Saratoga News

SUSD schools entering the Information Superhighway

By Sue Fagalde Lick

They may not always be sure exactly where they're going, but staff and students at Saratoga Union School District's four campuses and the district office are boasting these days that they have made it onto the information superhighway.

At the Jan. 9 board of trustees meeting, Superintendent Mary Gardner told the board that all of the district facilities are well on their way to being fully computerized and linked to the Internet. The schools each have computer labs, computers have been placed in the classrooms, and the staff has access to email.

The whole system is soon to be networked not only within the district but with the rest of the world. In the near future, the district will even have its own home page. By March, the wiring will be done at all of the schools to take students and teachers anywhere a computer can go.

One of the places SUSD students can travel on the Internet is Saratoga High School. Board President Cindy Ruby noted that the system will enable the younger students to engage in projects with their high school counterparts.

As SUSD merges onto the information superhighway under the guidance of Technology Coordinator Milt Grover, most of the drivers have been parent volunteers who have come forward to share their money and their expertise with the staff. The district has a parent docent program, modeled after its art docent program. Teachers have been paired up with parents who understand computers and are available to answer questions and help with problems.

Money for the technology surge, estimated last May to cost approximately $200,000, has come from a joint effort by the district, the Saratoga Education Foundation and technology committees at the schools all working together to obtain grants and donations and hold a variety of fundraisers. A year and a half ago, it didn't seem possible that they would reach this stage so soon, Gardner said.

An offer by Bay Networks to contribute approximately$30,000 worth of hardware, installation, software and training helped the district move ahead. They also took money from a creek study grant to pay for connecting to the outside T1 line that hooks up the school networks to the Internet.

At each school, parts of the technology puzzle are still missing, although they have enough equipment to get started. Gardner gave the board a school-by-school listing of the supplies on hand and those that are still needed.

At Argonaut Elementary School, the lab has 16 multi-media computers which will be networked. The media center has one computer for student use. Seven more Macintosh computers are needed to equip each classroom for the Internet.

At Foothill Elementary School, the district has applied for a grant through the Valley Foundation to cover the $56,000 cost of upgrading and replacing outdated computers in the lab. The media center has two computers for student use. All of the classrooms have new or upgraded Internet-capable computers, and eight classes have more than one.

At Saratoga Elementary School, the lab is in the process of acquiring 16 computers, the media center has one computer for student use, and the classrooms are acquiring 13 multi-media computers. More than $22,000 for computer equipment was raised at the school's Evening at the Villa fundraiser in December.

At Redwood Middle School, the lab has 15 computers ready to use, and instructional programs employing the computers were scheduled to begin this month. The media center has five computers for student use. The computer instruction lab is heavily used and needs 34 upgraded computers and peripherals, Gardner said. For the classrooms to all have Internet access, 11 computers need to be upgraded or purchased.

Gardner said the next challenge will be the "enormous" amount of training needed, plus setting up policies for use of the computer systems and building support networks. However, she added, "The potential is tremendous."

To help integrate the new technology into instructional programs, the district has hired Doris Heller, using a combination of Saratoga Education Foundation and district money. She will work four days a week to provide technical support to the principals and teachers and to help guide them on the information superhighway.