Tech Day at Capitol today
Want to learn what your teenager means when they start talking about gigabytes, Skyp, or their new iPod touches?
You’re not alone, and apparently the state’s lawmakers feel the need to be tech savvy as well.
Today is “Tech Day” at the state Capitol with students from all over Oklahoma sharing their knowledge in a day-long presentation.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the students will be camped out at the fourth floor rotunda with exhibits demonstrating the latest in technology.
“This will be an exciting event and it’s an excellent opportunity for lawmakers, reporters and the general public to get insight into the extent of technology as a learning tool,” State Superintendent Sandy Garrett said in a press release.
Schools participating were from Comanche, Crescent, Howe, McAlester, Muskogee, Norman, Ponca City, Putnam City and Sperry public schools.
State expands window for testing
In case you missed it in today’s paper, the state has added more time for Oklahoma schools to administer mandated tests.
The decision was made in response to the number of days schools have had to remain closed due to winter storms. Some schools in southeast Oklahoma have up to seven days to make up.
All of that missed instruction time had teachers, parents and students worried about the high stakes tests coming up at the end of this month and the middle of April.
“We need to provide time for educators and students to get caught up in their lesson plans before having major tests,” State Education Superintendent Sandy Garrett said in a press release sent out Wednesday.
The expansions give a longer “window” for the exams to be given.
For example, the writing exam for Grades 5 and 8 was originally to be given on Feb. 24, but schools can now select the alternate date of March 3.
The math and reading tests for third through eighth grade students received a one week expansion and can now be given from April 12 to May 7.
View the new calendar here.
Impact of cuts shown in district survey
A survey of school districts throughout the state showed that budget cuts were hitting home this year with 1,200 positions either remaining vacant or being eliminated this year.
The on line survey was conducted by the State Education Department to track “schools’ financial and staffing situations for the current school year.”
Of 532 districts in the state, 524 responded.
Perhaps most grim was the report that across the state 24 career teacher positions were eliminated in a year that the districts’ enrollment increased by 9,700 students.
Additionally given the current budget reduction, districts have cut 56 probationary teacher positions, seven counselor, 14 administrator and 235 support staff positions.
Administrative budgets are being cut across the state, and most districts cut somewhere between $1 and $20,000 from the budgets.
Ten schools have cut more than $100,000 from their administrative budgets.
Northeast High raising funds for Haiti
Students in the Northeast Health and Science Academy are attempting to raise $500 to donate to the American Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
The campaign, “Hearts for Haiti,” has the high school students selling hearts for $1 at school and during home basketball games over the next two weeks, according to a media release from Oklahoma City Public Schools.
OKCPS special meeting on snow days
The Oklahoma City School Board has scheduled a special meeting Thursday, Feb. 4, to discuss ways to make up the six days missed so far this school year due to weather.
The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. and Board Chairwoman Angela Monson requested at the last meeting that no options “should be off the table right now.”
Options discussed at Monday’s board meeting included adding days to the end of the school year, Saturday school, shortening spring break, adding school days on holidays or teacher work days or adding time to the end of each school day.
District praises UCO urban teacher program
An Urban Teacher Preparation Academy will kick off this fall brining 11 student-teachers from the University of Central Oklahoma into three city schools for a full year.
“The potential here is phenomenal,” Oklahoma City Schools Superintendent Karl Springer said Monday night as the plan was presented to the School Board. “We can cause our education program here to take off.”
The program focuses on the challenges of teaching in urban schools and provides college students a full year of student teaching before they graduate and are placed in an Oklahoma City Public School.
Three schools – Linwood Elementary, Taft Middle and Capitol Hill – were selected as the test sites for this new program.
“My biggest apology to you is that we don’t have more than just 11 students,” College of Education associate dean Bill Pink said. “Our plan for cohort two is to have six sites and more students.”
Pink said that they are waiting to hear about a $2.3 million grant application from the U.S. Department of Education, but that even if the grant isn’t received the program will move forward.
Students in their third year in the College of Education applied for the program and after completing a year working in the classroom as paid teacher aids, the students will graduate.
Then students have pledged to remain in the Oklahoma City Public Schools for another two years with support and mentorship from UCO staff.
Capitol Hill robotics team seeks funding
Last year a group of Capitol Hill High School students and their robot “Pyro-Maniac” took second place in Dallas at the regional For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST).
This year the students are hoping to participate in two regional competitions one here and one in Kansas City, Mo., but students need help funding the project and trips, according to a media release from Oklahoma City Public Schools.
The group’s ultimate goal is to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition in Atlanta this year, however, they must qualify at regional events. The competition has teams of 25 students developing a brand for their robot, soliciting funds to develop and build a robot that can perform a specific task.
Last February in Oklahoma City the schools built robots that could throw balls into trailers pulled by the robots of other teams.
Roger Jackson, coach of Robotics at Captiol Hill, said in a media release that the program is “as close to ‘real-world engineering’ as a student can get.”
“We want to spark our student’s interest in engineering,” he said.
People interested in donating to the program can call Rodney Emerson or Mathew Johnson at 616-1210.
