February 4, 2013
Dear Superintendents and Charter School Directors:
In the fall of 2012, the Legislative Research Commission authorized the study of Digital Learning
Environments in Public Schools, under authority of General Statute § 120-30.17(1). The
Committee was co-chaired by Senator Dan Soucek and Representative D. Craig Horn. The
findings and recommendations of this committee are available at:
http://www.ncleg.net/documentsites/committees/DLEPSLRC2011/LRC%20Digital%20Learning%20FINAL%20Report%2012-13-12.pdf
While the Committee heard informative presentations from national, state and local leaders, the
majority shared one particular message: ubiquitous technology and wireless access in schools are
critical to the success of digital teaching and learning.
The Committee requested current information of the status of school wireless capabilities and a
thorough inventory of current high-access computing initiatives in our state. Unfortunately, the
information we have currently (SBAC Technology Readiness Tool, Annual Media and
Technology Report, NC Education Cloud surveys) is either outdated, or not sufficient to meet the
committee’s request. The NCDPI is working now with the NC Education Cloud team to overhaul
how this information is gathered in the future so that collection methods can be aligned.
However, there is still a pressing need for current information to inform decisions about possible
legislation and funding during the current legislative session. Support for these critical teaching
and learning tools and infrastructure will be necessary for your transitions to digital education,
including the rollout of North Carolina’s Home Base.
Please expect a request for this information in the form of a survey and/or spreadsheet to be
delivered to your Chief Technology Officers/technology directors and you in the coming week.
We estimate this information request can be competed for most LEAs or Charter Schools in one
hour or less, with a deadline for completion of March 1, 2013. For thorough planning, we need
information for each school. The NCDPI Division of Digital Teaching and Learning and the NC
Education Cloud leadership team are developing the data collection tool(s). Thank you, in
advance, for your responses.
Sincerely,
June St. Clair Atkinson
JSA:NK:mw
OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT
June St. Clair Atkinson, Ed.D., State Superintendent | June.Atkinson@dpi.nc.gov
6301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-6301 | (919) 807-3430 | Fax (919) 807-3445
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER