Bridging the Digital Divide:
Baltimore's Mayor, Martin O'Malley, stated during his State of the City Address in February of 2001: "…this year we will reinvent our middle schools and high schools to ensure that our students know the basics, but also have skills relevant to the workplace…"
Claims are made and initiatives begun, and too often they are not completed. However, there are success stories to be had for the children of South Baltimore, the southern edge ("cutting edge") of the Digital Harbor.
Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle Technology Magnet School #76 has been on the cutting edge of technology since the last millennium. In 1997, FSK, School #76, became the Baltimore City Public School System's only Instructional Technology Magnet School. This designation allowed the school to begin bridging the digital divide even before the Baltimore City began promoting the "Digital Harbor." In fact, FSK has been infusing technology into the delivery of instruction for more than ten years.
"Magnet School" designation allows Francis Scott Key to attract students from across the city. Unlike other "city wide" schools, FSK accepts all students from within their neighborhood. Many citywide schools enroll only the most able students and exclude many with "problems." Francis Scott Key, however, provides a quality education to all who attend.
Scores on the Maryland School Performance Program "report card" demonstrate that FSK has had continuous growth on state performance standards and is always among the top performing schools in the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. The Francis Scott Key staff achieved this high quality performance without the infusion of "extra funds" that often accompany many school initiatives.
Francis Scott Key Technology Magnet School, which averages about 650 enrolled students, has over 250 computers yielding a student/computer ration of 2.6:1. Every classroom is wired for Internet access and has voice and video connections available. With ample computers and a technology-minded faculty, every child is afforded an opportunity to "learn how to use a computer and to use a computer for learning." Middle school students are scheduled for a daily instructional period with a qualified computer teacher in a computer lab.
Francis Scott Key School has an independent Web site, http://www.fsk.org, a "digital" tool that all schools should have (but few do), to provide communication with parents, community members and the world. Unique to this school, a web-based email system is available to teachers, parents and community members under the FSK.org domain, which is unique to this school. The school district cannot afford to provide email to everyone; however, FSK provides this service for anyone who wishes to sign up.
How is this school able to provide a quality education in an era of budgetary constraints? FSK has a truly dedicated staff and many community business partners. For example, a recent donation by the Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse organization provided for a newly refurbished and equipped media center and new Macintosh iMac computers for the eighth grade computer lab.
There are obstacles for this school to overcome. Having begun infusing technology into the curriculum ten years ago FSK is left with a large installed base of "old" technology. The school is faced with continual maintenance chores, and receives little or no help from outside the building.
"If there were a wish list to be granted, the school would like to see even more in the way of community partnerships, especially where services might be donated to help us maintain the physical plant and our digital infrastructure. More specifically, the school would like laptops for teachers, wireless mobile computer labs, a classroom set of 'Palms,' upgraded software to support mathematics instruction, funding for teachers to attend technology conferences, multimedia carts for each classroom, whiteboard displays for each team, software for art and home economics, technology consumables (toner, ink, batteries, CDs, etc.), maintenance (parts and labor) to keep our 'older' equipment usable for students" said the Principal, Mary L. Booker.
"Phase II of the Mayor's technology initiative is equally as ambitious as Phase I. Among the stated objectives:
"an additional 2500 of the computers donated by the Social Security Administration will be installed and operational by the beginning of the next school year. The additional computers will allow approximately one third of the BCPSS to meet the Maryland State Department of Education mandate of one computer per every five students. (Ed. Note: these are outdated, several-year-old machines. This 'generous donation' by the SSA did not include keyboards, mice, monitors or operating systems.)
"in 2001/2002 BCPSS will provide technological training for 1500 teachers, then expand to an annual rate of training 2500 teachers. (Ed. Note: ...and, it is rumored, cut the tech support for schools in 2002.)
"by the end of Year 2001 109 schools will be fully wired for video, voice and data transferal, expanding to the entire school system by the end of Year 2002.
"the Digital Harbor High School will open in the fall 2002.
"by 2005 every school's library will be converted to a state-of-the art information resource center."
"Arlington Elementary was one of the 11 schools identified in Phase I of the Mayor's technology initiative. Today the school stands as an example of what all schools in the City school system will become. The school now has several computers in each classroom, Internet access and has fully integrated computer technology with teaching strategies for all grades." (Office of the Mayor - Press Advisory - May 24, 2001)
