HANCOCK COUNTY SCHOOLS 104 N. COURT STREET PO BOX 1300 NEW CUMBERLAND WV 26047 Technology Plan 2008-2010 E-rate funding years 2008-2010 Technology Plan Technology Plan submitted: October 08, 2008 Over the last ten years, Hancock County has seen drastic changes in the economic conditions of the county. We have gone from a production based work force to a service based work force. Our largest employer ten years ago has seen a great decrease in the number of employees, Another company has become the largest employeer; however the total number of employees for this company does not equal the number of our previously largest employer. The number of low SES children has seen an increase from below 33% in 02/03 to 39.87% in 07/08. Enrollment in grades K-12 has seen a decrease, and our tax base has also exhibited a large decrease and this has negatively affected the county's operating budget. Academically Hancock County Schools has strived to continue to provide an excellent education to our students. In reviewing the available WESTEST trend data from 2003-2004 to present, students have exhibited a steady increase in the number of students at/above mastery in Reading / LA and Math in the various sub groups. Our goal will be to continue to strive for improvement each year until all students achieve mastery. Page 1 of 13 Planning Committee Name Angie A. Curtis Annie Lauttamus Betty McGillen Charlotte Smedley Chris Humberson Connie Maple Danny Kaser Delores Barnhart Elaine High George Danford George Hines Jeff Davis Jennifer DiGiacinto Jim Bull Kaitlyn Pitchok Kathleen Paris Lynne Shroads Marvin Six Mike White Peggy Patterson Roxanne Hauldren Sam Paletta Sue Krukowski Suzan Smith Wayne Neely Title Representation *Parent *Teacher Dir. Elementary Curriculum and Pre K *Title I *Administration *Teacher Principal *Administration *Teacher Advisor *Business Community *Service Personnel *Teacher Director of Secondary, Adult & Career Ed. *Administration Maintenance *Business Community County Commissioner *Business Community Coordinator *Technology *Administration Dean, WVNCC *Business Community *Student *Student Coordinator, Special Education *Special Education *Administration *Business Community Sheriff *Business Community *Teacher *Teacher *Business Community Dir. Student Services *Title III *Title IV *Administration Superintendent *Administration Assistant Superintendent *Title II *Title V *Administration Describe how parents, community and other appropriate stakeholder members are involved in the development and/or revision of the plan. As a results of meetings with professional and public individuals, information was gathered on Hancock County and Hancock County Schools. Academic strengths and weaknesses , as well as social needs, were addressed. Plans were implemented by the county based on needs. In addition, information from the county was shared with individual schools in an effort to ensure that all schools, as well as the county, were striving for the same/similar goals. Page 2 of 13 Core Beliefs 1. That education is a partnership among home, school and the community. Communication among all three is vital for children to achieve success in school. 2. That every child has value and a school culture that promotes the worth of every student is fundamental for learning. 3. That our schools must operate in a safe, orderly climate that is conducive to learning for all. 4. That all schools must have strong leaders who are committed to excellence and continuous improvement. 5. That the curriculum must set high expectations and be rigorous, relevant and challenging. 6. That schools must be supportive of change and innovation to meet the demands of a changing society. 7. That all children must be afforded the opportunity to learn and to succeed. 8. That students must develop lifelong learning skills to become productive members of society. 9. That parents are their child's primary role model, but recognize that the child's education is everyone's responsibility. Mission Statement Hancock County Schools’ mission is to afford all students the academic and social skills necessary to become productive members of society. Page 3 of 13 Data Analysis Key Outcome Indicators- After reviewing 2007-2008 assessment results for Hancock County Schools, trend data indicates that students have exhibited a steady increase in the number of students attaining mastery and above on Westest in the areas of Reading/Language Arts and Math. Improvement was noted in all sub group areas with the highest improvement in the all student sub group. External Data Analysis - Due to the change in the economic structure of Hancock County, many families have been forced to relocate to find employment. For this reason, our current work force has changed to service rather than production based. The unemployment rate has risen. While the majority of our residents are senior citizens, many of our remaining younger families are single parent households whose economic structure is such that they qualify for assistance with free/reduced meals. Due to these changes, the county will continually adjust the curriculum to meet the academic and social needs of the students. Excellent progress has been made in increasing availability of technology to all staff and students. At the end of this year every elementary classroom will be equipped with a SMART Interactive whiteboard and projector. Each elementary teacher has also received interactive whiteboard training and documentation to help with implementing the new technology into their curriculum. The overall goal is to have interactive whiteboards in all classrooms in the next 5 years. Current overall county student to computer ratio is 1 to 1.3 although this is spread out across the school in classrooms and labs. We have only a few number of Windows 98 machines remaining in certain locations. Improvement is being made in technology staff development and a commitment to continue to provide up to date equipment including servers, computers, interactive whiteboards and data projectors. Student Achievement Analysis - A goal in Hancock County Schools is to place continued emphasis on improvement of the academic achievement level of all students. Over the last five years our county has seen a steady increase in the number of students attaining the level of mastery or above mastery on WESTEST. We will continue to target the areas of greatest need and make them our top priority. Writing skills have also greatly improved over the last five years. Based on most recent Writing Assessment reports, our results for mastery and above were as follows: Grade 4 - 87% ; Grade 7 - 87% ; Grade 10 - 90%. While the writing section will be incorporated into the WESTEST 2 testing program, continued emphasis will be placed on writing skills. Priorities - During the 2008-2009 school year Hancock County Schools will address the following issues: Westest - Based on recent results, the special education sub group continues to be the main target area for academic improvement. Writing Skills- The Central Office staff will work with schools that, in past years, have had the lowest achievement in writing results. In addition, individuals will work with all schools toward the implementation of Writing Roadmap 2 for grades 3-11 and continued use of Four Square Writing in the elementary schools.. Graduation Rate - County graduation rates have shown a steady increase. We will strive to continue to raise both high school rates by utilizing the Credit Recovery Program until our county achieves a 100% graduation rate. Other Student Outcome Analysis Attendance rates - Elementary and middle school attendance rates exceeded the requirements during the 2007-2008 school year. WVEIS End of Year Discipline Summary Reports - Reports from all schools are charted and school and county results for the year are reviewed. Culture and Conditions Analysis OEPA - The county has addressed the only non-compliance indicator. The non-compliance area in which the county did not make AYP was in the area of special education. Hancock County Schools continues to work toward improvement in this sub group. Page 4 of 13 North Central - The schools involved have received full compliance on their annual assessment. Highly Qualified - During the 2007-2008 school year all professional staff in Hancock County Schools met the definition of Highly Qualified. Special Education Data Analysis Assessment Data - The district composite for WESTEST Reading for 2006-07 school year was 45.24% and the state target was 48.5%. We did not meet the state's target for Reading. Our two middle schools with special education cell sizes greater than 50, did not meet AYP for Reading. LRE Data (6-21) - For the 2006-07 school year 13.90% of our special education population was served in a separate class LRE. The state target was 7.6%. For the 2006-07 school year 43.26% of our special education population was served in regular education full time. The state target was 57.5%. In both areas we were non-compliant. Special Education Process Timelines - Data indicates we were 92% compliant. One year post graduation exit surveys - We had no surveys returned. Transition (ages 16-21) - Transition plans, were weak in the areas of: utilizing age appropriate transition assessments; writing measurable postsecondary goals that address education, training, employment, and independent living; focus on a course of study to improve academic and functional achievement to facilitate movement from school to post-school. The OEPA Checklist should be one source of data to assess school or county needs as you prioritize your strategic issues. There are no negative consequences to checking “No” to a high quality standard since the checklist is not used for changing accreditation or approval status or selection for on-site reviews. OEPA Analysis Hancock County Schools met the indicators in all areas of the OEPA checklist with the exception of section 5.1.1. This section addresses the AYP status of our county. Due to the results of the special education sub group, we did not meet the set standard. This area will be addressed during the 2008-2009 school year. Prioritized Strategic Issues After a thorough review of Westest 2007-2008 results as well as Writing results over the last few years, it was determined that the Special Education subgroup is our area of greatest need. While this area will be our main emphasis, Hancock County will also work toward improvement of skills for all students' academic performance. Profesional staff development in the areas of Acquity / Writing Roadmap, Tech Steps, RTI / Dibels, HSTW, and Infinity will be implemented in 2008-2009. Page 5 of 13 Federal Compliance 21st Century Tools: To Improve student achievement, enhance student learning and improve twenty-first century skills through the integration of technology. Ensure that teachers and students have access to technology tools and 21st century content and knowledge of the use and integration of those tools and content. All students should have access to 21st century resources in their classroom in order for them to access information, solve problems, communicate clearly, and other 21st century skills. To reach this goal, Hancock County will improve the student/computer ratio of computers using Windows XP operating system or above in order to improve technology integration and student achievement and increase other 21st century technology tools in the classroom (e.g., interactive whiteboards, data projectors, etc.) The goal is to achieve 100% of systems at Windows XP or above. Digital Divide Reports: http://wvde.state.wv.us/data/digitaldivide/ Hancock Percentage of XP computers and above Year 2004 (Baseline) 2005 2006 2007 2008 Actual 44.8 65.8 76.7 Mode Date Topic Audience (Coaching, Learning Community, or Trainer Led) School Year Interactive Whiteboard Training Teachers County Trainers August TechSteps, Think.com, Thinkfinity Introduction Teachers County Trainers October 1, 2008 Principal Leadership Training Principals TechSteps Trainers October 10, 2008 TechSteps Curriculum Mapping Technology leaders/Teachers TechSteps Trainers October 21,23,28,30 November 4,6 Intel Training Teachers County Intel Trainer November 13, 2008 Thinkfinity Teachers County Thinkfinity Trainer December 4, 2008 Thinkfinity Teachers County Thinkfinity Trainer January 29, 2009 Thinkfinity Teachers County Thinkfinity Trainer February 12, 2009 Thinkfinity Teachers County Thinkfinity Trainer Tech 01/Hancock County will budget for and use the technology equipment/infrastructure that supports the acquistion of 21st century skills Technology Upgrade switches in multiple schools Increase wireless access points in areas without wireless access Add additional drops to classrooms where needed Increase the number of instructional presentation tools (e.g., data projectors, interactive white boards, etc.) to provide 21st century instructional environment Collaborate with schools to ensure that 21st century tools (e.g., digital cameras, document cameras, interactive whiteboards, data projectors, personal recording devices, etc.) are integrated across the curriculum to enhance learning and improve instruction Tech 02/Hancock County will use technology to improve achievement of all students with special emphasis on high need and high poverty students. Page 6 of 13 Tech 02/Hancock County will use technology to improve achievement of all students with special emphasis on high need and high poverty students. Technology To provide increased access to educational software for students by providing access to ODYSSEY Increase the number of interactive whiteboards and related equipment located in all schools to ensure all computer labs have the equipment Provide increase access to 21st century resources by increasing the number of mobile setups To provide secondary school student's access to PLATO educational software to increase enrichment/relearning opportunities. Implementation of TechSteps software to increase 21st century technical skills to prepare 8th graders for high school and beyond Tech 03/Hancock County Schools will ensure that the use of telecommunications and internal connections in the schools will support student learning Technology Provide access to WVEIS for student management system Use the Internet for research and access to standards based lesson plans Increase bandwidth to all schools Provide United Streaming for enhancing instruction Provide long distance, voice, and cellular serice to schools and appropriate administrative staff Use GradeQuick and EDLINE in all schools Tech 04/Hancock County Schools will provide increased access to technology for students and teachers. Technology Expand wireless access speed and availability in all schools and district offices Increase critical thinking and problem solving skills by the implementation of Thinkfinity activities into classrooms Update computers to eliminate all Windows 98 computers Increase proficiency in 21st century tools by incorporating interactive whiteboards in classrooms thus increasing 21st Learning and thinking skills Implement interactive whiteboards and data projectors for every Elementary classroom Tech05/Hancock County will use innovative strategies to provide for the delivery of rigorous and specialized courses that may not be available without the use of technology. Technology Provide in county Virtual Conference Learning classes for AP course not able to be offered at both high schools Provide WV Virtual School classes for students who need courses not offered in the county Make certain that all AP teachers and facilitators have had training on the Virtual Conference Learning hardware Tech06/Hancock County will include strategies for promoting parental involvement and improved communication with community/home through the effective use of technology. Technology Use Grade Quick and Edline to communicate with parents and community Encourage the use of email and blogs for communication/collaboration Use school websites to communicate regularly with students, families and communities Meet with PTA groups to provide information about online resources (e.g., Thinkfinity) for home use by parents to increase 21st century skills Tech07/Hancock County will off professional development activities for using the telecommunications network for training teachers and administrators to improve the integration of technology. Technology Provide lunch to learns - 30 minute workshops for technology integration training Encourage the regular use of 21st century standards-based digital resources (e.g. TechSteps, Compass Odyssey, Thinkfinity, etc) while using 21st century technology tools Tech contacts will provide continued support and professional development for teachers Provide schools a delivery model for 21st century instruction by providing training based upon Intel's Teach to the Furture framework that incorporates rigorous content, 21st century learning skills and technology tools, and classroom assessments Provide 21st century technology resources for teachers (e.g., Thinkfinity, SAS inSchool, Writing Roadmap, Acuity, TechSteps, etc.) Provide emerging 21st century digital learning resources such as wikis, blogs, and podcasts Continue to support the use of Office suite software as a tool to ensure integrated technology projects that foster active learning and high order thinking skills by increasing teacher training for those products Ensure that CSO's are available in digital form for online lesson plans and ensure teachers know how to access them and integrate them into their curriculum. Tech08/Hancock County will maintain and repair all computer equipment and internal connections. Technology Tech contacts ensure hardware and software are working well Provide an online help desk tracking system Collaborate with RESA to provide maintenance for computers/internal connections Use state vendor help desks for maintenance and repair Tech09/Hancock county will collaborate with adult literacy providers when appropriate. Technology Offer training sessions for Adult learners to enable them to use online resources (e.g., Thinkfinity) to Page 7 of 13 Offer training sessions for Adult learners to enable them to use online resources (e.g., Thinkfinity) to increase their literacy and technology skills Offer morning and afternoon trainings for the Adult community on basic computer applications Page 8 of 13 State of the art and well maintained hardware, software and network infrastructure are essential to allow effective integration of technology in the curriculum. Hancock County Schools intends to continually improve the quality and quantity of well maintained systems to allow maximum impact in the curriculum. Support technologies, including but not limited to state of the art telephone systems, voice mail, web based applications for substitute teacher assignment, professional staff development, maintenance and operation, and technical support will be improved and enhanced regularly. File servers will be replaced and updated in a timely manner to provide the necessary infrastructure for the system to operate properly. Wireless connectivity, already in place in all facilities, will continue to be expanded and secured. Anti-virus and anti-spyware initiatives will be maintained and monitored to allow efficient operation. Support will be provided by district staff and remote support opportunities will be expanded to allow a high percentage of uptime performance. Safety will be improved through continued implementation of digital video surveillance systems in every school. A strong commitment to improve the educational process through the efficient use of technology will continue to guide future initiatives. The county and school technology plans provide a description of how the county and schools plan to allocate adequate resources to provide students with equitable access to 21st century technology tools, including instructional offerings and appropriate curriculum, assessment and technology integration resources aligned to both the content and rigor of state content standards as well as to learning skills and technology tools. The plans include the various technologies that enable and enhance the attainment of 21st century skills outcomes for all students. How we plan for technology in our county and schools is based upon the validation from research-based evaluation findings from previous West Virginia-based evaluation projects. In addition, through the technology planning process, the county and schools continue to study and include emerging technologies for application in a twenty-first century learning environment. The purchase of technology through state contracts provides for uniformity in technological hardware and software standards and procedures. State provided anti-virus protection software helps to ensure network security and integrity. Expanded bandwidth, along with additional local, state and federal funding, provide increased ability for the county to ensure that the capabilities and capacities of the technology infrastructure are adequate for acceptable performance of the technology being implemented in the public schools. As an additional benefit, the county and schools enjoy the opportunity to purchase from state contracts that allow us to be able to take advantage of appropriate bulk purchasing abilities and to purchase from competitively bid contracts. An added benefit for our county and school data collection and reporting to the Department of Education and to the federal government is WVEIS, the state-provided comprehensive statewide uniform integrated education management and information system. Also developed by WVEIS, the online county and school’s technology plan’s structure allows flexibility to adjust the plan based on developing technology, federal and state requirements and changing local school and county needs. The online county and school technology plans are developed in compliance with United States Department of Education regulations and Federal Communications Commission requirements for federal E-rate discounts. The county and schools also continue to seek applicable federal government funds, philanthropic funds, and other partnership funds (or any combination of these types of funds) to augment state appropriations and encourage the pursuit of funding through grants, gifts and donations. Some technology initiatives in schools and counties may not be adequately addressed in the goals/objective/strategy section of the technology planning section. The county and school narrative allow planning teams to structure a framework/narrative description to describe how the county and schools will allocate adequate resources to provide students and teachers to twenty-first century technology tools. Page 9 of 13 Schools and counties should analyze digital divide survey reports as a needs assessment for technology planning. Digital Divide Summarize concerns from the analysis of the survey. Excellent progress has been made in increasing availability of technology to all staff and students. Current XP OS student/computer ratio is 3.6 to 1 and overall county student to computer ratio is 2.6 to 1. Improvement must be made in technology staff development and a commitment to continue to provide up to date equipment and 21st century resources including servers, computers, interactive whiteboards, data projectors, online resources and 21st century content. Page 10 of 13 County E-Rate Compliance Questions Acceptable Use Policy Look at the information included in this section. Revise if any of the information listed is incorrect or needs to be updated. 1. Do you have an Acceptable Use Policy? Yes No 2. If yes, what is the last date of adoption/revision? 08/16/2001 (mm/dd/yyyy) 3. When was the public meeting held for CIPA Compliance? 4. Provide the URL to your acceptable use policy. http://www.hancockschools.org/AUP2001.html Schools Other Buildings Total 5. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have Dial Up modem connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 6. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have 56K frame relay connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 7. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have T-1 frame relay connections to the Internet? 10 0 10 8. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have ATM T-1 Internet connections? 0 0 0 9. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have cable modem connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 10. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have DSL connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 11. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have 10 Mb connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 12. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have 45 Mb connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 13. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have 100 Mb connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 14. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have 1 Gb connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 15. Please identify for E-Rate requirements the number of schools and other buildings in your county that have more than 1 Gb connections to the Internet? 0 0 0 16. Please identify for E-Rate requirements any other configurations that may exist for schools and other buildings connecting to the Internet? (Please only answer this question if your school or other building connections do not apply to any of the questions above. This question allows for emerging technologies that may not be in place when the survey was written. Most counties should leave this question blank.) Page 11 of 13 Technology Planning Budget Funding Source Hardware Software Infrastructure Maintenance TFS elementary TFS-secondary TI Local share EETT County/school Grants Title I SpEd Title II County Funds Other TOTALS Prof. Development Salaries Supplies Other TOTALS 71,274 71,274 71,274 61,092 29,152 71,274 61,092 29,152 201,000 91600 10,000 10,000 25,000 21,000 5,500 354,100 25,000 21,000 5,500 718892 59,000 63,000 433,792 91,600 Funding Source Year E-rate funds 2009 Cellular 10,000 73,000 Annual County Match 43,800.00 26,718.00 17,082.00 127,440.00 77,738.40 49,701.60 Internal Conn Maint 0.00 0.00 0.00 Internal Connections 0.00 0.00 0.00 Internet Access 7,198.20 4,390.90 2,807.30 Long Distance 9,600.00 5,856.00 3,744.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 63,600.00 38,796.00 24,804.00 Voice/Long Distance 0.00 0.00 0.00 WAN 0.00 0.00 0.00 Web Hosting 14,394.78 8,780.82 5,613.96 E-rate Totals 264,834.78 161,549.22 103,285.56 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Annual Disc% Commit Data Lines Paging Voice TFS/Elementary E-rate Application 59,000 Disc% Commit 2009 State Totals - TFS/Elementary TFS/Secondary E-rate Application 2009 State Totals - TFS/Secondary Funding Source Year E-rate funds 2008 Bundled Voice/Long Distance County Match 0.00 0.00 0.00 Cellular 38,400.00 23,808.00 14,592.00 Data Lines 51,480.00 31,918.00 19,562.00 Internal Conn Maint 0.00 0.00 0.00 Internal Connections 0.00 0.00 0.00 Internet Access 0.00 0.00 0.00 9,600.00 5,952.00 3,648.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Long Distance Paging Page 12 of 13 TFS/Elementary E-rate Application Voice 25,392.00 15,743.00 9,649.00 WAN 0.00 0.00 0.00 Web Hosting 13,846.00 8,584.00 5,261.00 E-rate Totals 138,718.00 86,005.00 52,713.00 2008 State Totals - Elementary TFS 0.00 0.00 0.00 State Totals - TFS/Elementary 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 TFS/Secondary E-rate Application 2008 State Totals - TFS/Secondary Funding Source Year E-rate funds 2007 Bundled Voice/Long Distance Annual 0.00 0.00 Cellular 38,400.00 23,808.00 14,592.00 Data Lines 51,480.00 31,917.60 19,562.40 Internal Conn Maint 0.00 0.00 0.00 Internal Connections 0.00 0.00 0.00 Internet Access 0.00 0.00 0.00 9,600.00 5,952.00 3,648.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Voice 25,392.00 15,743.04 9,648.96 WAN 0.00 0.00 0.00 Web Hosting 13,845.00 8,584.27 5,261.33 E-rate Totals 138,717.00 86,004.91 52,712.69 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Paging 2007 State Totals - Elemenary TFS State Totals - TFS/Elementary TFS/Secondary E-rate Application County Match 0.00 Long Distance TFS/Elementary E-rate Application Disc% Commit 2007 State Totals - TFS/Secondary Page 13 of 13