Technology for urban schools

"Preparing all children for viable futures may seem expensive, but it will be money well spent. The cost of graduating class after class of students unprepared to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's workforce will be far more expensive" (Gallagher, 2001, p. 41). This quote sums it all up about education in many of our urban areas. We are for too preoccupied with teaching to a test than to actually promote learning through technology. Also, urban areas are often the most difficult to incorporate technology due to the fact that there is no major tax base to fund any major projects. On top of that, there are many aging and older school facilities that are difficult to upgrade(Gallagher, 2001).
Teaching and emphasizing minimal standards for our urban students is a good thing. We need to have competent skills and means to measure those skills. However, the high stakes accountability that our students have to face is far more important to our lawmakers than upgrading technology in urban schools. It simply is not economically possible to have both up to date technology as well as provide all the needed services for urban students. These schools can receive various levels of funding which are determined by economic need, the number of students with disabilities and most of all test scores (Gallagher, 2001). Urban schools are notorious for lower scores and higher levels of poverty and special needs. Unfortunately these major problems seem to overshadow the need for technology integration (Gallagher, 2001).
Old schools can also pose a challenge to technology integration due to inadequate wiring, expensive renovations and even hidden dangers such as asbestos. According to Gallagher, these factors are just more reasons that many urban schools are stuck in a cycle of low achievement and continue to pass unprepared students through the system (2001).
Luckily, our school does the best we can with the materials that we have. We may have 25% of our students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, but we have a supportive PTO and are always looking for new ways to improve our technology plan. We are all stakeholders in the process and many of us have even taken on the challenge of technology integration as one of our professional goals. Hopefully, we will make a difference to our students and set an example for some of those urban schools out there that deparately need a change.

Gallagher, E.M. (2001). Technology for urban schools: Gaps and challenges. In LeBaron, J.F. & Collier, C. Technology in its place: Successful technology infusion in schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.