3 YEAR TECHNOLOGY PLAN JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOLS JULY 1, 2013 JUNE 30, 2016 QUALITY EDUCATION COMMUNITY COMMITMENT

3 YEAR TECHNOLOGY PLAN JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOLS JULY 1, 2013 JUNE 30, 2016 QUALITY EDUCATION COMMUNITY COMMITMENT

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Mission Statement... 2 3 Vision Statement... 2 4 Current State of technology... 3 5 Needs Assessment... 6 6 Stakeholder involvement in planning... 6 7 responsible parties... 7 8 Goals & objectives... 7 9 Timeline of goals... 13 Page 1 of 16

2 MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Jackson County School district, in partnership with the local 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. The school district will maximize technology to positively impact student achievement and system level initiatives. Technology will be utilized by students, teachers and administrators to produce quality work and to create an environment where there is excellence in student academic performance and where students, teachers and administrators support the understanding that all work is related to creating a school district that is safe, caring and responsive to stakeholders needs. The school district will display a belief that technology is imperative to the work of students, teachers and administrators and will provide the resources necessary for an effective and efficient operation to achieve results. 3 VISION STATEMENT Our vision for the school district, is to increase our technological footprint and place more emphasis on digital literacy in and out of the classroom starting at the Pre-K level going forward as they progress through grade levels until they ultimately graduate high school. Our society in America has progressed in the information age to the point that the internet, computing, and touch devices are becoming a way of life. In the most mediocre of jobs related in the workforce, technology has had some influence in the scope of work that they are having to provide. It is essential that students gain technology skillsets that will encourage growth in technology so that they will have at least a basic understanding of the tools that they will be using when they go to further their education in college or working with technologies in their vocational route. Increase student achievement in the school district by utilizing technology tools to find and use educational opportunities via software/video conferencing. Increase connectivity within all of our schools by replacing switches, cabling and providing wireless access in strategic areas within school buildings. Deploy server technologies in our district to better manage district computers/mobile devices as well as implement remote management services to decrease downtime and increase productivity in the classroom without interrupting class instruction. Purchase modern electronic devices to place in mobile labs, computer labs and classrooms that can be used for classroom activities, events and PARCC online assessments. Hire and train staff members highly competent in technology to help maintain equipment, support end user software, and encourage positive growth in professional development opportunities that will engage classroom teachers and staff to better use software/hardware in the classroom. Increase visibility with the community and prospective employers concerning our technology education programs, educate teaching staff on what skills community groups and employers are using, and train students in technology skillsets making students more employable when they graduate from high school. Page 2 of 16

Promote effective communication methods to maximize us students, teachers and administrators usage of teaching time in the classroom. Expand opportunities with video conferencing in our schools, community, and on a global platform. Pursue and secure alternate funding/grants from resources as they become available to us to better serve the technology needs of our students. 4 CURRENT STATE OF TECHNOLOGY Networking: All schools in our district are currently connected to a 1GB Ethernet backbone connection using fiber optics. The Internet Gainesboro Elementary School (Prek, K-3) EGRESS Point Jackson County Middle School (Prek, 4-8) Central Office/Board of Education Building Jackson County High School (9-12) Dodson Branch Elementary (Prek, K-8) Page 3 of 16

In multiple school buildings, a great deal of our end users are connected to 10/100 switches that are located in network closets. This is bottlenecking any possibility of maximizing a true 1GB connection to those machines that have the capability of running 1GB. Some schools are still connected with CAT 5 UTP cabling, which only support 10/100 connections, while other schools are connected with CAT 5E UTP cabling. A great deal of our switches have reached EOL (End of Life) and need to be replaced with modern switching capabilities. Electronic Devices: Our district currently supports over 700 Windows OS computers as well as a mixture of ipads and tablets housed in classrooms, libraries, computer labs, and in mobile carts. We have one mobile cart at each school in which the media specialist is responsible for maintaining usage. They have been outfitted to provide wireless internet, printing and classroom management software. Thanks to the state donation program, we have placed donated computers in various areas throughout the school system, giving students an opportunity use technology in which we otherwise would not have had. Using local funds, we have been able to selectively purchase end user devices that have the capability of accessing the internet and place them in strategic areas within our school system to maximize effectiveness of where the equipment has been placed. In order to increase academic achievement and effectiveness in classrooms within our system, we have placed interactive white boards, document cameras, projectors, and laptops in almost all of our classrooms. Some classrooms have access to instant response systems and mobile slates to use to gather data on knowledge retained during classroom sessions. Subscription Services/Hosted Programs: Our subscription services include Brainpop, Brainpop Jr., Atomic Learning, Discovery Education, Community Safe, Engrade, and Study Island. Brainpop and Brainpop Jr. are used to reinforce student achievement by learning using animated, curricular content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters student achievement. Brainpop and Brainpop Jr. are aimed at students and their particular grade level. Brainpop Jr. is intended for use in (K-3) while Brainpop is intended for age groups above 3 rd grade. Using the Brainpop for Educators Mixer tool, Educators can create quizzes using multiple choice questions and open ended questions based on any particular standard and tailor them to their class. We currently serve 2 programs directed toward our Response to Intervention (RTI) Program, Academy of Reading and Academy of Math. These programs are completely web-based intervention solutions that help at-risk students achieve rapid, permanent gains in reading and in Math. Using them during rotational periods, students are identified and placed in a classroom setting where literacy specialists can give the additional help that students may need. Page 4 of 16

We also currently serve the A+ Assessment and Curriculum Courseware for students to use in our credit recovery program. Students are provided an opportunity to gain lost credits through the credit recovery program. A+ Assessment is a series of comprehensive assessments that test students in five core curricular subject areas Mathematics, Literature and the Arts, Writing, Science, and Social Sciences. Pretests pinpoint individual student skill deficiencies and automatically assign lessons that teach those skills. After students progress through the selfpaced lesson material, post-tests measure and record academic gains, indicating whether students have displayed mastery of the lesson material. Atomic Learning is available for use at the high school level for students and faculty to gain knowledge on how to use hardware equipment and various software through instructional web based videos and presentations. Faculty have used Atomic learning videos in the classroom to help with instruction. Atomic Learning has also been used as a professional development tool to help bolster/enrich teachers tech skills on new and upcoming software/hardware that becomes available. Our district uses Discovery Education to assess learning at various stages throughout the school year. There are a series of 4 possible tests that can be given within the school year: A, B, C and D. Test A is designed to measure what a student knows about their grade level of content before the majority of it is taught in the classroom. As students progress throughout the year, and as more content is exposed to the students, scores should show improvement moving from test A to test B. After the tests are taken, PDF versions of the test are made available to all teachers so they can go over the results in class. This test is used to be a predictor on how students will score on the TCAP test. Study Island is used to helps students in (K-12) master specific, grade-level academic standards in a fun and engaging manner. Students are given usernames and passwords at the beginning of the school year so they can access the program at any time. If a student answers a certain percentage of questions correctly, they are allowed to enter what is called game mode, where students are rewarded for answering questions correctly by being allowed to play an educational game. Some teachers use the program along with their instant response systems to gauge how their students retain material that is taught in class. Recently our High School has credited Study Island in our ACT Prep as being a driving component to raising our composite ACT score over 3 points in the last 2 years. Engrade has been a great resource for us to involve parents and students about real-time academic progress throughout the school year. We currently have 3 out of 4 schools using Engrade at this time. Looking forward to the 2013-2014 school year, we will have all four schools involved with the Engrade program. We will continue to use Engrade until we get our new student information system in the near future. Web 2.0 Tools - We also have provided links to various web sites and portals containing collaborative tools and interactive learning objects within our district website. Page 5 of 16

Videoconferencing has made strides in the past few years in our school system. We have held our principals meetings online, making effective use their time so they can serve their schools needs without having to leave their respective building. We have held tri-county professional development conferences with Dr. Connie Smith, shortening the distance barrier and allowing use to share different ideas with individuals in other geographical areas. We have also introduced intra district collaboration between teachers in Jackson County Middle School, Gainesboro Elementary School and Dodson Branch Elementary (K-8). There have also been opportunities that we have taken using the Vanderbilt Virtual School program, participating with other schools and classrooms across America. Students in this program participate by hearing the content presented, and having opportunities to ask the mediator questions concerning the content, giving different outlooks and perspectives of the material presented. 5 NEEDS ASSESSMENT This plan is the result of an assessment program to determine the current status of technology in the Jackson County School System. This assessment included interviews, planning meetings, TELL surveys and surveys done within the district using Google Docs. The link to the teacher responses to the local district survey can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0avonwuvvi2bjdhvvrzqtclfdverznepfmgc1cgnacke &usp=sharing The link to the local district School Principals Survey can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0avonwuvvi2bjdgh5ognjcv9dv0p4sjdism1zrefod0e &usp=sharing As technologies come forward in the future, the needs of the school district will be evaluated yearly and will be added to the technology plan as considered as appropriate. 6 STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT IN PLANNING Stakeholders involved in planning are: Joe D. Barlow, Director of Schools Ronnie Scott, Technology Coordinator Joe Halfacre, Technology Department Jordan Bryant, Technology Department Deb Whitaker, K-12 Supervisor Marcella Bentley, Vocational Supervisor Page 6 of 16

Betty Pruett, Federal Programs Director Terilyn Jenkins, Special Education Supervisor Charles Breidert, Principal, Jackson County High School Gail Myers, Principal, Jackson County Middle School Tina Cassetty, Principal, Gainesboro Elementary School Tammy Woolbright, Principal, Dodson Branch Elementary School Johnny Dennis, President, Gainesboro-Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Consolidated Planning Team 7 RESPONSIBLE PARTIES Ronnie Scott, Technology Coordinator, Jackson County Schools will oversee this plan under the direct supervision of Joe D. Barlow, Director of Schools. 8 GOALS & OBJECTIVES Long Range Planning Goals 1. Telecommunications services - Continue to upgrade additional resources to meet our growing technology needs. 2. Internet Access & Technology Infrastructure - Expand our technology infrastructure to support continued growth and improved technology standards. Increase our bandwidth to meet requirements for online testing and provide for the educational needs of our district. 3. Equipment - Continue to improve and replace equipment as needed to support our District Technology Goals. 4. Technology Support Personnel - Continue to fund Computer Technicians to assist with technology needs. 5. Professional Development - Provide professional development in emerging technologies to support curriculum needs. 6. Data Analysis - Continue to support and investigate tools to assist the District in making progress with our students academically, and with our staff professionally and financially. 7. Internet Safety Continue to provide internet safety training to students and teachers in an ever growing digital era. Page 7 of 16

Three Year Technology Goals Goal 1 Increase Wireless Internet Access in all buildings within our school district. Technology in education is rapidly moving to increased demand for mobile devices. To keep up with demand, we must make strides to improve our network infrastructure. We need to be able to handle the tremendous traffic that will be coming to our network when more and more mobile devices connect to various access points in our school buildings. We will provide wireless internet access to various strategic locations throughout our school system. This must happen to properly utilize what mobile devices we have for the upcoming PARCC testing, and to prepare for the increase in wireless devices that we will be using in the future. We will evaluate options from various vendors about the different brands, models and solutions that they have to offer and determine a course of action that will best suit the educational needs and goals of the school district. This may include up to the following: Removing/replacing old existing cabling with CAT6/CAT6A Removing/replacing wall boxes, Ethernet outlets, raceways and other cabling paths Removing/replacing legacy switches with 1GB or 10GB layer 2 and layer 3 POE/POE+ switches The purchase of wireless controllers to manage access points Acquisition of subscription based wireless cloud management services The purchase of controller based or cloud managed wireless Access points to meet the demands of mobile devices Other additions to this list will be made as the wireless project progresses. Goal 2 Prepare for the upcoming PARCC Assessment PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers) is a consortium of 22 states (including Tennessee) that are working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and Math. These assessments will be administered to the student population in the 2014-2015 school year via online testing methods. To prepare for these assessments, we will be required to meet certain hardware and software criteria concerning our electronic devices before we can administer the assessments to our students. Page 8 of 16

Our goal is to prepare our school buildings for these assessments by making sure we have the proper infrastructure in place to handle internet traffic from the computers, laptops and tablets that students will be taking tests on, to the testing data center that the PARCC assessment will house the data that is collected from students while taking the test. We will also have to purchase additional computers, laptops and tablets and remove any legacy systems that will not be compliant with testing in our buildings. Goal 3 Create awareness of ISTE Standards and Tennessee Technology Standards with students, teachers and administrators and provide the appropriate tools to help make these goals obtainable. 1. Provide teachers with a list of the ISTE and Tennessee Technology Standards. Link to the ISTE standards can be found at: http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-tstandards.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Link to the State of Tennessee technology Standards, Learning Expectations and Performance Indicators can be found at: http://tn.gov/education/ci/computer/ 2. Continue to upgrade/replace equipment, software, and provide adequate bandwidth on our network. 3. As funding allows, provide more mobile-interactive carts for classroom use. These will include a LCD mobile cart, laptop and access points/routers. 4. Provide staff development for teachers on the use of new ideals that are appropriate to their classrooms blogs, wikis, social networking, Podcasting, Classroom Website Development (Google Sites), student email platform, videoconferencing and explore the usage of online classes using Moodle. 5. Develop and implement a K-12 technology sequence plan. Goal 4 - Use technology to improve students' math and language skills by providing software programs aligned to address the Common Core and Tennessee state standards and curriculum framework. Local and Federal funds will be used to fund this goal. 1. Provide software programs that are based on relevant research and aligned to the State of Tennessee's curriculum standards. These programs will be used to provide both intervention and remediation. 2. All math and Language Arts classrooms have been equipped with an interactive white board. We will continue to maintain and upgrade existing equipment. 3. Technology will be used to assess and prepare students for ACT, SAT10, PARCC, CRA, TCAP and other testing purposes. Page 9 of 16

4. Give students greater accessibility to technology by increasing the number of computers in each classroom, library, and lab in all school. Our system will emphasize mobile carts and wireless technology to see that this goal is met. Any new equipment will meet PARCC requirements to obtain this goal. 5. Existing programs--accelerated Reader, Academy of Reading, Academy of Math, A Plus, Discovery Education and Study Island will be reviewed and evaluated. 6. 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. Goal 5 Equal Access It is a major priority that our students receive equal access to computers in their respective schools. We fully understand the importance of equal access because our system is in a high poverty area. Our District s Free/Reduced Lunch Percentage is 71% which equates into a 84% E-Rate discount for our telecommunication services and Internet access. We will continue to use E-Rate for these two services to insure adequate bandwidth and connectivity for our system and to provide telecommunication service to all our classrooms and administrative offices. It is our goal to make sure that no student is left behind. E-Rate funds will be used to insure this equality. Goal 6 Professional/Staff Development An ongoing effort will to be train Teachers, Administrators and staff to 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 sustained with effective technology integration and use. Methods of execution: Staff will receive ongoing, sustained training in Basic/Advance computer skills related to all technologies and Internet search skills. Atomic Learning is an excellent resource that we have deployed for the Jackson County High School for students and teachers to gain access to instructional videos and content to enhance technology skills. We will continue to evaluate Atomic Learning, and will continue to make it available. Encourage and seek funding for 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. Use the Train-the-Trainer Concept in all situations possible to accelerate the process of implementing new ideals. Identify proficient technology users in our district and collaborate quarterly on technology uses, ideas, potential goals, teaching techniques and accomplishments. Page 10 of 16

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 Reading, Academy of Math, Study Island, Discovery Education Assessment, Microsoft Office Suite, use of the Internet, etc. Adequate staff development will be provided for any new software program that is to be implemented. In-service programs will include training on effective methods of integrating technology in the classroom. Teachers will be encouraged to attend schools that have effectively integrated technology into their curriculum and to work with fellow teachers to implement these methods into their classrooms. We will continue to partner with Tennessee Tech University to provide staff development through their Technology for Teachers classes. All professional development will be ongoing, sustained and with effective technology integration and use. Goal 7 Increased Awareness of Internet Safety Internet Safety is paramount when considering the safety of our students. Cybercrime has increased throughout the years and many children in America have fell victim to this due to having little to no knowledge of internet safety rules. We will continue to provide ongoing internet safety training in our district and provide modern resources to aid in reinforcing internet safety. Goal 8 Use modern office technology to enhance staff effectiveness We currently have some processes in our school district that have not been modernized. These processes could improve and increase teacher time in the classroom. Attendance reporting, lunch counts, detentions, etc. are still currently being done via pencil and paper. We will explore the use of google drive to report these items to the designated administrator of those particular areas. Our goal is to gain more time in the classroom and while making processes more efficient. Goal 9 Expansion of our Video Conferencing Initiative Distance Learning has certainly become a prominent factor in today s education. Students can now partake of opportunities that have not been available to them in the past. Virtually anyone in the world can participate in a video conference as long as they have a web camera and a microphone. More teachers and administrators will be trained in best practices in using video conferencing in the classroom. They will also be provided resources to help users learn more about distance learning and best practices of videoconferencing in the classroom. We will continuously explore other usages and possibilities for our current video conferencing hardware and software. Page 11 of 16

Goal 10 Collaboration among Educators and Community Partners To help facilitate an increase in collaboration among teachers, we plan to continue to provide each teacher with communication tools such as email and LAN messaging programs. We plan on providing additional training in how these two programs can be used as a collaboration tool. We plan on exploring the use of online office software, blogs, wikis, etc. as free or low cost collaboration tools. We will continue our relationship with the Adult High School Program, along with exploring additional ways to strengthen our partnership with Tennessee Tech University (especially with the STEM Center), Volunteer State Community College, and Livingston Technology Center and the Tennessee Technology Center at Hartsville Tri-County Campus. Schools will be encouraged to explore different alternatives to increase community collaboration, such as, (a) teachers to develop individual web pages for their classrooms that will be linked to our existing school web pages (b) Family Technology Nights during various times in the school year, giving an opportunity for parents of students to engage in activities that are done in the classroom (c) Provide opportunities for training parents and community after school hours and (d) recruit parent volunteers to assist with technology based programs, etc. (e) expand the use of our online grade book (Engrade) that will allow parents to keep up with their child s progress, etc. Goal 11 (SIS) New Student Information System Integration We as a school district currently use STAR student as our student information system that reports its data to EIS (Education Information System), the state of Tennessee s data collection tool. It was made known to our district that STAR has been acquired by Pearson and will no longer be available for use after the 2013-2014 school year. We are currently seeking different options as a replacement. When we make a decision and acquire the rights to use the new student information system, our focus will be train support staff and administration on usage of the system for implementation in the 2014-2015 school year. Goal 12- Leadership Role in Technology School Administrators will be trained and made aware of ways to use our existing and upcoming student information system 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. Page 12 of 16

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. Goal 13- 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, and Teacher Use Policy will be evaluated annually and revisions are made as needed. 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. Goal 14- 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: (TCAP) scores, State Writing Assessment results, SAT10 will be used in K-2, Graduation Rate, CRA and ACT Suite, etc. will be analyzed and compared with previous year s results. We will use Discovery Education Assessment and Study Island to check student progress on a more frequent interval basis. 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. 9 TIMELINE OF GOALS This plan will be for a three-year time period that begins July 1, 2013 and concludes June 30, 2016. 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 Race to the Top funding for Year 1, local funds, vocational funds (Perkins), E-Rate funds, and federal funding. Page 13 of 16

Other goals on a yearly basis: School Year 1 2013-2014 Internet access and upgrades Funding Type E-Rate/Local funds Telecommunication Service-Local and Long Distance E-Rate/Local funds Purchase equipment to maintain/upgrade our interactive teaching systems whiteboards, projectors, laptops, and response systems for each school Add additional wireless access at all schools Local,, Grant Funds, Vocational Funds Local,, Grant Funds, Vocational Funds Purchase additional software Purchase possible additional subscription software/web based services. Replace/upgrade existing computers (1/5 of all) Service Contract of existing software packages Atomic Learning, Discovery Education, Academy of Reading, Academy of Math, Study Island, etc. Purchase Infrastructure items Servers, Layer 2/3 Switches, additional cabling, etc. Purchase Electronic Devices for Online Testing Local Funds, BEP Funds, Vocational Funds, Local Funds, Local Funds, BEP Funds, Vocational Funds, Page 14 of 16

School Year 2 2014-2015 Internet access and upgrades Funding Type E-Rate/Local funds Telecommunication Service-Local and Long Distance E-Rate/Local funds Purchase equipment to maintain/upgrade our interactive teaching systems whiteboards, projectors, laptops, and response systems for each school Add additional wireless access at all schools Local,, Grant Funds, Vocational Funds Local,, Grant Funds, Vocational Funds Purchase additional software Purchase possible additional subscription software/web based services. Replace/upgrade existing computers (1/5 of all) Service Contract of existing software packages Atomic Learning, Discovery Education, Academy of Reading, Academy of Math, Study Island, Microsoft EES Licensing, etc. Purchase Infrastructure items Servers, Layer 2/3 Switches, additional cabling, etc. Purchase Electronic Devices for Online Testing Local Funds, BEP Funds, Vocational Funds, Local Funds, Local Funds, BEP Funds, Vocational Funds, Page 15 of 16

School Year 3 2015-2016 Internet access and upgrades Funding Type E-Rate/Local funds Telecommunication Service-Local and Long Distance E-Rate/Local funds Purchase equipment to maintain/upgrade our interactive teaching systems whiteboards, LCD projectors, laptops, and response systems for each school Add additional wireless access at all schools Local,, Grant Funds, Vocational Funds Local,, Grant Funds, Vocational Funds Purchase additional software Purchase possible additional subscription software/web based services. Replace/upgrade existing computers (1/5 of all) Service Contract of existing software packages Atomic Learning, Discovery Education, Academy of Reading, Academy of Math, Study Island, Microsoft EES Licensing, etc. Purchase Infrastructure items Servers, Layer 2/3 Switches, additional cabling, etc. Purchase Electronic Devices for Online Testing Local Funds, BEP Funds, Vocational Funds, Local Funds, Local Funds, BEP Funds, Vocational Funds, Page 16 of 16