OnTuesday, January 31, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna presented anupdate on Students Come First and the work of the Technology Task Force to the JointHouse and Senate Education Committees. The following are Superintendent Luna’sprepared remarks for the update on the work of the Technology Task Force. Afull list of recommendations is available on the Students Come First website.
Withthis, I will now turn to the Technology Task Force Report.
Iwill provide a brief background on the Technology Task Force and then turn thetime over to each of the Subcommittee Chairs who are here today to report onthe recommendations that this Task Force unanimously approved in December.
Letme quickly introduce each of the Subcommittee Chairs:
· Rep.Reed DeMordaunt led the One-to-One Governance and Instructional IntegrationSubcommittee.
· StefaniCook, Idaho’s 2011 Teacher of the Year, led the Classroom TechnologyIntegration Subcommittee.
· JaysonRonk of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, led the Platform,Specifications, and Procurement Subcommittee.
· AndyGrover, superintendent of the Melba School District, led the Online LearningImplementation Subcommittee.
As part ofthe Students Come First laws, we created a task force to study and developplans for the successful implementation of the technology components of theselaws and directed me to report back on the Task Force’s work by January 31,2012.
You eachhave a copy of the full, written report.
Underthe law, the Task Force had to be made up of at least 28 members, 17 of which Icould appoint and 11 of which were appointed by educational stakeholder groups,the Idaho Legislature, and the Office of the Governor.
Sincewe wanted to ensure we had a wide range of experienced perspectives, I expandedthe membership of the Task Force to include parents, school board trustees, andmore classroom teachers.
InMay, I asked people from across Idaho to apply if they were interested inparticipating on the Task Force.
Iappointed Task Force members based on their experience, willingness to worktogether and the perspective they could bring to the table.
TheTask Force included school district superintendents, district technologydirectors, secondary school principals, a district business manager, a head ofa virtual public charter school, a head of a traditional public charter schoolthat serves grades 9-12, secondary classroom teachers, representatives of thebusiness community, school board trustees, parents, and at-large communitymembers.
12educators served on the Task Force, 4 of whom currently serve as classroomteachers.
Youcan see from the next slide, the Task Force also included the following groups:
InJune, 38 individuals came together with different ideas, attitudes and opinionsabout education reform in Idaho.
Theyworked as a large Task Force together at times and also worked in subcommitteesfor part of the time.
Theyconducted site visits to states and districts that have successfully implemented1:1 initiatives, including:
- Maine
- Auburn, Alabama, and
- Klein, Texas
Weheard other reports from experts in digital learning, teachers in Denver,professors at Boise State, and teachers right here in Idaho who havesuccessfully integrated technology in their classrooms.
After7 months of study and hard work, each subcommittee brought forward a series ofrecommendations in December.
TheTask Force unanimously passed these recommendations.
Withtheir recommendations, we now will be able to provide equal educationopportunities for all Idaho students and the tools and resources Idaho teachersneed to raise academic achievement.
Now,Mr. Chair, with your permission, I will turn the time over to each SubcommitteeChair to present their recommendations.