Virtual Administration

School Administrator, May, 1997

Heads of educators are spinning in Western Heights School District, owing to a $3.75 million burst of modern technology, including desktop videoconferencing and Internet access in all 230 classrooms.

Superintendent Joe Kitchens says the 3,000-student district is spending about $1,200 per student since passage of a 1995 bond issue. The unusual telecommunications network allows a district administrator to make a simultaneous announcement at all six school sites and gives principals and teachers an immediate link to the superintendent.

"The central office is in virtual contact with every classroom," Kitchens says. "Things are moving faster than people can imagine."