Computer Class Plan Is Called Economic Bias

A charge of economic bias has left the Orange Unified School District with a tricky balancing act: weighing the value of a proposed laptop computer class against the painful reality that many families cannot afford the cost of a new computer.

“The class they are proposing would say to students: ‘Either you have to buy something that’s $2,000, or you are a second-class student or a second-class citizen,’ ” said Eddie Albright, a father of two McPherson Magnet School students who raised the issue at a recent school board meeting.

The controversy over the class arose when McPherson passed out surveys to parents to see if they would be interested in a laptop class for middle-schoolers.

The idea was to offer laptop-only English and history classes as electives for as many middle-schoolers as were interested, said Gwen Davis, the school district’s technology administrator. Precisely how many classes would be offered or how they would be structured have not been determined, but Davis believes the district can arrange laptop purchases for as little as $1,399, and leases for $40 or less a month.

Members of the Orange school board, after listening to Albright’s concerns, agreed that they are valid and asked for a report on the laptop program before they allow it to go forward.

Making sure every student has the same access to cutting-edge resources is becoming a thornier issue as technology outpaces the funding available for schools to bring it to every desk.

“Trying to figure out how to make these things available in all of our schools and to all of our students is a struggle,” said Margaret Riel, associate director of UC Irvine’s Center for Collaborative Research in Education. “There’s always going to be the issue of inequality, but what we want to do is make sure the resources are available for all students to have access.”

Schools around the state that offer classes exclusively for students with laptops have tried to address the problem by buying machines students can borrow and pointing parents toward cheaper used computers, leasing options and loans.

And with the cost of personal computers falling as they become more popular, Riel said it may be only a few more years before simple machines are available for hundreds, rather than thousands, of dollars.

But Albright said he is unsatisfied with offers of assistance because they still ostracize those families who need extra help and might be embarrassed to come forward for it.

11% at School Qualify for Lunch Subsidies

“The ‘public’ in public schools means every kid is going to be allotted the same opportunity as the kid sitting next to them,” he said. “If computers could be provided for everybody, they could be a dynamite tool. But we can’t do it for select people. That’s unfair.”

Trustees Bill Lewis and Kathy Ward, who both have children enrolled at McPherson, said they were troubled by the possibility that students could be barred from a class not because they don’t have the grades or background for it, but because their parents can’t afford the equipment.

McPherson, a math, science and technology magnet school, draws 710 students in kindergarten through eighth grade from across the diverse Orange Unified School District. While many of its students come from middle-class or affluent families, about 11% of students last year were poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

The trustees’ concern leaves the school in a delicate spot.

“We’re still working out the details, and we’re hoping to have a [laptop] class,” said Pam Carlson, one of McPherson’s acting co-principals. “We have a lot of things we need to consider. We’re still working to build a base of support with our parents.”

In the meantime, district staffers are trying to answer the questions surrounding the proposed class, said spokesperson Judith Frutig.

“They’re looking at everything about the course,” Frutig said. “Who is eligible? How do you choose the students who take the class? Is it something that everyone can take? And, if someone wants to take the class who can’t afford to buy the equipment, does the district pay for the laptop? How would it be provided?”

Ensuring equity for all students at McPherson is a concern, Davis said. However, she stressed that any laptop classes would be electives, just as taking a band class is an elective that does involve some cost for participation.

“If a student really wants in the class, there’s a way for the student to get in the class,” she said.

Teachers and administrators at two other Orange County schools that offer laptop classes--Irvine High and Mission Viejo High--said they have not heard parents raise questions of fairness.

While they understand Albright’s concerns, several educators said, schools must take the first steps toward integrating technology rather than hang back until the resources appear for school-wide offerings.

“Do you punish the kid who can afford the laptop by saying there won’t be a laptop program at all?” said Greg Gray, who has taught laptop social science classes at Irvine High School. “Or do you try to do what you can to make laptops affordable or available to people who don’t have the same income levels?”

And equality of opportunity has always been troublesome in education, Gray noted, with the likes of private SAT tutoring and tennis lessons available for more affluent students.

Albright maintains that public schools should be the one place where students can feel safe from judgment by their peers based on race or class.

“If we go one step ahead in technology, but 10 steps back socially, that doesn’t seem equal to me,” he said.