Vouchers and charters not the only school reform solution
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Not all initiatives geared toward improving student performance and school competitiveness have to do with punitive benchmarks and the threat of charters or vouchers plucking pupils and tax dollars away.
Districts can also sponsor change internally, leaning on new interactive media platforms to break outdated modes of learning while preparing students for a future that not only relies on technology for convenience, but demands its understanding to stay competitive globally.
A story in The Iowa Independent, a sister publication of The American Independent,highlights a school district in the Hawkeye State that has dropped textbooks and workbooks for grades six and up in favor of laptops. Van Meter Community Schools has become a model institution, hosting 500 educators and dignitaries as they glean the best approaches to free up learning while upping a student’s knowledge intake.
On a costs basis, relying on high-tech consumer items comes down to $50 per device, saving the schools money on workbooks that were the largest expenditure as it dropped the bound paper and leased roughly $150,000 worth of Apple Macintosh laptop computers and products.
The author of the story, Beth Dalbey, writes the district began mapping its tech-focuseducation approach six years ago over concerns a fast-growing portion of the county would swallow the small school system.
Here is a sample of the story that illustrates some of the advantages to an interactive classroom:
Behind Van Meter’s looking glass, students – or learners, as they’re