Published: February 03, 2007 08:02 pm            

Taking on the Lege

Students deliver message to lawmakers

Austin — On the southeast lawn of the Texas State Capitol, there is a monument of six skipping children on a field trip and a granite plaque dedicated to the school children of Texas.

The bronze tribute is beautiful and touching—but not nearly as effective as the real students who descended upon the Capitol last week as part of the 2007 Texas Capitol Schoolhouse project. San Marcos CISD was one of 12 school districts in the state chosen to participate.

The Capitol Schoolhouse—now in its sixth year— is a legislative event to give students and teachers from across the state the opportunity to showcase how technology is being used to improve public schools.

Founder Diann Boehm says the general goal is to provide information for legislators, other state leaders, and the general public about how the most advanced technologies and best practices are improving the way teachers teach and students learn.

San Marcos High School teacher Melinda Base teaches English Language Learners (ELLs) at the high school’s Newcomer Academy. She brought ninth-grade students Gabriela Rubio, Agustin Martinez, and Carlos Benitez and tenth-grade student Andrea Gonzalez to the Capitol Schoolhouse. Base chose the four based upon a combination of high academic performance, excellent attendance and a demonstrated dedication to learning English as their second language. In the course of the two-day event, the students explained to the legislators and other government officials how they use educational technology, especially the Apple iPods, in acquiring English.

Base said, “The San Marcos High School contingent represented us proudly. We received a flag that had flown over the Capitol on our first day, certificates of appreciation, and a copy of a proclamation signed by Governor Perry. The students were able to visit the press room and Senator Jeff Wentworth’s offices. It was heartwarming to see students who are working so hard to learn English speak so easily about their project to a wide variety of government officials and other participants.”

Andrea Gonzalez was born in Mexico City and has been in the United States for two and half years. She said, “I enjoyed visiting with the representatives and learning about their jobs. The tour taught me more about Texas history.”

Carlos Benitez said, “This was my first visit to the Texas State Capitol. I had fun finding out about the battles between Texas and Mexico through other eyes. I talked to many people about the iPod project. They thought it was cool.” Benetiz is from Guerrero, Mexico and has been in the U.S. for one and a half years.

San Marcos CISD issued educational video iPods to English Language Learners in February 2006 as part of a pilot project. The Newcomer Academies at Goodnight Junior High and San Marcos High School provided video iPods to students who had been in the country for less than two years and were struggling to learn English. The new technology not only helped the students learn the language and culture, they began to excel. TAKS scores improved. Teachers downloaded lesson plans so that students could take the class material home to listen repeatedly until they understood. Other family members benefited from the extra exposure to English.

One of the early iPod users used the delighted expression, “It’s like having a teacher in your pocket,” and the phrase caught on to become the district’s slogan for the iPod project. San Marcos CISD was one of the first three school districts in the country to use video iPods for English language acquisition education, but the news of their success has spread like wild fire. Television stations, newspapers, and educational journals were letting other districts know about the successful project.



Ronda Stonecipher, SMCISD Coordinator of Instructional Technology, is credited with the idea for the original pilot project at the district. She said, “The Capitol School House Event was a wonderful opportunity for us to show off our iPod project, our students, and our teachers. They all work very hard and deserve this recognition. It is funny how this started off as an alternative way to accelerate learning for our students, but has turned into so much more. Our students have had opportunities to meet some very important people in our community and in our state, including Shirley Neeley, the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency. We never anticipated the publicity that we have received from this project; all we wanted to do was to help our students learn.”



Neeley told the students: “Whether you speak English or another language, technology is for you.”



San Marcos High School student Gabriela Rubio said that she had confidence telling the folks at the Capitol about the iPods and was awed the Capitol itself. “This place is very beautiful and made a great impression on me. Everyone was very organized with their project.” This is her first year in the US since leaving Gueretero, Mexico.



Of the four, it was perhaps student Agustin Martinez who was the most excited and vocal of the group. Born in Mexico City, his ESL teacher says he has always shown that he has many interests. Base said, “He has talked about careers in business and music production, but after this experience, he’s considering politics.”



Martinez said, “I learned a lot about how the government makes decisions. It was great to hear how other students use technology to learn. I felt confident because the iPod project has made it easier for me to learn English.”



“When determination to succeed is combined with opportunity, the result is progress. These four students exemplify how supportive teachers at the high school—backed with educational technology and innovation—can bring out the best in both students and teachers,” says Niki Konecki, SMCISD Coordinator of Bilingual/ESL and Innovative Programs.



The Capitol Schoolhouse event was held in the Ground Floor Rotunda of the Capitol, a high traffic area for legislators and their staff. The participants were greeted by Phil Wilson of the Governor’s Office, Nadine Craddick (Official Schoolhouse Mom and wife of House Speaker Tom Craddick), Senators Florence Shapiro and Eliot Shapleigh, Representatives Geanie Morrison and Rob Eissler, and Commissioner of Education Dr. Shirley Neeley. They had their group photos taken, participated in Texas Capitol Schoolhouse Resolutions in the Senate and House Chambers, and took a guided tour of the Capitol. Students conducted morning and afternoon teaching and demonstration sessions.



Texas Capitol Schoolhouse resolutions were passed in both the Texas House and the Senate. Senator Florence Shapiro, an ardent supporter of the Capitol Schoolhouse project and chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, presented the resolution. Participating school districts each received a copy of the resolution.



Other Texas school districts that were demonstrating innovative technology in the classroom were Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Corpus Christi ISD, Klein ISD, Midland ISD, Morton ISD, Newton ISD, Plano ISD, Post ISD, Port Arthur ISD, Round Rock ISD, and Ysleta ISD, along with the University of Texas Elementary Charter School and the Texas School for the Deaf.



San Marcos High School Principal Dr. Chad Kelly joined his students and staff at the Capitol and stayed busy speaking with state and district officials about educational technology. He observed, “It was fascinating to see the variety of uses of educational technology throughout the state of Texas. Our participation in the Texas Capitol Schoolhouse not only showcased the iPod project and the technological capabilities of our students, but also allowed us to learn from the other participants how we might incorporate other innovative ways of including technology in our classrooms.”



For San Marcos CISD, the next teaching opportunity is right around the corner as they have been invited to present again on February 7, 2007, at the Podcast Palooza to be held at the Austin Convention Center Ballroom. According to Stonecipher, the educational iPods are being incorporated into the teaching of Special Education students, and Bowie Elementary students have begun a pilot project using Palm Pilots.



Representative Rob Eissler summarized the message of the moment when he told the Capitol Schoolhouse presenters, “The virtual future is virtually unlimited.”



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