Bethlehem, PA — Dr. Joe Lewis has a vision. As superintendent of Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem Area School District (BASD), Lewis has a keen understanding of the value of using technology tools in the classroom. His aim: To make every classroom in BASD a computer lab, by putting laptops into the hands of all K-12 students and teachers. But with a student population of 15,000, and 1000 staff members, funding his vision is a monumental task. Fortunately, Lewis has an ally in his quest: Apple Financial Services (AFS) Education Finance is helping Lewis and BASD make this vision a reality.

In the 1990s, BASD ranked as one of Pennsylvania’s most technology-literate districts. But in recent years the district had fallen victim to a slowing economy and shrinking funding sources. As a result, BASD’s technology tools were rapidly becoming obsolete. When Lewis came on board in July of 2002, he made ubiquitous technology usage his number one goal. He immediately identified two challenges: refreshing the district’s computers, and motivating teachers to use them.

“Not only did we have a digital divide, with many students having no access to computers, we clearly had an educational divide, with teachers demonstrating either very intense or very minimal usage of the computers,” says Lewis. “If we’re trying to get kids to use technology tools, naturally it has to start with the teachers. So our first target was to get our teachers on board.”

AFS Education Finance helped us do some creative financing. In essence, we were able to fund the first year of the program at a quarter of our estimated costs.

— Dr. Joe Lewis, Superintendent, Bethlehem Area School District

First Hurdle: Fund Teachers’ Computers

Lewis knew that BASD’s teachers would themselves need the proper tools before they could move the technology initiative forward. Thus, he tapped into what limited grants monies and general revenues were available to purchase the district’s first group of new Apple computers. But realizing that the funds would not stretch far enough to support the full technology implementation, and that an outright purchase would only lead to asset ownership problems in a few years, Lewis looked to Apple for assistance.

“To do what we wanted to do,” explains Lewis, “which was to bring in about 3000 teacher and student machines in one year alone, it would have cost about $4 million, by the time we added in peripherals, site licenses, and so forth. We knew we couldn’t sustain that through our general fund. But AFS Education Finance helped us with some creative financing. In essence, we were able to fund the first year of the program at a quarter of our estimated costs.”

By extending the terms of the lease to a four-year arrangement, Lewis adds, AFS Education Finance created a manageable payment schedule for BASD. At the same time, the district will be able to refresh its computers every year, ensuring that no systems will be obsolete.

Once the financial arrangements were in place, BASD launched its new technology initiative by purchasing 820 PowerBook laptops and 130 eMac computers — one system for every teacher. In addition, the district installed AirPort Base Stations in almost every building in the district, so students and teachers could log onto the Internet wherever they needed to work.

Professional Development Is Key

Apple Professional Development helped train BASD’s staff in the use of their new Macintosh computers. Lewis says that 16 teachers have since committed to be mentors and provide continuous professional development to other teachers in the district.

Observes Lewis, “It’s crucial to go slowly with a technology program, and make sure your teachers are comfortable using the tools. And, you should never make assumptions about what they know. They all have so much to do every day, both in and out of the classroom … so it’s extremely important to make the time for the professional development piece of it.”