INTERVIEW WITH DR. RALPH WALLACE
March 4, 1998
Ridgefield Democrats Webmaster Dave Nichols - Question: What's the advantage of using new technology like computers and the Internet, compared with the 3 R's, and doing it "the old-fashioned way"? Do you see a conflict here?
Dr. Ralph Wallace - Answer: No, absolutely not - in many ways, while I wouldn't say technology is a new, fourth "R," it's in fact one of the new basics. We want "the three R's," assisted by the infrastructure of technology. When I look at how various school systems are exploiting modern technology, I'm pleased with where we are in Cheshire. Ridgefield is not as far along the curve as Cheshire - very few schools are. I'm proud of Cheshire, but when I look at some of the Midwestern states, say Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, and then at the West Coast -- these states leave our East Coast "avant garde" school systems in the dust.
And the progress is not always a factor of the wealth of the community. Here in the Northeast, guess who got out of the box the quickest? Vermont - not based on financial well-being or population, but based on simple expediency. In Vermont, how do you get teachers together for a group discussion? With its spread-out population and great distances, you use networks and technology. Bright innovators recognize technology is way to get distance to vanish. But the affluence of the community helps too. Governor Rowland's technology assistance plan helps those towns in the greatest need- most of the support will go to school systems in less advantaged town and cities; it probably won't help towns like Cheshire and Ridgefield.
In summary, technology is way beyond being a frill, it's needed to be competitive. It's a matter of preparing our students for the labor market and for the increasingly technological world we live in.
Q. What are the important technologies for public education? Is it all just about the Internet?
Dr. Wallace: No, the best technology for learning in the public schools today is NOT the Internet - it's stackable, networkable CD-ROM technology. Through CD-ROM servers, we provide a student at a PC access to a well-organized, focused wealth of information, all the way from art, music, anthropology, literally any knowledge that exists. It's phenomenal! In Cheshire, we have racks and racks and racks of stackable CD-ROM's - and information specialists to help students get the information they need easily and quickly. The Web today is a bit chaotic; if you're not an expert it can take a lot of work to find the information you need. A CD-ROM server in the school simplifies access to the information our students need. And like the net, it's capable of providing massive amounts of information. The next technology to watch is compressed video - we've already built the infrastructure to support this [in Cheshire]. One program can be disseminated via broadband transmission to every student in every school in the system. This will form the basis of an Intranet within the overall school system.
Q: But I gather you do support the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web within the schools?
Dr. Wallace: Absolutely.
Q. Aren't you concerned about children having unlimited access to the web with all the terrible stuff that's out there?
Dr. Wallace: Yes, of course. That's why in Cheshire we have a firewall in all our sites . We pay lots of attention to filtering out sites which are inappropriate for children. The good news is that there are lots of good people in cyberspace who are helping to police the net. And a local firewall does a good job of filtering out "the bad stuff."
Q. You obviously believe children should have Internet access from the public schools - should it be controlled or monitored? And how?
Dr. Wallace: Absolutely. First, you should have firewalls, then even more importantly, someone overseeing what the students are doing. We call it "instructional management," but it just means the teacher needs to know what the students are doing. It doesn't matter if it's slate boards or the Internet, our teachers need to be in charge!
Q. Do the schools have a role in encouraging Internet/web use by students at home?
Dr. Wallace: Yes. One of the reasons schools are getting into technology is they're being forced to by the outside world. Think back, five or so years ago, technophobic people were avoiding ATM's and anything to do with computers. Today you cannot walk through this world and interact and not be involved with technology. We surveyed the rate of computer usage in our [Cheshire] students' homes 3 years ago. We found that 50% of students had some access to a computer at home. When we resurveyed in November, 1997, we found that fully 93% of our students reported that they had some access to computer technology outside of school. I believe Internet access at home for the students was well over 50%.
Q. I see that Cheshire High School has an award-winning web site. It received the coveted national first place award in the Microsoft Schools on the Web Contest in 1996. How did you accomplish this, and what did it mean to Cheshire?
Dr. Wallace: Well, the reason we got the Microsoft award for top site was that five near-genius boys dedicated themselves to creating a great web site. They had real missionary zeal. What it did for Cheshire was to signal to the whole town that we could excel - it was a tremendous opportunity to show ourselves and the world that here was an important thing in which we could be world-class. We went on from there - today, every school in Cheshire has a web site.
Q. Have you looked at the Ridgefield town or school web sites? Do we have the ingredients for success here?
Dr. Wallace: It's too early for me to say much about Ridgefield's potential. The one thing I know is that you have a Board of Education that wants a superior school system. I assume, based on the academic strength here, we have the wherewithal. But getting there isn't easy. The road in Cheshire was paved with hard work, personal missionary work. It took the first year of all-out effort to get the educational establishment and the town to recognize how important this was. Then it took another full year to get demonstrable results. I'll apply the same formula in Ridgefield.
Q. So we shouldn't look for miracles in the first year?
Dr. Wallace: No, look for miracles in 1999-2000. Seriously, though, we have to strengthen the foundation before we can really enhance the structure. So I promise no easy or fast solutions.
Q. And have you looked at the Ridgefield Democrats' web site?
Dr. Wallace: Yes, I have. When I first started considering the opportunity in Ridgefield, I did a lot of research, and came across your site. Based on it, I figured Ridgefield must be pretty advanced and Internet-savvy. And I've looked at the Town web site. It's one of the more creative and attractive architectures I've seen. Obviously work needs to be done to keep it updated, but it's a solid start.
Q. At what grade level do you believe schools should start introducing kids to the computer and the Internet?
Dr. Wallace: Kindergarten! Yes, absolutely. We used to think that early elementary school was the place to start, but we've found it needs to start right in kindergarten. I was with some of our [Cheshire] first-graders this morning - the kids were sharpening their reading skills working right in the computer lab.
Q. What's the progression to implement new technology - go out and buy a lot of very modern equipment and then put it to use?
Dr. Wallace: No, not at all. You need to start with your goals - what do you want to do. This has to be first. Then you need the infrastructure, the cabling, the wiring closets, the network "plumbing." Then comes the software. Only after these basics are in place should you get hardware. Concurrent with hardware you must have training. In Cheshire we have 6 teachers who train other teachers on technology. These "teaching teachers" must have academic expertise, in either math or reading or both, and expertise in using computer technology.
Q. One story you've seen on our web site is the story of Board member Bob Opotzner's efforts to get the Ridgefield schools to participate in the minority outreach program that's available to us through the Connecticut Minority Teacher Recruiting Action Program organized by the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC). At Bob's urging, the School administration has decided to participate. What do you think of Ridgefield's participating in the program?
Dr. Wallace: I am familiar with the program from my days as a CREC client. I think it's a good program and an excellent opportunity for Ridgefield to try to get some of Connecticut's "best and brightest" teachers.
Q. Thank you for your time, Dr. Wallace.
Dr. Wallace: Thank you for your interest. I always enjoy talking about how modern technology can help improve public education, and I am excited about working with people in Ridgefield such as yourselves who are helping in the effort. It is my goal to lead Ridgefield to educational preeminence.
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