ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 29, 1996 TAG: 9610290112
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
THAT'S WHAT the education secretary wants for all U.S. schools, his assistant says.
Roanoke schools pay $1,400 a month for computer access to the Internet. Certain school systems in Georgia pay $2,000 a month to get on the "information superhighway." But schools in Fresno, Calif., pay only $189 a month.
Mario Moreno, an assistant U.S. secretary of education, said Monday that the Clinton administration wants to end the disparity in Internet connection fees among school districts.
Moreno, in Roanoke to tour several schools, said Internet access should be free for schools, or a standard rate should be established nationwide.
He said his boss, Secretary of Education Richard Riley, favors free access.
Moreno said one of the biggest challenges facing education is to ensure that students have access to adequate technology to prepare them for the job market.
"Technology has become an integral part of schools - just like the basics," he said. "If students don't have access to technology, they won't have the skills to be competitive."
Moreno said he was impressed with the large number of computers in Roanoke schools, particularly in magnet schools such as Huff Lane, where federal funds have been provided to purchase them.
Nationally, schools have a student-computer ratio of 33-to-1, he said. Educational experts said the ratio should be 5-to-1, he said.
Roanoke has an overall ratio of 8-to-1, with a 5-to-1 ratio in 12 schools. Superintendent Wayne Harris said the city's goal is 5-to-1 for all schools.
Dayl Graves, Huff Lane's principal, said schools need to have the latest in technology because the families of many students can't afford home computers. Huff Lane had only three computers before it received a federal magnet grant last year, she said. Now the school has four or five computers in almost every room and a lab with 24 computers.
Moreno said he came to Roanoke as part of his regular visits to schools throughout the country to learn more about federally funded educational programs. He said he has toured hundreds of schools in 36 states.
"I like to get out and look at local issues - to get outside the Beltway and talk to people," he said.
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