1. Develop strategies for funding.
According to the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, Spring ISD, rating is Above Standard Achievement. The district score is a 65, with the passing score being 56. This means that Spring ISD has room for improvement in order to reach the Superior rating.
Sources of Reoccurring Technology Funding Include:
· Local and State Taxes
· School and Department General Operating Fund Budgets
· Capital outlay for equipment for new sites and wings
· Legislative fund set asides (Eisenhower, Title 1)
· Instructional textbook funds - utilized for educational software
· School District maintenance and repair contracts
Sources of these Non-Reoccurring technology funding include:
· Competitive grant and special fund opportunities - Particularly as they relate to distance learning, networking, training/staff development, and educational technology - (ie Challenge Literacy Grant)
· Business and Community Partnerships - Provide equipment and technical support and training. Examples of this include IBM, NASA, Pacific Bell, Microsoft. Since there has never been enough funding by federal and local governments, businesses have stepped up to the plate, to help in this area. This has been quite successful in many communities. In this case, the company often will either offer very deep discounts on products sold or donate the equipment to school systems.
· University, state and private agencies.
· Parent and Business Partner donations
(Rodanld,Ronnkvist)
2. Develop strategies for management plans.
Beneke Elementary, which is in Spring ISD uses eSchoolPLUS a true web-based, district-wide student management system for K-12 schools. It is a single system which offers all educational stakeholders –school administrators, district staff, teachers, parents, and board members – the ability to easily manage or immediately access the summary and detail student information they need, when they need it! Most importantly, eSchoolPLUS is easily configurable to meet each district’s specific needs, yet intuitive to use and simple to deploy, making it a very cost effective student information system for K-12 schools.
(Sills)
3. Describe the required procedures for the proposed strategies.
The management, ESCHOOLPLUS, the teachers and staff will need to have an inservice on how to use the program effectively. This program is web based, something that a lot of teachers are not used to. This means that many people will be access the information from anywhere in the world, not just the teacher.
Technology funding will need to be approved by the board members. Technology funding at the school level will be need to be approved by the principal, and then presented to the board of trustees. Any partnerships made by the school will also need to be approved by board of trustees.
Bibliography
Anderson, Ronald E. and Amy Ronnkvist. The Presence of Computers in American Schools. http://www.crito.uci.edu/tlc/findings/computers_in_american_schools/html/left_defaultmasterborder.htm
Sills, Alan D. "Using technology in My Classroom". http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/sills.htm
As a classroom teacher, I sometimes find it very hard to implement professional development I have attended based on other factors experienced in the classroom such as time constraints and amount of required curriculum. "Even without the integration of technology, the instructional design process requires teachers to consider multiple factors such as what to teach (content), how best to teach it (pedagogy), what resources to use (instructional materials), how to manage students and resources throughout the learning process (classroom management), and how to monitor student learning (assessment)" (Williamson & Redish, 2011). How would you encourage and motivate me to use the professional development your district is seeking to implement?
ReplyDeleteWilliamson, Jo; Redish, Traci (2009-02-01). ISTE's Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards: What Every K-12 Leader Should Know and Be Able to Do (Kindle Locations 1155-1157). International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Kindle Edition.
I would encourage/motivate teachers to use the professional development by having examples of teachers that have used the professional development ideas in the classroom, and have succeeded. I know that when I go to professional developments I like to hear the classroom teachers point of view on the materials since they are the people that will be using it in the classroom.
DeleteKim,
ReplyDeleteI know we are in the same district, but I see many differences between our schools. I was wondering if this eSchoolPlus is something new in your school, just your proposal for your school or your school has been using it for a long time. Does your school use Zangle connect too?
Zangle connects administrators, registrars, counselors, teachers, parents, staff, students and community members by delivering real-time information that simplifies data-driven decision making.Using a single SQL server database and .NET technology, Zangle’s product suite gives districts cutting-edge technology of web-based applications ideally suited for unified and easy accessibility across the Internet for all educational players. Not only does Zangle SIS permit end to end transparency for each student in the district, it also paves the way for a new and expanded way for all education providers including administrators, parents, teachers and students to stay in the loop and be connected 24/7.
Zangle (2012) Zangle connection. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://public-site.zangle.com/products/zangle-connection/
Angela,
DeleteWe also use Zangle Connect, but we also use eSchoolPlus. I heard rumor that they were getting rid of Zangle Connect. I think that will really hurt teachers that is our grade book, and attendance.
eSchoolPlus sounds like an excellent management program for teachers to use. I had never heard of the software before reading your post, so I did a little bit of research. It seems like many different schools have seen positive changes when using this management program. (Success Stories, 2012) I think this goes to show management goes a long way. It doesn't have to be a specific software. All districts don't have to have the same program, but all need to have something that offers management of these different services.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Success Stories. 2012. Retrieved from http://sungard.com/campaigns/corporate/k12/successstories.aspx
I really like eSchool Plus. It does offer management. I love the program and is very user friendly
DeleteKimberly,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned competitive grant and special fund opportunities under non recurring funding. Does your district have a person in charge of finding grants or is up to individual teachers and/or campuses? My district is a 3A district and they have only recently restructured the administration staff's job descriptions and one lady is now solely in charge of finding grants. Before she was in that position, it was up to campuses or teachers finding their own grants. I was just curious how that worked at a larger district.
I have noticed a trend at my school where teachers who are successful in finding and writing grants seem to leave the classroom. Having a full time person just to seek grants seems an overwhelming job for one person--nearly like the senior class scrambling for scholarships. I wonder if there is a way to use technology to create a clearinghouse to eliminate some of the inefficiency caused by a lack of information. How would you set up such an information share in the competitive world of grants?
DeleteAt the school level our principal encourages us to apply for a grant each year. It can be hard for teachers to apply for grants by themselves so usually a group of teachers apply for a grant. We applied for a grant last year for gardening and got it. It is a big deal to receive one of the grants from the district. We also got a pet grant last year. I bought a pet with that grant. I think that the school district should have a person just for Grants. In the medical field they have a person for grants, so why not in education :)
Delete