The Worcester School Committee has approved a $623.8 million budget for the coming fiscal year while continuing to hear concerns from parents and educators about screen time and the use of technology in elementary classrooms.
The committee unanimously approved the district’s $623,811,068 spending plan June 25 after concluding nearly three hours of discussion spread across two public budget sessions earlier this month.
Before the final vote, committee member Jermaine Johnson successfully proposed transferring $225,000 from the budget’s instructional technology account, directing $200,000 toward teacher salaries to help fund assistant principals and the remaining $25,000 toward instructional materials.
Committee member Sue Mailman offered an alternative motion to transfer the full $225,000 to purchase books for schools, but that proposal failed after the committee approved Johnson’s motion. Mailman and committee member Vanessa Alvarez opposed the transfer, though both later joined the rest of the committee in unanimously approving the overall budget.
The discussion over shifting money away from instructional technology foreshadowed another major topic during the committee’s regular meeting later that evening, when members heard a public petition calling for reduced technology use in the district’s youngest classrooms.
The petition, filed by Worcester resident Noelia Chafoya in partnership with Worcester for Safe Student Technology, urged the school committee to revise the district’s one-to-one device program by removing individual internet-connected devices, such as iPads, from prekindergarten through second-grade classrooms.
The petition gathered more than 450 signatures and reflects a growing movement questioning the role of technology in early childhood education. Supporters argue digital devices are increasingly replacing, rather than supplementing, hands-on learning and face-to-face instruction. The proposal would not affect technology required through Individualized Education Programs or limit teachers from using technology to support classroom instruction.
Speaking before the committee, Chafoya said supporters included parents, teachers and other school staff who believe younger students would benefit from a return to more traditional instructional methods.
“Educational technology companies are not required to meet a single educational standard before making their products available in our schools,” Chafoya said. “Their products are sold on marketing and mascots, never on evidence, and not one of them is required to provide a real single benefit for our children. Our own educators are raising concerns. Worcester Public School educators have communicated to us that children need to write by hand, read real books, build motor skills, and learn through hand on experience. After years in classrooms, they are certain that screen time and devices have no place at this age.”
Later in the meeting, the administration submitted a written recommendation as part of a separate agenda item proposing a transition from the district’s current classroom technology model to a 3-to-1 student-to-iPad ratio for preschool through first grade. No additional changes to district technology policies were discussed or proposed.
Committee member Kathleen Roy also requested that the administration provide data on how classroom devices are being used, including how much time students spend on them, with the goal of giving families and the committee more information as future decisions about classroom technology are considered.
Jason Bleau can be reached at bleau.jason@yahoo.com
