District Administration - May 2012 - (Page 76)

cio Tech funding District Tech Funding in the 2013 Proposed Budget Remains Integrated Federal technology funding for K12 school districts has been integrated into various other funding streams. Subsequently, the technology marketplace will be more efficient in addressing various school and student needs in the coming school year, according to Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology for the Education Department. “We care about a vibrant marketplace so people are incentivized to build better products and not focus so much on money but on complex problems,” Cator says. “As prices come down and quality goes up for learning technologies, there is an expanded opportunity to leverage technology to meet [schools’, teachers’, and students’] needs.” President Barack Obama’s proposed 2013 Education Department budget, which is $69.8 billion, allows technology funding to be integrated into other funds, President Barack Obama proposed a 2013 Edu- just as technology is being integrated into cation Department budget, which allows tech- the K12 curriculum. For example, Cator nology funding to be integrated into other funds. says, if the goal is to ensure that Title I students can read, a district has the discretion to use Title I money for buying software programs or other technology. Under Obama’s 2013 proposal, which is $1.7 billion more than the 2012 budget, Race to the Top funds will increase by $301 million over 2012 levels, for a total of $850 million. This includes funding for the RTTT’s Early Learning Challenge, which helps improve child care quality. In addition, $150 million is proposed for Investing in Innovation (i3) grants to help close achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates and improve teacher and school leader effectiveness. When the funding stream first became integrated in the 2011 budget, education technology advocates spoke out. Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) said, “AASA is deeply concerned with the elimination of the education technology funding within HR 1473. We call on the Administration and Congress to provide a funding stream dedicated to education technology, resources that support the widely-touted goal of an American education system that is globally competitive.” The budget also includes funds for improving STEM education, including $150 million for Effective Teaching and Learning: STEM, which would replace the current Mathematics and Science Partnerships program, and $80 million for STEM teacher training, to support Obama’s goal to prepare 100,000 STEM teachers over the next decade. Congress is expected to approve or make changes to the proposal as early as Sept. 30 or as late as Dec. 31, and finalize the budget. —Angela Pascopella ike seemingly everyone else connected to K12 education, vendors that offer student information systems are being called upon to do more with less. Where past generations of these systems focused on nuts and bolts such as time, attendance and behavioral issues, the latest generation has created—and drawn inspiration from—districts’ desires for all-in-one solutions that blend finance, HR and student data. The current systems also add features like parent portals and mobile access, all tailored toward the stagnant-at-best budgets that districts and states look likely to face well into the 2010s. “It’s not your mother’s student information system,” says Brett Kramer, executive director for improvement initiatives at the Marana (Ariz.) Unified School District, which uses GENESIS software, which is now under the Synergy Education Platform. “Five, six years ago, student information systems were not built to L 76 May 2012 District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2012

District Administration - May 2012
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Sustainability Update
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Problem/Solution
Product Focus
Digital Reading Empowers Students
The Critical Task of Hiring a New Chief
Hard Acts to Follow
Leading the Way
Sally Reis & Joe Renzulli
CIO News
Not Your Mother’s Student Information System
Professional Opinion
Noteworthy Books
New Products
Going Mobile

District Administration - May 2012