The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Using Computers
in American Primary Schools

Overview

• Explanatory Notes

• Domestic Aspects
  of the Fellowship

  • Purpose of the Fellowship

  • Success of the Fellowship

  • The Fellowship Grant

  • Suggestions for Future Fellows

  • Dissemination of the Report

• Professional Aspects
  of the Fellowship

  • Overview

  • Information & Communications Technology (ICT)

  • Delivering the ICT Curriculum

  • Other Curriculum Areas

  • Assisting with Teaching Tasks

  • School Administration
    and Management

  • Electronic Communication

• Conclusion

• Appendices

  • Acknowledgements

  • Itinerary

  • Technical Details

  • Internet Links

  • TELDEC Grant Project

  • Gates Foundation Grants

  • US Dept of Education
    Executive Summary

  • WebQuests

• Picture Gallery

Destinations

I visited elementary schools in Seattle and Kelso, the county town of Cowlitz County in the south of Washington State. My time was spent in the following ways:

• visiting classrooms to observe teaching and learning which made use of ICT

• taking part in staff meetings and training sessions

• having discussions with students, teaching staff, school-based support staff, school management, parents

I also visited a number of other organisations such as Kelso School District, The Gates Foundation and Educational Service District (ESD) 112. (See Appendix 2: Itinerary)

Weekends were generally free from ‘official’ visits and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Seattle and some of Washington State’s glorious landscapes. Mount Rainier and Mount St Helens are particularly spectacular! As a resident of Kelso, Scotland I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to our sister town. (Robert Crawford, a native of Kelso, Scotland founded Kelso, Washington in 1840. He was surveying the territory and liked the area so much he decided to stay!)

Paradise, from Mount Rainier

The United States Education System

The table which follows is a very simplistic view of the ‘chain of command’ in the American system.

Policy Development and Accountability

As the table above shows, educational policy is determined at a number of levels both nationally and locally. National programmes are augmented by State and District policies and schools are expected to take account of all of these.

Accountability operates at a number of levels:

• Curriculum expectations are based on Federal and State standards which all pupils should reach. While schools and individual teachers have a great deal of flexibility and autonomy regarding methodology and content, there is no doubt that these standards define the central curriculum targets. A set of standards for ICT - International Technological Standards for Education (ITSE) – is currently being developed.

•  In some cases national and state funding is related to the successful implementation of programmes.

•  Many schools benefit from grants from independent organisations. For example Gates Foundation Grants are dependent on a school or a district meeting the criteria specified within the terms of the grant. Continuing involvement by Foundation personnel during the grant period ensures ongoing accountability.

Ethos and Behaviour

I found a uniformly positive approach at all levels throughout my trip. A particularly interesting experience was a Kelso School Board meeting attended by Board members, School District officials, teachers, parents and other members of the local community. (A School Board is broadly equivalent to a Local Authority’s Education Committee in Scotland. A Board is composed of members elected by the local community. It is advised by officials from the School District.) The issue was whether or not a local levy should be introduced to raise $45 million for improvements in all of the District’s schools. (Incidentally, many of the improvements related to ICT provision.) Although those who spoke held strong views, at no point was anyone blamed for past actions and everyone present readily accepted their responsibilities. In short the agenda was ‘How can we work together to improve the quality of education provided in Kelso schools’.

This positive approach was also much in evidence in schools. The words ‘RESPONSIBILITY’ and ‘RESPECT’ appeared everywhere. Good behaviour and good learning were rewarded in a variety of ways and children were very clear about what and why they were learning. Children were complimented regularly by their teachers (and by other children) for good work, good ideas and good actions.

There was a ‘zero tolerance’ approach in that ANY misbehaviour or disrespect was acted upon. This perhaps implies an ultra-strict regime. This is not the case. Staff were always respectful to children and preferred a quiet one-to-one discussion where the responsibility was put upon the child to explain his/her behaviour.

Teachers want to teach and children want to learn!

Staffing, Buildings and Resources

Schools were well staffed in all categories. Although the number of class teachers was broadly similar to Scotland which allowed class sizes of between 25 and 30, the numbers and types of support staff were extensive. These included curriculum specialist teachers (eg Music, PE, ICT), Special Needs teachers and assistants, psychologist, librarian, classroom assistants, office staff, playground staff, physiotherapist and occupational therapist. In Seattle, schools had a great many foreign language teachers as there were so many children for whom English was not the first language. In High Point Elementary for instance, 14 languages other than English were spoken within the school community.

Without exception all of the school buildings I visited were spacious, safe, attractive and well maintained. Classrooms and other teaching areas provided ample space for classes and their requirements. Schools were also well served with dedicated spaces for a range of other purposes eg Special Needs staff, games halls and resource bases. All schools had wonderful well-stocked libraries!

All schools had PA systems throughout the building and these were widely used for school announcements and other internal communications. These systems were not universally appreciated by all school staff!

Playgrounds were also excellent with a mixture of large tarred and grassed areas. A particular attraction was the provision of covered outdoor areas for wet break times.

Playground at High Point Elementary School, Seattle

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