A description of the LEA’s long-term strategies for financing technology to ensure that all students, teachers, and classrooms have access to technology, technical support, and instructional support.
Is Plan Descriptor Revised?
The Savannah Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) operates a system of schools primarily for grades pre-kindergarten through twelve, serving over 38,000 students. The district employs over 5,000 full time employees, of which nearly 3,000 are classroom teachers and other certified personnel. The high schools are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council On Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) and the middle and elementary schools are accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC).
The district operates 53 schools, and 10 other satellite facilities including Massie Heritage Interpretation Center, a preserved historic school, and Oatland Island Wildlife Center, an environmental education complex.
The SCCPSS is committed to moving forward and ensuring that all students are prepared with the necessary skills and knowledge to enter the workforce or to pursue post -secondary education. To support this commitment, the Passport to Excellence (P2E) initiative was implemented. This plan focuses on creating neighborhood schools for building community ownership, refocusing specialty programs, identifying key performance indicators that measure progress toward goals, and aligning funding to improve schools/facilities and support functions. The Passport to Excellence is supported by four main components:
Georgia Race to the Top program (ended on June 30, 2015)
District Accountability System
ESPLOST (Educational Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax)
Technology Plan
GEORGIA RACE TO THE TOP
SCCPSS was one of 26 districts serving as a participating LEA in Georgia’s Race to the Top (RT3) Project. The district was awarded $12.7 million over 4 years to implement our approved Scope of Work (SOW). The original grant period was scheduled to end in September of 2014.
Earlier this year, the State of Georgia applied, and was granted, a No Cost Extension (NCE) to their approved RT3 grant project. Implementation of the merit pay initiative was approved statewide for the NCE. Participating districts were then notified of the opportunity to apply for an NCE for any other existing activities in their approved Scope of Work.
District staff has been working closely with the RT3 program management staff at GaDOE to finalize documentation required to apply for a NCE for several of our other grant funded activities. The GaDOE staff has reviewed and approved our amended project plan to extend several of our grant funded activities until June of 2015. In addition to deferring implementation of merit pay (required), the NCE allowed us to complete work in process (to include our Reading and Science Endorsement programs, Student Learning Objective (SLO) development work, procurement and training on an on-line solution for SLO administration [RFP currently in process]), to sustain our outstanding Twilight programs at current operational levels, and to continue to provide full time coaches for our 2 designated Lowest Achieving Schools (LAS). All RT3 grant funding ended on June 30, 2015.
THE DISTRICT ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM (DAS)
The DAS translates the district vision and mission statements into actionable goals and objectives. It provides strategic direction and transparency and identifies significant areas of focus. The work of the school board and Superintendent is guided and assessed by the District Accountability System. There are four strategic goals within the DAS and numerous measurable objectives that support each goal. Monthly reports are scheduled for presentation to the board and the public. The four strategic goals are listed below.
Goal 1: To improve academic achievement.
Goal 2: To ensure fiscal responsibility and effective resource stewardship.
Goal 3: To provide a safe and secure environment for students and employees.
Goal 4: To engage parents and other community stakeholders.
ESPLOST
The Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) went into effect Jan. 1, 2007. The sales tax rate in Chatham County was set at 7 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2007. The first ESPLOST was approved Sept. 19, 2006, by the citizens of Chatham County, and the penny sales tax generated approximately $360 million. Of that amount, $15 million was reserved for district technology. On Nov. 8, 2011, the community voted to renew ESPLOST for another five years. It was strongly supported and passed in all eighty-nine precincts in Chatham County. The money raised from ESPLOST is being used to build new schools, reduce the number of mobile classrooms in use, upgrade existing facilities, purchase land for school sites, and provide additional instructional and administrative technology.
TECHNOLOGY PLAN
The potential exists for technology to be at the core in almost every phase of work that we do. We are all responsible for leveraging technology so it provides engaging and powerful learning in the classroom and also efficiencies to the school system’s operations. Adequate and up-to-date technology helps to cut costs, improve services, and bring us closer to those we serve. Today more than ever, technology is transforming the teaching and learning environment. From flipped classrooms to e-learning, what once was reserved for colleges and universities is now finding its way into the K-12 environment. Opportunities exist that enable educators and students to learn, share, collaborate, create, and solve problems together anytime and anywhere.
The technology plan is a road map that will help guide administration in the execution of major technology initiatives during the next three years. The plan provides a series of goals and strategies that, when implemented across the district, will help transform the administrative system and help transition the traditional pedagogical classroom model that exists today. The students of Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools will be provided the opportunity to use and master 21st century skills in order to prepare them for college, entry into the workforce, and life-long learning.
The overall organization of the technology plan focuses on four key areas that provide the framework for the goals and strategies detailed within it.
Instructional Use of Technology
Administrative Use of Technology
Parent/Community Use of Technology
System Readiness/System Support
The Technology Plan supports the vision and mission of the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and meets Universal Services Telecommunications Act (eRate) requirements. The plan is posted on the district’s public Website, www.sccpss.com.
Strategic planning is done once a year with the purpose of reviewing the plan’s goals and strategies. The plan is updated to show progress status and adjusted to incorporate changes in technologies as well as changes in the district. Tactical meetings take place quarterly to review the overall status of projects and initiatives, and monthly meetings take place to review progress on tasks and assignments. To support the planning and launching of initiatives, cross-functional teams are created consisting of key stakeholders and interest groups.
Additionally, grants through Perkins are applied for in order to develop programs that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
30. Title II, Part D
A description of how the LEA will evaluate the extent to which technology integration strategies are incorporated effectively into curriculum and instruction. Describe how the LEA will ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curriculum and instructional strategies so that technology will be fully integrated.
It is the district’s desire to provide students a learning environment that is not only engaging, relevant, and rigorous, but also challenging, interactive, and ubiquitous. Twenty-first century tools open the door to limitless learning by providing access to global information and resources. The following vision statements will help communicate and guide the district in addressing specific areas of improvement.
Provide ongoing professional development training for the successful support and use of technology within the instructions and administrative systems.
Provide equitable access to a variety of technology resources for all students.
Capture, analyze and provide meaningful data to support Decision Making for Results.
Provide teachers, administrators, and students ubiquitous access to district digital content and online resources.
Ensure quality of service and support is maintained during the instructional time period.
Utilize technology resources to engage parents, businesses and the community.
Enhance the instructional and administrative processes though the use of technology tools.
Identify, monitor, and leverage funding sources to ensure fiscal responsibility and effective resource stewardship.
Improve and maintain the district’s electronic resources to support a safe and secure environment for students and staff.
Provide opportunities for all students to develop and master 21st century skills.
Provide adaptive technology for students with diverse learning styles and needs.
Enhance and maintain a central resource for collaboration and the sharing of information.
Remove barriers and provide opportunities for innovative technology-driven solutions that meet the needs of today’s teachers and students.
Our vision for technology in the classroom is an intuitive, easy-to-use toolset that is seamlessly integrated into the teacher’s instructional model. This technology supports three types of instruction/learning:
Direct instruction with student participation
Student iterative concept modeling and self-actualized engagement
Targeted learning for acceleration and differentiation.
Each of these rests on a single integrated assessment toolkit. For example, as students participate in direct instruction, work with computer simulation software to master concepts, receive private (automated) coaching on how to write a critical paper, research topics on the web or engage in math concept recovery, the system constantly and unobtrusively records and assesses student responses. This formative data is then used to:
Identify learning needs and strategies
Track class progress to insure all GSE/GPS items are being covered
Predict individual, class and school success on key exams
Support teacher learning communities and continuous improvement programs
Feed management ‘dashboards’ to alert teachers and administrators of developing issues
In this context, the strengths of the computer usage are:
Highly visual instruction (leading to improved long-term retention)
Based on SCCPSS research, lesson plans that integrate technology to deliver instruction that is highly visual and engaging with integrated assessment tools produces marked improvement in knowledge retention and performance on standardized tests.
However, this model requires extensive professional development. Key skill sets addressed were:
Effective technology utilization and external sources
Student performance analysis and corrective strategies
Data teams and professional learning communities
Further, formative assessment materials correlated to the GSE/GPS were developed that reinforced the link between visually delivered material and standard question types on the state assessments.
Other technology application models include accelerated learning labs in which commercial packages such as A+ Software and SuccessMaker are used as examples of individualized instructional delivery. All of these products produced exceptional results in reading and science when the assessment data was aggressively used in a well-managed learning environment.
Access to Technology/Data Sources
SCCPSS utilizes the following data sources to collect information for making technology planning decisions:
Annual state inventory
District’s annual fixed assets report
District’s Workstation Reporting and Data (WRAD) database
A description of how the LEA will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula (e.g., distance learning).
LEA Narrative Description 31:
The LEA encourages the development and utilization of innovative strategies by giving each site in the district an opportunity to write a proposal and apply for funds under the Innovative Program Grant. Programs are selected by a district level review team based on their innovativeness, sustainability once funding ends, impact on number and quality of student learning and achievement and the quality of the evaluation of the program. All selected programs deliver specialized curriculum/activities and are tied to the goals and objectives of the district and/or school improvement plans.
Our vision for technology in the classroom is an intuitive, easy-to-use toolset that is seamlessly integrated into the teacher’s instructional model. This technology supports three types of instruction/learning:
Direct instruction with student participation
Student iterative concept modeling and self-actualized engagement
Targeted learning for acceleration and differentiation.
Each of these rests on a single integrated assessment toolkit. For example, as students participate in direct instruction, work with computer simulation software to master concepts, receive private (automated) coaching on how to write a critical paper, research topics on the web or engage in math concept recovery, the system constantly and unobtrusively records and assesses student responses. This formative data is then used to:
Identify learning needs and strategies
Track class progress to insure all GSE/GPS items are being covered
Predict individual, class and school success on key exams
Support teacher learning communities and continuous improvement programs
Feed management ‘dashboards’ to alert teachers and administrators of developing issues
In this context, the strengths of the computer usage are:
Highly visual instruction (leading to improved long-term retention)
Individualized instructional pacing and delivery
Non-judgmental interaction with the student
Unobtrusive assessment
Based on SCCPSS research, lesson plans that integrate technology to deliver instruction that is highly visual and engaging with integrated assessment tools produces marked improvement in knowledge retention and performance on standardized tests.
However, this model requires extensive professional development. Key skill sets addressed were:
Effective technology utilization and external sources
Student performance analysis and corrective strategies
Data teams and professional learning communities
Other technology application models include accelerated learning labs in which commercial packages such as Study Island, A+ Software, netTrekker, and SuccessMaker are used as examples of individualized instructional delivery. All of these products produced exceptional results in reading and science when the assessment data was aggressively used in a well-managed learning environment.
Beyond these core changes brought about by integrating technology into the teaching and learning process, there are a host of other technologies that, by themselves, provide effective educational tools. Some of which are:
Social networking; collaborative learning environments supported by teacher and students for file sharing, e-mail, and discussion groups.
Portable audio/video (mp3 players) for anywhere learning, such as language lessons by native speakers
These pilot projects are just two examples of technologies being researched through in-school pilot projects. Such projects are used to provide the data necessary to develop a model for applying technology across the district in an effective and cost-justified manner.
The vision for parent/community uses of technology is directly linked to the SCCPSS School Board’s District Accountability System which includes a specific goal to engage parents and other community stakeholders. This goal focuses on improving our accountability to the community and works to achieve continuous, meaningful communication and partnerships between the district and parents, staff, students, board members, citizens, businesses, the military, employees, and community service agencies. In order to more fully engage to total community, we will provide all stakeholders with greater access to their respective schools through the full facilitation of technology. Our vision includes the following:
Parents will have greater ability to monitor student performance and attendance through the district web access for parents.
Enable parent conferences with teachers and school staff using electronic mail and virtual web meetings.
Access district, school, and classroom information via the public web site.
Continually work to update, streamline and improve the school system’s Website providing customer friendly, customer focused ease of use and improved navigability; include aggregating Online Calendars, archive and inventoried media releases.
Provide parents the opportunity to participate in surveys related to school climate and/or specific topics within the school system
Increase accessibility for the public through wireless web connectivity to provide parents and community members/businesses to access the internet while visiting the school or working with their students in the media centers.
Increase the number of Webcasts of school board and school-related events, i.e. graduations, award ceremonies, academic competitions, through continued greater collaboration with local media outlets.
The current emphasis on the effective use of technology for teachers and students must be led by leaders who have vision, are inspired, and support the use of technology to promote student learning and achievement. School and central leaders support technology when there is an understanding of the impact it has on teaching and learning. School and district leaders ensure the integration of technology by applying it to their professional practice to accelerate the learning process and increase productivity at all levels. This is done with the support of the Department of Instructional Technology and the Professional Learning Department by providing access to equipment, tools, and training.
Technology Initiatives and Grants
In the Spring of 2015, teachers were provided the opportunity to write small grants in order to receive classroom equipment that would be used to enhance their instructional program. A total of 90 mini-grants worth over $200,000.00 were funded to purchase equipment for teachers. Classroom equipment provided through the mini grants included:
Google Chromebooks
Google Chromebases
iPads
Over the past 4 years, the Instructional Technology Department has awarded 480 mini-grants across the district. The IT coaches have supported the mini-grant recipients during this time, as they learned about ways to effectively use their new equipment and assisted with incorporating the new technology into their daily teaching and learning practices as well as providing troubleshooting assistance.
