Last month the Queen Anne Elementary design team announced that the new Option school’s curricular focus would be “technology enhanced/enriched,” opening up questions from the community concerning what exactly a tech-focused elementary program would entail.

whatawaste wrote in the comments to our last story,

great, a technology school. just what our kids need. more time in front of computers and screens—heaven forbid they’re not staring at a screen 24 hours a day. btwn TV, computers, video games, watching videos in the car, etc. etc i think our kids already get more than enough of the virtual world and need to learn about the real world. ANYTHING would have been better than a tech school. language-immersion, math/science, montessori, waldorf. a tech school seems much better suited to middle or high school age students, not elementary kids. have studies been done about how teaching kids “tech” at this age affects their learning and development? i can’t imagine that it would be good…

maybe_K wanted to know more:

Does “technology” include tools other than the computer? For example, those used in a science lab, such as molecular biology? I’m really curious.

In a series of emails sent out to the QAE Google group this week, design team member Heather Anderson attempted to clarify the focus of the school and why they settled on this track.

According to Anderson, of the 199 respondents (113 of which currently have potential students for the 2010-2011 school year) to a survey in February asking parents what programs they would like to see implemented at QAE, the vast majority opted for an International/language immersion curriculum.

Respondents were allowed to select more than one program type for the survey question regarding preferred program foci.  International/Language Immersion was the overwhelming first choice (77%), Montessori and “STEM” tied for second (42%), “Innovation (33%) and other (5%). On average, respondents indicated two instructional approaches of interest.

However, despite the fact that the top two selections were for International/Language Immersion and Montessori/STEM foci, Anderson said that neither of these options is possible within the current restraints from Seattle Public Schools. She wrote,

Following is some information that we had on hand from previous
meetings with SPS:

• SPS isn’t willing, this year, to entertain the idea of QAE becoming an International/Immersion school as it does not fit into the current roll-out plan for International Schools.
• SPS stated that International/Immersion could be revisited at a later date
• Both Immersion & Montessori programs need to be implemented over time and are therefore restrictive to older students entering those programs while technology is immediately accessible (‘come as you are’).
• Considering that elementary grades must focus on teaching fundamentals of reading, writing and mathematics, the more specialized focus of STEM was determined as not quite appropriate for this age range.
• Montessori proponents and others were concerned about staffing a Montessori program by fall. There is an extremely limited number of teachers in our area that have appropriate Montessori credentials and this is not something that you can simply earn over the summer, as SPS had originally planned.

Beyond this, the school district also would like any program begun at QAE to be able to be continued at the middle school level, and currently McClure’s curriculum does not support an International/Language Immersion or Montessori/STEM program. Technology, however, could be continued at the middle school level and beyond, according to Anderson. She’s says the new program could pave the way for a third curricular option in Seattle Public Schools.

“Technology Enriched” is a term we are applying to describe the vision for Queen Anne Elementary. It is a combination of STEM and Innovation where technology empowers learning. It is a collaborative educational approach that promotes the development of social skills. It is teaching 21st century skills in a 21st century learning environment. It embraces the ability to explore critically and analytically by allowing technology to facilitate learning. It is not children plugged into a computer all day. It is not a library full of Kindles and no books. Rather, it is a collaborative environment that allows the integration of computers and other technology to enhance learning. It is teachers and students working together to co-create knowledge, rather than the 20th century model of only the teacher delivering knowledge to students.   It is about asking how engaged are our kids at school, and using technology to engage them as learners. It is taking the best practices from other Innovation and Technology models around the country and the world and applying them.

The first year, this school will continue to evolve. At this time, we
do not know how many computers or other means of technology we will have. We do not know if we will be a PC or Mac platform or a combination of both.  It will not be a dual-track curriculum.

David Elliott will be hiring a staff that will not be in place by the
end of Open Enrollment. He is recruiting teachers from within the SPS that are grounded in the fundamentals of elementary learning but that also desire the opportunity in integrate technology and embrace innovation. These teachers will thrive in a collaborative environment and work together to create learning models that will evolve and change as needed while still teaching our districts mandated curriculums.”

The Queen Anne Elementary design team will be discussing the nature of the new “technology enriched” platform at an open house this Saturday, March 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at Coe Elementary, located at 2424 7th Ave W. Community members are invited to come meet Principal David Elliott and discuss the future of the “technology enhanced/enriched” elementary. For more information, or to take part in the discussion, check the QAE Google group topics.