Technology without teachers is worthless, say school leaders from suburban Guilderland and Voorheesville, expressing concerns about a proposed $2 billion proposition that the governor has dubbed the Smart Schools Bond. They are still smarting from state-aid reductions in recent years that have led to significant staff cuts.

At the same time, the interim superintendent at rural Berne-Knox-Westerlo, which is poorer than the suburban districts, with a third of its students on free or reduced-price lunches, supports the proposition.

“We couldn’t afford to do any of that stuff on our own, that’s for sure, and it would take many years to do that,” Joseph Natale said Wednesday of technology investment. “We have a telephone system that hopefully can be integrated in the technology. It’s really hurting.  It’s broken down several times.”

The bond is the third of three propositions voters will decide on next Tuesday.

On Monday, a 53-page report was released by an advisory board established by Andrew Cuomo to gather information on strategies for how schools can most effectively invest bond proceeds.

Locally, if the bond were to pass, Guilderland, a suburban district with 4,917 students, is slated to get $2,096,732; Berne-Knox-Westerlo, a rural district with 898 students, is slated for $883,468; and Voorheesville, a suburban district with 1,172 students, is expected to get $483,870.

Asked, if the bond were to pass, when the money would become available to school districts, Dani Lever with the governor’s press office, responded, by email, “It is premature to determine a timeframe for disbursement of funds to school districts without knowing more detail about the content of districts' investment plans that will be submitted at a later date.”

Lever also said, “The statutorily-created smart schools review board, which is a separate body composed of the budget director, the education commissioner, and the SUNY chancellor, will issue guidelines, required components, and eligibility criteria for districts' investment plans.”

Asked how the allocations were determined, Lever said, “Each school district will receive an allocation of the $2 billion Smart Schools that is proportionate to the district's share of total formula based school aid in the 2013-14 school year, excluding Building Aid, Universal Prekindergarten Aid, and the Gap Elimination Adjustment. For example, if a district receives 2.0% of total State school aid, the school district's Smart Schools allocation would be $40 million.”

The Smart Schools Commission was made up of Eric Schmidt, executive chairman and former chief executive officer of Google; Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children’s Zone; and Constance Evelyn, superintendent of the Auburn School District in Cayuga County.

They write that the state is  “in the midst of an education reinvention” and that technology can “increase student engagement and responsibility for learning, boost student achievement, and change student-teacher relationships” as well as help students gain skills needed to compete for in-demand jobs.

“Technology has the power to break down barriers — between parents and teachers, homes and classrooms, and between school districts across the State,” the report says.

While local school leaders are not opposed to using technology to teach students, they expressed some concerns with the bond itself.

“Our infrastructure is aged. We really need some money to be infused…so we can actually use technology,” said Voorheesville’s superintendent, Theresa Thayer Snyder. “We need new switches, new Wi-Fi capacity, new broadband. We need to build up what we have.”

But, she went on, “We’re kind of suspicious of the bond, itself. It’s a nine-year bond.”

Technology has a three- to five-year shelf life, she said, and paying for equipment for nine years is problematic since equipment is out of date after five years.

She also expressed concerns about how the bond would affect state aid to the district. “Is this going to be counted as our state aid, additional aid, an infusion?” she asked.

School districts are still recovering from the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which was initiated as a temporary measure in 2010 under David Paterson’s administration as a means of closing the state’s $10 billion budget deficit. Under the GEA, school districts across the state have money deducted from their aid each year. Schools are more interested in eliminating the GEA than in one-shot technology money, Snyder said.

“We never recovered those monies,” said Snyder, noting the reduction has “had a long-term negative impact on school districts. The concern we have with the Smart Schools Bond is: How will it affect state aid roll-outs when it comes time for the governor’s budget?”

“Is that the most effective way?” she asked. “Do voters believe that technology is the principal need for our students?”

Asked what she believes is the principal need, Snyder said, “Teachers. Teachers. We need a highly skilled workforce.”

The commission report itself says, “Studies show that teachers account for one-third of a school’s total impact on student achievement and principal leadership accounts for another 25 percent of that impact.”

Snyder went on to say that budget woes have been “cutting and cutting deeply into the workforce, which will affect districts for the next few years.”

Similarly, Demian Singleton, Guilderland’s assistant superintendent for instruction, said, “When I think about needs for our school district, $2 million could be used for more important areas for us.”

Since the Gap Elimination Adjustment went into effect in the 2010-11 school year, Guilderland has cut 228 jobs to close annual multi-million-dollar budget gaps.  A $1.4 million budget gap is predicted for next year.

“Technology is great,” said Singleton, “but, without adequate instructional staff, priorities are out of whack.”

He also said that, for technology in learning to be successful, “It still needs a good teacher.”

A year ago, Guilderland voters passed a $17.3 million project to upgrade Guilderland’s seven school buildings, which includes $1.8 million for technology improvements with the biggest portion, $618,000, spent on mobile labs.

Singleton said the district is “essentially committed” to spending what the voters approved so there is only “a small amount of wiggle room” for shifting funds should the state Smart Schools Bond pass. “The board of education has a say in how far that will go,” he said.

At Berne-Knox-Westerlo, while the details of a new technology plan, to be reviewed by the school board, are being hashed out by the school’s chief technology specialist, Dave Thomas, Natale said a top need for any money would likely be in the district’s infrastructure, like the phone system and a rerouting of old wiring and switches that connect the district’s computers. He said administrators have spoken to him about the need for more laptops and smartboards — equipment that is used to teach — but acknowledged the short time before it would become obsolete.

“That’s why I think the whole backbone of the system certainly has to be strong and current, because other things change, laptops change, computers change quite frequently,” said Natale. “But as long as you’ve got a good solid backbone and infrastructure you can take care of the end product of that.”

The switches in the district’s network, which are used to reroute data between computers and the Internet, are old and in need of replacement, Thomas said. They sometimes fail to transfer information completely or cause a bottleneck in the network because of their outdated capacity, he said. The district also has just one gigabit of capacity in its fiber-optic cable, which can become saturated at certain times of the day and slow the Internet performance.

Thomas said one of his main recommendations would be for a complete network overhaul, “so that, if we lose one segment of the network, the entire network doesn’t go down.”

He said his recommendations for the Smart Schools money might also include improving the school’s security system beyond its recent upgrade, purchasing more technology used to teach in every classroom, and training for teachers to use that equipment.

Seven keys

The commission report is structured around seven “keys to success for achieving a Smart School.”

A list of those seven keys follows with responses from local school leaders:

— 1. Embrace and expand online learning which will break down geographic boundaries, provide access to the best sources of instruction in the world, and level the playing field for students in rural and smaller school districts.

“We don’t have to compete with schools in other regions,” said Snyder of Voorheesville. “We do have to stay up to date.”

Singleton said that, while Guilderland has started doing some distance learning, this point would apply more to small or rural districts. “Guilderland already has a lot of that capacity,” he said. Singleton hopes that bond funds won’t be misused with a broad-brush approach by the state.

Using a dedicated classroom with projectors and cameras, and a mobile video-conferencing device purchased with grant money, a total of two distance-learning classrooms will be available at Berne-Knox-Westerlo in January, said Thomas.

“As of today, it’s meeting the needs,” Thomas said. “But that’s also something that would have to go into our technology plan to say, ‘Where are we going next year? Where are we going three years from now?’”

— 2. Utilize transformative technologies, such as tablets, laptops, and interactive whiteboards to deliver differentiated instruction tailored to students’ specific abilities and needs that lets them learn and advance at their own pace.

In her six years at Voorheesville, Snyder said, the elementary level has had smart boards in every classroom. Technologically, she said, Voorheesville is where it wants to be. “We’re in good shape,” Snyder said. “State of the art changes with every edition of the iPhone. Our technology people keep us up to date.”

While Voorheesville budgets for technology expenses, the district also receives equipment from outside donations. Snyder concluded, “We try to keep up. The kids are so savvy, they help us.”

At Guilderland, Singleton said, there are 1:1 classrooms — where every student has a device — at the middle school and high school and there’s a 1:1 pilot program for fifth-graders at Westmere Elementary School.

“The intent is to make the technology ubiquitous,” he said. “We want it at their fingertips, not as a special event.” It is becoming easier to supply students with devices since prices have dropped drastically, said Singleton, concluding, “The landscape is changing; we are a bit ahead.”

BKW isn’t looking at interactive whiteboards, Thomas said, calling it an outdated technology. Instead, he hopes to have a standard set of classroom equipment that includes iPads, projectors, and Apple TVs. The equipment would support a model, known as a “flipped classroom,” where teachers record their lessons in videos that are available to students on their own time.

“Instead of the teacher having to review the lesson and move on to the next one, the teacher walks in and says, ‘OK, who has questions?” Thomas said, which cuts down on the time spent reviewing lessons in class.

That setup is being piloted this year with five teachers in each school.

“We’re trying to build the idea of, ‘Hey, this is our school, this is BKW, let’s be proud of it,” said Thomas.

— 3. Connect every school to high-speed broadband using technology that is capable of scaling up over time and deliver sufficient wireless capability to serve every student.

“We need to expand our broadband,” said Snyder, explaining that more is always needed as people find new uses for technology and as technology changes.

Singleton said on Tuesday, “It’s absolutely essential…Yesterday, we maxed out on our broadband.” He said broadband needs to be increased as “the consumption of media online becomes more prevalent.” He concluded, “The devices won’t work without it — there’s no connectivity.”

Two wireless networks at BKW currently cover nearly all of the main areas of the buildings and 100 percent of the classrooms, Thomas said. He said his department combats connection problems every day due to the aging infrastructure and outdated capacity of the network.

“Our biggest issue is the amount of power outages, not an issue with broadband,” Thomas said.

— 4. Extend connectivity beyond the four walls of the classroom so students from all backgrounds have equal access to the information superhighway.

“It is common here for our children to have access at home,” said Snyder of Voorheesville.

“Conceptually, it’s absolutely essential,” said Singleton of connectivity. “You have to view things now as global,” he said, noting that one of Guilderland’s priorities is to create globally aware citizens.

Students, like everyone else, are faced with a constant stream of information, said Singleton, continuing, “Schools cannot perceive of themselves as the only source of information for students…We have to evolve and embrace that idea. We have to break these walls down and encourage students to safely access sources across the globe.”

The Smart Schools bond allows for the money to be spent on community broadband access projects, but Natale said BKW would have to move cautiously if it wanted to pursue them.

“Depending on what it is,” Natale said. “If it’s relating to their students to work and to the extent that it can be confidential. I mean, there’s a lot to look at with that because there are a lot of implications to it.”

“If they’re talking about the opportunity to just open a lab for community use for evenings, that certainly would be helpful for a lot of families that don’t have broadband or don’t have the equipment they need,” he added.

— 5. Provide high-quality, continuous professional development to teachers, principals, and staff to ensure successful integration of technology into the teaching and learning experience.

Voorheesville teachers currently require homework that must be done online, said Snyder, noting that assignments and requirements change over time. “It will get better,” she said. “People get more and more creative.”

As new technology is introduced, she said, the technology department runs classes for teachers and will “continue it and enhance it.” Some teachers, she said, embrace the new technology more than others and they share with their colleagues.

Two years ago, Guilderland created a new post — educational technology specialist — and hired Natalia LeMoyne to help integrate technology into the classroom. Singleton said “the heart” of LeMoyne’s work is helping teachers learn how to differentiate instruction, tailoring it to fit individual student needs, through the use of technology.

“It’s worked wonders,” he said of LeMoyne helping to integrate technology into the classroom one teacher at a time.

He also noted that Guilderland will host a Google Apps Summit on April 25 and 26 with an array of national and international presenters.

“We want to make sure that goes right along with the training, when we put the technology in place for the students and teachers,” Thomas said, stressing the importance of professional development.

— 6. Focus on in-demand STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] skills to ensure that students graduate with 21st century skills.

“It’s not going to replace what we’re already doing,” said Snyder of STEM skills. “Any technology will enhance that.”

“I think there’s a need for discussion on what that means,” said Singleton. He said that inquiry and collaboration, which in the past had been thought of as “soft skills,” are an important part of 21st-Century skills. Singleton sees a conflict in encouraging those skills while the state, at the same time, is requiring “content-driven” Regents exams at the high school level.

“There might be a glimmer of hope with the shift in graduation requirements,” he said. (See related story.)

Singleton concluded of aligning assessment with skills like inquiry and collaboration, “The state has to think about how to make that happen. It may need a radical shift from exam-driven to portfolio or solution-driven [assessment],” he said. “There has to be some fundamental change.”

Natale believes BKW should consider using the money for additional pre-kindergarten space as its efforts to expand the program to a full day fell short this year.

“We’d want those rooms to have the exact same configuration as the K through 12 rooms, to make sure the students are exposed to the technology as early as possible,” said Thomas.

— 7. Plan, plan, and plan again.

“I’m ambivalent about the bond,” said Snyder, calling it “a one-time infusion” of less than a half-million dollars for Voorheesville, which makes it difficult to plan for the future. Her concerns are how it will affect state aid and that all schools are still recovering from the loss of funds caused by the Gap Elimination Adjustment.

Thomas said the plan has to be sustainable, hoping a design for the replacement of wiring in BKW’s network would last a very long time.

Singleton said that Guilderland already has in place a district-wide technology liaison cabinet that includes himself and LeMoyne as well as representatives from different grade levels and departments that would be a central force in terming how bond monies would be used.

“A lot depends on the parameters they put forth,” he concluded of the state. “We’re just waiting to see what they are.”

— Jo E. Prout contributed comments from Theresa Thayer Snyder and Marcello Iaia contributed comments from Joseph Natale and David Thomas.