Meeting the Needs of Districts Through Web-Based Monitoring Tools

Transcription

1 Meeting the Needs of Districts Through Web-Based Monitoring Tools 420 Washington Ave., Suite 200 Cuyahoga Falls, OH (330) Fax: (330) Linda Fuline, Superintendent Presenters: William Holko, Director of Curriculum and Instruction David Jones, Director of Business Operations, Special Projects and Technology

2 Local Professional Development Committees In 1996, Ohio s General Assembly authorized the establishment of Local Professional Development Committees (LPDCs) and mandated that such be established in every school district and chartered nonpublic school by September 1998 (Ohio Revised Code ). The purpose of the committees is to review the coursework and other professional development activities proposed and completed by educators within the district to determine if the requirements for renewal of licenses have been met, with the exception of professional pupil services licenses that require credentialing through related licensure boards. Other educational agencies* may establish Local Professional Development Committees on their own or in collaboration with a school district or other agency having authority to establish them, and shall be structured in a manner comparable to the structures prescribed for school districts. Based on Local Professional Development Committee review and approval, the Ohio Department of Education issues licenses valid across the state of Ohio. Review by a Local Professional Development Committee does not mean the educator is qualified to work only in that district; the license is valid in any district in Ohio. *including but not limited to the Department of Education, Educational Service Centers, County Boards of Developmental Disabilities, Regional Professional Development Centers, Special Education Regional Resource Centers, college and university departments of education, Head Start programs, the Ohio SchoolNet commission and the Ohio Education Computer Network. The Specifications of Ohio Revised Code Section : The requirements in law for Local Professional Development Committees (LPDCs) vary depending on the type of district or organization establishing and maintaining the LPDC. These types of districts or organizations include the following: Public school districts with collective bargaining units; Public school districts with no bargaining units; Chartered nonpublic schools; Non-school entities. Regardless of the type of district or organization, all LPDCs will include at least five (5) total members and a majority of teacher members. For LPDCs, a teacher is someone working under a teaching certificate or license and employed under a teaching contract.

3 Summit County ESC s LPDC Management System Developed at the Summit County Educational Service Center in 2005, the Online Form Management System is a customized, web-based application that allows educators to fill out all of their LPDC forms directly online, store them, edit them, and then electronically submit them to the LPDC Committee. The Committee then accesses the forms, reviews them, awards credit and provides instant feedback to the teacher. Currently, 24 districts have purchased and utilize the system. Initial set-up and implementation costs $1,600 and the annual service fee is $550. Current users include the following Ohio Schools: Cambridge City Schools North Olmsted City Schools Chapel Hill Christian School Norton City Schools Copley-Fairlawn City Schools Nordonia Hills City Schools Cuyahoga Falls City Schools Orange City Schools Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Firelands Local Schools Revere Local Schools Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City Schools Fort Frye Local Schools Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools Green Local Schools Summit County ESC Hudson City Schools Tallmadge City Schools Madison Local Schools Vangaurd-Sentinel Career Center Mentor City Schools West Geauga Local Schools New Albany-Plain Local Schools Wickliffe City Schools Staff members simply log into the site (using their address and a password of their choosing), and complete a form. The form is then saved to an online database. The individual is able to go back into the form, make any changes as needed, and when ready, submit the form to the committee with a click of a button. Just prior to the LPDC s monthly meeting, committee members log into the site themselves, and view the ADMIN PAGE. The Admin Page lists all of the newly submitted items the committee will need to evaluate at the meeting (It is almost like having your meeting agenda completely generated for you). The committee members then read though the submissions, perhaps making note of any questions or concerns they might have about a particular submission. During the meeting, a laptop and projector are utilized to project the individual forms on the screen for all to see. Having already familiarized themselves with each submission, the committee can very quickly review them, or bring to the table any

4 concerns they have. Once the committee has voted to accept or reject a submission, an message is automatically submitted to the person who submitted the form, instantly providing them with feedback. The system, which eliminates tedious paperwork and encourages planning and reflection, is completely aligned with the Ohio Educator Standards. Resources for the On-Line Local Professional Development Site o To view the Demo site click on Go To My District LPDC Site select TEST SITE Username is test@example.com Password is test o Click on About the LPDC Online Form Management System for a PDF description. You will find additional resources and Ohio Educator Standards on all district sites

5 Ohio s Credit Flexibility Plan Senate Bill 311 (the Ohio Core legislation) raised the graduation requirements for high school students, with the goal of increasing the number of students who are ready to meet the demands of our global and technological age. It included among its provisions a requirement that by March 31, 2009, the State Board of Education adopt a plan that enables students to earn units of high school credit based on a demonstration of subject area competency, instead of or in combination with completing hours of classroom instruction. School districts, community schools and chartered nonpublic schools shall comply with the provisions of the plan, phasing in its provisions during the school year. Ohio's plan for credit flexibility is designed to broaden the scope of curricular options available to students, increase the depth of study possible for a particular subject, and allow tailoring of learning time and/or conditions. These are ways in which aspects of learning can be customized around more of students' interests and needs. Students may earn credits by: Completing coursework; Testing out of or demonstrating mastery of course content; or Pursuing one or more educational options (e.g., distance learning, educational travel, independent study, an internship, music, arts, after-school/tutorial program, community service or other engagement projects and sports). Credit flexibility is intended to motivate and increase student learning by allowing: Access to more learning resources, especially real-world experiences Customization around individual student needs Use of multiple measures of learning, especially those where students demonstrate what they know and can do, apply the learning, or document performance

6 Summit County Credit Flexibility Consortium Credit Flexibility Online Management Tool The Summit County Educational Service Center has developed a website that will contain online management tools that can be tailored to an individual school district s specific needs for the effective implementation of Credit Flexibility. This online system approach will help with tracking and communicating the following: Policies: The home page of each district will have the specific administrative guidelines for the implementation of Credit Flexibility. It will describe access, timelines, progress monitoring, evaluation/grading procedures and the awarding of credit. It will also track the number of hits on each segment of the website so that each district can evaluate the effectiveness of the site. Procedures: Each district can develop its own procedures, from beginning to end, which could include a description of the roles and responsibilities of staff, parents and students. The suggested considerations for procedures would be in the development of a Personalized Learning Plan. They are: Student Information/Profile Parent/Guardian Information Meeting Information and Timelines PLP Checklist Credit Flexibility Plan How the credit will be earned? Learning Goals Measurable > Benchmarks/Indicators Methods for Assessment A description of Specially Designed Activities Reporting of Student Progress Modifications (If needed) Agreements/Signature Page(s) Levels of Participation: At the onset, the Summit County Credit Flexibility Consortium will offer three levels of services to member districts. Level I COST > Prior to implementation for the school year, the cost will be $2, to join the project with a fixed maintenance fee of $1, per year after the first year. Districts that join after the initial development and implementation period will be assessed an initial fee of $3, per year with a maintenance fee of $1, per year.

7 Description > Member districts will have full access to the Credit Flexibility Online Manager. The Online Manager will store all policies, procedures, forms, student data, course descriptions, Ohio Academic Standards or Professional Standards as needed, progress monitoring and assessments. The Online Manager will also provide users with prompts to ensure that each step of the process is followed in a consistent manner. Level II COST > The Summit County ESC will be the purchasing agent for all assessments such as the ACT Quality Core Tests. These tests are subject specific and will have an initial cost of $30.00 per student per test. The tests must be purchased in bundles of 25 and will be good for 18 months. By having a central purchasing agent such as the SCESC, we can save dollars for all the participating districts. Online courses and assessments will be done through our current vendors of Aurora Learning and PLATO Learning. The initial cost per student is $ for the first credit and $90.00 for each additional ½ credit. Other vendors and competitive pricing will be researched. Description > Will include all of the services provided in Level I and standardized assessments for each Credit Flexibility Plan. This can also include the option of online assessments that can be taken utilizing a customized flexible schedule. E.g. Using the ACT Quality Core Program. Level III COST > This service can be obtained by utilizing service days that can be broken down in increments of ¼ days. A coordinator will be assigned to the purchasing district to perform the coordinating duties listed below. Description > Will include all of the services provided in Level I & II. Level III includes the services of Summit County ESC personnel to monitor student progress and proctor assessments. The coordinator can perform the following: Input application data Help to develop the PLP Coordinate progress monitoring Coordinate assessments, including labs for science course work Facilitate communications

8 Technology is a major factor for both of our Web Based Monitoring Tools. So the biggest question is -How Much? The Online Professional Development Tool is hosted on a Windows 2003 Server running Windows SQL Server to control the data flow. Equipment Dell Power Edge Server 2850, 2 Gb memory, 250 Gb internal disk array, RAID 5 Purchase price of Hardware $ 4,500 Software maintenance, Microsoft Windows Server $ 125, SQL Server $ 342 Web Master 30 day a year dedicated to LPDC $ 6,200 Cost for participation in the LPDC Online Form Management System Initial set-up and implementation costs $1,600 and the annual service fee is $550 Credit Flex Tool is hosted on a Windows 2008 Server running Windows 2010 SQL Server to control the Data flow. Equipment Dell Power Edge Server 2950, 4Gb of Memory, 150 Gb Internal disk array, RAID 5 Dell Power Vault 220s, with 2 Tb of Storage Purchase Price of hardware $8,725 Software maintenance, Microsoft Windows Server $ 125, SQL Server $ 342 Program Designer and Support - $15,000 Cost for participation in the Credit Flex Online Form Management System Charter Members - $2, to join the project with a fixed maintenance fee of $1, per year after the first year. Districts that join after the initial development and implementation period will be assessed an initial fee of $3, per year to join with a maintenance fee of $1, per year.