No more pencils, no more books... OK, the pencils and books will still be there, but they may not be used as much. When school begins for grades one through 12 on August 31, eight Wareham Public Schools classrooms will have added Apple iPads to their arsenal of learning tools. And teachers have big plans for the little gadgets.

The district has begun an iPad pilot program designed to determine if teachers can increase student achievement by integrating the tablet computers into classwork.

"Everybody learns differently. ... This is the world our kids know," said Jan Rotella, director of curriculum and instruction for the school district, noting that today's students have grown up using computers and technology. "You don't raise achievement scores doing things the way they were done 20, 30, 40 years ago. ... We have to engage kids in learning."

The seed for the program was planted after the district received a gift of two iPad tablets from a generous donor, Rotella explained. In June, the pilot program was born.

“All of our strategic goals revolve around student achievement. We have dedicated some of our resources to the iPad pilot because we believe we need to instruct in different ways to maximize opportunities for learning,” said Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch. “It is great to see the excitement of our staff around this project."

The district used a combination of grant funding and other funds to purchase approximately 150 tablets. Apple offered the district free training and additional insurance on the iPads, said Rotella.

Each student in the eight classrooms will use an iPad as part of their in-class work. The tablets will be completely integrated into the classroom instruction. That is, teachers won't just have a designated "iPad day" when the tablets are used, Rotella said. The iPads will be used daily.

One classroom at both the Minot Forest and John W. Decas elementary schools are participating in the program. A teacher "team," which shares the same group of students, at the middle school will use the iPads, along with a 9th grade classroom, a high school special education classroom, an advanced-placement high school classroom, and a class at both of the district's alternative schools - the Wareham Cooperative Junior/Senior High School and West Wareham Academy.

"We wanted a full range" of classrooms for the pilot to see how the use of the iPad can affect students' learning, said Rotella.

The program's 12 teachers have been coming up with lesson plans that use the iPad and finding software to complement course work. They've bounced ideas off of each other via e-mail and in iPad workshop meetings.

Rotella said she gives the teachers a lot of credit.

"They've been working on this all summer," she said. "They each have a huge list of apps [software applications]!"

The district's coordinator of technology, Teri DeFilippo, has been helping the program get off the ground, Rotella said.

Teacher John Wilson will use the tablets in his high school advanced placement language and composition class.

"This is a hand-out that I used to give kids," Wilson told his colleagues while moving through a 40-page document on his iPad during a workshop meeting on August 22. "I [used to] go to the copier and make copies!"

In addition to completing classroom assignments accessed online or though iPad software, the students will use the tablets to take notes and read the same textbooks the district would use in hard-copy form.

The district negotiated with all of the textbook companies it has purchased books from within the past two years and obtained "online access" to books, Rotella said. Online access allows students to read the books digitally and provides access to extra content - links to additional information on the Internet, for example.

"Students in these eight classrooms will have the option of print [or digital textbooks]," Rotella said.

Online textbooks are updated by publishers as new information becomes available. Another benefit: Students can make notes in the margins of the digital books, search, and bookmark pages for easy access.

"You can highlight, select, and make notes without changing the document," Rotella said, demonstrating the functionality to the delight of teachers during the workshop meeting.

Rotella said that because the pilot came together right at the end of last school year, students likely aren't aware that they'll be participating in the program.

"Most [students] are going to be totally surprised," she said.

Other back-to-school information:

Meal prices to increase

Due to changes in federal regulations, Wareham Public Schools will need to increase the cost of student lunches over the next three school years, beginning with the upcoming school year.

Meal prices will be as follows:

Elementary breakfast: $1.50

Elementary lunch: $2.00

Middle school and high school breakfast: $1.50

Middle school and high school lunch: 2.00

Schools are now required to increase the fruits and vegetables served to students, increase whole grains, prepare lean meats, poultry, and meat alternates, limit the use of processed meats, and gradually reduce the sodium content of school meals.

Cafeteria workers say the district will have to spend more on food due to the changes and meal preparation will require more labor because workers will need to prepare more meals from scratch to comply.

The federal government also regulates how school districts set meal prices. Districts are reimbursed for some of their expenses based on the number of free meals, reduced-priced meals, and paid-in-full meals they serve.

Contributing to the price increase, a new regulation that went into effect this summer requires schools to gradually increase rates so that they are charging students who pay full-price a cost that is, on average, equal to the difference between free meal reimbursement and paid meal reimbursement.

Kindergarten classes begin September 8

Wareham Public Schools pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes begin on September 8.

The district is hosting the "Kick-off to Kindergarten Rally" on Thursday, August 25 at the Onset Band Shell from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to welcome incoming kindergartners and their families as well as get students excited for the start of school.

The event will offer a book giveaway and entertainment by Big Ryan.