3-Year Technology Plan
July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2009
I. Needs Assessment
This plan is the result of an assessment program to determine the current
status of technology in the
System. This assessment included interviews, questionnaires and E-Tote surveys.
II. Stakeholders Involvement in Planning
Shareholders involved in planning are:
Joe D. Barlow, Director of Schools
Joe Halfacre, Technology Coordinator
Karen Holder, K-12 Supervisor
Marcella Bentley, Vocational Supervisor
Betty Pruett, Title I, Title II and Title IV Director
Jill Smith, Special Education Supervisor
Charles Breidert, Principal, Gainesboro Ele. School
Gail Myers, Principal, Jackson Co. Middle School
Dennis Tennant, Principal, Jackson Co. High School
Tammy Woolbright, Principal, Dodson Branch Ele. School
Debbie Davis, Librarian, Jackson Co. Middle School
Sheila Swearengin, Librarian, Gainesboro Ele. School
Judy Copeland, Librarian,
Deborah Whitaker, Guidance,
Technology Teams at each school
III. Timeline
This plan will for a three-year time period that begins July 1, 2006 and concludes June 30, 2009. Ultimately, funding will determine the degree of accomplishment of this plan each year of this 3-year period. If we are to implement this plan effectively, some parts of it will be ongoing such as staff development, upgrading and maintaining equipment, and improving our connectivity. We will provide these activities through the use of Title II, Part D funds and E-Rate funds, and they will receive our highest priority.
Other goals on a yearly basis:
|
2006-07 |
Installation of additional T1 line |
E-Rate/Local funds |
|
|
Hardware/Software |
Vocational/E-Rate/Title II, Part D |
|
|
Install/equip lab-middle school |
BEP/E-Rate funds |
|
|
Upgrade computers and modules-high school technology lab |
Carl Perkins/Vocational |
|
|
Expand ThinkLink Program to all grades at Jackson Co. Middle, grades 1 & 2 at Gainesboro Elementary and 1, 2, 6 & Grade 8 at Dodson Branch Elementary |
E-Rate/BEP |
|
|
Install Web Server—Gainesboro Elementary |
E-Rate |
|
|
Implement Online Assessment for End-of-Course and Gateway Courses |
BEP |
|
|
Purchase 5 teacher carts |
BEP/E-Rate/Vocational/SPED |
|
|
Replace 1/5 of teachers workstations |
BEP/E-Rate/Vocational/SPED |
|
|
Purchase 1 LCD projector for each school |
Title II, Part D/E-Rate |
|
2007-08 |
Upgrade Keyboarding Labs to Wireless—Jackson Co. High |
Vocational |
|
|
Upgrade High School Lab computers |
Grant/local funds |
|
|
Upgrade labs—Gainesboro Ele. and Dodson Branch Ele. |
BEP/E-Rate funds |
|
|
Expand ThinkLink Program to Grade 6 at Jackson Co. Middle & Dodson Branch Ele. |
E-Rate/BEP |
|
|
Purchase 4 teacher carts |
BEP/E-Rate/Vocational/SPED |
|
|
Replace 1/5 of teachers workstations |
BEP/E-Rate/Vocational/SPED |
|
|
Purchase 1 LCD projector for each school |
Title II, Part D/E-Rate |
|
2008-09 |
Purchase 3 teacher carts |
BEP/E-Rate/Vocational/SPED |
|
|
Replace 1/5 of teachers workstations |
BEP/E-Rate/Vocational/SPED |
|
|
Purchase 1 LCD projector for each school |
Title II, Part D/E-Rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IV. Responsible parties:
Joe Halfacre, Technology Coordinator, Jackson County Schools will oversee this
plan under the direct supervision of Joe D. Barlow, Director of Schools.
V.
The primary mission of the Jackson County School System, in partnership with the community, is to graduate 21st century citizens who will be value-oriented, career-directed, competent in communications and problem solving, skillful in creative and critical thinking, and knowledgeable of technology in a global and multicultural society.
VI. Technology
Since the ability to process and manipulate information is essential for individual and community economic success, it is important that we reflect the Jackson County School System's mission statement in graduating citizens with knowledge of technology. We want to insure that technology is available to all students in a variety of forms, so that, our graduates are competent in and comfortable with the use of all forms of technology as information resources and to possess skills to work together with individuals and organizations to make decisions and solve problems.
VII. Goals and Objectives
Goal One: Use technology to improve students' math and language
skills by providing software programs aligned to address the State of
Objectives:
1. Provide software programs that are based on relevant research and aligned to
the State of
2. Existing programs--Accelerated Reader,
3. Technology will be used to assess and prepare students for ACT, SAT, Work
Keys, Gateway Exams and TCAP.
4. Give students greater accessibility to technology by increasing the number
of computers in each classroom, library, and lab in all school.
5. Continue to review and evaluated different/new software programs, and to
seek funding on the programs that would be beneficial to the students of our
school system.
6. Place a mobile teacher's multimedia cart in every school, and equip the care with a laptop, printer, bundled software package, and projection device.
Goal Two: Improve and expand the curriculum through technology by
offering additional courses and new learning opportunities.
Objectives:
1. Utilize our Internet connection to provide On-line courses
2. Utilize ITV classroom at high school to provide dual-credit courses and
interest sessions from Tennessee Tech and
Goal Three: Provide students with modern equipment and appropriate
software applications to prepare them to be successful in the 21st Century
workplace.
Objectives:
1. Additional computers will be added to the libraries. These systems will be
used for Internet research, improve writing skills (TCAP writing scores and
Tennessee School Improvement Plan), and supplement classroom instruction in all
subject areas.
2. Upgrade equipment in each existing lab at each school.
3. Develop more efficient way to inventory, repair, and upgrade equipment.
4. Encourage teachers/administrators to attend technology conferences, by
contacting vendors, subscribing to technology publications, and to communicate
with other teachers/administrators about current trends in technology.
Goal Four: Every teacher and administrator will become confident and
comfortable in integrating technology into their curriculum through staff
development and individual help provided by the technology staff. All
professional development will be ongoing, sustained and with effective
technology integration and use.
Objectives:
1. Staff will receive ongoing, sustained training in Basic/Advance computer
skills related to all technologies and Internet search skills.
3. Encourage and offer financial incentives for teachers to attend conferences,
technology seminars, site visitations, workshops and other opportunities to
explore existing and new methods of using technology in the classroom.
4. Eighty percent of the teachers in each school will meet technology
proficiencies and will have implemented it into the classroom by 2009.
Goal Five: Create a school technology team in each school and a community tech team of community leaders to plan, implement, and assess the progress of the technology plan.
Objectives:
1. Articulate with feeder elementary schools and middle school to develop a
K-12 technology sequence.
2. Establish partnerships with businesses and the community to acquire hardware
and software and take advantage of human
and technological resources.
3. Establish a campus-base mentoring program at each school.
4. Develop and implement a method to recognize and identify exemplary use of
technology in instruction.
VIII. Collaboration Among Educators and with Community Partners
To help facilitate an increase in collaboration among teachers, we plan to explore the possibility of implementing some kind of instant messaging program and to encourage additional use of our e-mail system that is a web-based system. The school technology teams and the district-wide technology staff assist our teachers and administrators to reach our goals and objectives.
We will continue our relationship with the Adult Education Program, along
with exploring additional ways to use our existing interactive television
system with
IX. Curricula and Teaching Strategies
We will be implementing a Integrated Learning System that
has been proven effective in schools across the nation. This system is aligned
with the new Tennessee State Curriculum Standards, and it is based on a review
of relevant research that will lead to improvement in student academic
achievement. We will analyze student data to determine the academic areas that
need improving. Staff development will provide teachers the strategies
necessary to effectively implement technology into their curriculum.
X. Increased Accessibility
This technology plan attacks increased accessibility in two methods. One method is by increasing the number of computers available for student use. This will be accomplished by increasing the number of computers available in each classroom, and by creation of labs in each of the four schools. The other method of increasing accessibility is developing and promoting better ways to schedule students' access time of the computers. We believe that every student should have daily access to computers. We will use Title II, Part D funds and E-Rate funds to insure that these goals are completed.
XI. Equal Access
It is a major priority that our students receive equal access to computers in their schools. We fully understand the importance of equal access because our system is in a high poverty area. Our District's E-Rate percentage that is based on our free/reduced lunch ration is 80%. It is our goal to make sure that no student is left behind. Title II, Part D, Title II, Part D funds and E-Rate funds will be used to insure this equality.
XII. Budget
The Jackson County School System budget is funded on an annual basis. The district's budget technology funds have several sources: Title II, Part D, Title II, Part D funds, Title IV, Vocational funds and Carl Perkins funds, Basic Education Program funds, E-Rate funds, Local funds, and various grant sources. The director and school board has made a strong commitment to funding technology in the past with assurances of continued budgetary support in future years.
Fiscal Budget 2006-2007
|
New Equipment |
$28,000 |
|
Software |
$10,000 |
|
Upgrades and support |
$ 7,000 |
|
Assessment Programs |
$ 8,000 |
|
Optic Fiber line lease |
$ 9,000 |
|
Maintenance--Upgrade and Repairs |
$ 7,500 |
|
Staff Development |
$ 6,000 |
|
Salaries |
$90,000 |
Years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009
Although our budget depends on local, state, and federal funding, we do not
anticipate any reduction in the technology budget in these years. In order to
seek more funds, the system should create a full-time position of grant writer.
XIII. Staff Development
Staff development will be planned and scheduled at various times during the
school year and during the summer. Staff development will be provided for
software programs that are being used in the schools-Academy of
XIV. Interoperability
To get the maximum benefit from any technology improvement, it is important that all components, both hardware and software, be compatible with each other. The Technology Team will evaluate all specs to make sure that the improvement will work on our existing system or on the system being purchased.
XV. Leadership Role in Technology
School Administrator will be trained and made aware of ways to use our existing student database to obtain needed information on which to base their decisions whether it be for planning future programs or problems that may arise on a daily basis. This will allow them to be more effective in their leadership role.
Administrators will be encouraged to attend technology workshops and conferences to view the products and services that are being used in today’s education world.
Their input and encouragement is necessary to have an effective plan.
XVI. Review of Policies and Procedures
The Jackson County School System has adopted the following policies that are
related to the use of educational technology:
Acceptable Use of Internet, Web Page Policy, Teacher Use Policy will be revised
this year. Students must sign and take home and have their parent to sign the
Acceptable Use of Internet Policy before using the Internet. It will be
stressed by the principal of each school that no student is to use the Internet
without being carefully monitored by a teacher. These plans will be evaluated
on at least an annual basis, and revisions will be made as needed.
XVII. Evaluation
Careful measurement of all aspects of the technology plan will take place annually to determine what corrections or improvements need to be made in the technology plan.
A. Student Achievement: To measure the success of the technology program as it
relates to students, the following will be considered: Terra Nova (TCAP)
scores, State Writing Assessment results, Gateway Test scores and student
surveys results will be analyzed and compared with previous years results.
B. Use and Participation: Use and participation of equipment and software can
give a good indication of the cost/benefit ratio of equipment and software. To
measure this, we will use logs, software administrative tools, and teacher
surveys. This will give an indication of
the successfulness of each aspect of the technology program. The E-Tote will be
used to assess the technology/readiness progress made in each school.