
- Through strategic partnerships with the Carlisle United Way, the Carlisle
Victory Circle, the Housing Authority, the Givens Library, the Bosler
Library and with after-hours availability of the labs at the high school,
Carlisle Area School District will establish access to computers at
a minimum of seven different locations. This is in addition to direct
links to individual homes.
Additional Points
- In some ways, the Digital School District will be as elusive to observe
as is the process of learning. In fact, it should not be thought of
as a school or school district at all. It should not be a place, but
a process upon which to base all decisions for learners. A place is
what we have now: grade levels and buildings, different locations for
different types of students, etc. In the future, one should find a center
for learning, which is an extension of each individual's capacity and
curiosity.
- Moving outward from this notion that the "Digital School District"
is not a place, but a resource, it makes sense to focus on the services
that will be provided. In essence, these services reflect our understanding
of the learning process for individual learners and the standards, which
each learner must achieve to be a successful citizen in our democracy.
- A HiTech High Certification provided by Carlisle Area School District
for teachers on site and throughout the state will certify a teacher's
competence in teaching effectively with technology. A possibility of
college credit for this certificate is also planned.
- "Data-Driven Decision Making"- Carlisle Area School District will
provide training beyond the pilot program to make all educators aware
of the value of data, as well as the importance of collecting and comparing
data. Carlisle will be use a process developed by Lee Jenkins, a nationally
recognized educational consultant, who uses a sophisticated construct
that merges technical capabilities and Total Quality Management (TQM)
principles.
- A preliminary investigation of electronic purchase, quote and direct
shipping indicates a potential reduction of three staff members at an
annual salary and benefit savings in excess of $45,000 annually.
- Besides the Adult Education program currently in place, the district
plans to offer education services through a virtual school program.
Those who wish to receive training to upgrade their job skills can enroll
in a distance-learning program, which would enable them to become certified
in Microsoft A+ or other technology course.
- Carlisle Area School District is prepared to open its doors so other
districts in the state can see the Digital School District in action.
A monthly schedule will be published on the district's website and the
state website as well, so schools can plan visits. With advance notice,
districts can schedule visits to observe particular programs in action.
Staff members will be available to meet with teachers and administrators
who make on-site visits.
- Carlisle Area School District will train teachers who could be available
to make "on-site" visits to other districts. These teachers would travel
to classrooms throughout the state to lend their expertise as schools
begin to establish new programs using technology to improve instruction.
These trained teachers would be able to help other teachers overcome
their fears and frustrations as they venture into new territory.
- In the second year of this grant, Carlisle Area School District, in
cooperation with Dickinson College, will sponsor a conference in the
district's new Technology/Education Center. The conference will feature
workshops and training on the many features of the Digital School District
and teachers and administrators attending the conference would have
the opportunity to receive Act 48 credit and also receive a certificate
indicating the successful completion of a core group of courses.
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Quaker Valley School District
Contact: Joseph A. Marrone
Director of Administrative Services
(voice) 412-749-3604
marronej@qvsd.org
Estimated Number of Students Impacted: 1,839
Estimated Number of Teachers Impacted: 143
Estimated Number of Community Members Impacted: 14,000
Awards
- All four Quaker Valley schools are Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Schools
of Distinction.
- Last year, Quaker Valley Middle and High Schools were certified by
the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer the International
Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (I.B.M.Y.P) for grades six through
ten, making Quaker Valley one of only 15 certified I.B.M.Y.P. programs
in the United States and the first in Pennsylvania.
- The story of the district's efforts has been cited in educational
journals and regional magazines, as well as in The Washington Post and
Business Week.
- Visitors from school districts-large and small, urban and suburban-are
routine.
Demographics
- 12 percent represent minority populations, and nine percent qualify
for the federally funded Free - and Reduced-Lunch Program.
- 15 percent of students are in low-income household; 16 percent of
students are in single-parent families; and 19 percent of the community
population is age 65 or older (1 in 5).
- Eight years ago, the Quaker Valley School District could only be described
as technologically bereft. The newest technology in the district was
a room full of electric typewriters. Teachers, support personnel, and
administrators were untrained and frustrated. Strategic Plan I, involving
more than 300 community members and staff, envisioned a new future for
the district and its students.
- $0.85 of every education dollar comes from local resources.
Faculty
- Quaker Valley teachers and most support personnel have received a
minimum of 40 hours of technology training.
- 92 percent of the teachers volunteered their own time to participate
in nearly 50 hours of high-quality technology training delivered in
after-school programming in the last school year.
- Every year, Quaker Valley trains more than 20 teacher interns and
student teachers for local teacher-training institutions in an effort
to make a difference in the profession.
Selected Partnerships
- Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (G.L.O.B.E.)
connects Quaker Valley Middle School students to classrooms in 100 nations
in a worldwide network of students, teachers, and scientists, working
together to study the environment.
- The district gives as much as it receives. Quaker Valley already has
long-standing partnerships with Bayer, Inc., Cisco, A.T.&T., and other
large and small businesses, as well as other public and private schools,
libraries, churches, and universities. Current higher education partnerships
include those with the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University,
Carnegie Mellon University, Robert Morris College, Edinboro University
of Pennsylvania and others.
- The Quaker Valley School District will work with Duquesne University
and FreeMarkets to develop eCommerce modules for the nonprofit education
environment. The project will research ways to improve the business
operations of the school and to realize cost savings.
- Quaker Valley will be the only school district participating in the
online Reference Interview Project. This project links Quaker Valley
to the Carnegie Public Libraries, Carnegie Mellon University Libraries,
San Jose Public and University Libraries and the Los Angeles Public
Library. As a result, a student or teacher will be able to interact
directly with a reference expert in a specific subject field. Also,
teachers and students can be experts to assist others find information
or resources.
- The systems integrator will be the Electronic Information Network
(E.I.N.) Director Elbert N. Yaworsky. The E.I.N. is responsible for
the countywide network of all public libraries and museums of the Carnegie
Institute, including the Science Center, Museum of Art and Museum of
Natural History. E.I.N. is also working with Sto-Rox school district.
- Quaker Valley has gained commitments from the Heinz School of Management
at Carnegie Mellon University and from the John F. Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University to assist with the evaluation of individual
components of the project, as well as the project as a whole.
Key Technologies
- Each student in 3rd through 12th grade will have a "Q.VePack," which
consists of a notebook computer with a wireless network interface, and
an eBook, which can have textbook chapters, newspapers and trade books
electronically downloaded.
- Internet connectivity to student homes will be provided via wireless
networking and D.S.L.
- Internet II will be used for the advanced on-line references and other
technologies taking advantage of the Internet II capabilities.
- ePaper looks and feels like a thick sheet of paper but is able to
display electronic text and graphics.
Digital Divide
- Outreach through local churches, the Senior Men's Club, Sewickley
Valley Y.M.C.A., Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley Community
Center, municipal governments, and the Sewickley Public Library of the
Quaker Valley School District would target populations for classes.
- Offering Cisco training to local businesses, community members and
to students will provide a pool of potential candidates for Quaker Valley
and the community-at-large. As an added advantage, workers who have
been displaced or who seek new workplace skills will have local access
to high-quality, practical training.
- District funding will be used to provide every student with an ePack,
a backpack containing identified mobile wireless technologies such as
laptop computers, eBooks, and P.D.A.s; based on the student's grade
level. In addition, the district will pay for the high-speed home Internet
connection for all students within the district.
- A portion of grant funding will be used to install technology into
other community institutions or agencies and to electronically connect
those places to the district's network and the Internet. Some of these
agencies are the Sewickley Valley Y.M.C.A., Sweetwater Center for the
Arts, Carnegie Science Center, and Sewickley Community Center.
- The district will make its facilities and technology available during
non-school hours for training and general use by all residents of the
community.
- Finally, QV believes that the capacity of its students via the Cisco
Academy training and its active community service outreach will allow
the district to provide system repair and support to local government,
small local businesses and community service agencies.
Highlighted Tools
- At the outset of this process, Quaker Valley School District will
examine its plan and seek relief from laws and regulations that impair
its ability to fully implement the digital school district program.
This will be done under the Pennsylvania Education Empowerment Act.
- Q.Ve Charter School will target students with extraordinary and diverse
gifts; the population will be small, at 25 to 50 students. Drawing from
the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, the school will offer exceptional
young people the opportunity to pursue their dreams without the sacrifice
of a topmost education and an opportunity for healthy peer relationships.
Additional Points
- Education does not need to be limited by a school building's walls.
Students do not have to arrive and dismiss at the same time, nor do
staff members. The school building, classroom space and number of desks
should not limit a district's services. Technology is the catalyst for
this change in paradigm.
- Quaker Valley will welcome visitors who want to observe and experience
what the district has to share. The district will provide housing with
local families; arrange inexpensive meals; make transportation available
and more. The district especially wants less fortunate public schools
to come.
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Spring Cove School District
Contact: James W. Scott
Superintendent
(voice) 814-224-5124
jscott@scsd.k12.pa.us
Estimated Number of Students Impacted: 2,135
Estimated Number of Teachers Impacted: 145
Estimated Number of Community Members Impacted: 13,442
Awards
- The district has applied for and received a number of other grants
to enhance reform efforts. The Heinz Endowment awarded Spring Cove $75,000
to hire two full-time learning associates, enabling two staff members
to function solely as Comprehensive School Reform Development Facilitators.
These facilitators support the district's instructional staff in training,
implementing and carrying out ongoing Community For Learning strategies.
The Partners in Distance Learning Consortium awarded Spring Cove a $20,000
PICTEL studio that students currently use for college courses, as well
as high school courses not available in the district. Temple University
has provided Spring Cove with $35,000 worth of P.I.C.T.E.L. equipment
for intensive staff development. Spring Cove was also part of a consortium
awarded a $250,000 Customized Job Training grant and a $75,000 Technology
Literacy Challenge Fund (T.L.C.F.) grant.
- Beyond the state, federal and foundation monies Spring Cove has received,
the district has shown its commitment to education reform by floating
a $2 million bond in 1996 to dramatically update technology for students.
As a result of this groundwork, Spring Cove is positioned to realize
Pennsylvania's vision of the Digital School District.
Demographics
- The district is composed of three elementary schools, a middle school
and high school serving 2,135 students in a 98.6-mile area (population
13,442).
- Five percent of our students are gifted and 11 percent require special
education.
- On average, 33 percent of Spring Cove's students qualify as low-income.
- There is little cultural diversity in the community. Of Spring Cove's
145 teachers, 53 have advanced degrees.
- In the elementary schools, the student/teacher ratio averages 18 to
1, 22 to 1 in the middle school and 23 to 1 in the high school.
Selected Partnerships
- Spring Cove enjoys partnerships with other business and educational
organizations. Businesses and Schools Investing in Cooperative Solutions
(B.A.S.I.C.S.) is an ongoing partnership between Spring Cove schools
and area businesses to invent cooperative education solutions. The district
also participates in the Southern Blair Business Partnership, providing
facilities for regional businesses to conduct corporate staff training.
- Spring Cove partnered with Temple University to implement an Adaptive
Learning Environments Model (A.L.E.M.) and continues to fine-tune the
application of this model. Wilkes University provides Spring Cove students
with long-distance, college-credit courses in political science, and
high school credit courses in educational sociology, criminal justice,
C++ computer, SAT prep, Italian, medical terminology, basic law, and
Latin I. Saint Francis College provides advanced placement courses to
district students in French I and II and Spanish I and II.
- Working through its College of Education, Penn State will extend "The
Faculty Academy in Information Sciences and Technology" to meet the
technology training needs of the Digital School District program. Specifically,
Spring Cove teachers are invited to join educators from across the state
to develop a personal roadmap to teach success, work collaboratively
to define issues, share ideas, and develop strategies to improve the
use of technology in teaching.
- The district also partners with Penn State University to provide Project
Vision for Seniors, in which students use laptops to take college-level
courses with Penn State professors via the Internet.
Key Technologies
- All teachers, administrators and secretaries within the district currently
have comprehensive Internet and e-mail access from their desktop computers.
Spring Cove School District has already made significant investments
in workstations and network infrastructure. Every facility within the
Spring Cove School District is network-ready. This existing LAN infrastructure
will be leveraged with only minor enhancements.
- Spring Cove sees the Digital School District as blending technology
tools with A.L.E.M. to create a Learning Community that is virtually
limitless. ALEM approaches education as an ongoing instructional cycle
that begins with diagnosing students' needs. That model, combined with
digital technology, will create a classroom that operates as follows:
A plan called a prescription sheet is developed for each student based
on individual needs. Teachers use a web-enabled system to ensure that
prescription sheet objectives align with state standards.
- A model digital classroom can be designed in many different ways with
many types of architectures and technologies. Spring Cove calls its
digital classroom the Cove Community Educational Center. The Center
will serve as a meeting place, a living digital laboratory, and a symbol
of Pennsylvania's commitment to the changing role of technology in education.
- Within the Cove Community Educational Center, laptops will provide
the interface between students, instructors and the electronic media.
Workstation allocation to students and instructors is one of the most
important dimensions in the architecture of the digital classroom. All
students need their own workstation that they control - as much as (or
more than) they need their own desk space.
- The freedom of movement provided by a wireless-equipped laptop fits
well with the district's commitment to student-centered (ALEM) and constructive
teaching methods. Wireless technologies will also be applied to older
classrooms - without the high cost of wiring and the need for additional
workspace that desktop computers require.
- Spring Cove will implement a solution like the one offered by PA-based
eschoolmall.com. E-commerce technology combines with education to make
it faster and easier for schools to purchase goods and services. The
district will be able to manage the entire procurement process online,
from cataloging and requisitioning to paying and reconciling the budget.
By automating this process, it will reduce paperwork and save time,
resulting in more resources -- staff and budget -- dedicated to the
school's core mission: education.
Digital Divide
- 40 percent of Spring Cove residents do not have access to a computer
at their home or office. Certainly, they recognize that they must bridge
that divide to go digital. The district developed and implemented a
market survey to determine the reasons why some residents do not have
computers. That study was completed in November 2000. Specifically,
the district was able to determine that 68 percent of respondents who
did not have a computer said the main reason was cost; 25 percent of
respondents who don't own computers say that they are intimidated by
technology; and finally, seven percent say that they were simply not
interested.
- The first step is to make the necessary hardware more accessible/affordable.
The second is community education that will train the public in technology
use to overcome fear/discomfort and educate the public about the value
of technology, especially the Internet. Finally, the district will garner
partnerships with parents, businesses, human-service agencies, and individuals
to promote an understanding of the value of technology in life-long
learning.
- Residents will receive home Internet connectivity and enhanced public
Internet access at various libraries, community centers and public kiosks.
- Community Kiosks: Two kiosks in public spaces (such as Sheetz Convenience
Stores and a local grocery store) will ensure free access to online
school resources for every member of the Spring Cove community.
- Low Cost Computers for Residents: Commitments from major technology
providers such as Dell or Gateway Computer and P.S.I.Net will ensure
low-cost home access for every member of the Spring Cove Community.
Spring Cove's innovative program expects to provide households with
a Dell computer system with Internet access for perhaps as little as
50 cents per day.
Additional Points
- Spring Cove School District, in partnership with Schoolwires, Inc.
and Penn State University, plans to create a Digital School District
that will use technology to revolutionize student learning, extend life-long
learning to the community, open direct lines of communication between
parents and teachers, and elicit the support of world-class corporations.
This living organism will be cost-effective to implement, self-supporting
and highly replicable in schools throughout the Commonwealth.
- Another facet of the district's commitment includes making renovations
to specific rooms that will serve as digital showcases for visitors.
These renovations are specifically designed to adapt rooms for easy
access by visitors while enabling students to engage in learning without
interruption. Visitors will enter the building through entrances near
the showcase rooms. These entrances are normally locked, but will be
open with a security guard present on the days we entertain guests.
The guard will provide authorized visitors with I.D. badges and a guide
will accompany the group to the appropriate locations.
- Visitors enter a room that acts as an observation window with a wall
of soundproof glass overlooking the classroom. The observation room
will be equipped with two-way audio allowing them to listen in on the
class they're observing and, when necessary, to contact the classroom
teacher. Of course, visitors will be given access to the rooms and equipment
when class is not in session.
- Spring Cove will send formal invitations to superintendents throughout
the state, religious leaders, media representatives, political leaders
and social service and educational professionals to attend tours of
our Digital School. A yearlong list of tour dates will be established
to accommodate district guests.
- Tours will include the opportunity to observe the classroom showcase
and participate in our Cove Community Educational Center. All attendees
will receive press kits and have the opportunity to meet with Spring
Cove representatives that may include our technology administrator,
public relations consultant, system integrator, and superintendent or
classroom teacher. (Subsequent meetings will be scheduled with visiting
administrators who want to replicate the district's Digital Plan.) For
those who wish to attend but are unable, Spring Cove will make available
for purchase a video tour of our facilities geared to professional educator
interests.
- A Day in the Life of a Digital Family - a video documentary - will
follow a Spring Cove family through a day to showcase how students,
parents, other family members, community members and teachers use technology
in Spring Cove.
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