A Technology Plan Update will be approved and implemented by the Ladue Board of Education at the next school board meeting on June 25, 2012.

Currently, the discussion concerning the 21^st Century Learning Initiative, which will provide laptop computers to every high school student at Ladue, is whether or not and how the Technology Plan incorporates the initiative.

The 21^st Century Learning Initiative could be implemented in the 2013-14 school year. If that does not happen, the next best opportunity is in the 2016-17 school year. This is due to the district’s computer lease agreements.

Patch contacted Susan Dielmann, Communications Director of Ladue School District for a statement concerning the current status of the 21^st Century Learning Initiative.

This is Dielmann’s response, "The district’s Technology Board Advisory Committee, comprised of both community and staff members, has been researching the 21^st Century Learning Initiative for well over a year.  Now, the members of the Board of Education, as representatives of the community, are looking closely at the merits of this initiative from a multitude of perspectives.

Their primary concerns are, of course, educational and financial.  Before this initiative will be approved, the Board must be fully satisfied it provides sound educational advantages and that it can be funded without spending additional money or diminishing needed funding for other programs and initiatives.

At the June 25, 2012 Board meeting, the Board will provide direction on whether or not the 21^st Century Initiative is to be included in the Technology Plan Update and, if it is, the specific parameters regarding funding options they are willing to consider. 

Those funding recommendations will be provided in December 2012.  Not until that time, will the Board have given approval to move forward with the initiative. The decision, when it is ultimately made and regardless of what it is, will please some and not others.

It will be the district's responsibility to ensure that, at the very least, the community understands the process that was used and the reasoning behind the decision that is made.”