Though more than 3,000 miles separate the east and west coasts, there is very little distance these days between the South Fayette School District and Silicon Valley.

South Fayette currently has 930 computers for staff, faculty and students on its campus, and mobile laptop labs — which would wheel a couple dozen more computers to students — are on the way thanks to a Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Classrooms of the Future Grant.

South Fayette is a district on the cutting edge when it comes to technology in the classrooms. It has been named one of the country’s top wired school districts in a national magazine, its administrators continuously seek to implement new technologies and it was one of the first local schools to require computer skills of its students as a graduation requirement.

However, South Fayette wasn’t always so up to date on its megabytes and microchips. In fact, the district once was operating like dial-up in a broadband world.

“It was no secret that we were very, very behind, and we knew that,” said South Fayette School District Superintendent Dr. Linda Hippert.

South Fayette’s vision for a more technology-enhanced classroom began more than a decade ago, and Hippert says the school board that hired her in 1996 outlined the need to move ahead.

But South Fayette did far more than simply plug in computers. The district made an investment in hardware, software and staff training. In doing so, South Fayette also challenged its students to embrace the use of technology in the classrooms.

“It’s important not to make technology and the curriculum two different things,” says Bryan O’Black, South Fayette’s director of technology. “The technology needs to support the curriculum.”

O’Black says the district has a number of successful teaching tool programs in place, including Accelerated Reader software in the elementary levels, a wireless e-Instruction system that enables students to better participate in class and teachers to better gauge their pupils’ progress, and a Homeroom.com program that contains more than 160,000 questions, all aligned to specific state standards and tests that can suggest ways to improve student scores.

The district also is making the move to Microsoft 2007 this year; South Fayette had been running the 1997 version.

“You can’t afford to stop thinking about it for one second,” O’Black said. “It’s a tough world out there and what makes a difference is that you develop those skills you will need to be successful.”

Dr. Mary Ravita, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, says officials are exploring the idea of teacher podcasts, which would enable students to download lessons and course materials directly to a portable music player.

The district also is working with Web-based mathematics software that enables students to work on problems from home. Ravita believes that math courses dovetail nicely with computer software, as opposed to other courses like the language arts, which would require students to passively read from a computer monitor.

“These are digital kids coming through the district now,” Ravita said. “Today’s students are more computer-savvy and we, as a district, are always trying to get better.”

And South Fayette is not alone in that goal as districts around the nation are trying to keep up with technology in the classrooms.

“Over the next five to 10 years, the same technologies that forced corporations to remake themselves in the business world have the potential to similarly transform U.S. education,” said Charlene Thompkins of the U.S. Department of Education. However, before that potential can be realized, Thompkins said school districts nationwide likely will have to hire and train more than two million new teachers over the coming decade.

To that end, staff training is especially important.

“We’re not going to rush into it,” said Ravita. “We take time to look at each program and see how it would support the curriculum and how well it would integrate into the curriculum. Our teachers are a part of that process.”

O’Black said the thrust of all the district’s technology is to prepare students for the real world and give them the tools they’re going to need in whichever careers they choose.

“We look at the essential skills and customize a curriculum to meet the students’ needs, whether they’re going on to technical schools, colleges and universities or the business world,” he said.
The district’s high school technology education curriculum, for example, uses pre-engineering, pre-architecture and cross-discipline software developed specifically for secondary schools by long-time educators and technical experts.

Because of staff size and costs, the district cannot personally provide all the electives that some of its students want to take. They can, however, offer online courses.

The district offers a myriad of online courses as electives to high school students and during the 2006-07 school year more than five dozen students took courses.

“We’re a small district and we can’t offer kids every elective in our schools,” said Hippert. “But the online courses make the opportunities limitless.”

The online courses are provided through universities and colleges, including the University of Missouri, University of North Dakota and Georgia Tech. The elective classes include American History to 1898, Introduction to High School Journalism, Architecture and Interior Design, Business and Personal Law, Digital Photography, Astronomy, Japanese and Advanced Placement US Government/Politics.

Ravita said students are encouraged to bring new course suggestions and areas of study to their high school principal. Administrators take all the student suggestions into consideration,
she said.

Though the tech ed curriculum is aimed at high school students, O’Black said it actually begins in the younger grade levels as fifth-graders learn MS Word and middle school students tackle robotics. “When those students get to high school, they’re ready to hit the ground running,” he said.
Another program designed to prepare students for their careers is the Keys2Work career exploration software. Available at the middle school and high school, the program enables students to identify a career path and learn what skills — and areas of study — would best prepare them for the workforce.

“This lets students make career choices ... and it shows them what they need to learn and what certain skills they’re going to need for that choice,” O’Black said.

Parents, he said, also have taken advantage of the system.

Another way moms and dads can benefit is through the district’s Web-based grading and attendance program, which enables parents to keep track of their child’s academics online. ParentCONNECTxp updates attendance figures, accesses electronic grade books and provides other student information.

“We want to give our students the very best tools we can and prepare them for their futures,” said Hippert. “I’ve had the chance on many occasions to talk with former students and what we’re doing
is consistently validated when they tell me how well-prepared they were.”