Commissioner of education Terry Holliday invited me to accompany him on a tour of Southern Elementary. The school is pioneering a new program to better implement full-day kindergarten that can be a model for other districts. Through creative staffing and a can-do spirit in the school, the district is saving $150,000 a year while still offering the children a full complement of instruction including reading, math, science, and social studies along with art, physical education, library, and music. Extended class time is spent on such enrichment activities as computer, fine/gross motor skills, and read-aloud time, facilitated by trained personnel. It was a great opportunity to show off all that the school administrators, teachers, and students have done.

The task force on student access to technology met on Monday. The goal of the task force is to develop a strategy and funding mechanism to provide fifth and sixth grade students with access to computing devices such as laptops, tablets, netbooks, and e-readers for school and home use.