Imminent budget cuts to the city's schools will hamstring some programs, and simply erase others, like after-school activities and non-academic enrichments, depending on how individual principals parse out the cuts. But even in this arid economic climate, creative New York City teachers find ways to make less into much, much more -- provided they have the institutional support to think outside the 'box' of convention, and access to resources to help them realize their plans.

Take, for example, Jon Goldman's four English classes and 14-student advisory at Beacon High Schoolin Manhattan. Goldman, a Shakespeare maven and fencing aficionado, developed an unusual classroom experiment, which launched with Principal Ruth Lacey's okay in September.

The theory is simple: A 'green' classroom, where all work is accomplished online, on screen, and entirely without paper, thanks to a powerful, portable school computer, a SmartBoard, wireless access, inexpensive flash drives for students to 'carry' assignments and projects back and forth, and a staggeringly tech-literate student body (only one of Goldman's 139 students this year lacked computer access at home; another who had a computer but no internet found ample 'net resources at school, in libraries and internet cafes, and at the homes of relatives and friends). Books, readings, and other classroom materials are provided on line and via the school's internet portal; so far, essays, tests, and homework have been assigned and returned electronically.

So far, Goldman's noted a more interactive, engaged classroom experience. Kids are doing as well or better without paper, he says, even with the challenges of glitch-fixing. And in a note to Insideschools, he added, "I've not used a single handout or xeroxed paper, or printed anything out other than college recommendations that had to be submitted in hard copy." No copies, no printouts, no paper, no waste: It's hard to imagine, for any parent who's rummaged through the crumbly recesses of their kid's backpack searching for a trip-permission slip -- or a progress report. From multiple sets of 75-page reading packets to 250-page novels, everything that was on paper in 2007-08 is on the screen in 2008-09. Goldman was assigned a ream of copy paper in September -- recently noted as a hot commodity-- and estimates he's used fewer than 100 sheets, largely for college recommendations and, as required by Beacon procedure, for attendance reports.

Goldman's solution may not work as easily in schools that aren't as tech-steeped as Beacon, which began its life as an outgrowth of the Computer School, and which serves a predominantly middle-class student body The flash drives cost about $10 -- less than a movie ticket and a Coke -- with subsidies available for students who need them. Notably, Goldman (whose wife works for Advocates for Children, Insideschools' parent organization) turned to Teacher's Choiceand to generous parents to fund his proposal, which he estimates has saved "tens of thousands of sheets of paper, and thousands of dollars" since its inception.

It seems probable that, in this vast city, other teachers are taking new angles on using classroom resources. If you know someone who's saving money, saving trees, saving stress, or saving time by creative classroom strategies, let us know. (With critical mass, the discussion can move to Insideschools' forums, for ongoing dialog and inspiration.)