White Boards and FM Systems in Elementary Classrooms

Resolution Number: 

2011-01

Submitted By: 

Central Queens Elementary Home and School Association
Resolution

WHEREAS Central Queens Elementary Home and School recognizes the need to provide young students with the best learning opportunities possible to ensure early and strong achievement in literacy and math skills, and

WHEREAS essential to this is the need for each primary and elementary classroom to have the necessary tools to maximize learning, and

WHEREAS recognizing that elementary schools must often seek outside funding to enable classes to have white-boards and FM Sound Systems;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the PEIHSF requests that the Department of Education set aside special funding to ensure that all elementary classrooms are equipped with both white-boards and FM Sound Systems

Consideration

Status: 

Passed
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Destination: 

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
English Language School Board
Responses Received

Responses: 

Education and Early Childhood Development:  The Department recognizes that having appropriate instructional tools available is important to delivering the curriculum in an efficient and effective manner.  The tools noted in your resolution are today some of the most valuable.  The Department support the resolution and is committed, as budgets allows, to making the tools availagble to elementary classroom teachers.

Eastern School District:  The Estern School District recognizes the value of having white boards and FM sound systems in our elementary classroom settings.  Presently, most of our classrooms have white boards installed in them.  White boards offer educators a dust free tool that aides in instruction and links to Smartboard technology.  The Eastern School Distrecit is aware that there are still some classrooms that have traditional chalk boards in them and that some teachers do not have access to white boards.  We will continue to work towared the purchasing and installation of white boards in all of our classrooms. 

FM sound systems historically have been purchased at the school level.  The Eastern School District achnowledges the importance of these systems in the areas of instruction and learning.  Research has demonstrated that many children with normal hearing experience difficulties understanding speech in typical classroom environments.  Perceptual difficulties can negatively impact student performance.  The Eastern School District will work towards supporting schools with their FM Sound System purchases.

Western School Board:  Since 2007, the Western School Board has implemented a consistent and gradual plan to replace all of its chalk boards with white boards.  It is the goal of the WSB to have all classrooms equipped with whiteboards by the beginning of the school year in September 2014.

FM Sound Systems are widely used throughout the Western School Board.  Schools have been implementing FM Systems on a gradual, but increasing basis as their budgets permit.