Tuesday, December 11, 2012
System renegotiates with publishers to purchase books after online subscriptions fall short.
Fairfax County middle and high schools will now be allowed to purchase additional printed math textbooks to supplement online subscriptions introduced at the beginning of the school year, a move that comes after months of student, parent and teacher complaints about the program and the approach used to implement it. At a school board work session Monday, Craig Herring, the director of pre-k through 12 curriculum and instruction, said Fairfax County Public schools had renegotiated a one-time price reduction from each of three publishers that provide the online books for grade levels across the county. Each school principal will now have the choice to purchase hardcopy textbooks to be used by students in the affected classes, Herring said…
Friday, November 9, 2012
Critics say program rolled out without sufficient preparation
Shortly after the start of the school year in September, Kirsten Rucker had scheduled an X-ray appointment for one of her twin sons — both juniors at Oakton High School — after class. But when she asked him to bring his homework while they waited for the doctor he said he couldn't. It was all online. She thought they would find a way to bring it with them. She found quickly she was wrong. They could access the material, but couldn't print pages. They tried to copy and paste from a PDF file, but were blocked by the software. They pulled up a print screen, but the words ran together, jumbled across the page. It wouldn't load on a reader, or an iPhone. They went to the appointment empty handed, and when her son returned late that evening, …
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Leader of Fairfax County Federation of Teachers says lack of discussion before textbook program came to fruition has resulted in no buy-in, issues of access and equity.
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
To the Editor: There is a new math ‘series’ that is being implemented in Fairfax County Public Schools, currently. It is an online disaster that could have been avoided. Let’s reflect upon how this happened: Right after the FCPS School Board approved the FY 2013 budget (which was ‘tight’ due to revenue problems), the superintendent dropped a $7.7 million bill on their laps at the FY 2012 budget review, announcing that $10 million dollars was now available from the previous year. Later, it was discovered that FCPS administration had the nerve to sign the contract for the math series before the school board even approved the money for it. The fact that the new math series was to be primarily an online resource (vs. the more ‘traditional’ …
Monday, October 3, 2011
Some concerned about the digital divide.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) are leading the are in implementation of online versus print textbooks, according to the Washington Post. This fall, almost all middle and high school students in FCPS began using online books in social studies. While some applaud the move for lightening backpacks, others admit there may be a problem for the less fortunate. FCPS is not providing a laptop or e-reader to every student, and many don't have computers or internet service at home. “That little unknown piece about the access is the only thing that still kind of makes me a little anxious,” said Karin Williams, director of operations for FCPS's instructional services division, to the Washington Post. As reported in Fort Hunt Patch, FCPS said …
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