The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

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  • Kimberly Bellamy

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July 16, 2009

REPORT CARD

e're on the top of a very good list'

KIMBERLY BELLAMY

One of the first points the Golden K Kiwanis Club heard from Edgecombe County Public Schools Superintendent Craig Witherspoon Wednesday is that textbooks are things of the past and technology is the present and future.

The organization was updated on the effectiveness of Edgecombe County traditional high school students using laptops in and out of the classroom for the first semester.

Edgecombe Early College High School students received laptops last spring through a grant from Golden LEAF.

Witherspoon cited the lag time in retrieving information after waiting for writers to research and compose, and the publishers to print and distribute, while computers provide instant information.

“Things are growing, and changing so much now exponentially,” he said.

With the district having evidence that the traditional ways were becoming outdated, they started pursuing ways to initiate the 1:1 Laptop Initiative in 2005. Witherspoon said that one of their first barriers was finding funding.

“I’ve never been a person to say ‘why not ... I say why can’t we,’” Witherspoon said.

Tarboro Councilman Steve Hoard, who proposed setting up countywide wireless connectivity as a project to be funded during the Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative last summer, introduced Witherspoon.

“The thing I respect most about him is he thinks about what he’s going to do, and then he does it,” Hoard said.

The district received about $2 million from Golden LEAF for the project, and was allotted money for a wireless feasibility study, which is the first step in bringing Hoard’s proposal to reality.

After putting infrastructure in place on the school level and training teachers, laptops were given to about 2,100 high school students.

"We're on the top of a very good list. We're the first county with multiple high schools with the program," Witherspoon said.

Now, six months later the district is reflecting on the care, and use of the laptops, and making plans for the first full year with the computers.

"Our program went extremely well, and I credit that to staff, students, and everybody in the district," Witherspoon said.

Across other districts with the program, the damage rate is between 5-8 percent Witherspoon reported, but Edgecombe's program only had between a 3-5 percent damage rate. Out of the 2,000 plus computers, only four are missing.

"They're getting their same laptops back so there is an incentive to take care of it," he said. "What we found in districts similar to ours is they will take care of it, they want to have it."

The presence of more technology has helped in the area of participation as well.

"We seen attendance increase, they seem to be more engaged, and more involved," Witherspoon said.

As the program begins to advance, Witherspoon said that there will be a shift towards more online work.

Tarboro Mayor Donald Morris mentioned that his grandson has taken an online English class at the Early College, and he saw the benefits from that approach.

"It worked out very, very successful doing that kind of course online," Morris said.

"Schools are going to look different in 5-10 years. You're going to see more online classes and more of a link with the community colleges," Witherspoon said.

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