CPA News Releases, Advisories, and Editorials

Randolph Center, Vt. — The positive impact that technology can have on the quality of education children in Vermont receive will be the focus of a conference, entitled “Technology and the Schools: Preparing the Workforce for the 21st Century,” sponsored by the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and the Benton Foundation, and hosted by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

More than 130 key representatives of the telecommunications, policy and education sectors will meet today at the Vermont Technical College to discuss how advances in the emerging telecommunications network can help schools provide students with opportunities to engage in authentic and challenging “real-world” tasks. The problem-solving skills used in technology networks such as the Internet can teach children independence and flexibility, while helping them to analyze and utilize the vast amounts of information resources available today.

“If technology initiatives are not planned with input from community members, teachers and other education leaders, money will be wasted and students will lose out on valuable learning opportunities,” said CPA President and CEO Linda Tarr-Whelan.

“Vermont is uniquely positioned to serve as a model for education and technology innovation,” said Rich Ferlauto, CPA Policy Co-Director. “The State has already taken measures to ensure that all high schools have access to the information superhighway, and Vermont’s Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides an array of opportunities to incorporate technology into education.”

The Vermont conference is the first in a series of similar state-level events to result from a telecommunications policy partnership between CPA and the Benton Foundation.

The Center for Policy Alternatives is a non-profit, non-partisan progressive policy and leadership development center.

The Benton Foundation promotes public interest values and non-commercial services for the National Information Infrastructure through research and policy analysis, outreach to non-profits and foundations, and print, video and online publishing.