District Administration - March 2010 - (Page 12)

Br iefings NewsUpdate Too Much Money Funneled Into Competitive Programs? President Obama’s fy 2011 budget proposal, released feb. 1, includes a $400 billion investment in education—but it lacks any funding specifically dedicated to school libraries. funding for individual programs, such as the improving Literacy Through school Libraries grant and the enhancing education Through technology (eett) program, has been consolidated, effectively eliminating the programs and denying many districts the funds they need. The improving Literacy Through school Libraries grant provided access to modern library materials to local education agencies with at least 20 percent of families living below the poverty line. The bush administration had allocated over $19 million for the program between 2006 and 2009. although minimal, the federal money was still available. The funds formerly apportioned to the grant program will now be condensed with others as part of a competitive program. “We’re basically disappointed,” said Cassandra barnett, president of the american association of school Librarians (aasL) and media specialist at fayetteville High school in arkansas. “This program was getting school libraries acknowledged again, and now we are not even recognized in the budget.” in response to President Obama’s budget statement, the american association of school administrators reused in the Westerly district. These clients have proven to be effective in not only their capability, but overall savings, as well. Thirty-five zero-client stations are predicted to save the district $159,320 over a three-year period. The district funded its zero client endeavors in part with a state grant, the rhode island Teach- Zero Clients— Even Thinner Than Thin Clients The populAriTy of Thin clienTs may soon diminish as districts catch wind of zero clients, the latest computer technology that is even thinner and lower maintenance. Zero clients, small silver portals the size of a Big Mac box, differ from thin clients in that they have no internal processing at all. “it is more or less a portal between the user and the keyboard,” says Mark lamson, director of technology for the Westerly (r.i.) public schools (Wps). “it strokes back to a virtual machine which is running securely in the data center.” officials at Wps, which serves 3,300 students, began considering opportunities in virtualization when they updated their high school computer lab in spring 2008. Zero client stations, which rely on a centralized host computer for all information processing, stood out as an alternative that addressed the district’s needs for a system requiring little maintenance, energy or physical space. satisfied with the results, by fall 2009, officials began implementing 40 additional zero clients into their middle school. These stations do not require the maintenance and service associated with individual pcs. Thin clients, while also requiring less maintenance than pcs, still hold some version of a pc embedded in them. “Thin clients have an operating system inside of them,” says lamson, “and some of the headaches that go along with it.” “The biggest benefit of zero clients is their significant reduction of operating costs,” says parmeet chaddha, executive vice president of engineering at pano logic, manufacturer of the zero client stations 12 March 2010 President Obama released his FY 2011 budget on February 1, which included a $3 billion increase to education spending. sponded with this statement: “aasa applauds the support for and investment in education in President Obama’s 2011 budget proposal and the changes in no Child Left behind that are assumed in the proposal. However, aasa is concerned with the decision to shift a significantly larger proportion of dollars into competitive grant program.” eett is another federal program that did not receive recognition in the budget. “We are deeply concerned about the President’s proposal to consolidate the eett program, which would leave our nation with no dedicated federal education technology funding,” said the Consortium for school networking (Cosn) in a statement. barnett remains optimistic, however, that educators will rally support from the House and senate before the budget is finalized in september 2010. ers and Technology initiative (riTTi), which is given to teachers who participate in continuing technology training. According to lamson, the future looks bright for zero clients as more districts begin investing in virtualization. “i think there’s a great opportunity to lower total cost of ownership for any district, big or small.” District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - March 2010

District Administration - March 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Curriculum Update
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Toward a More Perfect Union
The Moxie of Kathy Cox
Logging On to Learn
Battling Sexual Abuse
Supervisor’s Opinion
Problem/Solution
Crisis Response
Product Focus
New Products
Tech Disruptions

District Administration - March 2010