TECHNOLOGY PLAN for Edgebrook Elementary School 6530 N. Minnehaha Ave. Chicago, IL Principal: Chad P. Weiden

Transcription

1 TECHNOLOGY PLAN for Edgebrook Elementary School 6530 N. Minnehaha Ave. Chicago, IL Principal: Chad P. Weiden Prepared by: Edgebrook School nology August 2013 Page 1 of 22

2 1. Executive Summary 3 2. Mission Statement 3 3. School/Community Profile Location Students Instruction Parent Involvement Academic Achievement Funding Challenges 6 4. nology nology Members Activities 7 5. Inventories 5.1 Hardware Inventory Software Inventory Student-to-Computer Ratio Needs Analysis nology Management Needs Staff Instruction Needs Student Instruction Needs Software Needs Equipment Needs Action Plan nology Management Staff Instruction Student Instruction Software Equipment Funding Annual Review 8. School Web Sites 18 Page 2 of 22

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4 1. Executive Summary Edgebrook Elementary School is developing this ongoing three year nology Plan (the Plan ) in order to address the school s technology needs. The Local School Council formed the nology to gather information, explore options, and make recommendations to enhance Edgebrook School's use of technology over the next several years. Needs were identified in the areas of technology management, staff instruction, student instruction, computer software and equipment acquisition. Activities that are planned to meet those needs are listed below. nology Management A nology Coordinator will manage and administer school technology issues. A Webmaster will maintain and update the school s website. An on-call nician will handle highly complex technical issues as they arise. Staff Instruction Teachers will received Google Apps and Google Docs training Student Instruction Computer use will be integrated into the regular curriculum. Computer Software and Equipment Acquisition Licenses for a variety of software programs will be acquired and installed. Mobile wireless laptop computer lab will be purchased. Outdated desktop computers will be replaced over time. Multiple sources of funding will be aggressively pursued, including PTA contributions, Edgebrook Foundation donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants. A voluntary technology fee of $50.00 per student was approved by the Local School Council to support the Plan. 2. Mission Statement Edgebrook Elementary School will use this nology Plan to identify and provide the resources, infrastructure, support, staff development, and educational instruction needed so that students will Page 4 of 22

5 graduate with the technological skills and understanding necessary to succeed in higher education and reach their individual personal and professional potential. 3. School/Community Profile 3. School/Community Profile 3.1 Location Edgebrook Elementary School is located at 6530 N. Minnehaha Avenue, in Chicago, Illinois. It is a neighborhood school located on the northwest side of Chicago in a neighborhood referred to as Edgebrook. It is a stable community comprised mostly of single-family homes. The attendance area of the school is shown in purple below Students Edgebrook Elementary School currently has an enrollment of over 500 students. It has two classrooms for all grades K through eight. Enrollment has increased dramatically over the past several years. The school had been challenged to find space to teach all of its students, and had to contend with higher than recommended class sizes in some grades. Its former computer lab was permanently dismantled in 2004 to make room for an additional classroom. Page 5 of 22

6 In 2006, in order to alleviate the overcrowded conditions, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) installed two refurbished modular units of two classrooms each on the west side of the school property. Fortunately the school received a much needed addition which opened for the school year. This allowed us to re-add a music room and a much needed Computer Lab (which also serves as the STEM Lab). The average number of students in each class as of 2012 are listed below. Grade School average (each class, 2 classes) District average State average Kindergarten First grade Second grade Third grade Fourth grade Fifth grade Sixth grade Seventh grade Eighth grade Edgebrook Elementary School offers a continuum of special education services for students with physical challenges, autism, learning disabilities, cognitive disorders, and communication disorders. Descriptive characteristics of students at Edgebrook are provided in the below tables. (Source: Chicago Sun-Times 2012 School Report Card) Racial/Ethnic Distribution Percent Other Characteristics Percent Caucasian 68% Low-Income 9.9% African American 1.9% Limited English Proficiency 1.1% Hispanic 15.5% Mobility Rate 7% Page 6 of 22

7 Asian 9.5% Chronic Truancy Rate 3.4% Native American 0% Attendance Rate 96.7% Multi-Racial 3.4% Page 7 of 22

8 3.3. Instruction Twenty-four teachers provide educational services to students at Edgebrook School. Fifty-one percent of the teaching staff have Master s degrees. In addition to the eighteen classroom teachers and four special education teachers, there are a number of half-time positions: gym teacher, music teacher, and two counselors. The types and numbers of teachers at Edgebrook School are listed below. Type of Teacher Number Percent Classroom Teachers 18 55% Special education Teachers 4 18% Specialized Program Teachers 6 27% Total % Nine aides support students with special needs so that they can be included successfully in the least restrictive environment. After school enrichment programs are also available to students. These include a Chess club, Girl Scouts, and a fee-based Spanish language program. The Plan also calls for the development of an after school computer class. Most students also participate in an After-School Counts enrichment program three days a week from October through March Parent Involvement Parents are actively involved in school activities and fundraising, and play a significant role in the school s success. Each year the PTA raises and contributes money to support school programs, staffing, supplies, and equipment needs. A separate entity, the Edgebrook School Foundation, also raises funds for school capital needs Academic Achievement Edgebrook School has been the top performing neighborhood school in Chicago for a number Page 8 of 22

9 of years. It has remained at the top of the list this year based on the latest (2012) ISAT scores, shown in the table below. Grade Percent of students who meet or exceed state goals Reading Math Science 3 rd grade N/A 4 th grade th grade N/A 6 th grade N/A 7 th grade th grade N/A 3.6. Funding Challenges With very limited state funding and no federal funding, maintaining present programs and updating equipment in the area of technology is extremely challenging. The PTA and Edgebrook School Foundation provide some financial support in this area, but it is not enough to meet the school s extensive technology needs, which are detailed in Section 6. Page 9 of 22

10 4. Edgebrook School nology A nology was formed in October 2006 to develop a school nology Plan and to address the school s technology needs nology Members The current members of the nology are listed below. Name Chad Weiden David Servatius Lisa Gordon Lizzie Krolak Angie Mrowiec Kate Dorn Craig Caimi Rene Bernier Mike Prest Type of Participant Principal LSC Parent Representative Parent/PTA Parent/PTA Teacher/Webmaster Teacher Parent Parent Parent 4.2. Activities The was formed in the school year. For the past six years the committee has focused on upgrading all computers, providing new equipment for teachers and students and retiring (and recycling) old equipment. Accomplishments of the Edgebrook School since that time include: Completely replaced ALL computers and printers in the school. We now have over 200 computers and 25+ printers throughout the school. Everything was funded by parent dollars. Built a new Computer Lab with over 30 Laptop stations All classrooms are now outfitted with at least three Student PC s, a Teacher PC, ELMO document camera, Projector, Teacher Cart and a Laptop. The laptops can be used to stream video and play DVD-based videos as well Had the entire school network rebuilt - this was funded by CPS Recycled over 100 PC s, Mac s, monitors and printers Page 10 of 22

11 Switched Accelerated Reader program from limited testing version to cloud-based version with over 150,000 quizzes Purchased over 30 Neo 2 Keyboard devices to be used for writing, keyboard training and AR (Accelerated Reader) testing Helped build the new Music Room with three student Mac s and a Teacher Mac. These are used with GarageBand on the Mac s to do student recordings. Updated & organized school mailing list 5. Inventories 5.1 Hardware Inventory At the end of the school year, Ron Mrowiec was able to update the nology inventory. We had been maintaining the entire systems inventory and now Ron was able to add new RFID tags to our inventory as well. In total, as of May, 2013, our school has: 205 Computers 84 Desktops for students and teachers 65 PC Laptops Lab computers and teachers 56 Mac Laptops students especially primary grades 22 Printers one per classroom 18 ELMO s with Projectors one per teacher & classroom 10 Tablets Each classroom is now equipped with 3-5 desktop computers, one of which is for teacher use. Every classroom now has an ELMO document camera, a projector and a laptop; all used by our teachers. This past year with the new school addition finally allowed us to get back our Computer Lab. The new lab is designed to support an entire classroom (30+ students) who can now use it for testing, computer training or STEM Software Inventory We currently have 149 PC s utilizing Microsoft Windows (XP or Windows 7) with many of those PC s using Microsoft Office. In addition we have 56 Mac laptops using the Mac OS plus Office for Mac. In 2012 Chicago Public Schools signed on with Google to go use Google Apps and Google Docs. Page 11 of 22

12 Moving to a cloud-based platform is a significant step as it frees up some of our licensing costs. In the past we licensed Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, with many thanks to Rene Bernier. Going forward we need to fully utilize Google Apps and Google Docs, since these cloud-based platforms only require a browser (especially Google Chrome). This is a huge benefit to members as it minimizes the amount of PC or Mac software maintenance we have to do. While utilizing cloud-based Google Apps and Google Docs, we also switched to cloud-based Accelerated Reader. This switched us from a limited number of quizzes to over 150, Student-to-Computer Ratio In 2006 when the started doing computer upgrades our student-to-computer ratio was 20 to 1. Today (August 2013) we are expecting to open school with a ratio of 2.4 to 1. The national average for public schools is 4 to 1 and the Chicago Public Schools recommended ratio is 5 to 1. We have made significant steps with many thanks to Edgebrook School parents and members. 6. Needs Analysis The nology is currently developing a comprehensive list of the school s technology needs. These needs are described below. 1. nology Management Needs 2. Staff Instruction Needs 3. Student Instruction Needs 4. Software Needs 5. Equipment Needs 6.1. nology Management Needs Most Chicago Public Schools have a nology Coordinator who is paid to provide technology management and resolution of technology problems. The activities this person is expected to perform include: Management and maintenance of technology infrastructure, equipment, and software; Coordination and resolution of problems related to the network, server, equipment, software, and other types of technology; Coordination with CPS regarding technical issues, requirements, and inventories; Page 12 of 22

13 Procurement and installation of new software, programs, hardware, etc. as needed. Work with the to develop school needs and plans 6.2. Staff Instruction Needs A technically skilled, proficient faculty is the most crucial success factor to the integration of technology into the educational program. It would be a great benefit to have technology leaders or trainers at Edgebrook School. They would be proficient in key things like Google Apps and Google Docs. Ideally this person(s) would be our nology Coordinator The teaching staff needs training Google Apps and Google Docs. These are not only used by teachers, but also students as well. The teaching staff would benefit from the ability to attend workshops and conferences where they could attain knowledge and pass it along to the rest of the staff. Be proficient using digital media in their classrooms, i.e. laptops with video streaming Help with Teacher web sites and best practices for communicating with students (i.e. , Edmodo, school web site, etc 6.3. Student Instruction Needs nology plays an essential role in supporting collaborative, information rich, project based learning. Students should be comfortable and proficient using word processing, databases, spreadsheets and presentation software as tools to create reports, graphs and displays for school projects. Using the above information, the nology has identified the following student instruction needs: Students need in-school and/or after-school instruction in general computer use, search engines, and word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software, so that they can more readily incorporate technology into their class and project work. Important Students need to be able to use Microsoft Office and Google Apps. Students need typing/keyboarding classes. Students need exposure to technology within the daily curriculum. Page 13 of 22

14 Create media-based presentations using video Page 14 of 22

15 6.4. Software Needs Due to the advent of cloud-based apps, our need for traditional software continues to decline. That being said, we encourage the exploration of web-based sites that our teacher and students could use. Even fee-based sites like Accelerated Reader are encouraged if they meet the needs of Principal Weiden and our teachers Equipment Needs Since initiating our tech upgrade program in 2006, we ve made great progress reducing the equipment needs that our school and staff have. Looking ahead we may not need to purchase and new PC s for several years. Our greatest need is going to be student testing as ISAT s and others are moving from traditional paper and pencil based testing to web based. We need to have sufficient computers AND network bandwidth. Internet network upgrades for the school, current 10Mbps to 20Mbps or 50Mbps. This will allow us to handle upcoming online testing Chromebooks for students (perhaps two to three classrooms 32+ students) More portable SmartBoard device Replacement lamps for projectors Replacement printers for classrooms 7. Action Pl Page 15 of 22

16 7. Action Plan The table below describes the activities that will be undertaken in three phases to meet the technology needs described above. Activity Person(s) Responsible Estimated Cost Proposed Funding Source 7.1. nology Management Phase I ( ): nology Coordinator nology Maintenance Support Principal & Principal & $5000 PTA funds $8K-$10K Webmaster maintain school website. Webmaster PTA funds The nology continues to meet on a regular basis to help make technology decisions for the school, evaluate current technology, and project future needs. Phase II ( ): nology Coordinator Principal & $5000 PTA funds nology Maintenance Support Principal & $8K-$10K Webmaster maintain school website. Webmaster PTA funds The nology continues to meet on a regular basis to help make technology decisions for the school, evaluate current technology, and project future needs. Phase III ( ): nology Coordinator nology Maintenance Support Principal & Principal & $5000 PTA funds $8K-$10K Webmaster maintain school website. Webmaster PTA funds The nology continues to meet on a regular basis to help make technology decisions for the school, evaluate current technology, and project future needs. Page 16 of 22

17 7.2. Staff Instruction Phase I ( ): Google Apps Training for Teachers Teacher Training Subcommittee develops plan to work with teachers on technology integration? Phase II ( ): Teacher Training Subcommittee develops plan to work with teachers on technology integration? Phase III ( ): Teacher Training Subcommittee develops plan to work with teachers on technology integration? Coordinator Teacher Training Subcommittee Teacher Training Subcommittee Teacher Training Subcommittee 7.3. Student Instruction Phase I ( ): Google Apps & Microsoft Training Typing Training (with Neo s) After-school Program Phase II ( ): Google Apps & Microsoft Training Typing Training (with Neo s) After-school Program Coordinator or STEM Teacher Coordinator or STEM Teacher Coordinator or STEM Teacher Coordinator or STEM Teacher Coordinator or STEM Teacher Coordinator or Page 17 of 22

18 Phase III ( ): Google Apps & Microsoft Training Typing Training (with Neo s) After-school Program STEM Teacher Coordinator or STEM Teacher Coordinator or STEM Teacher Coordinator or STEM Teacher 7.4. Software Phase I ( ): Accelerated Reader (web-based) $3000 PTA School Web Site PTA, & Principal $3400 PTA Phase II ( ): Accelerated Reader (web-based) School Web Site nology Coordinator PTA, & Principal $3000 PTA $3400 PTA Phase III ( ): Accelerated Reader (web-based) School Web Site nology Coordinator PTA, & Principal $3000 PTA $3400 PTA 7.5. Equipment Phase I ( ): Chromebooks for student testing $8000 (32 x funds Page 18 of 22

19 $250) Projector Lamps Network Upgrades (Internet upgrades for school) Printers (replacement of broken printers) $500 PTA or Funds $2400 PTA or Funds (20Mbps) or $4800 (50Mbps) $1000 Funds Phase II ( ): Chromebooks for student testing $8000 (32 x funds $250) Projector Lamps Network Upgrades (Internet upgrades for school) Printers (replacement of broken printers) $500 PTA or Funds $2400 PTA or Funds (20Mbps) or $4800 (50Mbps) $1000 Funds Phase III ( ): Projector Lamps Network Upgrades (Internet upgrades for school) Printers (replacement of broken printers) New PC s for classrooms $500 PTA or Funds $2400 PTA or Funds (20Mbps) or $4800 (50Mbps) $1000 Funds $10K Funds Page 19 of 22

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21 7.6 Action Plan Funding Almost all at Edgebrook School is parent funded. Most people believe CPS funds our school technology which is not true. We actually get charged by CPS for tech fees like PC s and network access, PLUS we also have to fund our equipment and programs. Here s how we fund Edgebrook School nology: 1. nology Fees ($50 x 500 students = $25K annually) 2. Parent Donations ($7K annually) 3. Edgebrook School Foundation contributions 4. PTA funds allocated for technology PTA funds and parent donations/fees will be used first to pay for staffing needs, while grants, corporate sponsorships, and foundation funding will be directed toward hardware and software. 7.7 Action Plan Annual Review The Action Plan detailed above must be annually evaluated by the nology to monitor its progress and revisit its goals. The following questions will be answered during the evaluation: 1. Are we helping the teachers by getting them everything they need? 2. Are we helping out students? Are we providing them the tech supplies they need? 3. Are we improving our technology? 4. Are we open to new ideas? After the evaluation the will update the nology Plan to incorporate the above items and project the plan further into the future. Page 21 of 22

22 8. School Web Sites New School Website Old School Website Official CPS Website (Edgebrook School) IL State Board of Education Report Card Chicago Sun-Times Report Card Site Chicago Tribune Report Card Site Great Schools Site Page 22 of 22