Contents
Members of the Planning Committee………………………..3
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………….4
Staunton City Schools Core Beliefs……………….…………………………….6
Vision…………………………………………………………………………………………7
Mission………………………………………………………………………………………7
Developing the Plan…………………………………………………………………..8
Needs Assessment…………………………………………………………………….10
Goals, Objectives, and Strategies……………………………………………..13
Fiscal Analysis…………………………………………………………………………..35
Appendices……………………………………………………………………………..59
Appendix A: Acceptable Use Policy...……………………………..59
Appendix B: NETS*S Standards……………………………………….60
Appendix C: NETS*T Standards……………………………………….61
Appendix D: NETS*A Standards………………………………………62
Appendix E: Internet Safety Summary 2001-2010…………..63
Members of the Staunton City Schools
2016-2018 Educational Technology Planning Committee
Thomas Lundquist, Director of Technology, SCS
Meneta Deaton, ITRT, SCS
Jennifer Goss, R.E.Lee High, Teacher, SCS
Wayne Zink, Shelburne Middle, Teacher, SCS
Mary Freemen, Bessie Weller Elementary, Teacher
Mistie Aistrop-VanHook, A.R.Ware Elementary, Teacher
Jessica Comisford, T.C.McSwain Elementary, Teacher
Members of the Staunton City Schools
2010-2015 Educational Technology Planning Committee
Paul Sorrell, Technology Director, SCS
Stephanie Haskins, Instructional Supervisor, SCS
Tom Lundquist, Network Manager, SCS
Meneta Deaton, SCS ITRT
Christy Davis, Differentiation Specialist, Bessie-Weller Elementary School
Nicole Leach, Teacher, Thomas W. Dixon Elementary School
Jessica Comisford, Teacher, Thomas W. McSwain Elementary School
Donna Morris, SCS parent
Stacey Mooneyham, Technology Teacher, Shelburne Middle School
Lynn Stewart, Differentiation Specialist, Robert E. Lee High School
William Terry, Teacher, Robert E. Lee High School
Executive Summary
The purpose of this revision to the Staunton City Schools 2016-2018 Educational Technology Plan is to update the direction the division has moved and the achievements accomplished. We have also incorporated the state led initiatives and goals to our plan to make positive strides over the next two years for our students, division and community. We have incorporated new goals, objectives and strategies and support evidence comments within this expanded technology plan for the division. We continue to strive to empower staff to integrate technology into administration and education for ALL of our students as we prepare them to become lifelong learners, collaborators and citizens. The Vision and Mission included in this technology plan mirror the division Vision and Mission, called Core Beliefs, found online at: http://tinyurl.com/scscorebeliefs and pictured on the next page of this document.
Some of the highlights of the plan include:
v Providing a safe technological environment to educate users to conduct online activities safely.
v Continue professional development with emphasis on technology integration into teaching and learning activities to provide rich student engagement and promote high levels of achievement.
v Continue to develop a path toward anytime, anywhere information resource support for learning for all students regardless of background or privilege.
v Enhancing and growing our high-speed, high-bandwidth infrastructure to support current and future internet applications and educational demands.
v Ensure progress towards mastery of 21st Century skills for teachers and students.
v Enhance opportunities for all stakeholders to collaborate, create, and share meaningful and purposeful content whether via cloud based opportunities or in person.
v Continue our close alignment with the Educational Technology Plan for Virginia.
As this technology original technology plan was completed, the economy has generated at least two cycles of greatly decreased budgets at the state and local levels. The current state of the economy makes accomplishment of some of our technology goals and objectives especially challenging. Staunton City Schools will strive to make the most of the resources (human, financial, technological) available to provide the best possible learning environment for our students.
As of the writing of the 2016-2018 revision, the economic outlook has steadied with minor fluctuations in student enrolment. Funding for technology integration is supported from VSPA bond funds, E-Rate allowances, local dollars and business grants and donations which are being sought after. In human resources we are experiencing a stable balance in resources to support our goals and are optimistic of a passed budget allowing SCS forward motion in adding to our data support and analysis during the 2016-2017 school year.
Staunton City Schools Core Beliefs
Vision
Today, technology connects people to each other, to global places, and to vast amounts of information. The role of the educator is more important than ever to guide the learner through these connections for the purposes of gathering information, applying skills and knowledge, as well as creating and sharing knowledge. Staunton City Schools believes students and teachers should have equitable access to the necessary tools to prepare students for further education, for employment in the 21st Century, to be ethical, contributing members of society, and to be lifelong learners. This vision is strongly influenced by standards from the AASL and ISTE organizations as seen at the websites listed below. Staunton City Schools will strive to engage students in learning that seamlessly integrates many technologies while moving toward a future with ever-changing possibilities.
ISTE NETS http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS AASL http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards)
Mission
Staunton City Schools believes in a rigorous, dynamic and reflective instructional program for ALL students. As educators in Staunton City Schools reflect on data and plan instruction, technology will enhance and streamline the instructional and assessment processes. Staunton City Schools will integrate the best technologies available to prepare ALL students to become critical thinkers who are actively engaged in their own learning, are collaborating with other learners, and are prepared to solve real world problems.
Developing the Plan
During the spring of 2016, the committee of representatives reviewed the proposals offered by the state. It was the goal to review the proposals and analyze what programs and educational models SCS already had implemented to aide in achieving those goals. In cases where the division had not made strides in certain areas, additional goals, objectives and strategies have been added to align with our Commonwealth. Additional evidence was discussed for review which would document the division’s success in achieving these goals. These additional components have been woven into the body of our technology plan.
In October of 2009, a committee of representatives gathered to examine the existing educational technology plan, the state proposed educational technology plan, needs survey results, and to begin to develop goals and objectives for the 2010-2015 plan. Representatives of various stakeholders on the committee included division instructional staff, information technology staff, administrators and parents.
Materials were gathered to begin the process: the 2004-2010 Staunton City Schools technology plan, survey results, information from the state, such as the proposed state technology plan and other support documents from DOE.
The emphasis in the technology plan from the state has shifted from tools to student engagement and experiences with a focus on learning outcomes. Our plan must also make the same shift, which leads to the need for a paradigm shift for some educators. The committee agreed that SCS needs to continue to move towards seamless integration of technology and professional development at all levels to move teachers and administrators along this continuum. At the elementary level, a need was noted for less separation of technology and teaching of curriculum. At the middle school, more access time is needed for students to gain the technology skills they need to succeed in middle and high school and beyond. At the high school, the greatest need is to get more teachers to engage students in various ways with integrated technology projects and activities. With consideration for these needs, the SCS Core Beliefs, and the framework of the DOE Educational Technology Plan, the following goals, objectives, and strategies have evolved. As technology continues to change and the economy continues to shift, adjustments to the plan will need to be made. This technology plan should also continue to evolve as it is reviewed each year and as surveys continue to gather data from stakeholders.
As the school and division technology committees review the school and division technology plans each year, the strategies for each objective need to be considered, with emphasis on collecting data such as lesson plans and student projects that exemplify the integration of technology and the engagement of the students in the learning process and the attainment of knowledge.
Snapshot of Division Growth- Technology Plan 2016-2018
“An explosion of collaboration”, defined as the advancement witnessed in the Staunton City School division of technology use and integration into all curriculum areas since the initial technology plan was originally developed. In all areas one can witness an integration of problem based learning, hands on exploration and critical thinking being an element instilled by our teaching staff.
Students have devices, not a specific device, but devices specific to the content area they are being taught. What tools are available that will provide the student with the richness in learning experiences and engage them in the challenges at hand. The division has a variety of devices and of sufficient quality and quantity that all students from grades 2 – 12 have tools available.
One example of growth, during the 2015-16 school year our World Languages department piloted iPads going home with students utilizing digital on-line textbooks and resource materials. This has been touted as a tremendous success, from students, staff and parents. Plans and classes have been added for the 2016-17 school year to expand these offerings.
Another example is the division’s model moving to on-line summer school in 2106. Digital tools and resources are being provided for students and families to foster additional learning and educational advancement. Care has been taken to ensure success of each student, regardless of environmental / demographic factors, participating in this experience.
Collaboration, to the celebrated success of this devoted staff, students and teachers engage in many on-line resources and digital content. Sharing information has been made available faster and efficiently with additional partnerships and enhancements which the division has moved forward with. Google Apps for Education is welcomed at every level and provides extended learning opportunities for students once they leave the brick and mortar of our school walls.
The infrastructure for the division continues to go through modifications and enhancements. We have taken recent steps to decrease our electronic footprint with the quantity of managed devices and entered into our second phase of virtualized data center design. We pursue partnerships with cloud based vendors to insure increased reliability of services needed to advance the work of the division and security of the data collected. New wireless infrastructure is planned for installation in 2016-17 effectively increasing the capacity of throughput internally by 10 fold. Externally our Internet pipeline capacity has grown this spring to a one gig pipe with expansion to 3 gig slated for summer of 2017.
Needs Assessment for SCS Technology Plan 2010-2015
Surveys
Technology self-assessment (all staff) May 2009
The SCS Technology Planning Committee met on November 9, 2009 and summarized needs from the May 2009 survey: Use of spreadsheets for teacher and student use is low, suggesting an area of need for training. Teachers should be able to use spreadsheets for evaluating and managing data, as well as grading. With the move to PowerTeacher, more teachers will be using the spreadsheet functionality for grading. Spreadsheets have many applicable uses for students and teachers, including creating graphs and using functions. This type of instruction and use could promote division goals of improved math instruction and real-life application of content. Another area of need was noted in copyright education for both teachers and students, specifically in the area of expectations for students in their work. In general, integration of technology into instruction needs to increase, but the committee noted that the basic technology skills of teachers seems to be improving, as there were high levels of confidence expressed in the survey by teachers in performing basic tasks. As the teachers become more personally confident and more regular users of technology, they can begin to integrate into instruction with more confidence and regularity. The committee also noted a need for more teachers to participate in the teacher webpage area of their school websites to encourage more consistent communication and a more positive image and presence on the web. Strengths included confident use of basic programs (Microsoft Office), e-mail, and Internet usage.
Technology self-assessment (all staff) May 2010
Staff was surveyed again in May of 2010, with similar results as 2009. In general the basic skills of email and use of software such as the Microsoft suite are strengths, while working with data in programs, such as Excel remains a weakness. A continued effort needs to be made to improve data manipulation skills, webpage creation within the SCS websites, and integration of technology with students.
Staff will be surveyed annually to assess technology skills, integration and staff development needs.
Student survey of Internet Safety Middle School January 2010
Items of interest from the survey: 92% report using the Internet on home computers, 75% report having their own email accounts, approximately 70% report having a social network account, 24% have accessed a friend’s account with their password, 23% know someone who has either sent or received a sexting message. With so many middle school students online, on social networks, and in constant contact with each other through texting, email, and chat, we need to focus our training for staff and students on these areas, as well as on the life skills needed to successfully develop and maintain healthy relationships with each other.
Other surveys:
Various methods will continue to be used to survey students and parents to address our needs as a division for access, instruction, safety, etc.
A separate survey of administrators will be conducted annually to assess their needs in use of technology as well as in leadership/expectations of staff and use of website.
A survey of support staff to determine needs and usage of technology will also be conducted annually.
Training: Training available to staff include: individual and small group site based trainings; iPod Touch opened to whole division; summer offerings through Ed Tech funding; NTTI; NETS*T, ITRT trainings (NECC, VSTE, data management by state, Assistive Technology workshops, NETS*T, NTTI for ITRT, etc.); Powerschool. Most of these trainings have a focus on student engagement and choosing to use the technology for the purpose of improving achievement by engaging and motivating learners, not just finding a different way to do the same thing. Powerschool obviously had an administrative, not instructional, focus. Sometimes an informal opportunity nets the greatest gain: for example, ITRT walks by a lab with students and teacher working on an activity, so the ITRT checks out what they are doing and suggests tools and methods that might engage the students better or suggests that the teacher share their methods with their colleagues.