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![TMCNet: Uniforms, podcasts are ideas for future of Decatur's schools [The Decatur Daily, Ala.]](http://images.tmcnet.com/siteart/invisible.gif)
Uniforms, podcasts are ideas for future of Decatur's schools [The Decatur Daily, Ala.]
(Decatur Daily (AL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 23--Student uniforms, swipe cards and technology are among ideas Decatur school officials are discussing.
The school board held a seven-hour work session on a strategic plan with Superintendent Sam Houston and central office supervisors Thursday at Leon Sheffield Elementary School.
The group chose school safety, teacher recruiting and curriculum as immediate goals.
Houston plans to form committees to study the three goals.
Phil Hastings, supervisor of safety and alternative education, suggested student uniforms as a safety item. His idea is not exactly a uniform but shirts and pants or skirts of the same color. Parents would buy the clothing.
He said it would cut down on the number of discipline referrals for inappropriate dress and would make students more easily identifiable. The schools currently require students to tuck in their shirttails, and Hastings said this has helped identify non-students in the past. Another plus of uniforms is he thinks they would keep students from ridiculing those who can't afford the latest expensive clothing.
Hastings suggested giving students electronic identification cards to use to access buildings after classes start, use the library, buy lunch or get a student discount to attend extracurricular activities.
The group also wants to examine science lab safety and get the city to help add more student resource officers.
After watching fourth-grade teacher Karissa Lang's class Thursday morning, outfitting each Decatur classroom with the latest instructional technology highlights the group's goals for improving curriculum.
Lang demonstrated an Elmo digital video projector, with clickers that students used to answer questions and a portable tablet that allowed her and the students to write on the board from elsewhere in the room.
How to get the money?
School officials estimated they would need about $1.7 million to install this technology throughout the school system. They discussed ways to get the money, including examining every teacher unit as teachers retire or resign.
Assistant Superintendent Ed Nichols said he thinks the district could cut 10 teacher units to get the money for technology without affecting classroom instruction.
"We might have to change how we do things in some areas," Nichols said.
Board member Donnie Lane suggested adding podcasting and Blackboard Academic Suite as a curriculum goal. Blackboard is a free-for-schools Web-based server software platform that adds online elements to courses traditionally delivered face-to-face and helps develop completely online courses with few or no face-to-face meetings.
He suggested piloting podcasts of lessons that students can download onto their iPods in high school.
Other curriculum items expand professional development on teaching English-language learners and provide preparation opportunities for college entrance exams.
Stefanie Underwood, supervisor of special education, said podcasts can be effective tools for helping students learn to read and students learning to speak English.
Nichols said the new technology would be a major factor for recruiting good teachers. The group's other possibilities for this goal include forming teacher teams to interview new recruits and reviewing the school district's benefits package to make sure it is competitive.
To see more of The Decatur Daily, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.decaturdaily.com
Copyright (c) 2009, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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