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Abstract
Morning roll call will become a thing of the past in a year or two as the school system moves toward a computerized scanning system to take attendance.
The coming school year will bring major technological innovations, said Sally Doyen, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Some will be implemented this year and others will come in the future, she said.
Doyen said the school board plans to spend $74,000 this school year to upgrade its computer system. About $40,000 is allocated for equipment, $20,000 for monthly line charges and $14,000 for installation.
Full text
Morning roll call will become a thing of the past in a year or two as the school system moves toward a computerized scanning system to take attendance.
The coming school year will bring major technological innovations, said Sally Doyen, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Some will be implemented this year and others will come in the future, she said.
Doyen said the school board plans to spend $74,000 this school year to upgrade its computer system. About $40,000 is allocated for equipment, $20,000 for monthly line charges and $14,000 for installation.
The school board budgeted $63,000 for computer improvements in the 1995-96 fiscal year. Some of the cost also will be covered by money allocated to Manchester High School, she said.
The upgrades for this school year include:
* adding new Macintosh minilabs with CD-ROM capabilities at the elementary schools. The new systems will help special needs students and other students learn to read.
* adding an electronic lab to the middle schools to teach students musical composition.
* providing more specialized software -- for instance, in languages -- at the high school.
In the 1996-97 school year, a second Macintosh lab is scheduled to be added to the middle schools.
"There is no question that we rely a great deal on computers, and that we need to have reliable data," Doyen said.
In the future, Doyen said the schools hope to be able to store and retrieve personnel records on computers, look up fingerprints of job applicants and use the Internet. Teachers also may be able to scan a form to register a child's attendance.
Currently, the schools have several kinds of computers, including some Apple IIs and a CD-ROM in the library. Student and employee attendance data, information on personnel employment history and test data already can be accessed by administrators.
(Copyright @ The Hartford Courant 1995)