School Administrator

Laptop Magic

Affordability is the least of the challenges to succeed in a district's digital conversion

February 2012 Number 2 Vol. 69

Features

Our Digital Conversion
BY MARK EDWARDS
As the architect of two districtwide, 1-to-1 laptop programs, the author knows well that academic successes have somewhat less to do with the use of new technology than with a fundamental rethinking of teaching and learning. He details the curricular changes and the rise in expectations for all teachers as the real story in Mooresville, N.C.

Creating capacity to apply our digital tools

The Affordability Question
BY SCOTT LAFEE
Launching and sustaining a laptop initiative isn’t inexpensive, but as the story of a half dozen school districts shows, a variety of financing paths await your first steps. Beginning with modest pilots is a common but not universal theme.

Expect Surprises With 1-to-1 Laptops
BY ERICH G. TUSCH
Thoughtful planning is essential, but even that can’t prevent the unanticipated when you place a new laptop computer in the eager hands of every student and staff member. The author counts six major surprises during his time implementing a 1-to-1 initiative in a New Jersey school district.

Frontline

STARTING POINT
The editor gives credit where it’s due for the genesis of a new monthly column that tackles ethical dilemmas.

BEST OF THE BLOGS
Member blogs on our new microsite, AASA Connect, including those by superintendents Dave Britten, Wyoming, Mich.; Daniel Frazier, Sioux Rapids, Iowa; Cynthia Lane, Kansas City, Kan.; Michael Maryanski, Maple Valley, Wash.; and Michael Smith, Tuscola, Ill.

ETHICAL EDUCATOR
Charity for a Grade
Our experts tackle a case of well-intentioned teachers building incentives into community service for their students. But is the payoff appropriate?
Available on our new microsite, AASA Connect.

LEGAL BRIEF
Disciplining Student Misconduct in Cyberspace
BY NANCY FREDMAN KRENT
Students post outlandish claims on Facebook and raunchy videos on YouTube, so you need to know where to start on a case of technology-enabled misbehavior.

BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT
Engaging Your Board in Reform Policy Work
BY DONALD R. McADAMS
Superintendents may find it easier to just act with the blessings of a not-fully-informed board than to challenge board members to understand the issues. That, would be a mistake.

MY VIEW
My Stroke of Luck
BY NICHOLAS I. CLEMENT
Though he’s been an educator for 36 years, one superintendent discovered through a serious health setback that he still had much to learn about the interaction of student and teacher.

From Mind-Set to Mind Change
BY MARY B. HERRMANN
Adopting the vantage point of an “outsider” has its advantages, enabling superintendents to work as transformational leaders.

The Soul of the Enterprise
BY THOMAS P. McGARRY
Drawn to the example of Southwest Airlines, the author, a retired superintendent, believes organizational culture is meaningless if it does not manifest itself in frequent inspections, and high levels of safety and customer satisfaction.

RESOURCE BANK
Summaries of two recent doctoral dissertations on the superintendency — one on the effects of shared superintendencies to address declining enrollment and the second on practices of four superintendents whose school districts outperformed demographically similar districts.

BOOK REVIEWS

Change Leader
by Michael Fullan
Reviewed by
Diane E. Reed

How to Plan Rigorous Instruction
by Robyn R. Jackson
Reviewed by
Paul A. Shaw

Leadership for Social Justice and Democracy in Our Schools
by Alan Blankstein and Paul D. Houston
Reviewed by
Zach Kelehear

Schools Cannot Do It Alone
by Jamie Vollmer
Reveiewed by Darroll Hargraves

Strategic Communications For School Leaders
by Vicki Gunther, James McGowan and Kate Donegan
Reviewed by Leon T. Hobbs

Terms of Engagement
by Richard H. Axelrod
Reviewed by
Darroll Hargraves

AASAInsight

PRESIDENT’S CORNER
The Untold Story of 1-to-1 Computing
BY PATRICIA E. NEUDECKER
As simply a vehicle for learning, mobile computing devices alone will no more improve student achievement than a pen or a paintbrush.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE
Attending to the Full Needs of Children
BY DANIEL A. DOMENECH
The executive director’s rundown of how your association is actively involved in direct services to school-age children in need.

PEOPLE WATCH
This month’s compilation of AASA members on the rise through promotion to their latest career stops.

PROFILE
Andrés A. Alonso
BY PAUL RIEDE
The superintendent in Baltimore, Md., Andrés Alonso, applies the toughness of a corporate litigator with empathetic understanding of the student experience.

Plus