Scarsdale Board of Education Meeting: Back to the Future

At Monday evening’s meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Education, District Director of Technology Gerry Crisci provided the Board with a tour through the educational technology now being utilized in district. With the assistance of teachers and librarians from Fox Meadow School and Scarsdale Middle School (SMS), the presentation outlined the ever changing technological landscape and demonstrated how quickly Scarsdale students internalize the skills necessary to employ the latest technology.

Fox Meadow teacher Sarah Berger discussed the steps her fifth-grade class followed to create professional quality public service announcements that were complete with audio, still images and overlaying text. Berger shared that working on the project opened “the students’ eyes to social issues as they learned to share their passions with the broader community through multi-media.”

Next, SMS Music Department Chair Connie Schelengian explained how digital tools have transformed how she teaches and students learn in music classes. Utilizing such programs as GarageBand―a software application which allows users to create music and podcasts―middle school students are now able to create compositions and transcribe their “masterpieces” on music sheets.

Crisci concluded his tour with a look back to the future and the early predictions of IBM computer scientist Alan Kay. Noting that Kay instructed us that “the best way to predict the future is to invent it,” Crisci shared his own vision of the future, a think tank approach that will find inspiration in the soon-to-be unveiled Center for Innovation.

The future was clearly on the mind of Assistant Superintendent Linda Purvis, who shared with the Board the challenges of maintaining the structural integrity of aging school buildings at the same time the district tries to ensure that our facilities keep pace with rapidly changing technology and corresponding changes in pedagogical practices. She pointed out that the average age of the district’s nine school buildings is 75, and some schools require significant infrastructure repair. She showed images of failing infrastructure including the middle school stage rigging that does not meet safety standards. The challenge, therefore, in times of financial crisis, is to provide funding for emergency situations, continue to focus on necessary upgrades and repairs, and plan for a future that our changing technology has not yet dictated.

The meeting concluded with recertification of the District’s Compact for Learning Plan in 2012, a resolution approving terms and conditions for particular employees and an explanation of gifts donated to the school district.