The Union City, N.J., school district implemented a five-year plan that included a significant investment in technology to support its curriculum reform goals. In addition, Bell Atlantic worked with the city, the state board of education, and the Center for Children and Technology at the Educational Development Center Inc., in Princeton, N.J., to carry out a technology trial at two schools. Although the district's entire comprehensive reform program has yielded substantial gains in student progress, the most impressive results have occurred at Christopher Columbus Intermediate School. For example, Columbus students led the district in the percentage of students passing practice administrations of New Jersey's Early Warning Test. The program's detailed and creative curriculum aims to build the thinking skills of students through exposure to computers, drama, and Socratic dialogue.
Recent research shows the combination seems to be working.
Ten to 15 percent of the Title I and learning-disabled students enrolled in HOTS made the honor roll in 1994. The Buddy Project Evaluation, 1994-95. The state of Indiana, along with the Lilly Endowment and Ameritech, sponsored this project, which supplied students with home computers and modem access to the school. An assessment of the project indicated significant differences between seven Buddy Project classrooms and three non-Buddy Project classrooms. Sponsored by Apple Computer Inc., ACOT focuses on the changes in instructional practices and student learning that occur when schools and students have extensive access to technology.