Stanly County Schools’ Strategic Technology Plan
Developed
By
Stanly County Schools Technology Department
With Guidance from the
Stanly County Schools’ Technology & Media Steering Committee
November 1, 2008
Necessary Components for the LEA Technology Plans
North Carolina G. S. § Article 8, Part 3A 115c-102.6A-C(16).
In order for local education agencies to meet requirements as set forth in North Carolina General Statute § Article 8, Part 3A 115c-102.6C-A, each section of the plan must include at least one strategy or objective that addresses the following:
NC public schools will produce globally competitive students.
1. Mathematics/reading scores improvement
2. Classroom use of student resources
3. IMPACT model implementation
4. Computer Skills Test score improvement
5. Computer Skills Curriculum implementation
6. Information Skills Curriculum implementation
7. Technology integration across the curriculum
8. Student distance learning opportunities
9. Assistive technology availability
10. Global Exchange
11. Support for Early College/Learn and Earn (or similar) programs
NC public schools will be led by 21st Century professionals.
- Teacher/staff skills assessment
- Diverse training resources (local and online including DPI resources)
- Follow-up support
- Local certification and professional development requirements
- Ethical and professional standards
- Evaluation of training
- Readiness of an educator to design, implement, and discuss assessment strategies is referred to as "assessment literacy."
- Global awareness training*
*Global Awareness: The recognition and understanding of interrelationships among international organizations, nation-states, public and private economic entities, socio-cultural groups, and individuals across the globe.
NC public school students will be healthy and responsible.
1. School campus security (video, alarms, metal detectors, etc.)
2. School bus security (video, radios, cell phones, etc.)
3. Student and Staff ID systems
4. Student Information/Tracking Systems (SIMS/NCWISE, nutrition, etc.)
5. Internet and email filtering/security
6. Classroom telephone systems and other communications devices
7. Website use (district, school and classroom) Flexible access to resources
8. Equitable access to resources
9. Ethical and personal responsibility
10. Policy and procedures to address global, ethical and responsible use
11. Technology used to educate, monitor and maintain healthy student lifestyles
Leadership will guide innovation in NC public schools.
1. Leadership enabling Teaching and learning collaborative projects
2. MTAC
3. Leadership communication tools and venues
4. Leadership created professional growth opportunities
5. Partnerships
6. Process for addressing ongoing change
NC public schools will be governed and supported by 21st Century systems.
- Policy
- Budget
- Personnel
- Security
- Administrative Applications
- Hardware
- Infrastructure-School Local Area Networks and District Wide Area Networks
- Communication and collaboration tools (email, Web 2.0, file management) for clientele
Public Schools of North Carolina North Carolina Instructional Technology Plan
State Board of Education Department of Public Instruction
Howard Lee, Chairman June Atkinson, State Superintendent
REQUIRED SUBSTANTIVE COMPONENTS
OF THE
LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TECHNOLOGY PLAN
The local school board has actively involved key stakeholders in the development of a district-wide four-year technology plan that includes the following key components:
· a vision statement consistent with the North Carolina Instructional Technology Plan that reflects the unique qualities and strategic priorities of your local school system;
· the identification of the current situation, goals, objectives and evaluation of the core instructional and administrative components of a technology program that address the five strategic priorities of the Future Ready Students:
Ø Globally competitive students
Ø 21st Century professionals
Ø Healthy and responsible students
Ø Leadership for innovation
Ø 21st Century Systems;
· a staff development and training component that reflects a budget of 20 to 30 % of the total cost of the technology program; and
· an infrastructure/connectivity component that meets North Carolina Information Technology Services standards to assure compatibility, connectivity, and cost-effectiveness.
LEA Name: Stanly County Schools LEA Number: 840
Signature:
Superintendent Local Board Chair
Person of Contact: Brandon DeLeeuw Telephone number: 704.983.5151
Instructional Technology Division Technology Planning and Support NCDPI
Technology Committee Members
All committee members have been involved in the development of this plan and support its implementation.
Name Title or Group Represented Signature Date
Dr. Terry Griffin Asst Super- Curriculum & Support
Todd Thorpe Personnel & Student Services
William Josey Dir. Finance & Auxiliary Services
Brandon DeLeeuw Chief Technology Officer
Leigh Hayes Dir. Exceptional Children
Shannon Batchelor Dir. 9-12 Ed & CTE
Saundra Huneycutt Dir. PreK-8 Ed
Truett Preslar Dir. Testing
Alison Francis Dir. Child Nutrition
Jim Trull Dir. Transportation
Todd Bowers Dir. Maintenance
Owen Squires Dir. Information Technologies
Nancy Hatley Coordinator, NC Wise & Student Services
Kim Scott Director of Student Services
Madeline Russell Technology Facilitator
VISION
Per the Stanly County Schools’ Strategic Plan for Excellence,the vision for Stanly County Schools is to “be a world-class system of excellence, ensuring success for every student while improving the quality of life for our community in an ever-changing world.”
To lead us toward our mission, our schools and community share the following beliefs:
• It is the responsibility of Stanly County Schools to provide a rigorous, demanding, quality program for ALL students, without regard to race, color, origin, gender, age, handicapping condition or geographic location in the district.
• ALL students, staff, and stakeholders should be treated fairly, with dignity and mutual respect, in a safe, nurturing, clean and healthy environment.
• High academic and behavioral expectations should be clearly communicated to all students, and they should be held responsible for attaining them.
• Positive external and internal communication is the key to performance excellence.
• Learning is an exciting relevant life-long process that extends beyond classroom walls.
• All CHILDREN CAN LEARN if they are actively engaged and given a variety of educational experiences that recognize individual learning styles and developmental needs.
• Student-centered instructional practices should drive a core curriculum that is clearly articulated and consistent across and between grade levels.
• Visionary, capable leadership at all levels in the school system is necessary to sustain high performance and engage all stakeholders.
• Employee success depends on having adequate training, positive attitude, sufficient materials, time and continuous support.
• Education of students is most successful when it involves the school, home, and community.
• All community members should have access to information about the school system and the opportunity to be involved in student learning.
Technology exists in Stanly County Schools to assist in the implementation of this vision, and to support these beliefs. The Stanly County School System embraces the digital era and strives to provide ubiquitous access to technology for all of its students. Realizing that the population of the district is composed of students from many different socio-economic backgrounds, the district strives to bridge the digital divide. To this end, district technology personnel foresees the day when anywhere, anyplace computing is the norm in Stanly County Schools, with sufficient bandwidth and storage to facilitate this environment. Furthermore, the district strives to move toward a constructivist view of instructional technology, where the integration of technology in the day of a student’s life is seamless. All Stanly County Schools administrators, teachers, district and school staff will use technology to help students attain high standards and prepare for the world of tomorrow, whether that includes further education, work, or both.
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Stanly County Schools Strategic Technology Plan
NC public schools will produce globally competitive students.
Current Situation Narrative
Technology is a living organism. It is constantly moving and growing with tremendous changes occurring over short periods of time. According to the North Carolina Educational Technolgy Plan, 2005-2009,“Technology is a tool that enables teachers and administrators to work more productively, offering solutions for time management, student monitoring and intervention, and interesting and effective lessons and classroom activities.” Our focus then seemed to be that technology should be a tool that allowed teachers and administrators to be more productive and effective in their endeavors. In the North Carolina Educational Technology Plan, 2007-2009, the focus has been revised to reflect that we also "must address the areas of digital literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication" as well as high productivity. In Stanly County Schools, instruction is the core component of the school system. To that end, the SCS Technology Department provides leadership and support for the curriculum and resources for technology integration. This is also evident in the district’s Strategic Plan.
School technology plans are incorporated into the school improvement plans and require schools to focus on student achievement through the integration of technology and the curriculum. As stated in the North Carolina Educational Technology Plan, 2005-2009, "White, Rinstaff, and Kelley (2002) find that integrating technology within the curricular framework increases student achievement." Specialized software, technology tools, computer simulations, constructivist learning, inquiry project-based learning activities, online research, synchronous and asynchronous distance learning, and Internet-based courses are methods used to support student achievement.
Teachers, administrators, and other Stanly County Schools personnel strive to integrate cooperative learning, digital literacy, core academic literacy, creativity, higher order thinking, and personal and social responsibility into each learning experience—all skills that reflect an environment that requires information and technology literacy as a foundation for all curriculum initiatives. The continuous changes in the types of available technology and the variety of uses has made the need for preparing our students to live in a global economy so much more critical than it has been in previous years.
Teachers use a variety of software and resources for tracking student performance and analyzing data to modify instruction. The district believes and supports wholly the ability for teachers to benchmark student achievement; to this end, the district employs CastleLearning as a formative assessment tool for K-5, K-8, and middle schools. In Stanly County’s secondary schools, the district employees OdysseyWare for both summative and formative assessments, as well as credit recovery. Orchard, Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, Star Reading, Star Math, SASinSchools, and various SAT preparation titles provide differentiation and diversity for core academic literacy and individualized instruction. Other software, such as Inspiration, Kidspiration, OpenMind, AppleWorks, Apple iLife and iWork, and Microsoft Office are used for instruction and production in the teaching and learning environment. Web-based curriculum aligned resources from LEARN NC and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, such as NC WiseOwl, Kaleidoscope, and SASinSchool, are used by teachers and students.
Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year and as a result of Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT), Stanly County Schools has been able to provide additional classroom resources to TITLE I grades 2 – 5 classrooms, including additional computers, digital cameras, digital video cameras, and projectors. Teachers in these classrooms have also been provided high-quality professional development intended to make the integration of this equipment into their curricular areas seamless. As of the 2007-2008 academic year, the EETT grant has been used to provide an eLearning product, StudyWiz. This product is primarily being used in classrooms where there is a higher percentage of student-to-computer ratio. As StudyWiz is integrated into the classroom setting, students are better able to understand how businesses can use technology to collaborate across the continents, thus enhancing their global awareness.
Administrators continue to use technology to analyze student performance as it applies to the ABCs of Public Education and communicate with stakeholders—teachers, students, and parents. Using ABC Tools and North Carolina Window of Information on Student Education (NC WISE), as well as CastleLearning's formative assessment results, data is analyzed to determine students’ needs and areas for focused instruction at the school and classroom level. Principals are beginning to use this data imported into Excel to pinpoint specific goals and strategies for individualized learning. Because of the availability of NC WISE, a student’s performance, attendance, and discipline records can be accessed almost instantly by administrators and teachers. Administrators in Stanly County are also beginning to use the Education Value Added Assessment System (EVAAS), a customized software from SAS to answer the questions of how effective our schools and classrooms are. Similarly, school administrators are being trained to use and implement a Palm OS-based walkthrough product, TeachScape. Stanly County Schools is also using the Comprehensive Exceptional Children’s Accountability System (CECAS) to maintain special education data to generate funding headcounts. As a result, assistive technology programs are in place, such as text readers, text magnifiers, voice recognition software, CCTV, braillers, and various other hardware peripherals.
Classroom Manager (CMS 95) is still being used in order to manage DPI-provided test banks. Teachers also use technology in record keeping, managing resources, planning, communicating, and assessing student progress.
The NC Test of Computer Skills is administered to all eighth grade students to assess technology literacy. The NC Test of Computer Skills is a graduation requirement and a component of the NC ABCs.The North Carolina Standard Course of Study Computer Skills and Information Skills Curriculums prepare students to be successful on the NC Test of Computer Skills administered to eighth grade students. Integrated lesson plans and professional development for teachers are provided to students and teachers.If the student is not successful, then remediation is provided until the student passes the test.
The Career & Technical Education (CTE) classrooms are using technology on various fronts. As far as technology used for instruction of students, CTE faculty members are constantly looking for new programs, technology pieces and innovative ideas. Many of the CTE classrooms (beyond the traditional lab-based classes) have access to multiple computers with Internet access. In addition, electronically enabled presentation boards are being used in many classrooms. Technology is presented to students through industry-standard programs such as AutoCad, Revit, and Microsoft applications when applicable. The CTE Director is currently working on piloting certain modifications for students using technology. Through the use of the Audacity and Windows Media Player programs, read-aloud modifications for a variety of students are being presented on a “test” basis. During the second semester of the 08-09 academic year, plans have been made to expand this program. Also, the addition of CTE test-item banks for the CastleLearning software license is being considered. With this project, the web-based CastleLearning would contain CTE curriculum questions when Stanly County logged onto the program. This year students have taken on many community projects using technology. CTE students have designed the Stanly County Schools' graduation project logo, the NC Region 6 School Board menu cards, and they are currently working on designing a presentation for JobLink of Stanly County to use to recruit businesses.