Philly HS going high tech w/ help from Microsoft?

[Guest donaltopablo]

Although Microsoft products suck, they are certainly HUGE of working with schools and libraries to bring technology to them.... sounds like excellent news for the Philly school system to have a new school and a show piece.

Microsoft to help create high-tech Phila. high school

Microsoft Corp. and the Philadelphia School Distrcit have entered into an agreement to develop a $46 million high school for 700 of the district's students.

The Seattle software company and the district will work together on the planning, design, development, construction and completion of a new high school that will embed technology from the ground up into the school's educational and operational structure. The project will be funded by the district's capital construction program and is targeted to open in three years.

The vision for the school expands beyond the classroom to deliver a "holistic" view of what the learning environment can be. Students will encounter a curriculum optimized to facilitate any time/anywhere learning and systems that will help teachers better establish the pace of instruction and evaluate student progress.

Similarly, technology will be used to streamline administrative functions, such as attendance, ordering lunches and school supplies, teacher training and tracking student progress. These functions will be part of a comprehensive development plan that will make use of Microsoft technologies in relation to the needs outlined by the school district. The plan will include the design and implementation of new administrative systems and optimization of current ones.

To meet the targeted opening of September 2006, Microsoft and the school district will establish and staff a project planning committee, and Microsoft will fund a full-time Microsoft "technology architect." The committee will address the infusion of technology into the building, classroom design, curriculum, professional development and school administration.

Financed as part of a five-year capital plan with bond sales totaling $697 million, the jointly developed school is part of the district's larger reform plan. The first two years of the district's capital plan call for building five new high schools, phasing out middle schools, expanding elementary schools to accommodate between 700 and 900 students in a K-8 grade structure, and constructing five new elementary schools along with a number of so-called little schoolhouses