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High Hopes for Technology Upgrades at Schools

Posted on: Friday, 14 October 2005, 00:00 CDT

By Diane Mouskourie, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.

Oct. 13--EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is the final segment in five-part series examining the $90 million bond referendum for construction and renovations for Onslow County Schools. Voters go to the polls on Nov. 8.

Northside High School, which opened in 2001, already has issues related to overcrowding.

Principal Albert James said he has five science teachers who float, meaning they carry their instructional materials with them from one class to the next. The school was built to hold a maximum of 790 students, but there were 817 enrolled by the 20th day of class this year. The school has no mobile classroom units because city zoning ordinances prohibit them, he said.

"You almost have to prove children would be outside in the weather receiving instruction before mobiles would be allowed," James said.

Passage of a $90 million school bond would give Northside High nearly $6 million for construction of a new classroom wing and technology upgrades, he said. All told, the county's seven high schools would split approximately $26 million, said Jeff Hudson, assistant superintendent of auxiliary services for Onslow County Schools.

The bond money could help ease overcrowding issues through construction of additional classrooms at Dixon, Jacksonville, Northside, Richlands, Swansboro and White Oak high schools. Four high schools -- White Oak, Jacksonville, Swansboro and Southwest -- would receive expansions to their cafeteria or auditorium or both. Some would receive major renovations or replacement of inefficient heating and air conditioning systems.

All of the high schools would receive technology upgrades.

Richlands High School was built in 1950, designed for 640 students. Enrollment by day 20 was 871. There are three mobile classroom units on campus, principal Tim Spencer said.

Richlands would receive about $4 million for nine to 12 additional classrooms, electrical updates and a new heating and air conditioning system. Older parts of the building have no central heat or air conditioning, requiring the use of noisy old window units, Spencer said.

Northside was built to expand by 32 classrooms, James said. "Once that is complete, the school could accommodate 1,500 to 1,600 students without any problem," he said.

"Gaining new classroom space would give our teachers a permanent instruction station arranged the way they prefer, which is better for the teachers as well as the students."

As it stands now, having science teachers as floaters means there is no science lab. Teachers traverse the halls at the same time students do, which means they are arriving in the classroom simultaneously, he said.

"That takes time to set up, which in turn cuts into critical instruction time," James said. "Another thing is many teachers use their planning time to tutor students who were late arrivals or who are behind in their class."

Richlands High has nine teachers who float, Spencer said.

Overcrowding at the high schools isn't cutting into classroom space alone. Several schools have outgrown their auditoriums and cafeterias, causing a different set of issues altogether.

White Oak High would receive approximately $5 million for expansion of its cafeteria and auditorium, construction of up to seven classrooms, and electrical and technology upgrades.

The school, built in 1970, was designed for 1,075 students but has an enrollment of 1,221. The school's auditorium can seat 425 people and that's using fold-out chairs to compensate, said principal Paul Wiggins.

"A larger auditorium is sorely needed to handle cultural needs at White Oak," he said. "We can't even fit the freshman class in there at one time for a student assembly."

All large gatherings, such as student assemblies or graduations, are held at the football field, Wiggins said. Other events, such as concerts, have to be scheduled somewhere else.

James said he has spoken with educators in other parts of the state who have more computers per student. That places Onslow students at a disadvantage, he said.

"Most have anywhere from five to eight Internet outlets in their classrooms," James said. "We might have one or two."

Technology upgrades promised by passage of the bond referendum would enable Northside to gain expanded access to the Internet and additional computer labs. The school currently has two. Generally, computer labs at the high school level are used for vocational and computer classes, he said.

But updating technology at some of the older schools presents additional considerations. Lack of infrastructure at Richlands High, for example, would pose some trouble there, Spencer said.

"Classrooms built in 1957 are very difficult to bring up to the level that is needed to continue to expand technology," he said.

To James, greater computer access is essential to preparing kids for the future.

"The whole world is based on information technology, so the average student now needs to know how to use the computer," James said.

"Having one course every one or two years is not enough. With more labs, students would be able to keep up."

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Source: The Daily News

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