ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 3, 1997 TAG: 9702030007
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
WITH AN ENROLLMENT OF ONLY 75, Bent Mountain Elementary is small in size, but big on keeping students on the cutting edge. For every two students there is a computer, and these kids begin using them in kindergarten.
When the math question flashed on the computer screen, kindergartner Jocie Bernardo knew the answer immediately.
It was a subtraction problem: What is 4 minus 2?
She quickly pressed 2 on the keyboard.
Correct.
A message on the screen told her to press the space bar for the next problem. She got all 10 problems right.
As 5-year-old Jocie practiced her subtraction skills with a computer program, some classmates worked on addition by counting egg boxes on trucks on the screen.
Five-year-old Ellen Vest used her right index finger to peck out the correct numbers on the screen after counting the boxes.
The kindergartners at Bent Mountain Elementary School are learning to use computers in arithmetic and reading lessons - even before some of them learn to tie their shoes. As the children left their classroom one day last week, laces trailed behind the sneakers of several of them.
At the tiny, rural school in Roanoke County, Kay Anderson is trying to ensure that the children have the same opportunities in technology as their counterparts in larger schools in urban areas in the county.
"Even though this is a small school, we want computers to be an integral part of classroom instruction," said Anderson, who is the school's librarian and technology coordinator. "We don't want our children to be behind."
With an enrollment of only 75, Bent Mountain is the smallest school in the Roanoke Valley and one of the smallest in the state.
Community residents and parents have feared that they would lose their school to the trend of consolidating small ones with larger schools.
They protested in 1988 when the county delayed spending money to renovate and expand the school, which was built in 1930. They feared it was the first step in closing the school. Because of the protest, the county reversed its position and spent $1 million on the school. Since then, there has been no talk of closing it.
The Bent Mountain children are learning about electronic catalogs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, databases and doing research on the Internet.
They're also using software programs to help them master the basics of math, reading, science and social studies.
The children use computers in an "accelerated reading" program that quizzes them on stories they have read. The computer keeps a record of every book read by each child in the school. The children accumulate points for the books they read. The points translate into rewards such as free ice cream, cookie and pizza parties.
Last week, first-grader Michelle Fisher took a reading comprehension test on a computer in teacher Barbara Guynn's class while her classmates worked at their desks.
"The idea is to create excitement for math, reading, science and other subjects by using computers," Anderson said.
"Kids are not intimidated by computers. They're not afraid of breaking them or losing something in them as many adults are," she said. "And children learn so fast on them."
Anderson has been innovative and resourceful in enhancing Bent Mountain's technology program, Principal Margaret Richards said.
Anderson has used state technology funds to buy new computers and has acquired computers that were no longer being used by other schools. Others have been donated by private businesses.
Bent Mountain has 37 computers - one for every two pupils. Not all are state-of-the-art, but they still are valuable in teaching keyboarding skills and computer basics to young children, she said.
Anderson faced a challenge when she wanted to establish a computer lab at the school: There was no place to put it.
Bent Mountain has only five classrooms and two trailers, and all are in constant use.
"We wanted a space where everyone in a class could sit in front of a computer and work," she said. "We didn't have any vacant rooms."
School officials thought of a possible solution: "We decided to try it here in the library and it has worked out well," Anderson said.
Eighteen computers have been squeezed into the small room along with its bookshelves and circulation desk.
All of the pupils go to the library on Thursdays for computer classes and instruction by Anderson. Their teachers also take them there several times a week to work on lessons using the computers.
The school has 19 computers elsewhere in the building, including two in each classroom. The newest computers have been put into the classrooms so they can be an integral part of the learning process, Anderson said.
"In our school, almost every child is on a computer every day," she said. "They use them in their classes regularly and in their free time they also have access to them."
She has put the library's card catalog on the school's computer system, making it accessible to children in each room.
Bent Mountain also has laser disks, a photo scanner, a large display monitor and other educational technology.
Anderson offers weekly computer training sessions for teachers. "I'm trying to help the staff become computer literate," she said.
Anderson is a part-time employee who is contracted to work 101/2 hours a week. But she spends many more hours keeping the children and staff informed about technology.
"She spends extra time working on individual computer projects and she helps whenever there is a problem," Richards said. "She is always willing to answer any question, even when she's at home."
Without Anderson's knowledge and devotion, Bent Mountain would not be equipped with such an effective technology program, Richards said.
The school had seven old computers when Anderson began working there five years ago, after having been a teacher and librarian at several other county schools.
She recently won an award from the Roanoke County Education Association for her efforts to make the school a leader in technology.
"I don't count the hours," she said. "Some weeks, I work longer than others. I just want our children to have the same opportunities as others."
Anderson has developed a plan for Bent Mountain to teach technology skills that will be required by Virginia's new academic standards. Students will be tested statewide in the fifth and eighth grades on technology.
By the fifth grade, children are expected to know how to create and use databases, computer graphics and spreadsheets. The standards also require them to be able to use electronic encyclopedias, catalogs, indexes and local and worldwide network communication systems.
"Each teacher plans activities to work on the skills," Anderson said. "We start them in kindergarten, teaching basic keyboarding skills and how a computer operates."
Anderson, who has worked with elementary and middle school students, said she especially enjoys working with younger children because of their spontaneity and enthusiasm.
``I love to see them react to a story they've read and get excited about something they've learned,'' she said.
LENGTH: Long : 131 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON STAFF. Kay Anderson, librarian andby CNBcomputer coordinator (left), helps Amanda Paige, 5, with a computer
counting game at Bent Mountain Elementary School's media center.