School system won’t rush into allowing devices

As published in the Record Journal on Sunday February 24, 2013 

By Eric Vo
Record-Journal staff
evo@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@ericvoRJ

WALLINGFORD — As other municipalities start allowing students to bring their own technology to school, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said Wallingford’s schools need to be prepared before starting a similar program.

In most Bring Your Own Device to School programs, students are allowed to bring in laptop computers, tablets or phones. Realizing the impact such a program could have on teachers and students, Menzo said the district is being cautious.

“We’re taking it step by step. The first step is the most important one,” Menzo said. “We don’t want to make any mistakes. If we do the program and it’s not working, we lose our credibility.”

Before the program can be started, the district has to address a number of items, said Robert Kovi, the school system’s information technology resource teacher. The district is revising its electronic devices policy, which Menzo said should be adopted by the Board of Education in March.

The district’s slow approach is intentional, Board of Education Chairwoman Roxane McKay said, “to make sure we’re presenting a policy that is appropriate and minimizes or eliminates abuse.”

In addition to revising the policy, Kovi said the technological infrastructure in the schools also had to be looked at. The wireless systems now are set up for teachers.

“If we let students bring in their devices, we just tripled our traffic,” Kovi said. “We need to make sure we can handle that.”

It’s also possible that some students may not own a device. One solution is providing a low-cost purchase or rental plan, Kovi said.

Trying to get parents to support the program is another obstacle.

“We just did an informal poll and parents were concerned about possible thefts of their devices or not being able to pay for the devices,” he said. “Parents are also asking if students are going to start bullying each other in class.”

For now, administrators will continue to be cautious.

“Some people have said, ‘The time is now and we can’t wait. We need to get students connected in the classroom,’ ” Kovi said. “I’m not sure if being the first is a good idea because there’s so many complexities.”

School systems moving steadily toward BYOD policy

As published in the Record Journal on Sunday February 24, 2013

By Jesse Buchanan
Record-Journal staff
jbuchanan@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2230
Twitter:@JBuchananRJ

Area school districts are on the verge of allowing students to bring and use electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptops in the classroom — and one district is already there.

“Bring your own devices,” as the effort is called by educators, hasn’t yet been implemented in Meriden, Wallingford or Southington, but Cheshire recently made the change in its middle and high schools. And all four school systems say there’s value in allowing students to bring familiar devices for research or note-taking.

The Meriden Board of Education expects to have a policy on student devices up for a vote by late winter, according to Assistant School Superintendent Michael Grove.

“Schools are reviewing the policy and making some changes,” he said.

Students could be bringing their electronics into the classroom by as early as spring. The high and middle schools have fairly reliable wireless Internet access, Grove said, as do some of the elementary schools.

Though details of the policy are still being formulated, Grove said teachers will have control over when and how devices are used in the classroom.

A pilot program in some Platt High School classrooms that allowed students to bring devices went well, according to Grove, and encouraged the board to consider a district wide policy.

After “very successful” pilot programs, Cheshire schools allowed middle and high school students to bring their own devices last month, said Assistant Superintendent Scott Detrick.

Wireless Internet was installed at both schools, allowing students with smart phones and tablets to do Web research. Installing wireless at the elementary schools is the next step to allow pupils in the lower grades to bring their own devices.

Students can also borrow Internet- connected devices from the schools’ libraries.

“If a particular lesson demands the use of a device, then they have access to that,” Detrick said.

The Cheshire Board of Education created policies for “bring your own devices” two years ago.

In December, the Wallingford Board of Education approved $284,000 to upgrade wireless Internet access at the town’s high and middle schools. The upgrades are needed to implement a BYOD program there, said School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo.

The district has policies in place but has put the effort on hold. Menzo said companies approached the district about devices in the classroom but wouldn’t say what the proposals were or which companies offered them.

A BYOD policy needs to improve education, Menzo said, and not just allow students to check their email in the halls.

“We want to make sure we take purposeful next steps,” he said.

Wallingford schools conducted a survey last year of parents and teachers on electronics in the classroom. Of 770 parents surveyed, 53 percent supported the idea of letting children bring electronic devices to school, while 32 percent said they wanted more information.

The survey covered 2,300 students, and almost 90 percent said they owned a device that can browse the Internet. Eighty-eight percent of students in middle or high school said they had a cell phone, with 58 percent of those students owning a smart phone. In the sixth grade, 61 percent of students had a smart phone, compared with 40 percent in 11th grade.

Using a variety of student owned electronic devices, Southington schools conducted a pilot program last year at the high, middle and elementary school levels. Technology Director Karen Veilleux said the pilot was successful at all levels and a report will be sent to the Board of Education next month.

Veilleux expects the board to pass policies on allowing devices district wide, although there are challenges, such as wireless Internet availability and teaching students with devices ranging from eight-year old laptops to the latest iPad.

Wallingford school board to seek 3.56% increase

As published in the Record Journal on Saturday February 23, 2013

By Eric Vo
Record-Journal staff
evo@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@ericvoRJ

WALLINGFORD – The Board of Education is expected to propose a 3.56 percent increase in the 2013-14 school budget to the mayor and Town Council.

Board members will vote on the budget during Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. Despite some differences, Board of Education Chairwoman Roxane McKay said she expects the panel to approve the 3.56 percent increase, which would raise overall education spending to $92,766,109.

The increase will maintain existing programs and fund items from School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo’s five-year strategic plan, including school security.

The school board asked Menzo and administrators to create a list of items from the strategic plan and federal and state mandates, McKay said. These items were then ranked in order of importance and cost.

According to Menzo and his staff, the most important item is security, specifically controlling access to the schools. Also at the top is preparing for a new teacher evaluation system.

Funding everything on Menzo’s list would require a 4.09 percent increase in the budget and $93,234,055 in spending overall.

During the school board’s Operations Committee meeting Wednesday, board members went through the list of 89 items and shared their opinions on what they felt was a “reasonable percentage” to propose to the Town Council, McKay said.

If the mayor and Town Council approve the 3.56 percent increase, approve the 3.56 percent increase, the district would be able to fund 68 items on Menzo’s list, including updating security, the new teacher evaluation program and developing new curriculum for all grade levels.

The remaining 21 items on the list, which would cost $467,946, could be funded with money not spent during the current fiscal year.

“The board is estimating there will be half a million dollars in unencumbered funds by the end of the year,” Menzo said.

While McKay said using this money would be a logical choice, the board will ultimately discuss how things get funded. But before members get to that point, McKay said the board has been focused on coming to an agreement on how much to increase the budget.

“This is the one big thing we vote on,” she said. “It’s important for the Board of Education to submit a budget of what we need in order to move the district forward.”

Wallingford classrooms’ new tech: phone service

As published in the Record Journal on Sunday February 17, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD - The Town Council has approved bid waivers for a Board of Education plan to provide every classroom in town with outside phone service.

The waivers, approved Wednesday night, allow the school board to have Integrated Systems Services and Advanced Security Technologies upgrade school intercom systems and complete other security work. The board has existing contracts with both firms and School Superintendent Sal Menzo said “it would make little sense to go out to bid” again, because it would “potentially cost more money to go back out to bid on these systems.”

Plans to upgrade intercom systems have already been approved by the Board of Education and will be done by Integrated Systems Services. The work will cost just over $227,500, Menzo said.

Advanced Security Technologies will “address security issues and capabilities,” said Menzo. The Board of Education has yet to approve the project, which would cost about $175,500.

Menzo said he wanted to get both bid waivers from the Town Council because the two projects are “inextricably connected.”

Intercom updates will provide phone service to classrooms, said Randall Backus, director of information technology for the school district. The intercom system at Sheehan High School had already been updated because it was damaged during Hurricane Sandy.

With phone service in every classroom, teachers can “pick up the phone, get an outside line and dial 911 or any emergency number,” Backus said. Currently, the intercom system only allows classrooms to communicate with the main office.

Backus said the current intercom system is more than 10 years old.

The security and intercom updates are not reimbursable, Menzo said.

“We’re keeping track, and if there’s an opportunity to seek reimbursement based on legislation or findings locally in the state or federally, we’ll then take advantage of those opportunities,” he said.

Dickinson said the town is comfortable with the security updates as well, noting that the Purchasing Department reviewed both bid waivers before Wednesday’s Town Council meeting.

“There’s good rationale,” Dickinson said. “It’s been reviewed and has been found to be supportable.”

Return to class may be testing for Wallingford and area schools

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday February 14, 2013

By Kimberly Primicerio
Record-Journal staff

Nearly a week of snow days may be fun for students, but it’s less exciting for teachers who have to make up for lost time. Educators face adjusting lesson plans and going over previously taught lessons students may have forgotten.

Many local teachers are looking forward to going back to school after their unexpected winter break. They want to get back into their normal routines and prepare students for state tests. “We’re itching to get back,” said Maria Marcarelli, a second- grade teacher at Stevens School in Wallingford.

Wallingford School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo announced Wednesday that schools would be closed today due to narrow roads and snow banks. With a scheduled day off on Friday and Presidents Day Monday, students and staff won’t return to school until Tuesday, Menzo said.

An additional snow day means an additional day taken away from April vacation. Wallingford students will go to school Thursday, April 18, and Friday, April 19. Due to roof damage at Sheehan High School after Superstorm Sandy in October, students and staff at the high school lost an additional day of school. They will have to go to school for three days during April vacation, starting on April 17.

Marcarelli said going back poses challenges. Teachers are expected to complete teaching units within a certain time. She said she hopes deadlines are changed to accommodate the snow days.

Because the school system is following Common Core State Standards, units are new for students and teachers. This is the first year Marcarelli and her peers are teaching them.

Marcarelli also fears students haven’t been using their brains as much as they should be while at home. She said many probably watched a lot of TV and played video games.

“You have to kick start them when they get back,” Marcarelli said. Since Marcarelli started new lessons before the break, she’s also going to have to go over many of the lessons she spent time on last week.

Christopher Smith, a fourth grade teacher at Thomas Hooker School in Meriden, said he is concerned about teaching his students everything they need to know for the Connecticut Mastery Test, which is administered in March. Smith said time off means rushing through math units and other topics he would like to spend more time on.

February is also a shortmonth with a lot of history. Presidents Day is marked in February, as is Black History Month. Smith’s students are working on Presidents Day reports. He would have liked to give his students time to do research in class, but he doesn’t think that’s going to happen this week. They’ll probably have to do it next week during their February break even though some students may not have internet or library access.

“These are the topics I enjoy,” Smith said. The content is interesting and fun for the students,he said. Smith said he would have concentrated on the topics this week if it weren’t for the snow.

“I can’t devote time for that when we haven’t met in four days,” Smith said.

Meriden’s public school will be open today with a 90minute delay. School Superintendent Mark D. Benigni has been in contact with city administration and the Police Department on road and school conditions. The reason for the delay is to make sure students aren’t traveling during rush hour traffic, Benigni said. Extra police will be assigned to key intersectionsthroughout the city.

High school teachers are also trying to adjust schedules and fit in lessons to prepare students for the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.

Platt High School history teacher Geoff Kenyon teaches Advanced Placement courses. They move quickly and a lot of material is covered. He said students are going to have to make up for the lost time, somewhere, but he’s not sure where.

Even on snow days, Kenyon still tries to get students engaged. On Friday, he held an online review session on the social media site Google Plus. Students can also watch lectures Kenyon posts on Edmodo, another educational social media website. Students can ask questions and keep up with their studies.

Kenyon and other history and language arts teachers also tried to keep students’ minds active Tuesday night when President Barack Obama gave his State of the Union Address. Students and teachers tweeted during the speech. Kenyon said students enjoyed the activity.

Tech Talk - Computers, school use policy on Wallingford officials’ minds

As published in the Record Journal, Thursday February 7, 2013

By Eric Vo
Record-Journal staff
(203) 317-2235
evo@record-journal.com
Twitter: @ericvoRJ

WALLINGFORD - The school system is looking into buying more computers, to give students more opportunities in the classroom as well as to prepare for the Smarter Balanced Assessment program in 2014-15. With more computers likely to be available for student use soon, officials are also looking at updating the user policy for electronics.

This year, under a pilot program, a few teachers were given the opportunity to test the computers in a classroom setting, said Randall Backus, the schools’ director of information technology services. As more services become available, Backus said, the school system is trying to figure out the best way to give students access to these services.

“We provide computing services in the library and labs on a regular basis and in the past we did laptop carts,” Backus said. “Now that we’re moving into Google Apps and Google Docs and doing more in the ‘cloud,’ we’re trying to figure out the best route to provide devices for students outside the lab.”

Having more computers in the classroom for students creates a more fluid experience, said School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo. If his 2013-14 budget proposal, which includes $200,000 for new computers, passes, laptops and desktops could be added to classrooms in the next year, though Menzo emphasized that they would be for only in school use. Having new computer systems is important because the school system “needs to be ready for the new (Smarter Balanced) Assessment,” Menzo said.

That is an online test that will replace the Connecticut Mastery Test, given to students in grades 3 through 8, and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, taken by students in 10th grade. The difficulty of the test changes based on how the student does on preceding questions — answering correctly generates a more challenging question the next time, while an incorrect answer generates an easier question.

However, until the district knows how much money will be in its budget, no firm decision on the next step can be made, Menzo said.

“We’re leaving it open,” he said. “The decision will be made when we have the money.”

As the board plans to upgrade its computers, it’s also updating the schools’ electronics user policy. The central office staff went over the proposed revision with the school board’s Instructional Committee Monday night. The policy states that administrators have the right to monitor student activity on school-owned devices and that students “should not have any expectation of personal privacy in the use of these computer systems.”

David McGuire, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, said that, as technology becomes more widespread, “there’s been a lot of questions about what schools can and can’t do.”

“Regardless of what the district does, they need to make clear to parents and students ... what they can and can’t do,” McGuire said. “Putting it in a policy doesn’t give a proper notice to the parents and students.”

No formal action on the policy revisions was taken Monday night. When the new policy is adopted, McGuire said, he’s confident the district will “get this right.”

“We were really impressed with how open minded (the district) was and you can tell that Superintendent Menzo truly respects student privacy,” he said. “I’m confident they will take the right steps so that the policy won’t impede on their rights.”