Consulting firm helps schools use technology

By Jill Armentrout

SOUTHFIELD — The team at Childs Consulting Associates has designed more than 200 technology projects for schools all over Michigan and around the world.

The Southfield-based company was created in 1984 by John and Colene Childs. John Childs, now chief executive officer, spent 28 years teaching education at Wayne State University and directing the Instructional Technology Program. He has been involved in training and development services since 1978.

The philosophy behind all projects – from computer labs to all types of voice, video, and data networks – comes from a background of education.

“We don’t install the technology or sell the computers,” Childs said. “We are an independent design firm. We are a family of educators who became involved in technology.”

The firm’s turnkey projects include facility planning at the new Clarkston High School, network implementation at Farmington Public Schools, and development of the Genesee Intermediate School District’s GenNET fiber-optic network across 21 county districts.

Other Oakland County partnerships include Avondale, Ferndale, Novi, and Southfield public schools. Work with Farmington has continued since 1984.

“They are well-connected on the education side and don't do technology for the sake of technology,” said George Brackx, supervisor of technology systems for Southfield Public Schools. “They understand the potential of it.”

Childs Consulting guided the district in creating a technology plan for 17 buildings, including cabling, fiber-optic network, video, data and support.

“The scope of service has changed over the years,” Childs said.

“In the beginning, until about 1996, it was about just getting the teachers access to technology,” he said. “The new focus is how to use technology to improve instruction.”

“First, the technology was introduced and has become a tool for teachers and students, but it has yet to deliver learning outcomes in most schools,” he said.

The networks between school districts and counties have continued through the 1990s. Within two years, Childs predicts that all of Southeast Michigan will be interconnected. Networks connecting Oakland, St. Clair, and Macomb are now in place, and GenNET is branching out to surrounding counties. Childs Consulting has played a part in much of the planning.

“The firm works hard to protect its independence apart from vendors,” said Les Stiltner, manager of project operations and support services.

“We don't have commercial interests, so we can assure the schools a fair deal,” he said.

As consultants, they help administrators choose a vendor and move through the bidding process and make recommendations to the school board.

“When I look at our early attempts at this, it was amazing the difference with them in the way things work and the workmanship,” Brackx said. “We were looking for a consultant that wasn’t selling a solution product. The other point was their attention to detail. We had virtually no change orders.”

Childs Consulting employs 18 people now, but the staff size varies depending on projects. “The team can be as large as 24 and as small as 12,” Childs said. Many projects last two or three years.

Photo by Paula Artman

Jeff Wale (left) president of Childs Consulting Associates, Inc., and George Brackx, supervisor of technology systems for Southfield Public Schools, created this instructional technology center for the district

The firm is currently in a relationship with 80 school districts in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and with American schools in Singapore and Taipei

“We are in a curve of doubling our work now, as we move into getting technology to really support instruction,” Childs said.

Colene Childs, whose background is in teaching English, works in the firm preparing independent learning materials for banking and other industries. Others on staff are experts in media center planning, math education, and more. Jeff Wale, president of Childs Consulting, has a master’s degree in instructional technology.

Childs and his team also do commercial products. They have developed training facilities for General Motors Corp. and brought technology plans to public libraries.

Distance learning rooms have been included in many projects. One of the largest is through GenNET, which incorporates 26 high schools and 65 classes per day. The rooms provide live, two-way communication.

The collaboration of this company often begins when a district is working toward a bond issue, through the technical specifications and bid process. Once a project is built, Childs Consulting further helps develop staff training to bring the technology into full usage within the curriculum.

“We plan from the classroom out, not from the technology out,” Stiltner said. “It’s not just about having a computer in every classroom. Schools have to know what to do with them.”

“Access to computers is increasing for students, but teachers still are developing the skills to incorporate them,” Childs said. “The Internet can be used to gather information and keyboards are used to teach writing and reading. Large networks now connecting schools can gather and store data from the Internet so teachers don’t have to hunt for it.”

“Right now, the raw telecommunicating power is ahead of our use of it,” Childs said. “That’s why the curriculum is still catching up.”

“Childs’ team makes sure to keep districts on the cutting edge of technology, but not too far ahead to be too experimental or expensive,” Wale said.