By Andrew Martins
Staff Writer
JACKSON – During an afternoon class at the Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School, the collective concentration of more than a dozen pupils is evident on the youngster’s faces. A project is underway and each child is doing his work with keystrokes or a swipe of his finger – but not with a pen and a piece of paper.
It was a sign of the times that Jackson School District administrators gathered to celebrate on March 4, culminating a nearly four-year collaboration with the PTA.
“Within 10 minutes of meeting with the PTA, I realized how extensive and involved they were in fundraising and in the community,” Rosenauer Principal Ronald Polakowski said. “I was trying every way possible to tap that enthusiasm … for a school this size. It’s a game-changer to say the least.”
Polakowski said a concerted effort to acquire and implement new technology in the school began with PTA members and school administrators agreeing that they wanted to prepare students for a technological world by providing devices in every classroom and touchscreen technology for pupils in the first and second grades.
Through PTA fundraising efforts and with financial support from the Board of Education, Polakowski said the school has been able to achieve that goal.
“It’s a technological world and you have to know it,” PTA member Dawn Giovanetti said. “Being able to learn (to use technology) in school and seeing how you can use it is such an asset for the kids and their future.”
Officials said that by the end of 2013, Rosenauer was the first school in Jackson to have complete wi-fi (wireless) coverage in all of its corridors and classrooms. Polakowski said that improvement by itself pushed the school into the digital age.
“Because of the wi-fi coverage, we were able to [conduct standardized testing] for all of our students in the morning, while some schools had to do shifts because they did not have enough technology,” he said.
Over the years, support from the PTA and the school board has led to the use of more than 40 iPad mobile computing devices, more than a dozen touch screen devices, a number of projection devices, 10 laptop computers and more than 60 Chromebook laptop computers for educational purposes.
Of the school’s 60 Chromebook computers, half were purchased with PTA funding and half were provided by the school district, which also provided the devices to the other nine schools in Jackson.
Superintendent of Schools Stephen Genco said the acquisition of Chromebook computers and other technology is an important goal in the district’s budget each year.
The continuous wi-fi coverage has allowed Rosenauer administrators to implement a “Bring Your Own Device” program for students in grades four and five. Polakowski said the program lends a level of familiarity to the students’ learning and class time.
“[Wi-fi coverage] allows us to not only use Chromebooks, but also everything from smartphones to tablets to laptops; whatever students have access to and can bring in,” the principal said. “It doesn’t change the curriculum, it enhances things.”
While much of the focus was initially on how technology could enhance curriculum, Polakowski said the technology upgrades have also made for a more secure learning environment.
With the wi-fi system now in place, administrators employ more than a dozen security cameras at Rosenauer and can monitor traffic in and around the school in real time.
Although most of the focus was on in-school technology, district administrators also outlined new resources called Raz-Kids and IXL Math which allow students to work at home without the need for parental assistance. Children who use the program can have their progress tracked by their teachers.
“Kids learn best with what they know, so when we talk about technology it is technology-enriched education,” Genco said. “Technology is not taking the place of what we strongly believe is irreplaceable – the teacher.”