Johnson City Schools

 

Technology Plan 2011 – 2014

 

February 2011

 

 

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Mission Statement The Technology Committee will encourage the schools in the Johnson City School System to use technology as a tool to achieve excellence in learning. Needs Assessment Assessments of needs are conducted as technology staff is on-site at schools. Recommendations are made to principals and to the technology coordinator. The TESS survey results will also be used as an assessment tool to determine focus areas.

Stakeholder Involvement in Planning The current Technology Committee consists of: Melony Surrett, Technology Coordinator

Dr. Robbie Anderson, Dir. Instruction/Accountability Dr. Janie Snyder, Dir. Secondary/Student Services Dr. Ginger Woods, Special Education Supervisor Dr. Deborah Bentley, Dir Communications

Chris Cox, System Administrator Keith Jennings, System Administrator Aaron Gregg, System Administrator Bob Fletcher, System Technician

Carolyn Wylie, System Information Specialist Carleton Lyon, System Technology Coach

Becky Reynolds, Technology Assistant – Fairmont Elementary Julia Swanson, Technology Assistant – Lake Ridge Elementary Steve Barnett, Principal – Towne Acres Elementary Dr. Roger Walk, Principal – Mountain View Elementary Mary Hollyfield, Media Specialist – South Side Elementary Catherine Edwards, Assistant Principal – Science Hill High School Nelson Arblaster, Teacher – Indian Trail Middle School Sarah Crow, Teacher – Science Hill High School Timeline The Technology Committee will work diligently to ensure goals are met by the end of the 2013–2014 school year. The needs assessment will be conducted annually and consultations conducted as needs arise. Responsibility Parties The Technology Committee includes representatives from each school in the district. The committee, in conjunction with administrators at each school, will be responsible for the implementation of the vision and goals. The Technology Department, including the Technology Coordinator and system technology staff, will be responsible for maintaining network connectivity and ensuring that all hardware and software purchases are compatible with current systems. The Technology Coordinator and Technology Coach

 

 

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are responsible for coordinating staff development opportunities. The School Board will be responsible for funding. Vision The vision of the Johnson City Schools Technology Department is to support Johnson City Schools’ mission to enable all students to achieve excellence in learning, to accept social responsibility, and to develop self-worth. The Technology Department will support this mission by promoting the integration of technology to improve student learning and improving communication among all stakeholders, The Technology Committee through the district and school-based technology staff will strive to maintain the highest level of access and technical support. Goals and Objectives I. Provide adequate technology support:

A. Support the hiring of one assistant position per school as a technology assistant dedicated to tech support with additional positions as needed.

B. Provide additional training for current and newly hired technology staff as new technologies are made available.

C. Hire additional system-wide technical support staff due to increasing technology purchases, uses and demands in curriculum as well as increasing support areas such as CCTV and access control.

D. Hire additional technology coaching staff as funding is available designating one technology coach (either full-time or part-time) per school to complement the system-wide technology coach.

II. Continue to update/upgrade the network infrastructure to support emerging/new technologies as well as new applications and provide classrooms with current hardware and software with a hardware replacement plan.

A. Pursue funding avenues to install wireless networks with mobile labs in every school in the Johnson City Schools.

B. Continue to upgrade and improve local LAN requirements (i.e. cabling, WAN and egress requirements and networking equipment) to support new online requirements for testing and assessments as well as VoIP and distance learning installations and requirements.

C. Build in redundancy and backup power sources to ensure network connectivity and power at points of failure. Pursue installation of a generator at the NOC (Network Operations Center) to ensure critical applications are running.

D. Implement a disaster recovery solution for all critical applications and data. E. Implement a server virtualization solution for maximum equipment and

funding utilization as well as minimizing energy consumption. F. Provide teachers and students with centralized data storage locations. G. Continue to seek funding through federal and state grants and Board of

Education funding support.

 

 

 

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III. Implement additional communication efforts between technology staff and school personnel.

A. Continue to enhance the system wide tech request form currently available to report needed repairs, replacements, problems and any other request for tech support

B. The Technology Coordinator will be available to accept emergency requests and coordinate efforts to meet these needs.

C. A quarterly technology meeting will be held to discuss issues, share computer/equipment related issues and solutions to allow all to learn from others. Discussion should also communicate system goals and immediate concerns. All technology staff and school technology assistants should be present for these meetings.

D. Encourage the use of Sharepoint as a means of communication, discussions and solutions and sharing.

IV. Continue to provide distance learning/video conferencing capabilities

A. Enhance the capability of providing video conferencing capabilities for administration and staff.

B. Provide/receive distance learning classes for high school and college credit as well as virtual fieldtrip opportunities and homebound usage.

C. Seek funding through grant applications.

V. Continue to support and provide presentation/interactive classroom technology in each classroom of the Johnson City Schools.

A. Encourage visionary ideas in using technology in the classroom B. Utilize system-level technology coach to conduct on-site training to assist

teachers with integrating technology into the curriculum and encourage building level staff to provide peer support and use of the train the trainer model.

C. Provide access to technology to enable students to be college and career ready.

D. Support equity among schools in the provision of technology. E. Support ISTE standards adopted by the state of Tennessee for students,

teachers and administrators. F. Encourage administration to ensure every staff member uses a form of

technology for data analysis, assessments, curriculum development and information management.

G. Pursue the use of e-books as a teaching/learning tool.

H. The staff will encourage and support the use of assistive technologies in the special education areas.

Collaboration Among Educators The Technology Committee will continue to meet, discuss and refine the elements of the system-wide technology plan. We will strive to keep everyone updated with the most current information through regular meetings of the technology staff with on-site technology assistants, Sharepoint and email.

 

 

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Staff development opportunities will be available throughout the year led by the system- wide technology coach and teachers with specific application experience. These opportunities will be based on interest and new technologies available as well as new online applications.

Media specialists are an integral part of the committee and are involved in the planning and implementation of instructional media and technology at each school. Efforts will be made to further the initiative of parents as educators using online curriculum, online student report cards, online academic calendars, and online homework assignments and/or submittal. A Family Depot is available with information available to parents dealing with technology and safety issues confronting children. Parents will also be kept informed through teacher and school newsletters, updated school and system web sites, email, and parent teacher conferences. Passport to Gradebook, which keeps parents and students informed of students grades and absences will be expanded to include all schools and grade levels. The Johnson City Schools uses software applications to assist adults in literacy and GED preparation. The Adult Education Department offers adult literacy classes using software applications such as Contemporary Literacy developed specifically for teaching literacy. An ESL lab is available for teaching English using applications such as Rosetta Stone. GED preparation classes are also offered as a part of this program. Plans are in the process for purchasing more computer systems and Pre GED and GED software to provide a lab for on-line GED testing. Johnson City School’s staff also collaborates with other school systems via email, professional organizations and peer group meetings. Collaboration with Community Partners The Johnson City Schools will continue to pursue the following partnerships in an effort to provide current technological resources to our schools, teachers and students.

 East Tennessee State University (through grant monies) has partnered with our system to develop an elementary school of math, science, and technology.

 East Tennessee State University and Eastman Credit Union have donated

computers to schools in the system in the past and will continue to do so as these systems are available.

 Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) at all elementary schools as well as the

middle school support the acquisition of educational technology each year

 Administrators from the school district have participated in the TETA sponsored Administrator’s Technology Academy to learn about new technologies and how other districts in the state use specific technologies.

 The district will continue to use technology as a means of communication with parents, students and the community. The use of the district and school web

 

 

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sites, email, published newsletters, and an instant notification systems are examples of means of communication to all stakeholders.

 The technology staff works with Head Start, Family Resource Center and Adult Education to assist in obtaining and maintaining their hardware/software resources.

 The technology staff continues to provide assistance to Human Resources in the administration of the federally required Para-Pro online test.

Partnerships are not limited to the above and in addition, the committee will continue to promote and encourage active partnerships between schools, businesses, homes and the community at large. Curricula and Teaching that Integrate Technology Johnson City Schools will identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that effectively integrate technology into the classroom. The use of Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, and social networking tools will be utilized to increase engagement and learning opportunities for students and increase communication among all stakeholders. To that end, a technology-rich learning environment will be visible within each school with students at each grade level meeting the minimum required skills as outlined in the state curriculum. The Tennessee Curriculum Standards will be the foundation for the implementation of technology into the classroom. These standards are available online and accessible to every teacher at (http://tennessee.gov/education/ci/computer/.) In addition to higher order thinking sills, complex problem solving, and cognitive research, technology curriculum will provide students hands-on experiences with application software. Staff is encouraged to increase the utilization of teacher web pages for home/school communication. Teachers are encouraged to include multi-media tools enabling the engagement of students to become active and experimental learners. Moreover, instructional software and technology will be integrated as an element in curriculum planning and instruction. Educators will use TCAP data to assess student achievement and use software that promotes improved student performance. Johnson City Schools will use the state data warehouse as well as expand the use of Pearson Inform to include all grades, for compiling student/teacher information to gage progress in student achievement. State goals for academic success (as reported on the state issued report card) will determine appropriate levels of acceptable student performance. Each school’s School Improvement Plan (SIP) will identify instructional software and other technology resources as strategies to improve targeted learning goals. Based upon relevant research, software that enhances existing state curricula and promotes advanced thinking skills will be identified for purchase and implementation as funding is available. Subject area software should also be referenced in curriculum maps and utilized by the appropriate staff. In addition, coursework will be enhanced through active student use of technological resources such as the Internet. Title II D and budgeted technology funds will be used to purchase online curricula and subject area software applications and to provide staff development for implementing technology integration in the classroom.

 

 

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Increasing Accessibility

The Johnson City School System will provide adequate and convenient network/Internet connectivity for all students, teachers, staff, and administrators. This will be accomplished in the following ways:

 Ensuring that every workspace (classroom, office, etc.) has an adequate number of network jacks so that physically connecting a computer to the local area network is not cumbersome.

 Providing alternate means of accessing the Internet (dial-up, wireless, etc.) to all teachers and students when structural and environment constraints do not allow access to the Johnson City Schools’ local area network.

 Implementing wireless networking solutions in terms of replacing currently hard- wired local area networks and the creation of mobile computing labs.

 Expanding access to curriculum and other Johnson City Schools’ technology resources to the Internet so that administrators, teachers, parents, and students may use these resources from distant locations.

Along with increased accessibility comes increased liability. Johnson City Schools will ensure that all CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) regulations are met in two ways. First, ENA (Education Networks of America) is the system’s Internet Service Provider and follows all CIPA regulations dealing with internet content for children with content filtering software. Secondly, the Johnson City Schools uses an additional internet content filtering application to ensure complete compliance with CIPA regulations. The districts content filter applications also includes a network management tool as well as an email archiving tool to comply with federal laws of discovery. High speed Internet access will be provided to teachers and students through discounts made available through the Schools & Libraries Division E-Rate program. Title II D funds will also be used to provide needed hardware in high poverty schools including our five Title I schools. These funds will also be utilized to support learning needs as identified in School Improvement Plans. In addition, schools targeted for improvement will receive Title II D and other available funds to support their improvement plan. Equity Equity among schools will be a top priority in the Johnson City School System. When available, budgeted technology funds are allocated to the schools based on a formula using ADA (average daily attendance) as a factor. For schools receiving Title I monies, a portion of these funds may also be available to provide hardware and curriculum based software. Currently, high-speed Internet access is available in all schools. All schools have at least a 1GB connection to the egress point, with a 50 MB metro- ethernet egress connection to the Internet. Bandwidth utilization is monitored frequently

 

 

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to ensure adequate connection speeds are available. The Johnson City Board of Education has adopted a policy dealing with the comparability of services as stated in Policy 2.300. Professional Development

In order to provide adequate training to allow teachers to incorporate and use technology skills in the classroom, the Johnson City Schools with focus on:

 Provide opportunities for training outside the school system.  Provide quality and relevant professional development opportunities throughout

the year.  Continue to seek funding sources for staff development through grant program.  Develop, coordinate and conduct staff development to ensure all teachers are

familiar with state standards on their grade level.  Provide technical assistance to staff as they explore and implement new and

innovative teaching strategies.  Seek funding to hire additional technology coaches  Ensure current technology coach is available to aid teachers in the integration of

technology in the classroom, including conducting one-on-one training, team teaching, and the use of Web 2.0 tools

 In addition, Johnson City Schools will continue to look for professional development opportunities to enhance the use of technology in the classroom. Title II Part D formula funds will be used as a source of funding for this purpose and for stipends for in-house trainers and to provide substitutes to enable certified staff to attend training opportunities. Interoperability The Technology Committee of the Johnson City Schools has established a PC platform as the standard platform for the Johnson City School system. Minimum specifications for new equipment purchases have been established and will be reviewed semi- annually by the technology department to ensure current technology is being utilized. Minimum specifications for donated equipment have been established as well. These specifications will be reviewed on a semi-annual basis to ensure equipment will meet current needs. The Technology Coordinator must approve all new equipment purchases and donations. Software purchases must be reviewed by the technology department to ensure compatibility with hardware in place or anticipated new purchases. All networking hardware and software purchased by Johnson City Schools must be Microsoft compliant and PC compatible.

 Domain Name Service (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) are provided via Microsoft Windows servers. DNS files are maintained within the district. DNS files from our Internet provider are used as a backup DNS.

 

 

 

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 Microsoft Exchange Server is the district’s current email software and provides email and calendaring services in additional SMTP gateway services. All staff are provided with an email account for professional communications. The district currently maintains over 1000 email accounts.

 All schools as well as Resource Central located at the Central Office are

provided with a library cataloging software application.

 Network printing services are provided at all locations via TCP/IP protocol. All networked computers have access to printing.

 With the emergence of cloud computing, thin clients and virtual desktops, we will continue to explore ways to deliver content in the most efficient manner to all users.

 The school system will also explore implementing SIF compliancy for all software packages used in the Johnson City School System to eliminate double entry of information and to ensure data integrity of students and employees.

Leadership The Technology Committee works to develop appropriate technology goals and to identify specific needs and implementation processes. The Technology Coordinator working with building level administration and designated technology assistants will plan purchases and installation of hardware and software. The Technology Coordinator and district technology staff regularly visit classrooms and work closely to identify problems and needs. The Director of Schools, Technology Coordinator along with other administrative personnel meet regularly to discuss needs within the school system related to technology. Review of Policies and Procedures The Johnson City Board of Education has adopted, in its Policy Manual, the following policies relating to use of the Internet and web pages in the Johnson City Schools: Policy 4.406 Use of the Internet Policy 4.407 Web Pages The Johnson City schools also follows the federal guidelines for Internet safety for children as outlined in the CIPA act. An Internet filtering system is in place by the ISP for the school system along with an Internet filtering system supported by the school system. A Technology Acceptable Usage Agreement has been developed for students and employees. This policy is reviewed annually and must be signed by each student and employee annually for compliance. Evaluation

 

 

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The Tennessee STaR Chart included in the annual TESS survey and the annual system report card will be used as tools to evaluate the progress of technology in the Johnson City School System. District administration staff conducts frequent site visits, analyzes test data, and reviews school improvement plans as an additional means of evaluation. Ongoing Infrastructure Improvements The Johnson City Schools technology plan is intended to integrate technology in the infrastructure and classrooms of the school system. With rapidly changing technology, the Johnson City Schools will make every attempt to update/upgrade infrastructure technology as new technologies are introduced and as funds are available and new funding sources are identified. These updates/upgrades may include but are not limited to: network hardware and software upgrades, installation of wireless technology, VoIP technology and cabling needs as required to ensure network reliability. When and where it is not feasible to provide telephone systems with VoIP capabilities, alternatives will be explored. This may include basic telephone services including voice mail provided by centrex services.