To the members of the Vancouver School District School Board

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the digital divide is defined as : the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard to both their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities.
( http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=4719)

I would like to address the requirements set down by NCLB and the Washington State NCLB Grade 8 Technology Literacy Requirements, as well as the benefits of an increase in funding of extended day programs and the impact that would have on student technology proficiency.

Washington State's Technology Essential Conditions Rubric clearly states that in order to meet NCLB proficiency standards, at least 75% of students must be in Tier 3 in technology literacy and fluency.

Some of the standards laid out in Tier 3 are:

Students work individually or in teams to use hardware and software tools to support learning and creativity in all subject areas (e.g., use personal information management (PIM) software, personal digital assistants (PDAs), concept-mapping software, timeline development software, digital still and video cameras, probes, graphing calculators, digital microscopes).

Students initiate projects, design and develop content, and construct web-based and/or other electronic products (e.g., construct and publish a WebQuest, create a Flash movie).

Students work collaboratively using technology to develop and share ideas or information (e.g., use web-based collaborative tools such as wikis, discussion boards, weblogs; use interactive whiteboard for classroom brainstorming).


As we are approaching the end of the first decade of 21st century we have found that a generation of children are growing up in a technological age, with technological fluency requirements that have never before been witnessed. As we enter into the next decade, we need to be vigilant of the changing landscape of technology. We have been focused, as a community and as a nation, on trying to bridge the digital divide through our educational institutions in an effort to bring everyone into the information age on an equal access footing.

While we have achieved a moderate amount of success, there is still a lot of work to be done. According to the Us Census Bureau, Internet Access and Usage and Online Service Usage at home in 2006 was 44.9% nationwide. That indicates that as little as two years ago, half of the nation’s children still had no internet access at home.

Some of the benefits of technology access for students include:

Using educational technology for drill and practice of basic skills can be highly effective(Kulik, 1994) (http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-1/benefits.html)and a demonstrated significant positive impact on achievement in all major subject areas

Computer-aided instruction leads to an increased performance on standardized tests of basic skills by and average of 30 percent.
(Source: Kulik, Kulik, and Bangert-Downs, “Effectiveness of Computer-based Education in Elementary Schools,” Computers in Human Behavior, 1, (1991) 59-74; Kulik and Kulik, “Effectiveness of Computer-Based Instruction: An Updated Analysis,” Computers in Human Behavior, 7 (1991) 75-94).)

Technology use in the classroom improves students’ motivation and attitude toward learning. Schools have reported decreases in absence and drop- out rates.
(Source: David Dwyer, “Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow: What We’ve Learned.”)

Information access through technology allows for up-to-date data, information and resources that otherwise would never be fiscally possible to obtain through the district’s budget. (Source: Honey, M. et.al. (1996). Digital archives: Creating effective designs for elementary and secondary educators prepared for the United States Department of Education. http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Futures/honey.html).

The unskilled labor market is disappearing. Basic, technology literacy is and will be fundamental for employability. (Source: Dr. Willard R. Daggett, International Center for Leadership in Education: http://www.leadered.com/).

Sixty percent of today’s jobs require technology skills and the number is estimated to grow to 90 percent in the next 50 years.(Source: U.S. Department of Commerce:

Eight out of ten of the fastest-growing occupations are computer-related.
(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/ ).


With the rising cost of living, it will be no surprise that many of our poorer households, especially those households led by adults with limited exposure to technology, will discontinue internet access in favor of more basic needs. As schools in Washington State are moving toward “Sustainable Schools” models, and we see an increased dependency on carpooling and public transportation, the ability for students to meet one of the most essential goals for NCLB proficiency standards will continue to be unmet. This goal is:

All students have access to computers before or after school over 5 hours per week.

The current transportation model in Vancouver requires extensive busing. In the middle schools, transportation is provided for all students, but the current transportation mode is failing our middle school students. Gaiser Middle School is an example of the struggle students face in order to meet technology proficiency standards as a result of transportaion.

The current district boundary line is drawn in such a way as to bring students from the southernmost point in the district, to almost the northern most point. This means that, not only are students on the bus for an average of 1 hour a day, these students have no way to access technology, instructional support and other services offered by the school either before or after school. Busses arrive approximately 15 minutes before the start of the academic day, and leave within 10 minutes of its conclusion. How can students be expected to meet the standards laid by NCLB and the state of Washington if they have no time to do so?

The current transportation model has eliminated the prospect for a “community school” and has forced the students who fall within the southernmost boundaries to be unable to have equal access to technology. As we are placing an ever increasing priority on our technology programs and access for student growth, how can we continue the active prevention of participation by some of the district’s most needy populations?

In order to address this and the other challenges set forth by NCLB, I recommend the following:

1. Regular year round extended day programs need to be implemented in all middle schools in the district. These days need to be provided for learning support and access to technology. The extended day programs need to available in order to meet the required minimum of 5 hours per week of student access to technology.
(See the © 2008 Education Commission of the States website on Extended Day programs http://www.ecs.org/html/issue.asp?issueID=43)


2. The district needs to provide equal access to technology to middle school students through transportation. This means that busses need to be made available year round for transportation not only at the end of the academic day, but also at the conclusion of an extended day. (see The Department of Education’s website on 21st Century Learning Centers: http://www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/index.html)


3. VSD needs to reexamine district’s boundary lines and try to adjust the boundaries so that students are within the closest possible distance to their neighborhood school, creating the least restrictive environment for student learning support and access to technology. (Please see the VSD middle school boundary map: )


4. Vancouver School district needs to start implementing the strategy for planning the funding of the construction of an additional middle school in the Vancouver School District. A look at the boundary map points to a glaring geographical need for a school placement in the Southeast, Van Mall area.


Our focus needs to be on creating true neighborhood schools for our students. It is essential, in today’s economy that Vancouver schools make a concerted effort to reduce commute time and increase building resource availability to students. Without these steps we have no chance of achieving proficiency in technology, and will be placing our most needy students at risk of failing to reach the technological fluency necessary to be contributing members of our community. It is vital that planning for the future be focused on the greatest need rather than the greatest ease.

Please consider my suggestions, and I thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Shanda Veatch- Teacher, Vancouver School District

Additional resources:
Washington State Department of Educational Technology: http://www.k12.wa.us/EdTech/
Northwest Council for Computer Education: http://www.ncce.org/
Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol Criteria for High Performance Schools (http://www.k12.wa.us/SchFacilities/pubdocs/HighPerformanceSchools/WSSPFinalDraft2006.pdf)