In the weeks leading up to a D.C. Council hearing about technology use in schools, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) rolled out updated policies around acceptable use of technology, protection of student data, and parental engagement.
Despite what school leaders call their commitment to intentional and instructional technology use, at least one DCPS student says that there’s more to be done to ensure young people aren’t overly dependent on screens.
“We use way more than 150 minutes in school,” Aine Donaghy told The Informer. “Whatever they’re telling you guys is not what they’re doing in our schools. Maybe you guys should go and talk to the actual school administration and then face them because it’s kind of annoying to hear that they’re making people think that they’re using way less technology.”
Aine, a 6th grade DCPS student, counted among more than 40 community members who attended the “East of the River Technology Conversation” during the latter part of September at Bard High School Early College DC.
That event — hosted by DC Charter School Alliance, D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE) Reps. Eboni-Rose Thompson (Ward 7) and Dr. LaJoy Johnson-Law (Ward 8), ElectED DC, Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE), Ward 7 Education Council, and Ward 8 Education Council — brought Aine and other young people in contact with parents, advocates, and public officials who weighed in on various aspects of technology use among Ward 8 students.
During breakout sessions in Bard’s cafeteria, Aine spoke about the benefits of technology, as it relates to conducting research and preparing for class presentations. In the same vein, she expressed her yearning for more interpersonal engagement with her technology use.
“Sometimes I want to ask a question to the video, but how is the video going to understand [my question]?” Aine later told The Informer. “My teacher doesn’t have enough time to go through every kid and see what lesson you’re on. It kind of makes it harder for them to understand what you’re struggling with because you’re not even answering questions during the video.”
The Sept. 22 community conversation allowed for discussion about: an insufficient number of working devices at schools; inconsistent Wifi access; reluctance of school administrators to allow students to take computers home, and varying levels of digital literary education at each school.
As cohorts explored those problems, they learned about the drafting of an SBOE resolution, led by Thompson, that was informed by conversations with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the American Psychological Association. They also weighed in on how public school technology use policy would affect learning outcomes, especially at the elementary level and with students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan.
For Aine, a balanced approach to technology use would make her school experience better.
“We don’t really want to only use technology to learn,” Aine said. “We kind of want to get one-on-one experiences with people. Sometimes, our computers don’t work…and our library has a lot of books, but we don’t always have enough time to go there.”
Policy Changes and One Teacher’s Embrace of Technology
At the beginning of the school year, DCPS focused its first Parent University meeting on newly shaped elementary school technology use policy that’s rooted in: purposeful learning, student safety and privacy, accessible and inclusive learning, responsible digital and artificial intelligence (AI) learning, and family partnership and communication.
“Books, writing, discussion, movement, hands-on activities and peer-to-peer relationships remain the primary focus during instruction. That focus on purpose also applies to video instruction,” DCPS Deputy Chancellor Dr. Drewana Bey told parents on the evening of Sept. 1. “For example, rather than giving students direct access to YouTube, teachers will select and preview content, use approved ad-free pathways provided by DCPS, connect viewing to a specific objective and supervise the experience.”
Bey went on to emphasize officials’ insistence on protecting student data, bolstering digital literacy and collaborating with families.
“Students will progressively learn how to protect their privacy, recognize bias, check sources, give credit and use human judgment rather than accepting digital or AI-generated content at face value,” Bey continued. “Because families are essential partners in building these habits, communication is the final connection. Families should receive clear and timely information, understand why a tool is being used and know where to go with a question or concern.”
More than a week before Bey’s meeting with parents, local education officials commemorated what they called four years of consecutive post-pandemic growth representing a return to normalcy. In the public school sector, more than 60 schools saw an improvement in DC CAPE English and Language Art proficiency, with four of those schools experiencing a leap of double-digit percentage points.
More than 80 public schools also saw an increase in math proficiency.
During a press conference at Friendship Ideal Campus in Northwest, the leadership of the D.C. Public Charter School Board made note of what they described as sustained post-pandemic gains in their sector, particularly among students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students, the former of which saw a double-digit percentage increase in DC CAPE English and Math proficiency.
Everton Nelson, a math teacher at Friendship Ideal Campus whose students saw multi-year growth, credited technology as part of that success story.
“It’s not just paper. We have the IXL platform, the peer assessment platform, Khan Academy,” Nelson told The Informer. “With the rotations, one group is on the computer. Another station is probably doing a problem set. Another station is using the numerical math book, and they change stations accordingly. So the computer does help. The iPad does help. Technology does help.”
Friendship Public Charter School, a local education agency that controls 15 schools, including its Ideal Campus, has long explored the integration of AI in teacher pedagogy. It has entered an arrangement with American University through which the latter will work with the former in further strengthening its application of the tool.
Despite concerns about AI use in the classroom, Nelson said he and his colleagues are embracing it, all while ensuring that they collaborate with families and emphasize ethical student use.
“Students are going to rely on using AI to research. Nothing is wrong with that. Just please make sure that you understand [the material] from using AI. Don’t just copy and paste and not understand it,” Nelson told The Informer. “From Day One, we make sure that we get the students on board. We allow the parents to realize that we’re big with technology, and students have to be responsible in what they do. We allow them to learn the best practices, but we’re consistent.”
Looking Forward: A Broader Discussion About In-School Technology Use
The conversation about in-school technology use will continue on Oct. 9, as the D.C. Council’s Committee of the Whole conducts a hearing about this very subject. The hearing, which builds upon a previous hearing about the online diagnostic and instructional software known as i-Ready, comes months after the introduction and subsequent withdrawal of a disapproval resolution that would’ve prevented DCPS’ extension of a contract with the company.
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) said he’s ready to gain some clarity.
“I want to hear from parents as well as educators, and I also want to hear from education officials about what they are planning to do to manage technology,” Mendelson told The Informer. “I suspect…there needs to be more management of technology.”
At the forefront of the movement to remove i-Ready, and curb other forms of in-school technology, is an entity known as Schools Beyond Screens DC. This group of Ward 3 parents coalesced in the spring after the passage of an LAUSD resolution to limit screen time in all grade levels.
Schools Beyond Screens DC has since, according to organizers, attracted more than 700 people to its WhatsApp community and collected more than 1,500 signatures on an online petition. Volunteer Maya Mechenbier said the group’s reach extends across the District, particularly among public and public charter school parents, teachers, and “other stakeholders in the public education system.”
“We’ve got a group of 10 to 15 parents that contribute actively, but it is kind of distributed,” Mechenbier told The Informer. “If we have something that we’re asking folks to do, people just jump in. There’s not an organizational structure…like an incorporated nonprofit or anything. It’s literally just a community group.”
Mechenbier, a Ward 3 resident and mother of two DCPS students, counted among those who’ve engaged the council and SBOE about in-school technology use in recent months. She said that the conversation about i-Ready in the John A. Wilson Building has encouraged the push among parents for a broader discussion about budget transparency, corporate influence, protection of children’s privacy, and how best to ensure that technology use policy is grounded in science.
Mechenbier told The Informer that, for months, a working group consisting of Schools Beyond Screens DC volunteers from Wards 1 through 7 have participated in various activities, including the ongoing production of policy suggestions.
Amid conversation around how to help communities understand DCPS’ most recent technology use guidelines, she said that school leaders must build upon what’s already been done.
“The guidelines for elementary school are certainly a step in the right direction,” Mechenbier told The Informer. “We still want to see…a pause on these AI tutor products. These products are largely unproven experimental applications that are mostly unregulated, and we don’t have a clear sense of how those tutor products are using our kids’ data.”
Mechenbier expressed a similar sentiment for policy for middle and high schoolers. She told The Informer that, in a perfect world, students at that level would use computers exclusively for learning basic typing, online research, coding and anything else of educational significance.
“We will have more work to do as a community to understand what the right balance looks like for middle and high school,” she said. “That’s definitely an area where we want to have more conversations throughout the District.”
Ward 8 Community Members Carve Out Their Place in the Conversation
As of Oct. 5, more than 90 public witnesses have registered to speak before the council’s Committee of the Whole at the school technology use hearing. For Mendelson, the hearing represents an opportunity to tackle a problem that the pandemic highlighted.
“Part of this hearing is what [DCPS and the charter sector] are doing to ensure equity with regard to access to computers and technology in schools,” he told The Informer.
Johnson-Law said that, in the conversation about in-school technology use, the question of equitable computer access is getting swept under the rug to the detriment of students east of the Anacostia River.
“Kids aren’t on the screen all day, every day. When I’m in the classroom, it’s a variation of learning, especially in elementary school,” Johnson-Law told The Informer. “I’m just concerned that this could now cause a decrease in funding. The digital equity divide will be widened even further.”
This past summer, Johnson-Law, in her second term as Ward 8 SBOE, listened as members of Schools Beyond Screens DC testified before her and her state board colleagues. As Johnson-Law recalled, she asked members about their level of engagement with Ward 8 schools, parents, special education families, and PAVE members.
Weeks later, Johnson-Law has expressed dissatisfaction with what she calls a power imbalance. Failure to include Ward 8, she said, increases the likelihood of the D.C. Council creating policy that’s biased against Black students in one of the District’s most under-resourced jurisdictions.
“Ward 8 is…not a monolith, so there could literally be like five different families experiencing five different things because of the ways that households are brought up,” Johnson-Law told The Informer. “I just want to make sure Ward 8 is always uplifted and always in the conversation and I don’t feel that has been the case when it comes to the technology and screen conversation that’s been happening in the city.”
Among those who chimed in on Sept. 22 was Anthony Jones, a senior at Bard High School Early College DC who matriculated through public and public charter schools. He told The Informer that technology has some use in the classroom, but it’s not the end all, be all for students like himself who’ve lived through the pandemic.
“With assessments, using tech would be okay as those assessments are meant to tell you what you have learned and what you know,” Anthony told The Informer. “But in an actual classroom setting in which the teacher is meant to go around helping the students, I think they should cut back on the technology so the students can actually work on what they need to work on.”
As Anthony recounted, he learned how to type proficiently while using online tools during middle school, a period where he often used computers. He acknowledged seeing a decrease in his in-school technology use as he went further in his education, calling his current reliance on pen and paper a far cry from what he experienced during the pandemic.
“My sixth grade year was the year in which COVID shut down schools completely, and I didn’t do nearly as well in school as if I were to be in person,” Anthony said. “I was unfamiliar with all the tech tools that could help you through work.”
Even with his embrace of technology, Anthony admitted that, without the proper safeguards, students could succumb to distractions. He also said that his peers might not see any need for their teachers’ input if they have AI at their disposal.
“They do get through work and can complete the work much better than if it were to be on paper, but that kind of defeats the whole point of school,” Anthony said. “With technology, there are many different items and tools [so] students can just bypass all of the learning, progress and failure that’s necessary to learn. They also bypass all the help from teachers.”
Other speakers during the “East of the River Technology Conversation” included Ward 8 PAVE parent Alecia Haughton Francis, who served as the key facilitator. Grace Hu, a former Amidon-Bowen Elementary School parent and a co-lead in the Digital Equity in DC Education parent coalition, also spoke about her eight-year battle for equitable technology access.
Johnson-Law told The Informer that the D.C. Council could benefit from hearing a diverse array of voices on the subject of in-school technology use. Well before the council scheduled the Oct. 9 hearing, she said that council members have acquiesced to what she called the overwhelming influence of a constituency that lives west of Rock Creek Park.
“When I’m going to different schools, this is not [one of the] top three issues,” Johnson-Law said. “It’s usually making sure that they have devices that work. It’s making sure that schools have enough devices for people to have one-to-one. It’s safety. It’s making sure that students are on grade level for math and for reading. It’s attendance. The number one issue that I hear from everybody is parent engagement. None of those things [that] have been talked about was screen time.”
