National Affiliate Spotlight: In the Lake Washington district, the focus is on the future
Located in the Seattle suburbs close to Microsoft’s headquarters, one would expect the Lake Washington school districts to have the latest technology. It doesn’t disappoint.
The 24,000-student district has “invested heavily in technology, with major initiatives focused on having a really good infrastructure,” says Superintendent Chip Kimball.
Today, every classroom in the district’s 48 schools has fiber optic connections, digital white boards and overhead projectors, and wireless audio systems.
Kimball says Lake Washington, which will be featured on a site visit during NSBA’s Technology + Learning Conference Oct. 28-30, now is focusing on “spending lots of time and energy helping teachers integrate technology into the curriculum and making sure they have powerful software tools.”
For example, teachers have access to test scores, electronic grading systems, and videos tied to the curriculum, as well as various educational software and online learning programs. The Headsprout early literacy program is used in grades K-2, while Cognitive Tutor is utilized for teaching algebra and geometry. FASTT Math helps struggling readers learn basic skills, and teachers use Rosetta Stone for foreign language instruction. The online tool Turnitin is used to review students’ papers for possible plagiarism.
Community access is also a priority for Lake Washington. All parents can log on to a web portal to view their child’s grades and attendance records. Parents can view all data on a single page even if they have children in different schools.
The district plans to add video streaming capability so community members can view board meetings, speeches, classroom lessons, and other events online. Parents also can log on and see examples of what is happening in the classroom.
This system, from Granicus, will post video archives online. The archives are synced to a board meeting agenda or minutes, allowing viewers to quickly search for and view a particular part of a meeting. For example, parents won’t have to watch a whole board meeting if they’re interested only in the segment showing their child getting an award.
The Lake Washington board’s support for technology is evident in its decision to hire Kimball, who had been the district’s technology coordinator. He spent about a year as deputy superintendent before taking on the top job in June 2007.
Kimball says he has a “future orientation” and notes that “much of the current business literature recommends CEOs have a good handle on technology and the ability to address the needs of the future.” He predicts more boards will consider chief technology officers when recruiting top-level administrators because these professionals must understand large systems, which is similar to what superintendents need to know. John Vaille, the district’s current chief technology officer, was a superintendent in California.
It’s difficult to measure whether the district’s technology initiatives are having an impact on student achievement, Kimball says, although he notes that Headsprout and Cognitive Tutor have led to “very clear achievement gains.”
Technology contributes to the “efficiency of how students and teachers go about their work,” he says. “If technology gives students more time to concentrate on deep problems, that is a good thing.”
If students are learning about weather, for example, and they can converse with students in Europe about weather patterns there, “that will clearly help them achieve, as well as gain a better understanding of global issues.”
The district is developing a strategic plan, with community input, called Vision 2020, which is focused on the idea that today’s kindergarten students will graduate in 2020.
Many careers and technologies that will be available when these students graduate haven’t been invented yet, Kimball says, noting the plan calls for the curriculum to incorporate 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and global awareness.
“Vision 2020 will provide outcomes for our students to ensure that they are ‘future ready’ when they leave our system,” Kimball says. The school board will be meeting with groups of parents, students, and other constituents over the next few months to get their perspective on these ideas.
With 20 percent of parents working at Microsoft, it’s not hard to imagine these concepts resonating in the community. “We are working very hard to stay on top of the latest thinking on technology in education,” Kimball says. “We are constantly looking at ways of doing things differently so kids can be successful.”
When Lake Washington approves an innovative project, it is implemented districtwide, not in just one or two schools, he says. “We do it big and we do it for everybody.”
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