Week 4 Assignment, Part 2: Professional Development Planning

Our district prides itself in technology since it is a magnet district and some schools specialize in technology. The school board and administration makes sure that our students are in the forefront of technology and that the courses offered in this area are also innovative and cutting edge.
In addition, we partner with our local universities as well as others such as Rochester, A&M, Baylor, and Rice to provide multiple opportunities for our students. Furthermore, our libraries are state of the art and compete with those of like universities. They are equipped with all of the current technological equipment and our students as well as staff have access to them at any time as well as being able to check them out for any given period. In addition, we have student organizations that go into the community to teach computer skills to others on a volunteer basis. This all begins in our middle school where technology also plays a major role. For example, our middle school offers a Robotics club that is extremely popular with our students because technology is “football” at our district. Extracurricular clubs are formed around technology themes since our schools are not sports oriented. However, this enables all of our students to get involved and offers them multiple opportunities to master technology knowledge as well as technology skills.

 According to South Texas I.S.D.’s Technology Coordinators’ interview as well as a SBDM member and other administrators’ interviews, the results obtained from the various systems such as AEIS, AYP, STaR chart and other data available are gathered by the campus administration and shared with its instructional staff. These results are evaluated and reviewed commonly through departmental meetings, and where teachers meet based on the subject taught and thorough campus wide teams. The feedback provided by the instructional staff is then used to identify campus needs and guide the development of campus goals. For example, in this case a need for Educator and Developmental Preparation is indicated according to the STaR chart. Even though our district is already providing many supportive technological training opportunities, there is always room for improvement.

The STaR chart showed that our campus’ greatest strength was Leadership, Administration, & Instructional Support http://starchart.epsilen.com/ or http://starchart.epsilen.com/docs/TxCSC.pdf.I do agree with this assessment because our entire district has outstanding leadership and administration. Our district has been named in numerous magazines as top performing district and had many articles written about it. This is due to the leadership ability of our superintendent. The district mission and vision are clear to everyone at our South Texas I.S.D. family.

The mission of South Texas Independent School District, a public, open-enrollment magnet school district, is to nurture and develop life-long learners by providing challenging, focused educational experiences.

The vision of South Texas Independent School District is to engage students in a focused, challenging curriculum within a small, caring community of learners. http://www.stisd.net/mission.html

For the past three school years our campus has scored an 18 in the Leadership, Administration, & Instructional Support area. My Texas STaR Chart Campus Presentation further supports this claim and can be viewed on my blog at http://livinginateensworld.blogspot.com/.It is our strongest and the only one that does seem to show a trend. We are obviously well equipped with strong leadership and are sure to have the technological training and development that should be offered to us. Our district has a fantastic administration and I am sure that this success will trickle down to all of the campus.

The educator preparation and development indicated the greatest weakness for our campus. I do seem to agree with this assessment because this is an area that does need improvement.  This area indicates that we are developing our technology so therefore, the hope is that this upward phase will continue so that we can rise into a more advanced level.

Technology is being used to deliver and enrich instruction in various methods. As previously mentioned, our district prides itself on being cutting edge, this also pertains to many of the technology courses that are offered to our students. They are able to receive college credit for these courses as soon as their freshman year for some technology courses. Our schools also partner with universities such as A&M, Rice, UT, Rochester, & Baylor in order to offer our students the best courses available whether they are online or summer enrichment. There are also scholarships available for students to participate in all enrichments possible. Technology is being used to create an engaging and collaborative environment in all of the classrooms. Students are part of instruction where the teacher becomes the guide to authoritative and reliable resources. Responsive devices (clickers) and Interactive boards are some of the devices that are used to engage the students by providing an environment that encourages student participation.

In addition, our Library also plays a key role for our students as they have numerous materials and technology tools available for our staff and stakeholders. These are all available for checkout at any time and can be used by any of our students or staff. As well, their expert help is also available at any time and they are always willing to assist. If any classroom is visited at our campuses, technology will be present via smart board, computers, websites, blogs, etc. In addition, our teachers also have websites for students’ access of homework assignments and submission of quizzes. Many members of our school community have also created blogs as a means to communicate their messages to our stakeholders. Any help with any of these technological needs may be addressed with the help of any of the library staff.

Professional development planning focuses on the use and integration of technology in curriculum and instruction and assessment. For example each year, SMART goals are developed by the technology department that focuses on the use and integration of technology in curriculum, instruction, and assessment in alignment with the mission and goals of the district. Since these goals are district wide, specific activities are developed for each campus based on the results of teacher surveys which are conducted annually and on the goals identified by each campus through its review process. The activities are conducted according to timelines developed with campus principals to support their needs and goals.

Online courses are offered via Blackboard as a supplement to the classroom experience. This online platform extends the classroom and resources to any place and anytime where Internet access is available by allowing students to review material that may have not been mastered or to explore content not yet covered. Online databases are also offered to allow access beyond our walls. Students, teachers, and staff are able to access these authoritative resources. These two types of technology are an example of how technology is being used as a conduit to provide individualized instruction.

This technology trend will continue to move forward with our staff and students. Training and development will be ongoing throughout the year and accessible by all students and staff when needed. Teachers will provide online homework and coursework for their students and be able to have support by the administration. In addition, technology tools that are needed will be supplied by the district at the expense of the district through the means of grants or matched monies. If other districts are providing I-pads for their students, then we should be able to do the same. However, at the same time the training to use and prepare lessons on the I-pad will be needed for all of the staff and teachers. Training can be done within the district by the technology team.