LETTERS.

Trimester Advice

I agree fully with Mark Keen's advice in "Three Semesters for Learning" (March 1999). Last fall we implemented the five-period trimester schedule with classes that run 75 minutes long. So far, it has been a real positive change for our small, rural Iowa school.

We have no plans to return to the hectic eight-period schedule, and I think the students and staff would revolt if we tried to go back.

STEVE VANDERPOL

Principal,

Grundy Center High School,

Grundy Center, Iowa 

Our high school, which serves slightly more than 600 students in a small western Pennsylvania town, implemented a trimester program two years ago.

We used a six-period day with one-hour classes. The flexibility allows for lots of exploratory opportunities, including electives.

We have not added staff and, as a result, struggle with teacher preparations. We are addressing this by alternating yearlong courses and through other creative means.

We did not do all of the preparation that Mark Keen described and thus still suffer from a few faculty who are not sold on the schedule change. Nonetheless, the students and parents are very supportive.

R. GERARD LONGO

Superintendent,

Quaker Valley School District,

Sewickley, Pa.

Virtual Learning Runs Two Ways

Sheldon Berman describes "The Virtual High School" (April 1999) as an excellent program that meets specific needs for many students and schools.

However, as one of the schools mentioned in the resources sidebar, we disagree with Berman's statements suggesting that asynchronous instruction (interaction between teacher and student that is not simultaneous) is the only method that will work for distance education. The reasons he presents are compelling but incomplete.

Certainly asynchronous instruction removes scheduling problems. However, technology enables us to create a virtual classroom in which the teacher can talk to the students and write on a board for everyone to share in real time. For thousands of years, since Plato and Aristotle, teachers have led students through the learning process. Technology now makes it possible for the teachers and students to be in different geographical locations.

Some classes, such as our Advanced Placement Spanish Literature or French I, would be totally ineffective if students and teachers could not talk to each other. AP Calculus and AP Biology would be extremely difficult if both the teacher and student could not point at diagrams while discussing aspects of the topic. If all educators had to do is give a list of materials to the students, then we would have more libraries and no schools!

CLIFFORD DITTPJCH

President,

BabbageNetSchool,

Lake Grove, N.Y.

Right On the Mark

I was very much impressed by Doug Johnson and Eric Bartleson's rubric for administrators to assess their technology skill levels ("Technological Literacy for Administrators," April 1999).

The timing was perfect as we're just thinking about developing such a rubric. With few modifications, we will be able to use this self-assessment tool as a roadmap for principals and administrators to raise awareness of specific areas where they might need to seek additional training or practice.

Thanks for providing us with this significant head start.

BETTE GRAY

Technology Integration Facilitator,

Parkland School Division,

Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Support for Laptops

As evidence that providing students with laptops can improve test scores, I thought you would be interested to learn that Beaufort County, S.C., School District, which was featured in your April issue ("Learning by Laptop"), has initiated an independent evaluation of its two-year participation in Toshiba's Notebooks for Schools program.

This evaluation, prepared by Professor Kenneth R. Stevenson of University of South Carolina, focused on academic measures, particularly the MAT7, a nationally standardized achievement test. The study compared test scores of 7th graders completing their second year of laptop use with their peers who were not using the lap tops.

Students in the laptop project significantly outscored their nonparticipating peers and tended to maintain their level of academic achievement over time, while nonparticipants experienced a decline in standardized achievement. Students who qualified for free and reduced lunch benefitted the most from using the laptops.

We can provide more information. Contact us at 888-62-LEARN or visit our Web site at www.education.toshiba.com.

TOM HEALBY

National Program Manager,

Toshiba's Notebooks for Schools Program,

Irvine, Calif.

Resources on Religion

I am researching school board policies pertaining to religion, so I was interested to read of the experience in Ramona, Calif., described by Joe Annicharico Jr. ("Common Ground Principles at Work," January 1999).

I asked the author to provide a copy of his policy and any administrative regulations that accompany it. The materials he provided, along with versions from other districts, helped me to develop for distribution to Connecticut districts sample policies and administrative regulations pertaining to the handling of religious issues.

Our state association strives to keep its member districts current on timely issues. AASA, through its publications, Web site and membership services, helps this retired superintendent in his current policy development role.

VINCENT A. MSTARO

Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service,

Connecticut Association of Boards of Education,

Wethersfield, Conn.