Coaches Help Teachers, Technology Fully Compute

With his cell phone stacked on top of an iPod Touch, a half- dozen memory cards hanging around his neck and two laptops slung over his shoulder, technology coach Mike Benko is ready to avert any technology disaster at North Hills Senior High School.

"If Mike as a coach were not here, there would be times where I would think (technology) was probably more trouble than it was worth," said Pat Milliken, a long-term substitute biology teacher and 28-year veteran of the district. "If you don't have technology going smoothly most of the time, you're going to give up and just go to plan B. It's been absolutely necessary to have a coach full-time working with us so we can give these kids this opportunity in the classroom."

Since 2006, the state Classrooms for the Future program has distributed more than $150 million to 543 high schools for laptops, interactive boards and other high-tech tools. School officials say that unless the state provides money for coaches to show teachers how to use the equipment and integrate it into curriculum, there's a danger the equipment won't be used effectively, if at all.

Budget cuts trimmed funding from an expected $45 million for 2009- 10 to $22 million. The program is scheduled to end June 30, 2010. The state Department of Education said it plans to request a one- year extension.

Each district receives $30,000 for one part-time technology coach. The state suggests that districts pool money and create full- time positions to share coaches, department spokeswoman Leah Harris said.

"We want to be able to hold the hands of those teachers (who don't know how to use technology) and walk them through different ideas," she said.

The number of teachers assigned to each coach varies by district - - in Penn Hills, for instance, coach Brian Brown works with more than 120 teachers, while Ryan Gevaudan, Carlynton's coach, works with 15 teachers.

The teachers require full-time attention, said Jeff Taylor, director of curriculum, assessment and technology for North Hills School District.