NSBA President: NSBA can help your district meet 21st century challenges
By Barbara Bolas
Digital whiteboards and other technological education innovations are becoming commonplace in many of America’s schools. During a recent visit to one of our elementary schools in my local school district in Upper St. Clair, Pa., I was impressed with how teachers are using this technology to motivate young students to learn as they are preparing them for the rapidly changing world of the 21st century.
The students at Baker Elementary School were eager to learn about and work with these advanced educational tools, and their teachers appeared well trained and comfortable using them. Even first-graders used the digital whiteboard to sign in for attendance and order lunch.
While traveling through Eastern Europe last fall, I visited primary and secondary schools that also were introducing similar technology into their classrooms. Unfortunately, many of these schools use a single test to select their students, especially for the most challenging schools, which leaves many students in low-tech learning environments.
The key advantage of America’s public education system is that there is more opportunity for a broader cross-section of students to have access to technology and innovative educational tools and methods. Of course, not all schools are equal in providing this benefit, and we must all continue to work diligently to improve their capacities.
With such a variety of existing and developing technologies, how is a school board to properly assess what to invest in -- especially with so many other competing demands upon schools’ limited budgets?
Your state school boards associations are willing and able to help, as is NSBA.
An excellent resource is NSBA’s Technology Leadership Network (TLN), a program that fosters a collaborative approach -- bringing together a school district’s school board, superintendent, principals, education technology staff, teachers, and curriculum directors -- to help the board make well-informed decisions.
The more than 350 school districts participating in the TLN share information about the latest technological innovations and best practices and learn about new funding sources and advocacy issues in education technology.
To further stay up-to-date on education technology, one can attend NSBA’s upcoming Technology + Learning Conference in Seattle, Wash., Oct. 28-30. I encourage school districts to send teams to this conference, which features hundreds of educational sessions, numerous exhibitors, nationally known speakers, site visits to technologically advanced schools, and special programming.
While technology is having an increasing impact on teaching and learning, school board leaders must recognize there is a digital divide within school districts with some students significantly more prepared than others in understanding and applying technology to their educational experience.
To help level the playing field, a number of districts are creating universal prekindergarten (pre-K) programs with a rich, child-centered learning environment.
NSBA’s Center for Public Education has a wealth of resources, including best practices, preK advocacy tools, and information on how to implement high-quality pre-K programs.
Preparing our students for the challenges of a global society begins with pre-K and continues with well-equipped schools and well-trained teachers who understand how to use innovative educational tools.
I believe we can agree that our objective should go beyond just educating students who can pass standardized tests but to develop students who are creative thinkers, innovative problem-solvers, and articulate communicators.
NSBA is working on your behalf, through our National Affiliate program, in partnership with your state association, to provide a strong voice on Capitol Hill to accomplish our objectives and improve the educational capabilities throughout America’s public schools.
When Congress makes decisions on where to allocate federal dollars, NSBA is there, representing the views and the funding priorities identified by National Affiliates and state school board associations.
With your continued support, our strong public education network will succeed in adapting our schools to educating future generations of young Americans equipped with the necessary skills and creativity to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2008, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.