may come in a very different form from that which they have kept in view…”
The Independent
Hi All,
This week’s brief blast of wintry weather will quickly remind us that it’s not just late fall anymore. I returned
yesterday from a weekend hockey excursion to Clifton Park, NY with my older son Kevin. It was a series of
well-played games, but two out of the three ended up as one-goal losses for the local team. I did get a chance to
get a little more sleep than I normally do, and missing out on the finals allowed us to beat the snow home and
arrive in time to put up and decorate the Christmas tree.
I was very pleased last Thursday to hear about the tentative contractual agreement reached between the
Framingham Teachers’ Association and the Framingham School Committee. This came after many negotiation
sessions and averts a potentially divisive escalation of pressure to get this settled. It appears as though there are
a few hurdles still to cover, and the deal has to be approved by both the full school committee and a vote of the
entire Unit A teacher membership. Hopefully this will occur within a month and we can put this issue behind
us. Thank you to everyone on both sides who worked hard to nail this down.
Some of you may have seen the recent articles in the news regarding the initiative by MIT to post information
about every course taught there on the Internet. This effort was started in 2001, and the initial goal was to
have all MIT course materials available for free on the web. As of this moment there are over 1800 course
syllabi, 15,000 sets of lecture notes, 9,000 homework and project assignments, and 900 exams available. In
addition there are over 2600 video and audio clips included. The idea here is to inspire the next generation of
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students from high school and to challenge them
with the actual content from one of the premier STEM institutions in the world.
This monumental effort was declared essentially complete last Friday, and the access site can be reached at the
following address : http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/hs/home/home/index.htm. Even more intriguing is another
effort spawned from this initiative called the Highlights for High School. This takes much of the coursework
organized for MIT undergrads and categorizes it based on the current subject specific AP exams. This user-
friendly approach has been accessed by thousands of high school teachers nationwide.
This concept of making more and more information available to the public via the Internet has enormous
implications. I often wonder how much the infusion of technology in public schools actually impacts student
learning. The reality is there are very few studies to suggest that the massive investment in computers and
networks by public schools has improved student achievement at all. In my view, I can’t imagine how that can
be the case, but there is a tremendous cost to this infrastructure, and to this point there is no way to fund it. As
always, public schools need to be careful where they allocate their scarce resources, and technology upgrades
tend to take a back seat to paying for quality teachers. There are plenty of studies to indicate the quality of the
teacher in front of the classroom has a huge impact on student learning.
The current generation of students moving through high schools no longer has to be concerned with finding
access to information. It used to be that one had to have access to a vast library of printed reference materials in
order to obtain information and knowledge. This consolidated resources in a few areas and if you were lucky
enough to get there, finding what you needed was still an arduous chore. The difference now is that virtually
everyone can have access to more information than anyone ever dreamed of 25 years ago. The challenge now is
in teaching students not how to find information, but how to filter what they find.
Universal access to the Internet is imperative for every individual in the workplace and in the public schools. I
believe that within the next 15 years wireless Internet access will be available and provided by most
municipalities in a manner similar to the street lighting of today. Not having this option in the public schools
would be foolish, and we need to make sure we have the equipment and the unfettered access that we need and
will depend on for the future.
So what will it cost to maintain this level of technology capability in the public schools? I believe it is
important to keep our computer infrastructure current, and I think we all agree. By my definition, that would
mean that our computers are no more than five years old. With 1000 computers at FHS, that would mean
replacing 200/year at a cost of $1000 each (including a 2-year extended warranty for full replacement
coverage). The easy math on that one adds up to $200,000 annually. In comparison, that is over half our entire
school operating budget. Regardless, that’s what I’ve exactly what I’ve asked for in the budget for next year.
We’ll see what happens.
Only 13 ½ days left until the December break. Your department heads should have informed you about plans
for this week’s Professional Day designed to work with the middle schools. The kids will be out at 10:50 pm.
Winter sports are starting up this week. Try to check out some games if you’re in the building late in the
afternoon.
Statistic Of The Week
First Term, 2007 Departmental Grade Percentages
(excludes teacher assistants & independent studies):