The Technology Factor
Harrisburg School District Superintendent Gerald Kohn believes technology can help his students compete in the world.
To help his district, Kohn has established a Science and Technology High School, which has a 100 percent graduation rate and college acceptance rate. Kohn cites it as an example of what motivated students can accomplish. And he has brought 21st-century technology to SciTech High School and Ben Franklin School through a pilot program called Connected Learning Communities. The project fits President Obama's desire to create an online learning network for teachers and children around the world.
Harrisburg School District became the first district in the United States to respond to Obama's learning challenge by developing an online partnership with students in Egypt. When Obama visited the University of Cairo last June, he spoke about his desire for an online learning network for teachers and children around the world, "so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo."
The pilot program will include students from Ben Franklin and SciTech High in an online arts, cultural, and social learning project.