Databus Issue: 2003 4 10/02/2003
Member Profile
Lisa Kopochinski DataBus EditorCETPA Member Michael Pine Gives Back to the Industry He Loves
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If you ask Michael Pine, one of CETPA’s long-time members why he joined the association 35 years ago, he’ll say it’s because Marilyn Carson told him to. “She said, ‘Get your conference form to CEDPA,’” Pine laughs as he recalls the incident.
“That’s how I met Marilyn, who was the director of the Regional Data Processing Center in Santa Clara. She didn’t say it would be helpful to your district or that it would be in your best interests as a professional in this field, none of that. She was a real pioneer in the early days of computerization in schools.”
Some three-and-a-half decades later, Pine still sees the value of CETPA membership as all of the above and more.
“Having a resource that has the primary focus of information systems and technology support in the education field is extremely valuable,” he explains. “To attend a conference where every session, every presentation, every discussion and all companies involved in the vendor exhibits are about education. It’s clearly the single best membership/conference investment you can make.”
He sees CETPA’s largest achievement as being its success as an association.
“If you remember the quote, “if you build it they will come,” the CETPA directors have built an organization that people want to be a part of.”
As for areas where CETPA could be improved, Pine says he would like to see the information that passes through the listserv be as organized as possible.
“I think this is happening already – a site with controlled access that becomes an organized location where technologists can go for answers to problems that have already been addressed by someone else in the membership. A location that has policies, work around, job descriptions, job openings, professional development, conference presentations, all as part of a support Web site. You’re on the right track. Don’t change a thing. Every year it just gets better!”
CETPA and the industry is one that Pine has also been a part of for the greater part of his adult life. As director of information systems for the East Side Union High School in San Jose, he recalls the early days.
“I started in this field when the software was free and the hardware cost as much as a shopping center. You could count the number of school districts in California that had administrative computer systems. There were no computers in the classroom.”
Pine first went to work for the Fremont Unified School District in 1968 after serving in the Army for two years as a computer operator/programmer.
“Fremont was one of the few school districts in the state to have a computer system,” he says. “Everything revolved around computer cards. Grading and attendance used mark sense cards, Class scheduling was accomplished by a program called SOCRATES, later to become EPIC SOCRATES. It took four to five hours to schedule a traditional (six period day) high school of 1,600 into classes. When modular scheduling came around, the time jumped to over 30 hours.”
Pine says he was weaned on an IBM 1401 that had 8K of memory and three disk drives. “We had about 36 disk packs that were placed into the three drives as needed. We ordered IBM cards by the millions and had unit record equipment such as card sorters, collators, reproducers and keypunch equipment. In the early 1970s, Fremont moved to an IBM 360, in the mid ‘70s to a System 370 and, in the early 1980s, we moved to a Prime Minicomputer.”
After 15 years with the Fremont Unified School District, he had the opportunity to build a data processing department from the ground up and couldn’t pass it up. So, in 1983, he joined the East Side Union High School District in San Jose.
“The exciting thing about East Side was that it had only high schools. Eleven high schools, no middle schools or elementary schools. I thought I died and went to heaven. All schools were online for administrative purposes, attendance, grades, email, etc. in the 1984-85 school year. We had about 60 connections from schools to the education center. Today, we have thousands of connections, digital lockers, laptop programs, wireless schools and every challenge that goes along with progress.”
He adds that East Side’s claim to fame was the development of the prototype for NETDAY. In November 1995, the school held what is believed to be the first NETDAY in the world.
“While some still believe it was of questionable success, here at East Side it moved computers out of labs and into mainstream classrooms. Of the 1,238 classrooms in our schools by March 9, 1996, 867 were now connected to the Internet with two to four connections. NETDAY was a success for the advancement of technology. Today, our connections all over the world are virtually unlimited.”
When asked if he would choose the same career all over again, Pine doesn’t hesitate.
“Working in the education field for the past 35 years has been one of the most rewarding parts of my life. My original plan was to work in education for a few years and then get a “real job.” I soon found that I had the real job. A job that gave me the opportunity to make a difference every single day. Visiting schools and being a part of the education of thousands of children. Creating computer systems to make sure student needs were identified and plans put in place to monitor success was a primary objective.”
He continues: “Looking back, I know I made a difference. Our graduation rate continues to rise, the dropout rate continues to fall, attendance is up, kids are in school, more students are graduating and we’re sending more students to college than ever before. While I didn’t do this on my own, I was part of the team that is getting students to take responsibility and make a difference in their lives.”
While he’s proud of the contribution he and others have made to the industry, he’s also pleased with the strides the industry has made in the past 20 years or so.
“Today, everyone understands the role of technology in education. Believe me, prior to
1980 that was not the understanding. The challenge is having strong leadership
that sets standards and, at the same time, empowers staff to take ownership of the
process. Sustaining long-term funding commitments for on-going technology requirements has to be of the highest priority. Finally, trying to place a level of acceptable standards on the entire educational technology development will test the skills of the information technology systems director.”
Though it’s been 35 years since he first entered the industry he so clearly loves, he says
it’s time to retire, at least to some degree.
“I’ll be spending more time with my wife Suzanne, traveling, and enjoying the kids. (Pine and his wife have a son who attends Chico State and a daughter in high school). I plan to golf more with a very good friend of mine, Tom Dillard, formally the management information services director with the Fremont Unified School District, who has been my sounding board and one of my best friends.”
Pine will also get to spend more time on his ranch in Sunol, located between Fremont and
Pleasanton. The ranch has been in his wife’s family since the 1800s.
“I’m still too young to fully retire, so for the next five to six years I plan do something that will help pay for my kids’ college education. Probably, some consulting along with doing some volunteering. Education has been good to me and its time to give a little something back.”
