Leadership Matters - June 2013

felt it was important to have a device that had a keyboard, a day-long battery life, and a large enough screen to view full pages without scrolling from side to side,” Robertson said. “We ultimately chose to go with MacBooks that come preloaded with creativity software and are virtually virus free.” The laptops are filtered 24-hours a day, whether they are connected to the district’s network or not. They can also be monitored remotely when connected to the district network. A bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environment was not considered, as the curriculum would not function on all devices. Additionally, there was no interest in requiring teachers to deliver instruction across multiple platforms – not to mention the potential stigma for children whose families don’t own a device. Parents and students are required to attend a training session each year in order for the student to be eligible to receive a laptop. A “contract” is signed that outlines general rules and guidance for care and use of the devices. The former book rent fee is now a laptop fee and is used to help defray the cost of a four-year lease used to acquire the laptops. Students keep the same machine from year to year, and are responsible for any damage costs. Damage in the first two years has been limited to a handful of cracked screens and power cord chargers. The cost of implementation the first year totaled nearly $100,000 and was financed with a combination of donations, budget reallocation and new money in the budget. “The question was not so much how were we going to be able to afford it, but how could we not afford to do this for our students,” Robertson said, acknowledging support of the Community Unit School District 4 school board and of the community. (Continued from page 8) 1:1 Program ———–———-—

Mendon student hits reset button for success in school

Cordero Sierens remembers being surprised when one of his teachers asked him to address the school board regarding the new 1:1 program at Unity High School in Mendon near the end of his sophomore year. Diane Robertson, superintendent of Community Unit School District 4, also was surprised at the selection. “I remember Cordero telling the board ‘If I look familiar, it’s because I was here a year ago and you were deciding

Cordero Sierens

whether to let me stay in school,’ “ said Robertson, recalling how Sierens then showed the board a very challenging list of English and math classes -- all of which he was passing. Count Sierens as a big advocate for the 1:1 program that provided him a laptop as a learning tool. The junior is a prime example of how a student can reinvent himself if the proper human buttons are pushed. “I didn’t like coming to school; it was too difficult. I was always a kid who made bad decisions,” Sierens said. “This program has really helped me. Before the 1:1 program I was a kid who never wanted to do the work.” Sierens said he had no problems using the computer, probably thanks to lots of hours spent playing computer games before the new learning program was introduced at Unity High last year. “This makes school a lot easier for me. The computer has programs that give us chances to solve a problem and if I don’t understand, the computer has programs that can help me find out how to do something,” he said. “I don’t have to raise my hand and ask for help because the help is right there in the computer. I don’t have to wait for a teacher” An added benefit is the computer makes it much harder for the dog to eat the homework and much easier to stay organized. “There are about 15 million different things teachers want from you and I’m also a person who loses things. This makes my work virtually ‘unlosable.’ It helps to always know where my work is, “ Sierens said So Sierens has made a turnaround that hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teachers and school administrators. His arrow is now pointing up, and college is not out of the question for a student that otherwise might not have finished high school. But he prefers to take things one step at a time. “I hope to go to college, but I have to graduate high school first,” Sierens said. “I enjoy coming to school now.”

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