Edutopia - April/May 2008 - (Page 45)

oPablo Muñoz Brings tech to an urban district. P ablo Muñoz, superintendent of the Elizabeth Public Schools, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, has a plan. It’s ninety-nine pages long, but he boils it down succinctly: “We want to make technology available to our students, starting with the prekindergarten three-yearolds, and going all the way through the high school level.” In addition to Internet access in every classroom of the thirty-school district, all rooms are equipped with four or more PCs, plus the teacher’s computer. Most classrooms also have interactive television, and eight of the district’s schools have interactive whiteboards. But the Elizabeth Schools Technology Plan, developed under Muñoz’s leadership, is much more than a high tech infrastructure. Of greater importance, he emphasizes, “is the plan’s other strand—the actual use of instructional technology, and the kids end up doing a pretty wonderful job of using it.” Complementing the classroom technology, the district’s instructional models call for small groups of students to “rotate through the classroom’s computer center,” says Muñoz, giving them more individualized computer time using software on the schools’ master servers and accessing the Web. Language arts, math, science, and social studies are central in the district’s curricula. Muñoz says an interconnected humanities curriculum is still under development. A few years ago, when he was the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, “we started to design WebQuests,” Muñoz says. “A WebQuest is a lesson the teacher creates around a particular topic, which students then research on the Web, but within a structure. You set up the questions and give them guiding links,” Muñoz explains. “They go out on the Web, ⇒nd the information, and report back. It’s all done in class.” The district applies the same proactive approach in training its teachers. Its technology plan outlines a teacher-training program that gives new teachers a self-assessment assign- ment; those identifying themselves as in need of training receive district-provided instruction to become competent in appropriate technologies. Muñoz knows the Elizabeth schools inside and out not merely because it’s his job but also because he grew up in the district and went through the public schools there—he’s a 1987 Elizabeth High School graduate. After receiving an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a master’s degree from Columbia University, he returned to the district as a social studies teacher. “My passion is connecting with individuals—in this case, students— and trying to help them improve their lives,” Muñoz says. “The ⇒rst step for me was to be a teacher.” Does he miss being in the classroom every day? “I do,” he replies. “I think that I will end up back there somehow. Informally, as the superintendent, I try to teach as often as I can.” Muñoz typically adheres to a schedule of classroom visits every Tuesday and Thursday morning. In prekindergarten through second grade, he reads to the kids and talks to them about the stories. In the third, fourth, and ⇒fth grades, he may give a short talk on, as he describes it, “skills and behaviors they need to do well in preparation for middle school, high school, and college.” When he visits middle school classrooms, Muñoz focuses on homework and topics such as the impact education can have on one’s earnings over a lifetime. He often has roundtable discussions with the high school students, answering questions and assuring them, as he puts it, “that they can achieve great things if they set their minds to it.” Muñoz is deeply rooted in the Elizabeth area, and he’s well known for his commitment to parent and community involvement. In spring 2007, he strengthened that commitment by elevating the district’s connection with the outside world. “I created the position of assistant superintendent for family and community outreach,” he says. “I appointed a longtime employee who was working here as a principal at the time. We have a cadre of parent liaisons in the schools who all report to him. He has been instrumental in connecting with community leaders, creating a bridge between them and the schools.” In conversation, Muñoz gives considerable credit to his colleagues for the district’s successes. “I talk to my cabinet—high-ranking members of my staff—and one of the important pieces that I talk about is that it’s not about me, it’s about the work we do for the children,” he says. “My fundamental passion is educating our children at the highest levels to deliver to them what I was given when I was a youth, which is high expectations, the dream to complete college, and to be able to use those educational tools, combined with the University of Life, to raise your own family and live the way you want to, but happily.” EDUTOPIA.ORG EDUTOPIA 45 http://EDUTOPIA.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Edutopia - April 2008

Edutopia - April 2008 Contents Up Front Feedback Dispatches Sage Advice Ask Ellen Head of the Class Cool Schools Design Reinventing the Big test The Daring Dozen Heart & Soul Pop Quiz: Jack Prelutsky

Edutopia - April 2008

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