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"Also from the agenda review materials comes an item on Colfax's PTO donating over 3500.00 to purchase ELMOs for Colfax classrooms. Congratulations to Colfax."
Projectors that allow you to hook up to a laptop and project to classroom. Nice and truly necessary into day's classroom. Why is this being questioned?
It also takes the place of an overhead projector -- and is much better. You can put a book or paper directly on it and have it projected. Works very nicely for having students come up and show their own work so that the whole class can see.
From subbing, I can tell you that this is one area in which the schools with higher levels of poverty (at least in elementary) are ahead -- most of them have an ELMO in every room. Only in magnets and some with lower rates of poverty are there not enough ELMOS.
It's always amazed me that the Board has to actually vote on receiving donations, though. I understand that it's to keep track of things, but it's odd that it's not just noted and tracked rather than having to be officially accepted.
And how does something like a technology purchase work with school based budgeting? Does the principal have a pot of money and decide to use some for projectors rather than a school nurse or librarian? Or are technology purchases not part of school-based budgeting?
These weren't purchased by the principal, though, but by the parents via the PTO.
At a different school, I do know that there are reqs for what can be donated -- that is, donations have to meet the district standards. The best principals know how to maneuver through this, letting parents and community members know what can be accepted and then making sure that it's properly done through the board.
Otherwise, it gets a little trickier. There is a dollar amount below which the board approval is not needed.
Questioner, accepting these targeted donations from PTOs has been hotly contested by Mr. Brentley and others. I say if the Colfax PTO raised the money it is theirs to do what they want with it.
7 comments:
What are ELMO's? (Assuming it's not the toy.)
Projectors that allow you to hook up to a laptop and project to classroom. Nice and truly necessary into day's classroom. Why is this being questioned?
Do the other schools have these projectors? Is there an equitable distribution of projectors across schools?
It also takes the place of an overhead projector -- and is much better. You can put a book or paper directly on it and have it projected. Works very nicely for having students come up and show their own work so that the whole class can see.
From subbing, I can tell you that this is one area in which the schools with higher levels of poverty (at least in elementary) are ahead -- most of them have an ELMO in every room. Only in magnets and some with lower rates of poverty are there not enough ELMOS.
It's always amazed me that the Board has to actually vote on receiving donations, though. I understand that it's to keep track of things, but it's odd that it's not just noted and tracked rather than having to be officially accepted.
And how does something like a technology purchase work with school based budgeting? Does the principal have a pot of money and decide to use some for projectors rather than a school nurse or librarian? Or are technology purchases not part of school-based budgeting?
These weren't purchased by the principal, though, but by the parents via the PTO.
At a different school, I do know that there are reqs for what can be donated -- that is, donations have to meet the district standards. The best principals know how to maneuver through this, letting parents and community members know what can be accepted and then making sure that it's properly done through the board.
Otherwise, it gets a little trickier. There is a dollar amount below which the board approval is not needed.
Questioner, accepting these targeted donations from PTOs has been hotly contested by Mr. Brentley and others. I say if the Colfax PTO raised the money it is theirs to do what they want with it.
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