CMS survey shows enthusiasm for technology

Most parents who responded to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools online budget survey are willing to send their kids' digital devices to school and want to lease a computer for home and school use,  according to a presentation to the school board.

The survey,  which got about 12,100 responses,  is intended as a starting point for budget talks and a means of getting the public engaged.  Like most numbers,  the results pose as many questions as they answer.

One Laptop Per Child project

Eighty-three percent of responders said they want the county to invest more in school technology,  the most popular option for increasing revenue.  All the other options had to do with bringing in money from other sources,  such as ad revenue,  cell tower leases and rental fees,  so it's not clear why a  "more county spending" item was on that list.

Seventy percent of parents said their child has  "a mobile device,  such as an iPhone or an iPad,"  and 72 percent said they support letting their kids bring such devices for classroom use.  Two-thirds said they'd be willing to pay $30 to $50 a year to lease a computer from CMS for classroom and home use.

And 98 percent said they already have home Internet access.

So what does this all mean,  beyond the fact that people were clicking  "yes"  to a lot of technology questions?  Do people really want more spending for classroom technology and continuing use of  "bring your own technology"  and school laptops for kids to lease?  And they want all this even though they're already wired at home?

The first question,  of course,  is who took the online survey.  Two weeks ago board member Tom Tate pressed Chief Communication Officer Kathryn Block on how the district is reaching people who don't have Internet access.  There were some stifled chuckles when she replied that community partners were getting the word out  ...  through web sites and social media.

Board member Thelma Byers-Bailey brought up the issue again Tuesday.  "That's 98 percent of people who have Internet who say they have Internet,"  she said.

Block said some people used school and public library computers to respond to the survey,  but the high degree of Internet access in homes is  "consistent with what we see"  from other sources.

Project LIFT Zone Superintendent Denise Watts had left the meeting before that presentation.  I was curious to hear her take on that,  given that the public-private partnership is channeling significant private money into giving low-income families and students digital access.  Is it true that most already have it?

Watts says there's no way 98 percent of CMS families have Internet at home,  especially in impoverished neighborhoods.  "I would almost bet my next paycheck on that.  I would love to see the data source."  She agrees that many students have smartphones,  but  "that's not a work/education device."

Superintendent Heath Morrison told the board that in addition to the online survey,  members of the public have had a chance to speak in person at three town hall meetings on budget planning  (two more are coming up in April).  The board will hold a two-hour budget work session next week,  and Morrison will present his 2014-15 budget proposal April 8.

Here's the one prediction I feel confident making:  Technology will be a big item in that budget.

Teachers cite techbook challenges

After a recent article about the move toward digital  "techbooks,"  I heard from a couple of teachers who talked about challenges they're facing.

Sherri Garside,  a history teacher at Alexander Graham Middle,  said the social studies digital programs created by Discovery Education remain incomplete.  Sixth-graders have a full curriculum,  but whole centuries are still being developed for seventh- and eighth-graders,  she said.

"To say teachers are frustrated is an understatement!"  she said.  "What they have is great, but useless unless it is updated."

I also heard from a teacher at a high-poverty middle school,  who asked not to be named for fear his principal would take offense.  I visited Community House Middle,  a low-poverty school in the southern suburbs,  for the article.  This teacher said his students are far less likely to be able to do the techbook work from home.  They may have smartphones,  he said,  but they're not likely to have laptops or home computers that are conducive to moving among multiple items and doing online work.

Both teachers said a shortage of classroom devices poses challenges.  Unlike Mooresville Graded Schools,  which provides each student with a MacBook they can use in class and take home,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools relies on classroom laptops or carts of devices that can be rolled between classrooms.  The teacher at the high-poverty school said that doesn't provide enough consistent access for students to get comfortable with the digital programs.

"The more you use Discovery Education,  the better you get with it,"  he said.  "Discovery Education itself is great."

CMS seeking boost from grants

As the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board prepares for a public hearing on the 2013-14 budget tonight, they'll also be signing off on grant requests that could bring in millions of extra dollars.

The big-ticket requests are for government money.  A School Improvement Grant request seeks up to $6 million a year for three years to improve academic performance at Byers and Druid Hills preK-8 schools and Hawthorne High.  According to the proposal,  all three are eligible for additional federal Title I money because they've been identified as persistently low performing.  Byers and Druid Hills have already been targeted for other CMS turnaround efforts,  including strategic staffing, conversion to K-8 schools and Project LIFT.  Hawthorne is currently an alternative school serving pregnant teens and students who have fallen behind in high school.  Superintendent Heath Morrison's budget proposal calls for converting it to a health-sciences magnet school,  with the grant money used to design the new program.

Another request seeks $1.8 million from the U.S. Department of Education to improve physical education opportunities at 30 elementary schools.

Smaller grant requests would help CMS extend digital devices and science/tech programs in schools.  Six requests to the Jimmie Johnson Foundation totaling almost $411,000 would buy iPads and otherwise improve technology at Barringer, Cornelius, Long Creek and Nations Ford elementary schools, Metro School for disabled students and Cochrane Academy,  a 6-12 school with a math-science focus.  The budget calls for creating an iMeck Academy at Cochrane,  with high school grades converting from neighborhood to magnet seats.

CMS is also seeking about $74,000 from the American Honda Foundation to create a summer STEAM camp at Piedmont Middle.

Details on the grant proposals are listed on the board agenda. Click here for details about speaking at the budget hearing  (tonight's meeting does not include public comments on other topics).