Slow to reboot

Haverhill high school students finally received new science textbooks this year, the first in more than a decade. But all of the books rely on material from CDs that can't be run on the school's aging computers.

In Holbrook, some classrooms still have decade-old computers that can take up to 10 minutes to boot up.

In Natick, a growing number of students are bringing their own laptops to class, because the district does not have enough modern machines to run the latest software. And in Boston, it is teachers who are bringing their own laptops to school to sidestep the system's unreliable equipment.

A decade after schools across the state pushed to get computers into classrooms, many districts are limping along the information superhighway. Their machines are obsolete, or the wiring and other infrastructure in their buildings are. Other districts have modernized equipment but lack the specialists to train teachers to use the latest technology and show them how to weave it into everyday lessons. And the legion of personal laptops showing up in schools is creating nightmares for technology directors, who worry about computer viruses spreading to their buildings' secure networks.

With tight budgets, impending teacher layoffs, and voter resistance to tax increases, many communities face dim prospects for keeping pace with rapidly changing technology.

New data from the state Department of Education show that 80 school districts, roughly a quarter of those in Massachusetts, are not meeting the state's recommended goal of providing one high-capacity computer for every five students. Some, like Haverhill and Randolph, have about 17 students sharing each high-capacity machine, which is defined by the state as one capable of running most software. Boston, on the other hand, meets the state recommendation.

"I am spending most of my time Band-Aiding everything," said Michael Donovan, Saugus' lone information manager, who is in charge of keeping 700 computers running.

In Saugus, there are roughly seven students sharing each of the district's high-capacity computers, no staff to train teachers to use the technology, and no money to improve that equation.

For a generation of students who grew up on video games, mp3 players, and cellphones, that's a major frustration. Specialists worry that students are being held back because their teachers are not adequately trained to use the technology. "The good majority of teachers who are getting close to retirement don't know how to use the technology," Donovan said.

"These kids live on computers," added Mike Gilbert, field director for information and technology at the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. "Their ability to write, to form good sentences and grammar, appears to be enhanced by the computer."

A report released last April by the state Department of Education showed that 53 percent of teachers statewide were ranked in the early or developing stages of technology literacy, while 56 percent of eighth-graders had "mastered all or nearly all" basic technology standards set by the state.

State Education Commissioner David Driscoll said he worries that in a fast-paced world, even schools that are making a little progress can fall behind.

"It's not a question of schools and districts making progress," he said. "It's a matter of schools and districts not making as much progress as there should be."

With budget constraints the largest hurdle, school technology specialists say they are leveraging every offer of free equipment or discounts.

For example, they liberally use free software, apply for grants, rely on parent organizations for fund-raisers, and seek corporate donations. Most specialists said that to keep their schools' technology current, they aim for policies that replace computers about every five years. But often, they said, the district can't afford to fund that timetable, so schools are stuck with older computers that are very slow or cannot run many current programs. State data show 40 percent of districts reported last year that they did not have a replacement policy.

A decade ago, when most schools started acquiring computers, corporations such as Microsoft and Apple often provided discounts or donations, Gilbert said. Since then, the cost of most equipment and software has declined. While Microsoft and Apple still provide some materials, the more expensive challenge for schools is funding the maintenance of the equipment, software, and training, which companies are less likely to pay for, he said.

In Georgetown, a suburb of 7,800 people north of Boston where state data show that 10 students are sharing each high-capacity computer, the PTA recently purchased 59 refurbished, slower computers for kindergarten and first grade classrooms. PTA President Lisa Woodford, 36, who has children in the third and fifth grades, said the district is doing the best it can with limited funds.

Still, she said, her family bought state-of-the-art computers for their children at home.

"We live in a computer-generated world in terms of jobs," Woodford said. "Today, your kids have to be computer savvy."

In Natick, outgoing School Committee chairman Henry Haugland has provided his son, a junior at Natick High School, with a laptop to bring to school since freshman year because he wanted to see the impact of providing a student with unlimited access to technology. There was, Haugland said, "no clear way any of these needs were going to be met by the school."

Haugland heads a high-tech company, and his son is computer savvy on his own. Haugland said the laptop allowed his son to work far more efficiently because he was able to access the Internet for research whenever he needed.

In Boston, Kim Rice, chief information officer for the city's public schools, recently pitched to the School Committee a new way of doing business.

Instead of the yearly budget battles over upgrading equipment, software, and maintenance, Rice proposed that the district phase in a five-year plan starting in July that will ultimately have Boston leasing three-quarters of its 16,000 computers. That would maintain the district's four students per computer ratio.

"In the high schools, it's getting to that point that they are really dependent on technology, which is phenomenal," Rice said. "If we can't come up with a plan that can meet that demand, then we are going to fall behind."

That's what Newburyport Superintendent Kevin Lyons fears. The warranty runs out in June on roughly 400 computers bought five years ago when the district opened its new high school.

"We have to prepare kids for a new world economically, a global economy and a more competitive workplace, and they need the best curriculum available," Lyons said.

"If you don't have a human being who is highly skilled guiding teachers, who are less skilled, to infuse that technology, it is not going to happen. The stuff stays in the box."

Emily Sweeney of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Kay Lazar can be reached at klazar@globe.com.