More Wireless, Technological Advancement Plans in Westfield Schools

During the meeting of the Board of Education on Sept. 13, a member of the recently-formed Parent Technology Committee presented the group’s plans for the district’s technological future and offered some ways that its volunteer members could assist the board in implementing them. 

At last Tuesday’s meeting, BOE member and Ad-Hoc Technology Committee Chair Mitch Slater took those plans a step further, illuminating on some of its goals and specifying what exactly the committee will need from the board in order to make those goals a reality.

“The Ad-Hoc Technology Committee met last week with the district goal of STEM in mind – to discuss how we move forward with technology into the twenty-first century,” Slater said. (STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). He discussed his experience at the high school’s recent Back to School Night, where the curriculum of one teacher in particular seemed to fit what Slater, the PTC and others are eager to see more of.  

“I experienced first-hand,” said Slater, “the future through the eyes of a very impressive and excited English teacher who right off the bat has embraced the best that technology has to offer: a website that is interactive, the use of social media to tweet homework and test reminders, and – most importantly – marrying the curriculum with 21st century skills that not only made me proud of our recent district hiring, but reminded me that the need to go beyond brick-and-mortar schooling is here and now.”

The Technology Committee’s plans will require the cooperation and assistance of various district groups and committees, including the Finance, Curriculum and Policies Committees.

“As we brainstormed ideas, it became clearer that in fact this is not just an exercise in raising dollars,” Slater said. “It is a massive undertaking that requires all hands working together through various work streams.”

Slater said that while the decision to equip all of the district’s schools with wireless capability might be a “no-brainer,” the manner in which that infrastructure is implemented is a critical process that will require careful analysis of both the present and the future.

“We need to be thoughtful about what the end goal will look like so we ensure sufficient capacity, bandwidth, ongoing equipment support [and] help desk support,” he said. “We need to overlay on all of this a continuous refresh plan so that any dollar we spend today aren’t rendered obsolete just a few years from now.”

Slater presented the BOE with two specific requests. First, he asked the Finance Committee to look at what funding a rolling technology plan would look like and if and how it could fit into the budget. BOE Vice President and Finance Committee Chair Richard Mattessich said that the group has already begun to look into the budget to assess the district’s financial capabilities.  

Second, Slater asked the administration to look at how other districts are handling this issue and if they have hired a district-wide digital media specialist or supervisor.

BOE member Ginny Leiz, also a member of the Technology Committee, emphasized the importance of educators using technology in the classroom.

“It really is about the driving force of curriculum,” Leiz said. “The plan is to embed 21st century skills into the everyday lives of our children.

“Learning doesn’t really have borders anymore,” she added.

Slater also let the BOE know that the Technology Committee had instructed the district’s technology specialist, Brian Aauker, to perform a wireless survey of the district to determine the number and optimal locations of access points in order for each school to receive adequate coverage.

The BOE discussed updating the district’s website and making better use of social media in order to make the site more user-friendly and a resource parents and students are more likely to go to. There were also discussions of assessing the costs and benefits of an outside consultant to assist the district’s contemplation of new technological choices and talking to its current web provider to determine who should be in charge of the process on a district level.

“Exciting stuff,” BOE President Julia Walker said upon the conclusion of the discussion.