I know more about wiring than I ever thought I'd know. Montoya also has encountered obstacles getting her ideas past the school district's political leadership. But because InterAct requires schools using its services to adopt rules defining what student uses of the Internet are acceptable, Montoya had to take the issue to her district's school board. There it languished for more than a year. Eventually, Montoya managed to get the school online by establishing for it a T-1 connection in March 1997.
Most educators agree that parental involvement is a key determinant of children's success in school.
Telecommunications technologies are helping a growing number of parents become more involved in their kids' education. When the Bellingham schools embarked on their effort to wire the district's 18 public schools, officials decided to provide basic telephone service, as well as Internet connections, to every classroom. Parents said that the improved access to their children's teachers made it much easier to keep track of homework assignments and other matters. New technologies can help parents and teachers overcome the headaches associated with schedules that don't mesh. According to Electronic School, a publication of the National School Boards Association, more than 1,000 schools are using a voicemail system developed by Vanderbilt University's Jerold Bauch that can deliver time-delayed messages between parents and teachers.