Long Elementary is Plugged-in and Live

Long Elementary School is wired.

A Promethean interactive White Board used with an accompanying Elmo unit on a rolling cart is where teachers get plugged-in for the day's work with a laptop computer.

The Elmo is hooked up with speakers to use when teachers pop a DVD or CD (instructional of course) into the computer. It has a document reader the size of a spatula that translates printed-on-paper items onto the hi-tech White Board.

Imagine it all as power point presentations on a giant touch-screen Wii, but better. No sticks of chalk are involved. For that, visit the created by a class of Truman Elementary 4th-graders at at the Missouri History Museum through July 10.

Long Elementary Principal Brian McKenney demonstrated for the PTO in the library Thursday how the school's core classrooms are all 21st century places of learning.

"These kids are digital native," McKenney explained. "We had to learn it. We may be very good at it. But these kids are born into it. We describe them as 'digital native.' "

McKenney also told parents that construction on the addition of classrooms to the school was on schedule for use by August, despite winter weather's best efforts to delay. While Long is expected to add 90 more students in the coming school year to a total of about 500, there will still be room for growth, officials said.

Long Elementary will also be looking over strategies for efficient sharing of the parking lots and drives with parent drop-off/pickup traffic, school buses and potential walkers. 

For example, Kennerly School issues time slots to parents driving students to-and-from school, to avoid severe traffic congestion.

There were also suggestions for shifting the start and end times of the school day among schools—by just 10 minutes for example—in order to manage school buses and traffic.

During the transition to middle school session in Long's cafeteria Thursday, Sperreng Middle School Principal Dr. Jennifer Tiller explained how she would move to Truman Middle School next year as principal, after five years at Sperreng. 

Assistant at Sperreng, Dr. Mark Eggers would become Sperreng principal.

Current Truman Elementary Assistant Principal, Dr. Todd Morgan, will stay put at Truman in the coming school year, but will be middle school assistant principal there. 

The evidently personable pair of administrators, Tiller and Morgan, counseled parents on what to expect in development and personality growth during the ages 11 to 14 for their kids. They addressed practical concerns as well for middle schoolers over changing classes, finding lockers, being tardy and homework—among many others.

Parents from the PTO group also were gearing up in a big way for May 21, Spirit Festival. More to come on the 20th anniversary of that event.

Also, expect a visit to Long's digital classrooms and examples of how students learn with it, and where this is headed.