The St. Paul district is scrapping a multimillion-dollar project once touted as the centerpiece of its taxpayer-backed technology plan.
Dell and the district this week agreed to scuttle an almost $4.3 million contract to design a new online home for the district’s digital learning tools. A year and $715,000 into the project, it became clear the learning platform would not work as well or at least as soon as the two partners had hoped.
Meanwhile, the district is finalizing a new deal with Apple to provide an iPad for each student — in half of district schools this fall and in the rest the following school year. The district, which serves 37,800 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, is not disclosing the price tag yet.
District leaders said they are making “a tactical shift”: In pitching their $9 million a year technology plan to taxpayers in 2012, they had stressed the initiative was not about putting a device in each backpack. But in a recent about-face, officials said relying on devices students bring from home would not work in a high-poverty, urban district.
Dell will refund fees on the platform project in the form of credit for the company’s technology.
“Over the last year and a half we have gotten a lot clearer on where we want to go with personalized learning,” said Matt Mohs, the district’s chief academic officer.
DISTRICT WARNED
When the district announced its platform deal with Dell after the 2012 levy referendum, some experts cautioned it was making a highly risky move: The company has a limited track record with such software, and custom-designing a product would be time-consuming and pricey.
Some, like the district’s teachers union, strongly opposed the deal, arguing the district should seek more input from the public and educators before signing a five-year contract.
The district now says input from teachers and other staffers informed the decision to pull out of the project. About 60 educators and an administrative team spent numerous hours working with Dell, a long-time hardware vendor for St. Paul Schools, on the platform design this school year.
Ned Zimmerman-Bence, a parent and former educator, said he worries the district is about to repeat some of the platform project mistakes by rushing thousands of iPads into its schools.
“I applaud them for saying, ‘Stop. This isn’t working,’ ” said Zimmerman-Bence, who works with school districts and colleges to implement education technology. “But they took an unnecessary gamble on this platform without really stopping and thinking it through.”
He said the district needs to spell out a solid plan for staff training and harnessing the technology to strengthen learning before deploying the devices next fall. He questioned if the district has enough time to do that thoughtfully.
St. Paul has a recent cautionary tale in the experience of the Los Angeles school district. That district, the nation’s second largest, ran into early hurdles with a $1 billion iPad initiative. There, leaders have acknowledged they did not properly plan for its rollout. Among other problems, some students were able to access social networking and other non-educational websites with the devices.
In the meantime, technology skeptics continue to question such technology investments, pointing to the scarce research into their effects on learning.
YEARS IN THE MAKING
Dell first pitched a learning platform to St. Paul officials in 2011 — an innovative product that would help teachers tailor lessons and feedback to each student. On the platform, students would be able to access assignments, video lessons and quizzes at school and at home. Teachers could more easily keep track of student progress and connect with students and parents after hours.
The district sought proposals from vendors in the spring of 2012 and eventually pitched the platform in asking taxpayers to renew and increase its operating levy.
A Pioneer Press report last fall showed the district had dismissed the runner-up for the project and enlisted Dell to help explain it to voters months before the November vote. It presented the deal to the teachers union and school board two months after the election — urging the board to approve it quickly so taxpayers could see new technology in the schools the next fall.
The union and some experts questioned the decision. Some tech-savvy metro area districts said at the time they were intrigued by the potential of platforms to personalize learning but would hold off until the market delivers stronger, proven products.
Now, officials say it became clear this spring the technology the district was seeking just wasn’t there yet. For instance, the platform didn’t work well on mobile devices, a key requirement spelled out in the contract. The district would be able to pilot it with only a portion of its ninth-graders, and not until next spring.
“We felt we had been overpromised and underdelivered to,” said Jean O’Connell, a school board member and former board chair.
O’Connell said in hindsight, early critics of the project had a point. But a “diverse” team of eight administrators and one teacher spent months reviewing platform proposals, and the board trusted its recommendation.
Dell will refund most of the $715,000 the district has paid it, save for $50,000 for an evaluation of its IT services and infrastructure. Officials said that study provided helpful information.
Dell said the company had agreed with the district that the custom product “will not serve SPPS students and teachers directly enough or quickly enough to continue investing in that aspect of the project.” It said it expects it will remain a key partner in the district’s technology plan.
“We feel they have made us whole and made the taxpayer whole,” said Mohs, who said the district might revisit the platform idea down the road.
Officials said the past year was not a total loss in furthering the technology plan: The district upgraded its wireless network, engaged teachers and learned a lot about managing a major technology initiative.
NEW APPROACH
Meanwhile, back in January district leaders first spoke about an interest in providing more devices to students. At the time, the district considered purchasing a laptop or tablet for each middle and high school student, with a 3-to-1 student-to-device ratio at the elementary level.
The district received input from Washington, D.C., based consultant Afton Partners on a $57,700 contract.
District leaders now say they zeroed in on Apple because of its track record in working with Minnesota districts. About two-thirds of district educators already use Apple devices.
The district is gearing up to enter into a leasing arrangement through which it will get fresh devices every three years. Officials have said the investment will far exceed the $2 million they had set aside for devices for this year.
It is tapping a state contract with Apple, which means the district didn’t have to bid out the project and might not have to secure school board approval.
“We expect there will be a significant influx of devices by the start of the school year,” Mohs said.
The district will provide professional development for teachers at the start of the school year.
Mary Cathryn Ricker, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers president, said she hopes the district this summer will draw on the expertise of teachers who are already using technology innovatively in their classrooms: “There is no one we need to fly in; there’s nobody we need to put on a consulting contract.”
She said such early educator involvement will help the district avoid repeating the mistakes of the platform project. Ricker also said the district needs a clear, detailed, long-term plan for using technology to personalize learning.
A number of smaller metro area districts, such as Farmington, recently have entered into leasing arrangements with Apple, which markets actively to school districts across the country. St. Paul would be the first large district in Minnesota to invest in a device for each student.
Mila Koumpilova can be reached at 651-228-2171. Follow her at twitter.com/MilaPiPress.
