A step ahead of the rest

SNOW HILL — When you walk through the halls of Greene Central High School there’s one common scene — students peering into laptop computer screens.

 During a recent study break between classes, Greene Central junior Teena Coats worked to finish an i-Movie she produced that featured Native American history.

She presented the i-Movie to her classmates during an English honors class. Coats is among nearly 2,100 students in Greene County Schools that use school-issued Apple laptop computers to complete class assignments.

The school district first entered a lease agreement with Apple in 2003 to provide every student from grades six to 12 with a laptop computer.

Since 2003, the One-to-One laptop program has grown in demand for Greene County School students and teachers. The school district plans to eliminate text book use for middle and high school students in 2014. Students will then solely use their laptop computers as part of their classroom curriculum. 

Appreciating the program

Senior John Nethercutt admits he didn’t know anything about computers before he entered the seventh grade at Greene County Middle School; he had just transferred from Mt. Calvary Christian Academy in Hookerton.

According to Nethercutt, it wasn’t until he was in high school that he felt comfortable with using the Apple laptop computer for school. Now, the senior understands most of the computer’s programs and has even had several wireless connections installed at his home in Maury where he often uses the laptop computer to complete school assignments.

“Working at home helps me get ahead in class,” Nethercutt said. “I got wireless connections at home because of the program.”

Nethercutt is Greene Central’s senior class president and plans to attend either Duke University or the University of North Carolina next year. He plans to study history and then attend law school.

Another senior, Justin Harris, also wasn’t sure in the beginning if the program would work. He has participated in the program since he was in sixth grade.

“I didn’t like it at first,” said Harris, who plans to join the U.S. Air Force upon graduation.

Despite early reservations, Harris now believes the program has allowed him to excel in the classroom.

“We use the laptop computers in all four of my classes,” Harris said. “I definitely have used the computers more in high school than I did in middle school.” 

One-to-One beginnings

Greene County School leaders said this week that the One-to-One program has reenergized students in middle and high school.

According to Greene County Schools Superintendent Patrick Miller, school leaders decided to bring the program to Greene County six years ago after a 2003 trip to Henrico County Schools in Virginia. The school district in Henrico was using the One-to-One program at that time.

“The program grew out of the efforts to reform the Greene County Schools system,” Miller said. “We wanted our students to have the same opportunity to attend college as students in affluent urban areas like Charlotte and Raleigh have to attend college.”

The school district renewed a four-year lease with Apple in December to continue the program. It costs about $800,000 annually to provide every middle and high school student with a laptop computer, based on the lease agreement.

Miller said the program is funded primarily through state funds provided by the Department of Public Instruction. For three years, a Golden Leaf Foundation grant provided $300,000 annually to help aid funding.

“Golden Leaf helped us get started,” Miller said. “The program is self-sustaining now.” 

College application rate increases

Miller and Greene County School Board chairwoman Pat Adams said since the program was implemented the district’s college application rate jumped from 24 percent in 2002 to 88 percent in 2009. The rate has steadily increased each year since 2002.

“It’s been absolutely remarkable,” Adams said. “I am pleased to see that our students have excelled.”

Abel Real, a 2008 Greene Central graduate, testified about the benefits of the One-to-One program at a U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee in June. The committee discussed the future of education and how technology is transforming public education.

Greene Central Principal Susan Jones traveled with Real to Washington D.C. for the hearing.

“Abel represented Greene County Schools well,” Jones said. “He is very grateful to Greene County.”

Real’s testimony can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?vT3_O39mTsPw. According to Real, the One-to-One program inspired him to change his life and allowed him to excel in the classroom.

Despite a difficult family life, Real said he didn’t become another national high school dropout statistic. Instead, he graduated and enrolled at East Carolina University where he is currently a sophomore studying pediatric nursing.

“Technology is not a luxury, it is a necessity,” Real said in his testimony before Congress.

Real isn’t the only person touting the program; Greene Central teacher Chamekka Williams, who has taught at Greene Central for the past nine years, also spoke favorably about the program. Greene Central and Greene County Middle teachers are also issued an Apple laptop computer.

“I have been with the program since the beginning,” Williams said. “If all our students could take a computer home, it would be a lot better.” 

Student fees and monitoring

And therein lies a problem: some students can’t take the computers home because they can’t afford to pay the annual $75 insurance fee, although the fee was reduced from $110 last year. Officials said nearly 300 students from the more than 900 high school students can’t afford to pay the insurance fee.

These students are labeled day users and are required to check the computers back in at the schools’ help desk at the end of each school day. Nancy Cole, Greene Central Help Desk coordinator, helps run the program.

“I handle most of the hardware issues,” Cole said. “If students have computers with broken screens, dead batteries or other problems, they come to me.”

Every laptop computer has a steel reinforced zip case designed to protect the computer. The computers also occasionally receive software upgrades during the summer months before school resumes in the fall.

Cole said the school district opted not to upgrade the software this summer because of a tight budget. Since 2003, the district has requested Apple for completely new computers for its students, making sure the latest technology is available for the classroom.

Both Greene Central and Greene County Middle are able to monitor how students use their laptop computers. According to Jones, the school’s help desk and instructional technologist can track what students are viewing on their computer screens.

“The students are randomly monitored,” Jones said. “Some students do go to inappropriate sites.”

Some students have been disciplined during the past six year for violating school polices while using the laptop computers. Jones said she taught science at Greene Central when One-to-One began.

“I learned to stand at the back of the classroom and teach so I could see all of the students’ computer screens,” she said.

Jones said the program’s benefits outweigh the few discipline problems teachers encounter related to One-to-One in the classroom.

“Some parents ask that the Internet be taken off their child’s laptop,” Jones said. “They just don’t want them to have it.”

Former Greene Central student Bennie Heath said he wished the One-to-One program was available when he was in high school. Currently, Heath serves as a Greene County Commissioner and is also the public address announcer at Greene Central’s home football games.

“The first year the One-to-One program started I saw students during the home football games sitting in the stands with their laptop computers,” Heath said. “There was a lot of enthusiasm and it still remains with the students.”

Chris Lavender can be reached at 252-559-1078 or clavender@freedom.com.