Woonsocket Students Find New Computers, New Technology this Year

WOONSOCKET, RI—Schools Supt. Patrick McGee said Wednesday he's excited about the new school year. The students returned to class on Sept. 1 and found a few changes.

At the high school, the youngsters can sign up for four new Advanced Placement courses to challenge them in chemistry, biology, English language and composition and computer science. The new offerings bring the total up from eight to 12 AP classes.

At three elementary schools, the children found brand new tile floors and new paint in the cafeterias. The high school library has new carpet. There's also a new boiler, and many of schools' roofs were repaired, using the state's School Building Capital Fund money. Statewide, the governor distributed about $40 million, and Woonsocket schools collected about $725,000, he said.

In one of the fifth-grades, students also picked up Chromebooks, the Google device gaining popularity among educators. They're piloting a new personalized learning program, dubbed Summit. The children can go at their own pace, but they must hit some deadlines, Dr. McGee said, to keep them on track.

All the schools are now wired for the Internet, he said, thanks to network and infrastructure upgrades. In the past, he said, "we've had schools not able to connect," but now "wifi is up and running throughout the district." Plus, every teacher now has a laptop. That means the instructors can liven up lessons with complementary technology. The teachers also gain the capability to access the Student Information Portals.

The district is expanding both personalized learning and blended learning opportunities, he said, meaning more and more students have access to their own laptop or device, like Chromebooks, he said. Working with FUSE RI and the Highlander Institute, a number of teachers have been assigned to lead so-called "lighthouse classrooms," and be the resources who can advise the districts how best to integrate the technology and take advantage of innovations.

Also, all the library media specialists will be receiving Chromebook carts assigned to the fifth-graders, who will be learning the Code.org method of learning to write computer code. That's part of the governor's initiative to improve computer science training in the schools, he said.

Woonsocket also hired a new principal and a new chief technology officer.

This year, the "over-arching" theme is high expectations for both the students and the teachers, he said.

"We'll be able to see success," he predicted.