· Web viewUpdated Information Technology Plan 2011-2015 Baltimore City Public Schools 200 East...

Baltimore City Public Schools

UpdatedInformation Technology

Plan

2011-2015

Baltimore City Public Schools200 East North AvenueBaltimore, Maryland 21202www.bcps.k12.md.us

Today’s education system faces irrelevance unless we bridge the gap between howstudents live and how they learn. Schools are struggling to keep pace with the astonishing

rate of change in students’ lives outside of school. Students will spend their adult livesin a multitasking, multifaceted, technology-driven, diverse, vibrant world — and they must

arrive equipped to do so. We also must commit to ensuring that all students have equal access to this new technological world, regardless of their economic background.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills, A Report and Mile Guide for 21st Century Skills

City Schools Technology Plan2008-2011 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION and NEEDS ASSESSMENT...........................................................................................5

VISION..............................................................................................................................................................9

GOALS, STRATEGIES, RATIONALE, KEY EFFORTS, & INITIATIVES.........................................12

Strategy 1.............................................................................................................................................12

Strategy 2...............................................................................................................................................18

Strategy 3.............................................................................................................................................29

Strategy 4.............................................................................................................................................45

Strategy 5.............................................................................................................................................52

PROGRESS TO DATE..................................................................................................................................55

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENTS........................................................................................................59

BUDGET..........................................................................................................................................................60

ENSURE ADEQUATE FUNDING...............................................................................................................62

APPENDICIES................................................................................................................................................70

Appendix A: Assistive Technology....................................................................................................71

Appendix B: City Schools Reform Efforts........................................................................................73

Appendix C: Acceptable Use Policy..................................................................................................75

City Schools Technology Plan2011-2015

3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) recognizes that technology improves our

methods of communications and provides new opportunities and responsibilities for students,

administrative and school-based staff.

With the completion of the Infrastructure Wiring Program and the continuation of the upgrade of the

Wide Area Network, City Schools will maintain a “universally accessible, communications enabled”

network encompassing all of its schools and connecting them with each other and the Central Office. With

this network in place, it will become possible to design and implement effective, cost-efficient management

systems and practices to improve the support of instruction. The integration of technology into curriculum,

instructional delivery, professional development and administration are critical to the success of the City

Schools instructional program.

The following technology driven strategies will help improve student achievement and establish

effective management systems in the support of quality instruction.

1. Integrate the use of technology tools and digital content to engage students in daily instruction.2. Ensure that staff is highly skilled and capable of effectively using technology tools and digital

content.3. Improve the readiness and service levels of existing infrastructures, including all networks,

mission critical application systems, and technical support systems in order to sustain and enhance school administrative functions and system wide operational processes.

4. Provide universal access to high performance technology tools.5. Improve the instructional uses of technology through research and evaluation.

The Technology Plan is a direct outgrowth of the City Schools Master Plan 2008 - 2011. This

updated technology plan is a detailed all-encompassing document designed to ensure that all areas of the

Baltimore City Public Schools act in concert for the betterment of the system and to achieve significant,

measurable improvements in the performance of our students.


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INTRODUCTION & NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Technological advances have had an on-going and direct impact on the lives of the students and their

families. Today’s technologies, however, have the greatest potential for impact, as they have made the

world a smaller, more competitive, and demanding place in which to live. Jobs that will rely on the skills

promulgated by these new technologies will require students to be analytical and critical thinkers. It is

imperative, then, that City Schools teachers, administrators and support staff ensure that students are using

current technologies to acquire the skills and processes that will be necessary in order to mold them into

responsible citizens who can actively contribute to the greater good of the City, the Region and the State.

Baltimore is the sixteenth largest city in the United States, with a population of about 644,554

residents. Though perceived by many to be a city undergoing revitalization with efforts focused on new

construction, developments in the Inner Harbor, and more focused policing efforts; some of the city

statistics related to young citizens show the need for attention. For example, 52% of all juvenile murder

arrests, 48% of Maryland juvenile arson arrests, and 30% of Maryland juvenile robbery arrests are

Baltimore City residents.

The following information is compiled from the Maryland State Department of Education 2007

School Report Card for the Baltimore City Public Schools. As one of 24 public school jurisdictions in

Maryland, City Schools currently serves approximately 81,642 (updated as of 02/21/2008) students from

pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The City Schools student body is 89 percent African-American, 8

percent Caucasian, and 3 percent students of other racial/ethnic backgrounds. The racial/ethnic composition

of the student population generally has not changed for the past five years.

The City Schools is serving pre-kindergarten through grade nine, including three (3) primary, ninety-

two (92) elementary, thirty-five (35) K-8, and twenty-five (25) middle, one (1) K-12, four (4) middle/high,

and thirty-seven (37) high schools. The thirty-seven high schools include eight (8) Interest-based High

Schools, four (4) Multiplex Campus Schools, five (5) High Schools with Entrance Criteria, ten (10)

Charter/Innovation High Schools, three (3) Career and Technology Education High Schools, and eight (8)

High Schools offering military JROTC programs. The City Schools also includes eight (8) special schools,

offering educational programs for students with disabilities only, as well as two (2) non-traditional schools

that operate outside the parameters of a traditional school. The City Schools also includes three (3) state-

reconstituted schools serving additional students. Managed by Edison and overseen by the Maryland State

Board of Education, these three schools have enrollments that are not included in the enrollment count.

Research shows that socio–economic status is positively correlated to student achievement.

Therefore it is important to note that approximately 73 percent of the students in City Schools participate in City Schools Technology Plan

2008-20115

free and reduced-price meals (FARMS) programs. As of October 30, 2004, City Schools has 14,917, or over

18 percent, of its students identified with disabilities. The percentage of special education students by level

is as follows: 15.5% of elementary students, 18.8% of middle schools students, and 17.4% of high school

students

In comparing students with disabilities with regular education students, City Schools results are

lower than statewide peers. In examining the gap between the performance of City Schools students overall

and the subgroup identified as receiving services due to a disability, there is a variance of about 20 percent.

For example, while overall at grade three in the area of reading, 68.8 percent were proficient; 47.7 percent

for students with disabilities were proficient. The percent of students with disabilities who are proficient in

reading and in mathematics decreases with each increasing grade level.

This disparity is even greater at the high school level. High School Assessment data shows that

students with disabilities far underscored their general education counterparts. The chart illustrates the gap

between the City Schools average scores and scores for those with disabilities.

Student Population Algebra Biology Government English 2

All 28.6 39.9 52.2 48.1

Special Education 5.1 6.2 11.2 6.7

Students with disabilities did not achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in any category, with the

exception of Participation Rate. The needs of students with disabilities are fully addressed in the City

Schools Plan for Monitoring, Continuous Improvement, and Results.

At each grade and content level assessed, a smaller percentage of City Schools students with 504

plans were proficient than that exhibited by peers statewide. In grade three reading, 53.5 percent were

proficient in reading, as compared to 59 percent of regular education students. In reading at grade ten, 39.5

percent were Proficient as compared to 39.7 percent for students participating in regular education. No

students with a 504 plan took the MSA for tenth grade mathematics.

The chart below is an example of the disparity in scores among regular and special education students in City Schools.

Baltimore City Public Schools’ Mean National Percentile Rankson the Grade 1 Stanford 10

Service Status TotalRdg.

WordStudy

WordRdg.

Sent.Reading

ReadingComp

TotalMath

ProblemSolving

Proce-dures

Grade 1Regular

50 59 50 40 51 58 54 63

Special 30 30 38 29 35 31 27 40504 42 49 52 37 45 51 45 59


6

Grade 2Regular

47 53 47 - 45 51 48 57

Special 24 22 25 - 29 23 21 31504 39 41 38 - 43 41 43 42

Additionally, there is a growing disparity in the graduation rates of students with identified special

education needs as opposed to those in the general education program. The chart below identifies the

graduation rates for the last four years. It is important to note that the graduation rate of students receiving

special education services has remained relatively stable, however, it is dramatically lower than the

graduation rate of those students in the general education population. The graduation rate of the general

education population has generally improved over the last four years. The district's comprehensive

graduation rate is 58.98 %, which is significantly lower than the state average of 85.24%.

Baltimore City Public Schools’ Graduation RatesYear Special Education Students General Education Students2007 35.79 63.882006 35.20 64.132005 31.88 63.052004 34.70 57.16

Given that the data shows a growing gap between the achievements of students in special education

programs versus those in the general education programs, it is evident that more must be done to address the

needs of all learners. By providing resources that meet the Universal Design for Learning standards, City

Schools will be better able to recognize and address individual learning differences in order to provide better

educational opportunities for all students.

The City Schools drop out rate is 9.56%. The attendance rate in elementary school is 94.1%, in

middle school is 88.3% and in high school is 82.7%. The MSDE 2007 Report Card also reports that the

total cost per City Schools pupil was $10,974. The local wealth per pupil in the community was $170,179,

which is $148,631 below Maryland’s average

The district employs 13,878 employees. There is 8,235 instructional staff in City Schools. These

staff members include 5,926 teachers; 109 librarians, 119 psychologists; 600 instructional assistants; 500

special education assistants, 550 non-instructional assistants, and 431 school-based administrators. An

additional 3,294 employees provide support and operational services. The current percentage of our

teaching staff certification status as referring to “highly qualified” as indicated in No Child Left Behind is as

follows:

Advanced Professional Certification (APC) is 31.0Standard Professional Certification (SPC) is 19.6


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Resident Teacher Certification (RTC) is 7.2Conditional Certification is 21.6

Technology plays a vital role in meeting the needs of the broad range of abilities, disabilities,

cultural backgrounds and ethnic populations represented in the urban school district. To guarantee an

environment of achievement and learning, the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners supports

access by students and employees to information resources that are applicable to the tasks associated with

their obligations and duties in the classroom and workplace, respectively.

To ensure that technology, indeed, serves a predominant function in the lives and work habits of

students and employees, this Information Technology Plan provides an action plan for the integration of

technology into the curriculum, instruction and the workplace. The Technology Acceptable Use Policy

governs the specific behavior of operations associated with the Internet, Intranet, and Web sites while the

Information Technology Resources Policy establishes criteria for decision-making under a given set of

circumstances within the framework of City Schools objectives, goals, and philosophies.


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VISION

The vision of the Baltimore City Public Schools Technology Plan is that increased student

achievement will be possible through the seamless integration of technology into all district schools. The

Baltimore City Public Schools, in partnership with the community, will provide students with the

knowledge, skills, and qualities required to be successful in an ever-changing and diverse world.

Student learning is at the focus and highest priority of all we do in the Baltimore City Public

Schools. State-of-the-art instructional technologies combined with effective and appropriate teaching

strategies will ensure that students are engaged, motivated and participating in dynamic and challenging

learning activities. It is the system’s intent to enable all students to become independent, competent, and

creative thinkers, as well as effective communicators and problem solvers.

The updated technology plan includes goals, strategies, and key efforts for addressing how

technology will be integrated into curriculum, instruction, and high quality professional development in

alignment with the action steps of the National Technology Plan, the objectives of the Maryland Plan for

Technology in Education and local technology plans.

The seven main action steps of the National Technology Plan are as follows:1. Strengthen Leadership 2. Consider Innovative Budgeting 3. Improve Teacher Training 4. Support e-Learning and Virtual Schools 5. Encourage Broadband Access 6. Move Toward Digital Content 7. Integrate Data Systems

The five main objectives of the State Technology Plan are as follows:1. Improve student learning through technology2. Improve staff’s knowledge and skills to integrate technology into instruction.3. Improve decision-making, productivity, and efficiency at all levels of the organization through the

use of technology.4. Improve equitable access to appropriate technologies among all stakeholders.5. Improve the instructional use of technology through research and evaluation.

The updated plan will also meet No Child Left Behind requirements to: promote the use of technology to improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness in

elementary and secondary schools; implement strategies that help every student to become technologically literate by the end of 8th

grade; and integrate educational technology into instruction through access to technologies, high quality

professional development and effective instructional applications.


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Technology is the cornerstone upon which an individual will depend, at work and at home. For

personal knowledge and growth as well as in their everyday working lives, a technologically literate

individual will have significant advantages over his or her illiterate counterpart. The concept of

technology driven by human needs is broad, diverse and constantly changing. It addresses the systematic

application of knowledge, materials, tools and skills used to extend human capabilities that help solve real

world problems. Technology includes the design of systems, the management of information and resources,

and the control of processes. Effective technology education combines the knowledge of content with

process and skills in order to provide students with a holistic approach to learning. It extends beyond the

simple use of computers and reaches into all content areas. Technology is a powerful tool for bringing the

world into the classroom and for taking the classroom out into the world. The theme of this document is the

generation and implementation of new technology into the Baltimore City Public Schools as a means of

supporting our mission to improve the education provided to the students of Baltimore City.

Recent studies have shown that US students are lagging behind their counterparts in countries

around the world. Tapping America’s Potential: The Education for Innovation Initiative (Business

Roundtable, 2005) expresses “deep concern about the United States’ ability to sustain a scientific and

technological superiority through this decade and beyond”. Technology is going to be the key to ensuring

that Americans are able to stay competitive in the new global economy. In this new economy, workers will

become digital citizens using technology to engage in lifelong learning, communicate and collaborate

globally, and utilize productivity and information management tools in order to solve complex problems and

succeed in the workplace. Students who are not exposed to the technology tools necessary to do this will be

at a great disadvantage and will be unable to compete in the job market.

As the Partnership for 21st Century Learning report makes clear, technology is and will continue to

be a driving force in workplaces, communities and personal lives in the 21st century. “Technology helps

prepare students for the workforce when they learn to use and apply applications used in the world of work.

Workforce skills are mastered with technology use. When content and strategies meet accepted education

standards, research shows that technology increases mastery of vocational and workforce skills and helps

prepare students for work when emphasized as a problem-solving tool (Cradler, 1994).” In this

environment, the need for technologically literate citizens and workers increases every year. Skilled people

in the 21st century need to understand how to use technology tools. Developing information and

communication technologies (ICT) literacy requires good leadership, a strong technology infrastructure,

adequate and equitable access to technology and the Internet in schools, integration of technology with

classroom learning, and adequate methods for assessing ICT literacy.


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Traditional schooling, according to Kember (2007), has run its course as students struggle to find

relevance in industrial models of schooling where flexibility and personalized learning have no place.

Incremental school reform is a strategy of the past and systems have failed in large scale improvement.

Research recommends education authorities, schools, rural communities and other agencies develop

strategies, allocate funds and provide resources to enable students to access local and online educational

experiences. These include excursions, on-site visits, summer schools, interactions with other schools both

nationally and internationally and develop activities to address the student learning needs, including those in

composite classes (Lyons et al., 2006). The challenge is to take the best of the past, combine it with the

innovations of the present, to construct a future that engages students in learning and community building.

Hayes Mizell of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation notes that “developing the intellectual

capital of our system will be the best investment we can make.” Professional development activities will

lead teachers and administrators to increase their productivity, enhance their ability to integrate technology

and establish communities of leaders and life-long learners.

The action items listed are a direct outgrowth of the Master Plan II document, the purpose of which

is to delineate how the City Schools will improve student achievement by improving the environment for

learning generally and the quality of instruction specifically. It serves as the blueprint for strategic

educational reform for school years 2002-2003 through 2007-2008. This document provides a detailed set

of action plans for the entire district to ensure that all areas are acting in concert and with a unity of purpose.

Additionally, the System intends to increase administrators and teacher productivity through the

development and implementation of information and management systems. Administrators and teachers

will then have near real-time access to student data, allowing them to plan for individualized instruction and

student needs based professional development plans.

All professional education program development is based upon adult learning theory and

implemented using a variety of formats and modalities to accommodate multiple learning styles using the

most appropriate technologies available.

The focus of all departments and efforts within the Baltimore City Public Schools must align to the

objectives of the Master Plan II. Therefore, the Master Plan II Objectives are also those of Information and

Instructional Technology. Specific actions taken in support of those objectives are spelled out in detail in

the following pages.

The Baltimore City Public Schools Master Plan II Objectives are to:

1. Increase student achievement, pre-kindergarten through grade 12.2. Provide students with qualified and competent staff.


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3. Comply fully with federal and state laws governing the education of students with disabilities.4. Design and implement effective and cost efficient management systems and practices to improve the

support to instruction.5. Increase the level of parent, family, community, and business support and involvement.6. Provide secure, civil, clean, and orderly learning environments.


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GOALS, STRATEGIES, RATIONALE, KEY EFFORTS, & INITIATIVES

Strategy 1. Integrate the use of technology tools and digital content to engage students in daily instruction.

Rationale: Learning is an information intensive activity. The amount of learning that takes place in a given

period of time (e.g., a school year) is the indicator of learning productivity. Because technology enables

learning activities to be personalized to individual student needs, it represents a significant strategy for

raising learner productivity. Although the City Schools has adopted a policy that requires student

acquisition of information literacy skills at all grade levels and in all subject areas, the policy has not been

substantially implemented across the school system. Nor is there any formal, objective measuring of student

acquisition of these skills and knowledge. With the advent of online assessments, however, this is becoming

critical. The ongoing creation and implementation of resources that provide activities and strategies that

mirror the types of items found on the assessments will maximize student interaction with the online testing

environment. This will remove the online testing environment as a barrier to student success.

Greg Waddoups, associate director of Brigham Young University’s Center for Instructional Design,

defines what is meant by “technology integration,” noting that it encompasses more than merely using

computers in a school setting. Rather, technology integration corresponds to the incorporation of technology

in lessons to transform learning experiences for students. It thus involves redesigning curricula and aligning

lesson content and learning objectives with effective instruction instructional practices to maximize

technology’s benefits (Wager, 1992; Earle, 2002). Research shows that the effectiveness of educational

technology in improving student achievement depends on the dovetailing of the goals of instruction, the

characteristics of learners, the design of the software, the technology, and the implementation decisions

made by teachers (Sivin-Kachala & Bialo, 1996). Progress has been made in the past 10 years in integrating

technology-based activities into subject matter teaching, but in most cases, this is not an everyday

occurrence in academic classes (Becker, 2000a). Maryland’s most recent report Where Do We Stand in

2007? suggests that this is also true in Maryland classrooms, especially for tasks requiring higher levels of

thinking and performance, and for students in poverty. This report also shows a disparity in technology

integration in high-poverty classrooms.

Curriculum design is critical for successful integration. Teachers must reconsider their methods and

curricula in order to effectively integrate technology to improve student learning. They must factor in the

needs and situations of learners and their ability to make use of technology. Several scientifically based

research (SBR) studies, both gold and silver, illustrate the importance of pairing inquiry-based instruction

with technology to enhance academic achievement. (Waddoups, 2004)City Schools Technology Plan

2008-201113

In the past five years there has been significant growth in organized online instruction (e-learning)

and “virtual” schools, making it possible for students at all levels to receive high quality supplemental or

full courses of instruction personalized to their needs. City Schools schools are utilizing these services

provided through the Teacher Support System to expand opportunities and choices for students and

professional development for teachers. Growth in the use of the TSS has been exponential during the last 5

years, indicating an increased interest in e-learning and online information and resource management. The

ongoing addition of resource and learning objects will ensure that this growth will continue.

City Schools plans to undertake the following recommendations in the National Technology plan to

“Support e-Learning and Virtual Schools and Move Toward Digital Content “

Provide every student access to e-learning. Enable every teacher to participate in e-learning training. Encourage the use of e-learning options to meet No Child Left Behind requirements for highly

qualified teachers, supplemental services and parental choice. Explore creative ways to fund e-learning opportunities. Develop quality measures and accreditation standards for e-learning that mirror those required

for course credit.

A move away from reliance on textbooks to the use of multimedia or online information (digital

content) offers many advantages, including cost savings, increased efficiency, improved accessibility, and

enhancing learning opportunities in a format that engages today’s web-savvy students.

The following are recommendations from the National Technology Plan that City Schools will implement:

Ensure that teachers and students are adequately trained in the use of online content. Encourage ubiquitous access to computers and connectivity for each student. Consider the costs and benefits of online content, aligned with rigorous state academic standards,

as part of a systemic approach to creating resources for students to customize learning to their individual needs.

Key Efforts: The Information Technology Department (ITD) continues to undertake several significant

projects to ensure that all City School Stakeholders integrate the use of technology tools and digital content

to engage and improve student learning during daily instruction. These include the ongoing creation of

additional resources and tools in the district's learning management system that are linked to curriculum

documents that reside in the Teacher Support System (TSS); the creation of positions dedicated to

instructional technology staff development and support; and the creation of TSS Master Courses that

provide a level set of instructional materials available to every student. City Schools Technology Plan

2008-201114

ITD continues to work with the City School’s Office of Teaching & Learning to develop and deliver

learning objects, courses and curriculum content to the classroom through web-based tools. The continued

customization of the Teacher Support System (TSS) has enabled the district to centralize all of these digital

resources into one location so that teachers can simply log into the system and be granted access. Some of

those resources are embedded into the City School’s curriculum and instructional guides, which are aligned

to the Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC). Additionally, The Maryland State Board of Education (MSDE)

has recently adopted the Common Core State Standards in language arts and mathematics from grades K-12.

The Common Core State Standards outline clear and consistent principles of what students are expected to

learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. Additionally, the standards are

designed to be relevant to real world situations, reflecting the knowledge and skills that are needed for

success. City School’s Teaching & Learning will be phasing in the Common Core State Standards in order

to prepare for full implementation over the next three years. ITD provides ongoing training, professional

development and facilitation for all City Schools Departments to assist in uploading and posting curriculum

documentation and activities for easy accessibility by staff in the school district. Additionally, ITD

continues to work collaboratively with Teaching and Learning and other City Schools Departments to

facilitate and assist staff on posting core content and instructional resources and documents for electronic

delivery on the system’s Learning Management System, TSS.

City Schools continues to utilize the Blackboard Content Collection. This system is a learning

object repository that provides the ability for the system to store all content materials that are available

electronically in order to share them systemically, providing access to all stakeholders. ITD staff is using

the Content Management System to house the curriculum resources provided by Teaching & Learning,

department’s and specialists in order to create Master Courses that can be pushed out to every class in order

to provide a level set of curriculum resources throughout the district. This enables all teachers to customize

their own on-line courses in order to maximize differentiation of instruction, enable access to instructional

materials and content outside of the school day, and increase communication and collaboration with parents.

Using the TSS, teachers have the ability to create hybrid learning environments in which students

can access course materials and assignments outside of the school day from any location, providing 24/7

access to instructional opportunities. With the ability of the district to create "Master Courses", these hybrid

courses can be pre-populated with curriculum material that supports City School’s curriculum, the Maryland

VSC and the Common Core State Standards while incorporating the Maryland Teacher Technology

Standards (MTTS) and Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students (MTLSS). Moreover, these


15

http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/mathematics

http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards

http://www.msde.md.gov/NR/exeres/BA437608-FEFA-4CB9-ABF9-16E12C08229E,frameless.htm?Year=2010&Month=6&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%25%25%3E%25

courses will be consistent throughout the district, providing a baseline of content for each grade level for

every class.

City Schools also offers a variety of online courses for students in order to provide both remediation

and acceleration, as well as for test preparation.

The customization of the Teacher Support System is a continual cycle that is based on district

identified needs and priorities. To date, the implementation of the application and all of the associated tools

and resources has been exceedingly successful. In addition, all stakeholders are aware that additional

features and uses will be introduced to teachers during the 2011-2015 school years.


16

City Schools Strategy 1: Integrate the use of technology tools and digital content to engage students in daily instruction. City Schools Master Plan Objective: Design and implement effective and cost efficient management systems and practices to improve the support to instruction.City Schools Master Plan Strategy: Integrate technology into curriculum, instructional delivery, professional development, and administration.METP Objective: Student Learning: Improve student learning through technology.

Target Recommended Activity Responsible Parties

Milestones

1.1 Digital content will be available before, during and after school to support teaching and learning.

Provide additional online course offerings for students. Many of these will be purchased from the Maryland Virtual Learning Opportunities Program. City Schools will also begin the development of “home grown” online courses for students.

ITD Teacher Support System; Teaching & Learning

ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor progress. Create online courses using City School’s curriculum.House and deliver courses on the TSS

Provide every student with access to e-learning (virtual high school, online courses, e-communities, online instruction for credit recovery and accelerated and AP courses). (eRate)


ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor progress. Courses will be made available. Course enrollment and progress will be made available from the course provider so that student work and scores can be analyzed.

1.2 Digital content will be integrated into all instruction, as appropriate, to support teaching and learning.

Provide course offerings for all students for the ability to choose computer science and technology completer programs that reflect the current needs of business and industry.

ITD Teacher Support System; Teaching & Learning; CTE

Courses will be made available. Course enrollment and progress will be made available from the course provider so that student work and scores can be analyzed.

Provide access for students and staff to distance learning technologies, web-based courses, and interactive video to access digital content.

ITD Teacher Support System

All resources will be published and made available in the TSS. An oversight committee will ensure the timeliness and appropriateness of these resources

Assign IT Staff Associate to serve as a liaison to Teaching & Learning order to ensure the instructional and information technologies and resources are included in all curriculum guides.


ITD will collaborate with the Office of Curriculum & Instruction to form an oversight committee that will review the resources to ensure appropriateness.

Create Technology Curriculum Specialist position to be responsible for creating technology resources and integrating them into the City Schools curriculum guides.


ITD will develop a job description and submit to Office of Curriculum & Instruction. Position will be posted and candidates interviewed and selected by ITD-TSS and Office of C&I personnel.

Create electronic communities on TSS to examine the curriculum and then identify digital resources to support the integration of technology into the instructional program


ITD will collaborate with the Division of Teaching to form an oversight committee that will review the resources to ensure appropriateness.


17

Develop a Library curriculum guide based on the new the Library Media Virtual School Curriculum. Instruction is a MSDE standard for school libraries. The library curriculum guide will support each subject areas.

Library Media Services Quarterly reports to Teaching & Learning Team Directors will be provided. The Library Media Virtual School Curriculum will be created.

1.3 Students and staff will have expanded access to curricula and support related to Maryland standards through online courses, content, collaboration, and support.

Customize and configure the Teacher Support System (TSS) to provide additional functionality and features to support instruction. This includes the customization of the gradebook feature and the posting of additional electronic content and curriculum.


ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor progress. Curriculum guides and related resources housed in Content Collection. Gradebook Customization will include application development, piloting and revisions.

Collaborate with the Office of the Chief Academic Officer to support an application that will provide an online unit and lesson plan template.


ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor progress. Application customized and piloted in specific schools.

Provide access to all curriculum areas by ensuring that all grade level and content areas publish, maintain, and update digital curricula.


ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor progress. Curriculum guides published online using the TSS Content Collection

Prepare Pathfinders to assist teachers and students in identifying, and locating materials that support the City Schools curriculum.

Library Media Services Quarterly report to Teaching & Learning Team Director. E-Quests will be used to locate materials and staff will be trained to use this technique.

Continue to select and evaluate digital library and classroom library resources.

Library Media Services Teaching & Learning Team and the Curriculum Team. Evaluation and selection committees will be formed. All digital content and materials housed in school libraries will be evaluated for the appropriate use and placement.

1.4 All students will have access to instructional resources that incorporate universal design.

Provide multiple modes of content delivery in order to support the needs of diverse learners.


ITD and the Office of Special Education will monitor progress. Publication of the digital curriculum and related resources in the TSS Content Collection.

1.5 Provide coordinated access to information and resources through collaboration with and linkages to other portal providers.

Provide the appropriate support to maintain the integrity of the delivery system for the digital delivery of the Voluntary State Curriculum and the Common Core State Standards.

ITD Teacher Support System; Network Support Team

TSS and the Network Support Team will monitor implementation. Document system outages and problems as well as corrective actions. Document help desk support calls.

Continue to implement a Library Resource Management System that includes a centralized data source for all information resources accessible by all District schools.

Library Media Services; Material Management and Logistics

Annual report completed for each school library. Catalog and inventory each schools library and share with district the availability of the collections.

Expand the usage of the Library Resource Management System to identify and track additional system resources.

Library Media Services; Material

Database reports generated quarterlyAnnual report of inventory.


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Management and Logistics

Additional inventory of resources will be added to the system as identified by central office and the schools.

Implement the Student Management System (SMS) to track data related to Special Education, Related Services providers, student attendance, and student grades.

ITD; Related Services; Office of Special Education

Database reports generated regularly to track compliance with Special Education mandates. Database reports generated regularly to track attendance and grade information.

1.6 All students will demonstrate mastery of technology literacy by the end of eighth grade as specified in the: Maryland Student

Technology Literacy Standards;

School Library Media Voluntary State Curriculum;

Technology Education Voluntary State Curriculum.

Common Core State Standards

Provide access to and information about the Maryland Student Technology Literacy Standards to all schools via systemic professional development and on the TSS.

School-based Staff Associates

ITD will collect and analyze data submitted by schools using the Progress Monitor application. ITD will monitor access to the TL8 Standards on TSS.

Provide support to teachers and administrators as they integrate and incorporate the Maryland Student Technology Literacy Standards into planning, instruction, and assessment.

IT Staff Associates ITD will collect and analyze data submitted by schools using the Progress Monitor application.

Establish school-based technology integration goals and timelines with administrators and teachers.

IT Staff Associate ITD will collect and analyze data submitted by schools using the Progress Monitor application.

Embed technology instructional resources and activities into regular curriculum guides.

IT Staff Associates; Office of Curriculum & Instruction

Curriculum guides and related resources housed in Content Collection and in Office of Curriculum & Instruction organization on TSS.

Provide technology courses for middle grade students that specifically address the goals and objectives of the Maryland Student Technology Literacy Standards to ensure technology literacy by the end of grade 8.

IT Staff Associates; Teaching & Learning; DREAA

Develop TL8 courses and performance-based assessment/evaluation components. Pilot courses in face-to-face and online formats. Evaluate course effectiveness and student progress toward mastery of TL8 standards.


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Strategy 2. Ensure that staff is highly skilled and capable of effectively using technology tools and digital content.

Rationale: The Digital Divide has been a topic of debate and conversation for several years. Initially, the

disparity between populations that had ample access to technology and those with little access were of great

concern to many in the field of education. Currently, however, the topic of this debate has changed. Given

that many districts have seen a boost in technology purchases, the initial Digital Divide has been decreased

tremendously. Now, though, the divide lies between those that not only have access, but have a firm

understanding of how to use the technologies effectively and appropriately and those that do not.

Because we appear to be entering into a period of radical change, the question of how best to prepare

for it ought to be receiving the most serious kind of educational thought. What is wrong with the “get wired”

and the “raise test scores” solutions are not that they are categorically bad but that they tend to short-circuit

thought. They become objects of debate, while deeper questions suffer neglect. According to Scardamalia

(2001) three educational goals that tend to be either glossed over or ignored in a discourse dominated by

technology and assessment issues are:

1. Depth of understanding. This is what assessments of student knowledge and beliefs in mathematics and science reveal to be most seriously lacking. Deep understanding is one of the hallmarks of expertise (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1993; Feltovich, Ford, & Hoffman, 1997), and it is regarded by most serious educational thinkers as what ought to be the core of schooling (Egan, 1997; Gardner, 1991, 1999). Although curriculum standards give a nod to it, when it comes to specifying in detail what is to be taught and tested, understanding is typically replaced by factual knowledge. Internet-based projects gravitate toward superficial fact-gathering as well, because that is what Web searches most readily support (Moss, 2000).

2. Knowledge creation and knowledge stewardship. In the business literature, these are coming to be seen as the basis for sustained innovation. These could be the centre of the school world as well, but they have essentially no presence there. What takes their place is a collection of activities vaguely referenced as “constructivist.” “Constructivism” itself then becomes an object of heated controversy.

3. Lifelong learning. This has become a mantra. Its importance in a rapidly changing world is undeniable; but there is hardly any serious analysis of what, if anything, schools could do to promote it, other than equipping students with basic academic skills. The most obvious requirement for lifelong learning is outgrowing the need for a teacher, yet the transfer of epistemic agency from teachers to students does not figure in curriculum planning.

In today's schools, the facilitator of the students' journey toward those goals is the classroom teacher,

thus making strong, job-embedded, standards-based professional development a vital component of teacher

development and tenure. Research indicates that teachers, not technology, are the key to unlocking student

potential and fostering achievement. A teacher’s training in, knowledge of, and attitude toward technology

and related skills are central to effective technology integration. Technology is the tool whose master greatly


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shapes the outcome. In the hands of a poorly trained master, technology is ineffectual, a blunt instrument or

worse (Waddoups, 2004). Riel and Becker (2000) find that the greater the professional development of the teacher, the more

likely he or she is to use computers and the Web in the classroom and a constructivist (i.e., hands-on

research, interaction, and student-directed learning) approach to instruction. On-going technology-related

instructional support that is immediately accessible within the school is also an important component of on-

going professional development (Ronnkvist et. al, 2000; Li, & Achilles, 1999-2000).

In support of the findings of current research, City Schools teachers will be provided ongoing,

research-based, best practices professional development in the effective and meaningful use of technology

to enhance learning. City Schools plans to undertake the following recommendations in the National

Technology plan to “Improve Teacher Training”.

The following are recommendations from the National Technology Plan that our district will implement:

Improve the preparation of new teachers in the use of technology. Ensure that every teacher has the opportunity to take online learning courses. Improve the quality and consistency of teacher education through measurement, accountability

and increased technology resources. Ensure that every teacher knows how to use data to personalize instruction. This is marked by

the ability to interpret data to understand student progress and challenges, drive daily decisions, and design instructional interventions to customize instruction for every student’s unique needs.

As important as teacher use and modeling of technology is, it is as important for school leaders to

demonstrate a strong understanding of the use of technology for both instructional and administrative uses.

For the school system to “benefit from the rapidly evolving development of information and communication

technology, leaders at every level must not only supervise, but provide informed, creative and ultimately

transformative leadership for systemic change.” Administrators will be provided ongoing professional

development and support in the effective use of technology in instruction, technology resource management,

and data and information management as it relates to the daily operations of the school.

We plan to undertake the following recommendations in the National Technology plan to

“Strengthen Leadership”

The following are recommendations from the National Technology Plan that our district will implement:

Invest in leadership development programs to develop a new generation of tech-savvy leaders at every level.

Retool administrator education programs to provide training in technology decision making and organizational change.

Develop partnerships between schools, higher education and the community.


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Encourage creative technology partnerships with the business community. Empower students’ participation in the planning process.

Key Efforts: The Information Technology Department has addressed the need for high-quality, ongoing

technology professional development by creating and offering numerous opportunities for professional

development via online and hybrid courses; webinar sessions via Bridgit; and TSS user groups. Participants

are able to register through iLearn. iLearn is an electronic catalog was developed known as City Schools

iLearn system. The iLearn system is a part of the City Schools Greener Schools, Greener Education

initiative. The iLearn system provides links to various on-line professional development training sessions

that will be housed on the TSS. These classes and trainings were created by TSS and various City School

Departments that will allow a city employee to search and register for professional development, and track

credits. Additionally, TSS uses Bridgit conferencing tool to reach a more broad range of city school staff.

Brigit is a web-conferencing tool that allows for real-time online professional development for several

groups of staff at one time. These online sessions can be reordered and shared with others who were not

available. It is accessible district wide.

TSS recognizes the importance of continuously offering job-embedded professional development to

not only instructional staff in the school and classroom setting, but to all City School employees. To

provide these services at the school level, the TSS Group works with a school designee provided by the

school administrator known as a Tech Leader. TSS offer these Tech Leaders with monthly scheduled

technology training using a “train-the-trainer” approach to help increase the technology literacy, skills and

integration. This enables Tech Leaders to collaborate and communicate with peers on a continuous base.

Additionally, TSS creates and posts all training documents and resources needed for Tech Leaders, in the

Learning Management System, to use to conduct school-based professional development using technology

as schools move to integrate technology into instruction more effectively. Since technology continues to

progress, it is imperative that the TSS Group continues to research new technologies and best practices that

can be integrated into daily instruction. TSS will work with the Tech Leaders to investigate, evaluate, and

integrate best practices for integrating technology into daily instruction to ensure that there is an

understanding of how technology should be integrated into daily activities to better engage and motivate

students. Tech Leaders will also be trained to work with school staff to promote familiarity and comfort

with mission-critical, systemic applications such as email and the TSS.

As a part of the collaboration between the Information Technology Department and the Office of the

Chief Academic Officer, IT has developed and implemented online professional development activities for


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teachers, administrators, and other district staff. These courses provide instruction on how to use systemic

applications and house supporting documentation for later participant reference.

As the new teacher contract provides a mandatory 45-minute collaborative planning session weekly

for teachers, the Tech Leaders or other school staff can use this time to provide brief, job-embedded, and

just-in-time professional development related to instructional technology. Included in these resources will

be an agenda that can be customized for each school and unique situation, other applicable handouts,

presentations, and online activities. These resources can be used to either provide the initial training or as a

follow-up to a previous training, as determined by the individual school.

In conjunction with offering additional online professional development offerings, ITD collaborated

with the Facilities department to reopen and renovate space in the district’s Professional Development

Center. The Technology Training Center (TTC) at the PDC was reopened in March of 2007 and has

provided the opportunity for ITD staff and staff from various offices throughout the district to provide

systemic staff development on a large scale. The TTC currently houses eleven computer labs that include

nine labs with desktops and two labs with laptops. All spaces have wireless access in order to ensure that as

staff work in the building on district provided equipment, they can access the network and all available

resources.

City Schools IT staff continues to work with Blackboard to upgrade, configure and customize the

Teacher Support System (TSS) in order to expand and grow usage. A synchronization of the TSS with

student and human resource databases has allowed for the creation of courses for every teacher in the

district. The inclusion of the Blackboard Content Collection as an available tool within the system enables

staff to store learning objects in a repository in order to share and recycle best practices. Professional

development has been and will continue to be provided in order to make staff aware of these tools and how

to utilize them to support instruction and systemic initiatives.


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City Schools Strategy 2: Ensure that staff is highly skilled and capable of effectively using technology tools and digital content. City Schools Master Plan Objective: Design and implement effective and cost efficient management systems and practices to improve the support to instruction.City Schools Master Plan Strategy: Integrate technology into curriculum, instructional delivery, professional development, and administration.METP Objective: Professional Development: Improve staff’s knowledge and skills to integrate technology into instruction.


Milestones

2.1 All teachers will meet State-established standards for technology-related knowledge and skills.

Develop online, face-to-face, and hybrid professional development and credit-bearing course offerings housed on TSS.

ITD Teacher Support Systems; Teaching & Learning

ITD will monitor course development and convene committee to review the professional development and course offerings. ITD will submit eligible courses for MSDE in-service credit. Implement PD/courses on TSS and evaluate participant feedback. Survey participants and use results to revise the course if needed.

Develop and implement an instructional technology professional development course listing that includes courses related to technology usage and integration.

ITD Teacher Support Systems

Committee to develop professional development course listings. Professional development course catalog available on-line for City Schools staff. All professional development courses will be listed in an online catalog.

Align all professional development offerings with the Maryland Teacher Professional Development standards as well as the Maryland Teacher Technology and national standards.

ITD Teacher Support Systems; Teaching & Learning

Committee to review professional development syllabi. All professional development activities align with state and national standards. Utilize the MSDE Professional Development Planning Tool to plan for all professional development.

Collaborate with the Office of the Chief Academic Officer in order to provide professional development related to accessing curriculum documents and related resources.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems; Teaching & Learning

Committee to review the need for on-going professional development. Professional development provided. Usage of the curriculum documents on the TSS will be monitored and analyzed.

Maintain ITD presence at the evening seminars for the New Teacher Institute offered by the Office of the Chief Academic Officer.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems

ITD will provide staff to present instructional technology workshops and sessions.

Assign ITD staff to serve as a liaison to the Chief Academic Officer’s Office in order to ensure the instructional and information technologies are included in all professional development activities.


Track ITD staff attendance at meetings.


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Continue to expand the use of the Teacher Support System application by teachers and staff.


ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor technology professional development goals through the use of the Progress Monitor application.

Provide professional development and support in the use of the Teacher Support System in instruction, planning, communication, assessment, collaboration, and research.

School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems


Utilize the City Schools iLearn system to provide interactive professional development opportunities via the Internet.


Track TSS usage of online professional development courses and modules.

Provide professional development and support to all teachers in the use of the Student Management System (SMS) to report and track student attendance and grades.

Chief Technology Officer; Office of Curriculum & Instruction; School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

All teachers will accurately report and track student attendance and grade information.

Provide professional development and support to Special Education teachers and Related Services providers in the use of the Student Management System (SMS) to report and track IEP goals, objectives, and progress, 504 Plan information, and Discipline and SST data.

Chief Technology Officer; Office of Curriculum & Instruction; School Leadership Teams; School-based Staff Associates

All Special Education teachers and Related Services providers will accurately report and track students’ IEP goals, objectives, and progress, 504 Plan Information, and Discipline and SST data.

Provide professional development related to the use of the Library Resource Management System.

Office of School Libraries; School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Planning committee reviews courses. Courses are offered to teachers and City Schools staff.

Provide online, technology driven professional development to support the successful integration of technologies and their related programs for diverse learning, special education and ESOL.

ITD Teacher Support Systems; Office of the Chief Academic Officer; Special Education; ESOL; Assistive Technology Team


Provide professional development for teachers in order to ensure compliance with student technology literacy standards as defined by NCLB.

Office of School Libraries; School Leadership Teams;



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Provide professional development to all staff in order to ensure compliance for the use of data tracking and resource management applications.

Office of School Libraries; School Leadership Teams; School-based Staff Associates


Provide professional development to support the integration of electronic testing programs and data monitoring systems.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems; DREAA

ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor technology professional development goals through the use of the Progress Monitor application. Office of Curriculum & Instruction will provide training on system-wide assessments.

Provide professional development to the Parent Advisory Board in order to share information about how parents can better use the TSS Parent Portal and the Find Teacher module to communicate with teachers.

ITD;Parent Advisory Board Staff

Planning committee reviews agendas and session overviews. Workshops offered.

Provide school-based professional development and support to individuals, small groups, grade level teams, and whole staff on technology-related topics that include but are not limited to effective integration of technology into instruction and the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students.



Provide school-based professional development in teacher use of technology tools, resources, and the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students to plan for instruction and assessment, communicating with colleagues, parents, and the community, assessing student progress, and developing technology-infused instructional projects.



Provide training in utilization of technology tools, resources, and the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students to support instruction.



Provide training to teachers in understanding and incorporating the Maryland Student Technology Literacy Standards into planning, instruction, and assessment.



Provide professional development to teachers in laptop use and maintenance.

ITD Teacher Support Systems; School Leadership Teams

Monitor laptop usage through Computrace data. ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor technology professional development goals through the use of the Progress Monitor application.


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Provide professional development to teachers in accessing resources on TSS using their laptops.



Provide professional development to teachers in accessing and using the City Schools employee e-mail system via Outlook Web Access.



Provide professional development to teachers in using their City Schools laptops to improve and enhance classroom instruction, particularly through accessing and integrating online resources such as City Schools curriculum guides, TSS Resources tab, testing data, and juried lesson plans and activities.



Provide professional development to teachers related to incorporating e-learning and Web 2.0 tools into daily instruction.

School Leadership Teams; School-based Staff Associates; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Utilize system reporting tools to monitor usage of electronic resources and Web 2.0 tools.

2.2 All administrators at the school and district levels will meet State-established standards for technology-related knowledge and skills.

Develop and implement of professional development courses that address administrative uses of technologies to support instruction.

ITD Teacher Support Systems and Classroom Support Systems

Courses will be created and judged using a state approved criterion checklist for course design. The courses will also be approved by curriculum developers who will assess content. Courses will then be placed on the TSS and made available to teachers. At the conclusion of each course, teachers will be surveyed and the results used to revise the course if needed.

Expand the usage of e-learning and Web 2.0 tools to include and enable their use by school staff and administration for instruction, professional development, and video-conferencing.

ITD Teacher Support Systems; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Track TSS usage of online professional development courses and modules, and the web 2.0 tools in the TSS.

Develop online, face-to-face, and hybrid professional development and credit-bearing course offerings housed on TSS.


ITD will monitor course development and convene committee to review the professional development and course offerings. Submit eligible courses for MSDE in-service credit. Implement PD/courses on TSS and evaluate participant feedback. Survey participants and use results to revise the course if needed.

Develop and implement a professional development course listing that includes courses related to technology usage and integration.


Committee to develop professional development course listings. Professional development course catalog available on-line for City Schools staff. All professional development


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courses will be listed in an online catalog. Provide professional development to support the integration of electronic testing programs and data monitoring systems.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems; DREAA


Provide professional development to administrators in understanding and incorporating the Maryland Student Technology Literacy Standards into planning, instruction, and assessment.



Collaborate with the Office of the Chief Academic Officer in order to provide professional development related to accessing curriculum documents and related resources.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; ITD School Support Systems

Committee to review the need for on-going professional development. Professional development provided. Usage of the curriculum documents on the TSS will be monitored and analyzed.


Provide professional development to appropriate staff to ensure compliance for the use of business applications.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; Office of the Chief Information Technology Officer


Continue to expand the use of the Teacher Support System application by administrators and support staff.


ITD will monitor usage data to determine trends. ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic Officer will monitor technology goals through the use of the Progress Monitor application.

Provide professional development and support to all administrators and support staff in the use of the Student Management System (SMS) to report and track student attendance and grades and to utilize SMS reporting tools.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; Office of the Chief Information Technology Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems

All administrators and support staff will accurately report and track student attendance and grade information via the reporting tools.

Provide school-based professional development and support to administrators on technology-related topics that include but are not limited to effective integration of technology into instruction and the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students.



Provide school-based professional development in administrator use of technology tools, resources, and the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students to plan for instruction and assessment, communicating with colleagues, parents, and the community, assessing student progress, and developing technology-infused instructional projects.



Provide training for administrators in utilization of technology School Leadership ITD and the Office of the Chief Academic City Schools Technology Plan

2008-201128

tools, resources, and the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students to support instruction.

Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Officer will monitor technology professional development goals through the use of the Progress Monitor application.

Provide training to administrators in understanding and incorporating the Maryland Student Technology Literacy Standards into planning, instruction, and assessment.




Implement a series of technology leadership courses for school administrators to address administrative uses of instructional and information technologies.

Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Planning committee reviews courses. Courses are offered to teachers and City Schools staff via City Schools website and Office of Publications.

Provide professional development for administrators in using the school’s TSS organization to improve communication, collaboration, planning and preparation, and information management.



Provide professional development in utilization of technology tools and resources to support instruction.



Provide professional development and support in the use of the Teacher Support System in instruction, planning, communication, assessment, collaboration, and research.



Provide professional development for administrators in understanding the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Teachers and incorporating them into school-based professional development activities.

Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems; School Leadership Teams


Develop list of technology “look-fors” that incorporates the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for teachers for administrators to use during instructional walk-throughs, learning walks, and evaluations/observations.


ITD will develop checklists in conjunction with the Office of Curriculum & Instruction. Administrators will receive training during Monthly Leadership Meetings. Checklists will be posted on TSS.

Provide professional development and support to administrators and support staff in the use of the Student Management System (SMS) to report and track Special Education and Related Services data.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; Office of the Chief Information Technology Officer

All administrators will accurately report and track Special Education and Related Services data.

2.3 All City Schools teacher candidates will meet state-established

Embed the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Teachers in job descriptions and prerequisites.

Human Resources Office; Office of the Chief Academic

Establish baseline technology proficiency skills and include them in published job descriptions and prerequisites.


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standards. Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Screen prospective employees to assess technology proficiency. Human Resources Officer; Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support Systems

New employees will complete a technology literacy survey to determine areas of strength and need. Survey information will be used to place new hires into professional development course offerings.

Provide technology professional development to new teachers during the New Teacher Summer Institute and throughout the school year at New Teacher Institute sessions.



2.4 One instructional technology support person will be available for every 100 instructional and administrative staff members.

Provide support to schools as they hire and place school-based Staff Associates for Instructional Technology.

Chief Technology Officer; ITD Teacher Support Services

ITD will collaborate with the Office of the Chief Academic Officer to draft position requirements and submit to HR for distribution to schools.

Maintain Technology Training Center at the Professional Development Center for systemic technology training and professional development for Instructional Technology support staff.


Track professional development bookings and offerings. Monitor attendance at events and professional development activities.


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Strategy 3: Improve the readiness and service levels of existing infrastructures, including all networks, mission critical application systems, and technical support systems in order to sustain and enhance school administrative functions and system-wide operations processes.

Rationale: As all aspects of teaching and learning are becoming increasingly dependent upon access to

computing resources, including the networks and the software services that run upon them, it is essential

that the networks themselves become more reliable and that the software services yield more complete and

higher quality information to support all school and school system-level operations as well as state and

federal reporting. All City Schools schools now have access to high-speed, high-capacity broadband

communications. According to the National Technology Plan, "broadband access 24 hours a day, seven days

a week, 365 days a year could help teachers and students to realize the full potential of this technology and

broadband technology needs to be properly maintained.” We plan to undertake the following

recommendations in the National Technology plan to “Encourage Broadband Access”.

The following are recommendations from the National Technology Plan that our districts will implement:

Thoroughly evaluate existing technology infrastructure and access to broadband to determine current capacities and explore ways to ensure its reliability.

Encourage that broadband is available all the way to the end-user for data management, online and technology-based assessments, e-learning, and accessing high-quality digital content.

Encourage the availability of adequate technical support to manage and maintain computer networks, maximize educational uptime and plan for future needs.”

In a continuous effort to increase the percentage of total available resources that are devoted to

classroom instruction, it is essential that school administrative functions and system wide operational

processes become increasingly efficient. The best opportunity to realize this efficiency is by implementing

enterprise resource planning systems (student records management, human resources, payroll, financial

management, food services, and facilities management) that in turn provide robust, consistent processes and

improve administrative staff efficiency in schools and central office.

“Technology can help to improve the efficiency and productivity of teachers, and the people who

manage and administer schools and classrooms. Time-consuming processes, such as procurement and

record-keeping, will be performed electronically to save time and prevent error. Technology can also

improve the handling of data about instructional planning and student achievement. School systems across

the country, such as the Memphis City Schools, are using integrated student information and instructional

management systems to assess student performance and provide feedback throughout the school year. This

helps teachers to effectively manage their own instructional strategies (CEO Forum, 2001). When

administrative technology projects succeed in reducing resource expenditures, resources are made available

for other strategic objectives. Key to increased use is that information systems be interoperable in order to City Schools Technology Plan

2011-201531

share information (e.g. student information systems with transportation system and food system); between

school systems (e.g. transfer of student transcripts and other pertinent information); and between the State

and school systems (e.g. submission of student data to MSDE). Standards are being developed by the

software industry to promote this interoperability, e.g. Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF). The

security and confidentiality of student, human resources, and financial information that travels over

networks must be guaranteed.”

We plan to undertake the following recommendations in the National Technology plan to “Integrate

Data Systems “. Integrated, interoperable data systems are the key to better allocation of resources, greater

management efficiency, and online and technology-based assessments of student performance that empower

educators to transform teaching and personalize instruction.

The following are recommendations from the National Technology Plan that our districts will implement:

Establish a plan to integrate data systems so that administrators and educators have the information they need to increase efficiency and improve student learning.

Use data from both administrative and instructional systems to understand relationships between decisions, allocation of resources and student achievement.

Ensure interoperability. For example, consider School Interoperability Framework (SIF) Compliance Certification as a requirement in all RFP’s and purchasing decisions.

Use assessment results to inform and differentiate instruction for every child.

This strategy of our plan also aligns with MSDE Objective: “Technology will be used effectively to

improve school administrative functions and operational processes.”

Key Efforts: The City Schools Information Technology Department undertook projects during the 2005-

2008 school years to maintain the readiness and service levels of existing infrastructures, including all

networks, mission critical application systems, and technical support systems. The City Schools will

continue support of its software applications and will target resources to applications that are required by

law and directly affect student instruction, including the current school system website.

The City Schools Information Technology Department has discontinued the use of the legacy SETS

and SASI systems and has transferred all student information to the Pearson Student Management System

(SMS). This process included the convergence of supporting data from the two legacy systems and

provides maintenance of the application and hardware. In addition, City Schools has and will continue to

provide individual training for users, and the generation of reports required by central office administrators.

Ongoing support for the software applications, including data and hardware support for all users; report

creation for operations; and court reporting will continue.


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In response to the new regulations promulgated by the No Child Left Behind legislation, the

Information Technology Department implemented data collection and reporting systems and support for the

federally mandated reports on student achievement. Information Technology has also created accurate data

files to meet the report submission requirements of the MSDE, including enrollment statistics, special

education data, and discipline data. ITD will utilize the mission-critical data collection tools put into place

over the past three years to continue to collect, analyze, and report federal, state, and local data.

Information Technology will continue to provide support for school-based computer labs and

classroom and teacher workstations as well as the desktop applications that provide information security and

eliminate network intrusion. ITD will also continue to maintain applications and procedures that provide

security protection for all technology infrastructures district wide, including all administrative and

instructional support systems and technology. Direct technical support will continue to be provided for all

administrative and instructional software and hardware and to all users accessing centralized administrative

and instructional technology application systems. A consolidation of current district-wide servers to

enterprise servers will enable ITD to better manage and support applications delivered via the district

network.


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City Schools Strategy 3: Improve the readiness and service levels of existing infrastructures, including all networks, mission critical application systems, and technical support systems in order to sustain and enhance school administrative functions and system wide operational processes.City Schools Master Plan Objective: Design and implement effective and cost efficient management systems and practices to improve the support to instruction. City Schools Master Plan Strategy: Integrate technology into curriculum, instructional delivery, professional development, and administration.METP Objective: Administrative Productivity and Efficiency: Improve decision-making, productivity, and efficiency at all levels of the organization through the use of technology.


Milestones

3.1 All staff will use electronic information and communication tools to improve management and operational efficiency.

Continue the Teacher Laptop program to ensure that all employees have a City Schools network ID, e-mail account, and access to the Teacher Support System, the Student Management System and other instructional and administrative tools as needed.

ITD Infrastructure; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Monitor laptop usage through Computrace and TSS usage data. ITD will monitor progress through Daily Encounter Forms, Work Logs, Progress Monitor application and TSS usage data, and T/PQ meeting attendance data.

Implement an Enterprise Server solution for all students, teachers and administrators. The Enterprise Server solution will support single sign on capability, rich user management features, enhanced email capability, authentication, access control and provide centralized managed services.

ITD ITD will install a program management team to monitor milestones at a weekly status meeting. Success is determined by successful deployment and user acceptance. Greatly reduce IT overall technical support requirements by eliminating over 400 existing servers.

Continue to ensure that all employees have a City Schools network ID, e-mail account, and access to the Teacher Support System, the Student Management System and other instructional and administrative tools as needed.

ITD Infrastructure; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Monitor laptop usage through Computrace and TSS usage data. ITD will provide purchasing advice and assistance with deployment of equipment to teachers as needed. ITD will monitor usage of system tools..

Initiate in-house development to provide the court-ordered Prevention Plan and Parent Complaint functionality to improve the Special Education business processes.

ITD; Special Education

Monitored by IEP Software Steering Committee. Benchmarks include: Requirements definition; integration analysis with existing special education software; development, testing, implementation of solution. ITD will work with Special Education Director to assure compliance with court order.

Support and maintain the following software applications: Student Management System (SMS), iCityWide (high school application process), eTR (transportation request application), LEP (tracking for LEP students), MMSR (collects pre-K and K developmental checklist data), Curriculum Assessments application (to collect results), Transcript application (to generate transcripts from SASI or mainframe historical data), Homeless

ITD Monitored by ITD management. Assures availability of applications to maintain student information and related data collection processes; availability of data to produce data driven reporting to administration; compliance with court orders; improving efficiencies of City Schools


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Milestones

student tracking, Title I Supplemental Services applications to determine, track SES eligibility. These applications include data and hardware support for all users, report creation for operations, and court reporting will continue.

admin organizations (Office of Student Placement, Special Education, Title I, ESOL, Area Offices, Transportation, etc); on-time and accurate reporting to USDE & MSDE per respective schedules. Compliance with court requirements for reporting.

3.2 Provide leadership and support in access to and use of technologies for administrative and operational purposes.

Implement and manage a Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plan in support of student records management, human resources, payroll, financial management, food services, and facilities management in the event of system wide failure, intermittent failure or unavailability of existing resources. (eRate)

ITD An oversight committee will be formed. Quarterly Disaster Recovery simulations will be performed to measure and improve the Disaster Recovery process and procedures.

Implement and maintain mission critical systems that support the processes and functions of departments related to Human Resource Management including the following:

Oracle Human Resources Management System continues to offer City Schools a proactive management solution that helps control administrative costs while developing and supporting an effective and improved workforce, reduction in employee turnover and recruitment cost, appropriate job placement, improved employee tracking and reporting, and In-house Payroll and Benefits Management.

ITD; Human Resources Office

Provide timely access to employee staffing, payroll, Benefits and information by all authorized users.

Maintain ERP software at vendor supported current version(s). ITD Produce Bi-Weekly employee Payroll.Comply with MSDE defined data reporting and deadlines for all data files.

The Summer School Employee Entry System is a web-based system to enter, view and edit summer employee related information. This system will help collect the Summer Employee information electronically with a quick turnaround time.

Review and Analyze current HRMS business processes in coordination with functional departments and Implement and document industry standard best business practices.

ITD; Chief Financial Officer


A project oversight team will be established. The team will monitor the improved accuracy and timeliness in the entry, review, and approval of summer school City Schools payroll process and procedures.

A project oversight team will be established. The team will monitor and recommend best business practices and procedures to be implemented.


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Milestones


Substitute Employee Monitoring System is a web-based system used by the principals to assign, track and report substitute teachers. Help principals and Human Resource office to assign and track substitutes online. This system also tracks regular teachers who are absent and the substitute teachers who are replacing them on a given day.

Through Self-Service Human Resources, the City Schools workforce can maintain their own information, including personal, and benefits information. Human Resources self-service functionality will significantly reduce administrative costs, improved service to the workforce, promotes ownership of data and processes, and improve data accuracy.

All important employee documents will be scanned electronically and the scanned documents will be attached to the employee record.


ITD; Human Resources Office; Chief Financial Officer

ITD; Human Resources OfficeITD; Human Resources Office

A substitute teacher system will be put in place so that school administrators and teachers will have access to online information. This information will allow for the assignment of substitutes for classroom coverage due to teacher absenteeism or vacancy.

A project oversight team will be established. An online web access system will be put in place so that all City Schools staff will be provided the ability to access and update their personal demographics and benefits.

Timely retrieval and management of certification information will be in place.




Support and maintain the following software applications: Student Management System (SMS), iCityWide (high school application process), eTR (transportation request application), LEP (tracking for LEP students), MMSR (collects pre-K and K developmental checklist data), Curriculum Assessments application (to collect results), Transcript application (to generate transcripts from SASI or mainframe historical data), Homeless student tracking, Title I Supplemental Services applications to determine, track SES eligibility. These applications include data and hardware support for all users, report creation for operations, and court reporting will continue.

ITD Monitored by ITD management. Assures availability of applications to maintain student information and related data collection processes; availability of data to produce data driven reporting to administration; compliance with court orders; improving efficiencies of City Schools admin organizations (Office of Student Placement, Special Education, Title I, ESOL, Area Offices, Transportation, etc); on-time and accurate reporting to USDE & MSDE per respective schedules. Compliance with court requirements for reporting.

Implement and maintain mission critical systems that support the processes and functions of departments related to Student Services and Student


36


Milestones


Transportation including the following: Continue to improve the use of the automated bus routing and

tracking systems (Trapeze and VEO Sped) to enable a reduction of costs through optimization of all yellow bus school routes; proactively identifying vehicle maintenance to reduce overall repair costs; maintaining an up to date geographical address file for all non-transportable student MTA ticket distribution; and, file transfer support for the transportation request web site. (eRate)

Provide ongoing support for MTA bus ticket distribution through Trapeze.

Continue to support the GPS tracking system implemented to track all yellow bus routes.

Provide ongoing support of the Trapeze application, which provides bus routing information for all yellow bus curb-to-curb and corner-to-corner services.

Assist Transportation with analyzing and piloting the MTA SmartCard that will replace the current distribution of MTA coupon booklets.

ITD; Office of Chief Operating Officer





The transportation framework committee, which meets on a monthly basis, will monitor progress. Costs will be reduced associated with route optimization and the reduction in the number of MTA tickets distributed.

The monthly transportation framework committee will monitor success of the implementation. Principals will be able to generate a list of eligible MTA riders on a monthly basis. Data will be collected.

The transportation framework committee which meets on a monthly basis will monitor the project. The number of routes driven will be reduced and the ability to capture services rendered to Special Education students will improve.

The monthly transportation framework committee will monitor success of the implementation. Contractors will have access to the application availability during operating hours and the generation of daily yellow bus routes.

The monthly meetings of the transportation framework committee will track progress. Students will be able to access MTA transportation using the new SmartCard thereby eliminating the MTA ticket booklets.

Implement and maintain mission critical systems that support the processes and functions related to school administration including the following:

Provide support and maintenance for the implementation of the Student Management System (SMS) to replace SASIxp, Discipline, 504, and SST applications.

ITD Administrators and teachers can successfully access and use SMS for data entry and reporting for Special Education tracking.

Provide support and maintenance for the implementation of the Student Management System (SMS) for grade and attendance reporting.

ITD Administrators and teachers can successfully access and use SMS for data entry and reporting of student grades and attendance.


37


Milestones


Deploy cell phones to support and improve some school administrative functions and to improve the communication between school bus drivers and school administrators.

ITD The cell phones will be deployed to school bus drivers. The phone usage will be monitored closely by School Administrators and HQ administrators.

Provide Human Resource Department with the required data and reports to articulate tools and measures for better Teacher Performance, which will directly focus on better student achievement.


Principals enter the teacher evaluations online. Provide various Teacher Evaluation reports to HR.

The GSS Performance evaluation system is an evaluation system designed to capture evaluations for the unaffiliated employees. This system is used for effective collection, management, and storage and reporting of employee evaluation data.


Evaluators enter the employee evaluations online.

Provide ongoing support of the meal application scanning system to track meal statuses for students which is dependent upon income levels.


The weekly Foodstat committee will monitor implementation and progress of the project. Food Services will be able to process daily meal applications and generate current meal status reports to the schools.

Complete implementation of the WebSMART upgrade to WinSNAP which is the Point of Sale system used in schools to process all meals served on a daily basis.


The weekly Foodstat committee will monitor implementation and progress of the project. Deployment will be completed before the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

Implement and maintain mission critical systems that support the processes and functions of departments related to Financial Operations including the following:

Implement best business practices through redesign of the City Schools Chart-of-Accounts, Accounts Receivables, and Capital Projects accounting process re-engineering, and electronic forms delivery.

Office of Chief Financial Officer

CFO’s senior staff will monitor through review of the defined metrics. Turnaround timelines will be shortened, a reduction of re-work and increased data integrity.

Information Technology will automate the process to monitor employees who do not receive a paycheck and establish an invoice creation process to collect premium dollars from effected employees. The automated process that is proposed will provide system based interfaces between payroll, benefits, and accounts receivable.


Automated process to monitor employees with no pay check and invoice creation process to collect premium dollars from the effected employees.


38


Milestones


Information Technology will continue to support the finance department in its objective to provide school and administrative offices improved and timely financial revenue and expense tracking and reporting, reduction of administrative labor-intensive financial tracking, and standardization of financial management functions.

ITD Continue to provide 99.9% availability of ERP financial. Continue to investigate and refine business practices in processing financial intervention to schools and offices.

To ensure accurate accounting and reporting of assets, the Asset Management System will provide integration with ERP Financials for timely and accurate financial status reporting of all assets. City Schools will procure professional services to provide an inventory and appraisal of district assets for tracking solution.

ITD; Office of Chief Financial Officer

The Asset Management Implementation team will monitor through milestones established in the task plan. The Professional Services contract will be monitored through the service level agreement. Success will be determined by the production of reports and financial data which accurately reflect the status of City Schools assets.

Provide integration with ERP Financials for timely and accurate financial status reporting of all grants. Grant Management System will also provide functionality to support: effective grant administration for the development of grant proposals and tracking the compliance of grant awards, improved Grants management and Grants accounting via electronic Grants processing, more effective processes and procedures for Grants costing distribution.

Grants Administration Director; ITD

The Grants Management Implementation team will monitor this project through milestones established in the task plan.Success will be determined by the reduction of effort required to secure grants, produce grant reports and closeout grants.

Implement and maintain mission critical systems that support the processes and functions of departments related to Facilities Management including the following:

Provide ongoing support for the Act 1000 requisition management system. This system allows facilities to automate its assessments as well as scheduling project maintenance, replacement, or inspection based on a pre-determined timeframe.


Facility-stat meeting will meet on a weekly basis to monitor progress. The amount of time required to respond to and fix work orders entered into the system will be reduced.

Support all reporting requirements as specified by the School Stat committee.


Provide timely reports and readily make available all reports required by the School Stat Committee.

Provide ongoing support for the Request Line order entry system, which allows individuals the ability to electronically enter, and


Facility-stat meeting will meet on a weekly basis to monitor progress. The amount of work orders


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Milestones


track work orders for repairs needed on City Schools buildings. entered in to the system by the EBS position within Facilities will be reduced.

Support the energy performance contract monitoring system. ITD will be supporting all energy vendors to assist with any technical requirements needed to fulfill the guaranteed portion of energy savings.

ITD Implementation will be monitored by ITD.Success will be determined by the realization of projected cost savings from each vital area.City Schools will monitor savings achieved against an enterprise rollout of software that will automatically scale back the power requirements of monitors in an effort to reduce overall electricity consumption.

Continue to support the Arcview GIS software implemented for school planning.


The office of the COO will monitor use of the software and will coordinate updates from Baltimore City’s department of planning.




ITD Infrastructure; IT Staff Associates





ITD Infrastructure; ITD Teacher Support Systems; ITD Teacher Support Systems


Implement an Enterprise Server solution for all students, teachers and administrators. The Enterprise Server solution will support single sign on capability, rich user management features, enhanced email capability,

ITD ITD will install a program management team to monitor milestones at a weekly status meeting. Success is determined by successful deployment


40


Milestones


authentication, access control and provide centralized managed services. and user acceptance. Greatly reduce IT overall technical support requirements by eliminating over 400 existing servers.

Continue to ensure that all employees have a City Schools network ID, e-mail account, and access to the Teacher Support System, the Student Management System and other instructional and administrative tools as needed.

ITD Infrastructure; ITD Teacher Support Systems; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Monitor laptop usage through Computrace and TSS usage data. ITD will provide purchasing advice and assistance with deployment of equipment to teachers as needed. ITD will monitor usage of system tools..




Through Self-Service Human Resources, the City Schools workforce can maintain their own information, including personal, and benefits information. Human Resources self-service functionality will significantly reduce administrative costs, improved service to the workforce, promotes ownership of data and processes, and improve data accuracy.

ITD; Chief Financial Officer

A project oversight team will be established. The team will monitor the improved accuracy and timeliness in the entry, review, and approval of summer school City Schools payroll process and procedures.

The New Time Entry System will address the business requirements identified as a part of collaborated requirement definition during the discovery phase on the short comings of the existing Oracle Time and Labor System.


A project oversight team will be established. An online web access system will be put in place so that all City Schools staff will be provided the ability to access and update their personal demographics and benefits.

All Teacher Certification Documents will be scanned electronically and the scanned documents will be attached to the employee record.

ITD; Office of Chief Financial Officer

A project oversight team will be established. The team will monitor the improved accuracy and timeliness in the entry, review, and approval of year round school City Schools payroll process and procedures for all 10 and 12 month employees.

Applicant Tracking is web based recruitment, selection and applicant tracking system. This system is used by the Human Resources Department as a recruiting tool to hire highly qualified and competent teachers.


Timely retrieval and management of certification information will be in place.


41


Milestones


Implement and maintain mission critical systems that support the processes and functions of departments related to Student Services and Student Transportation including the following:


Applicants applying for vacant position online and HR using the applicant information to recruit qualified teachers.

Continue to support the Arcview GIS software implemented for school planning.

ITD Implementation will be monitored by ITD.Success will be determined by the realization of projected cost savings from each vital area.City Schools will monitor savings achieved against an enterprise rollout of software that will automatically scale back the power requirements of monitors in an effort to reduce overall electricity consumption.

Update and improve the City Schools official website. Develop website content management procedures to ensure schools and departments are able to update individual websites. Update and maintain the website to provide the community, business partners, students, and staff access to the most current information related to the City Schools.


The office of the COO will monitor use of the software and will coordinate updates from Baltimore City’s department of planning.

Update and maintain the Teacher Support System, the system’s main resource for curriculum, professional development opportunities, instructional resources, organization and school information, and online access to courses and course materials.

ITD; Office of Public Relations

Provide online and hardcopy procedures document for the creation and maintenance of individual school and department website pages. City Schools website content and interface up to date and kept current.

Enhance the School Partnership application to include web-based access for partners to view school-based requirements.

ITD Teacher Support Systems; Curriculum developers

Monitor TSS usage data. Update materials and resources monthly, quarterly, and yearly as needed. Upload updated versions of curriculum and resources as provided and created.

Videotape and publish the official meetings/functions of the City Schools organization.

ITD & Development Office

Monthly progress meetings will be conducted by ITD. The ability to capture and report school-based requirements on an as-needed basis will be put in place.

Enhance the functionality of the Board PEP Tracking System by allowing authorized users to enter, view, edit and generate customized documents of Board action items

ITD ITD will deliver copies of the videotaping of Board and official meetings and functions to requesting City Schools offices or individuals.

Populate all school organizations on TSS with information and resources ITD Produce Board PEP actions document for every


42


Milestones

for students and parents. Promote and publicize the use of TSS Parent Portal and the Find Teacher module as a tool for schools to communicate with and provide information/resources to stakeholders.

board meeting and allow authorized users to enter, view, edit and generate customized documents PEP documents.

Initiate a data warehouse project to support data collection and reporting requirements, enable data driven decision making for school-based and administrative personnel, and support large research projects by providing a single repository of data.


Monitor TSS usage data, the Progress Monitor application, and climate survey data.

Provide the court ordered Prevention Plan, Compensatory Services, and intervention functionality to improve the Special Education business processes.

ITD; DREAA Oversight Committee will be established to monitor the project with ITD/DREAA/Academic Office representatives. Benchmarks to include: migration of existing operational data to new warehouse data store; timely access to data and reports to enable data-driven decisions; number of available reports. Data warehouse will be effective in 2009.

3.3 Develop processes and strategies to provide access to digital resources, data, and information before and after school hours.

SETS will be decommissioned in September of 2008. SETS is being replaced by functionality in: the new Student Management System (SMS), MDIEP, and three City Schools developed systems, 504, SST and Compensatory Services.

ITD; Office of Special Education

Monitored by IEP Software Steering Committee. Benchmarks include: Requirements definition; integration analysis with existing special education software; development, testing, implementation of solution. ITD will work with Special Education Director to ensure compliance with court order.

Implement Student Management System (SMS) that incorporates the functionality of the SASI application. Converge SASI data and Special Education Applications to improve the quality and integrity of student record data.


SMS Steering Committee will oversee the project. Benchmarks include: gap analysis between the software versions; Successful migration from SETS and IEP Writer to selected product and development and implementation of required additional functionality; any required upgrades to hardware or third party software (i.e. CITRIX); monitoring of Help Desk Calls initiated by IEP Team members; updates to numerous data discrepancy and data cleansing reports.

3.4 Develop processes and strategies to provide electronic communication

City Schools will continue to provide data collection and reporting systems support for the federally mandated reports on student achievement, in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, ITD will continue to provide accurate data files to meet the report and data submissions to the MSDE and the USDE, including enrollment counts,

ITD; Office of Special Education; Chief Academic Officer; Office of Curriculum and

Bridge, via planned data transfers, Student Information and Special Education applications. The new systems will be vendor supported, have the latest functionality, and meet Federal, State and local requirements.


43


Milestones

with educators, students, parents, and the community.

special education data, discipline data, special program data, and other reporting as required.

Instruction

Support administrative data requests regarding rezoning, school closings and new school initiatives by implementing required software changes, reporting changes to comply with the initiatives.

ITD, DREAA, Student Support Services

Monitoring by ITD and Student Support Services management. Tracking per timelines specified by MSDE, USDE. Will continue to provide timely and accurate files and reporting to USDE, MSDE and other organizations as required.

ITD, Chief Academic Officer, Office of Teaching and Learning

Monitored by ITD management. Benchmarks include successful application updates to reflect modifications to schools, calendars, new schools.

3.5 Develop and implement data management systems, integrated student information systems, curriculum/content management systems, and learning management systems.

Initiate a data warehouse project to support data collection and reporting requirements, enable data driven decision making for school-based and administrative personnel, and support large research projects by providing a single repository of data.

ITD; DREAA Oversight Committee will be established to monitor the project with ITD/DREAA/Academic Office representatives. Benchmarks to include: migration of existing operational data to new warehouse data store; timely access to data and reports to enable data-driven decisions; number of available reports. Data warehouse will be effective in 2009.

Provide the court ordered Prevention Plan, Compensatory Services, and intervention functionality to improve the Special Education business processes.


Monitored by IEP Software Steering Committee. Benchmarks include: Requirements definition; integration analysis with existing special education software; development, testing, implementation of solution. ITD will work with Special Education Director to ensure compliance with court order.

SETS will be decommissioned in September of 2008. SETS is being replaced by functionality in: the new Student Management System (SMS), MDIEP, and three BCPSS developed systems, 504, SST and Compensatory Services.


SMS Steering Committee will oversee the project. Benchmarks include: gap analysis between the software versions; Successful migration from SETS and IEP Writer to selected product and development and implementation of required additional functionality; any required upgrades to hardware or third party software (i.e. CITRIX); monitoring of Help Desk Calls initiated by IEP Team members; updates to numerous data discrepancy and data cleansing reports.

Implement Student Management System (SMS) that incorporates the functionality of the SASI application. Converge SASI data and Special Education Applications to improve the

ITD; Office of Special Education; Chief Academic

Bridge, via planned data transfers, Student Information and Special Education applications. The new systems will be vendor supported, have


44


Milestones

quality and integrity of student record data. Officer; Office of Curriculum and Instruction

the latest functionality, and meet Federal, State and local requirements.

3.6 Student, school, and district data provided by the district will be available to schools for analysis and decision-making.

BCPSS will continue to provide data collection and reporting systems support for the federally mandated reports on student achievement, in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, ITD will continue to provide accurate data files to meet the report and data submissions to the MSDE and the USDE, including enrollment counts, special education data, discipline data, special program data, and other reporting as required.

ITD, DREAA, Student Support Services

Monitoring by ITD and Student Support Services management. Tracking per timelines specified by MSDE, USDE. Will continue to provide timely and accurate files and reporting to USDE, MSDE and other organizations as required.

Support administrative data requests regarding rezoning, school closings and new school initiatives by implementing required software changes, reporting changes to comply with the initiatives.

ITD, Chief Academic Officer, Office of Teaching and Learning

Monitored by ITD management. Benchmarks include successful application updates to reflect modifications to schools, calendars, new schools.


45

Strategy 4: Provide universal access to high performance technology.

Rationale for Selection: Eliminating the New Digital Divide for students and creating a teaching/learning

environment in which all stakeholders can perform to their highest potential requires ready access to digital

information services, current technologies, and ongoing customer service and support.

This strategy of our plan aligns with MSDE Objective: Access to high performance technology will

be universal.

Research reaffirms the seemingly obvious idea that successful use of technology requires a strong

technology infrastructure. (Anderson and Ronnkvist, 1999; Tierney, 1996) Such an infrastructure includes:

Equipment, such as computers, printers, probe-ware, handheld devices, projection devices, and digital cameras to meet the instructional needs of all learners;

High-bandwidth connectivity and a network configuration (wiring, data lines, servers, hubs and routers) that

Easy and efficient access to high-quality information and communications resources. Digital learning material, including educational software, online databases, and web pages. Readily available technical support to keep all equipment and systems working.

When the technology infrastructure includes the capacity to be accessible for students with diverse

learning needs and supports how teachers meet individual learning needs, more students have the

opportunity to be successful (Hasselbring & Glaser, 2000). In addition to maintaining and supporting the

technology infrastructure, equipment in our schools will be deployed to support instructional needs.

Key Efforts: The Information Technology Department has made great strides to ensure that schools and

staff have the resources necessary to provide high quality instruction. During the 2006-2008 school years,

ITD has provided 3,500 teacher laptops and 400 student laptops that were deployed to classrooms, bringing

the total number of district laptops to 7,800. This is a 100 percent increase over SY 2005-2006. An

additional 725 laptops will be deployed in the spring of 2008 to teachers who were new to the system as of

the previous August. This equipment will facilitate access to and use of online instructional resources

including the TSS and communication tools such as Outlook Web Access, the web-based portal for City

Schools e-mail. All teachers who received a laptop were trained in basic use and maintenance of the

machine to encourage productive, appropriate, and continued use.

During the 2006-2007 school year, the City Schools piloted the use of the Xtenda device, which

essentially enables one CPU to act as three, thereby reducing the cost of purchasing three additional CPUs.

The City Schools will expand that program with the purchase of additional Extenda devices, which will be

offered to schools that can furnish the equipment needed to properly operate the devices. Since many

schools currently have the required equipment, the Extenda device will provide additional student City Schools Technology Plan

2011-201546

computers without the extra cost. ITD will continue to explore new and existing technologies, including

assistive technology devices and software, in order to make appropriate and effective purchasing

recommendations to schools.

Additionally, the Maryland Technology Inventory data reflect a decrease in the student-to-computer

ratio from 4.2:1 students to computers to 3.8:1 students to computers. It is believed that having trained ITD

staff collect the data enabled the district to provide a more accurate inventory than in previous years.

With equipment purchasing on the rise and record availability of digital resources, City Schools

must ensure that attention be given to both network security and to the safety and appropriate use of

technology by all users. To whit, the district is in the process of revising the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

to reflect up-to-date standards for equipment and access and to ensure a system-wide policy that encourages

appropriate usage and guidelines for digital citizenship as addressed in the Technology Literacy by Grade 8

standards. Additionally, City Schools has redesigned the process by which technical support requests are

made and then addressed. A multi-tiered CEO’s Command Center accepts service request calls and then

routes them to the appropriate district office. These calls are then dispatched to the appropriate support staff

and addressed with in a 24-hour period. The average closure rate for a technical support service request is

1.6 days. The expansion of the Field Technician Services group during the previous year has also provided

the technical support necessary to better support the needs of the customers and to maintain the technology

infrastructure, hardware and software, while also providing support for the set up and installation of new

equipment throughout the district.

ITD is currently revisiting and assessing the status of schools wired through the Technology in

Maryland Schools (TIMS) program to ensure that schools wired in the early stages of the project will

continue to meet the current TIMS standards in broadband access to data delivery mechanisms. ITD will

also continue to support wireless access and connectivity and will provide guidance and support to schools

as they make decisions regarding wireless routers and related equipment.

Library and Media Services continued to provide City Schools school libraries and librarians by

providing technical assistance, recruitment and retention of certified school librarians; professional

development opportunities, including mentors and cohorts for school library media certification;


47

and identified funding for library resources. The efforts supported schools in promoting Information

Literacy and to assist school libraries in meeting the MSDE standards for school libraries. Library and

Media Services worked with curriculum specialist, teachers and librarians in identifying resources that

support the City Schools curriculum. City Schools formed a partnership with community leaders to

transform one elementary school library. During school year 2007-2008 nine school libraries started the

transformation through QZAB funding. The Learning Resource Management System has been

implemented and over 85% of school libraries have been automated and are part of the union catalog.

Students and staff can search the library catalog of all City Schools school libraries that have been

automated.

With the reorganization of schools the number and needs of school libraries has changed. There are

now shared campus libraries that need to be transformed to meet the new demands. The MSDE Standards

for School Library Media Programs in Maryland self- evaluation was completed by all school librarians,.

The self-evaluations was reviewed by an outside evaluator. The evaluator’s report is being used assist in

identifying school library’s strengths and weaknesses in meeting MSDE standards. A cohort has been

formed with the College of Notre Dame and Towson University for the certification of school librarians.


48

City Schools Strategy 4: Provide universal access to high performance technology. City Schools Master Plan Objective: Design and implement effective and cost efficient management systems and practices to improve the support to instruction.City Schools Master Plan Strategy: Integrate technology into curriculum, instructional delivery, professional development, and administration.METP Objective: Universal Access: Improve equitable access to appropriate technologies among all stakeholders.


Milestones

4.1 Provide:a) One high performance computer per educator for administrative and instructional use;b) One high performance computer or computing device per student at the secondary level and a 3:1 student-to-computer ratio at the elementary school level to provide on-demand, equitable access to a variety of technological tools; c) Access to a variety of other technology devices to maximize student learning;d) One computer

Provide support for school-based purchases of technology for teacher and student use.

ITD Teacher Support Systems; School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Monitor laptop usage through Computrace and TSS usage data. ITD will monitor technology goals through the use of the Progress Monitor application.

Provide all students full access to computers, connectivity, and technology tools through the Extenda program. Extenda is a modified thin-client solution that enables the district to reduce the costs of technology while increasing its availability.

ITD; Office of Procurement; School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

ITD will provide support for the purchase and deployment of Extenda devices in schools. Evaluate effectiveness of program through administrator and teacher feedback.

Provide adequate computer equipment and technology in all schools. This will be enabled by providing support for school decision making regarding the:

Acquisition of new computers and technology tools. Re-distribution of donated computer equipment to schools in need. Provision of mobile wireless laptop carts that provide access points

for Internet accessibility in each school. Disposal and replacement of end-of –life equipment.

ITD; Office of Procurement; School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

ITD will deploy resources designed to support the full access to technology through the monitoring of new technology acquisitions, disposing and replacing of end of life equipment, and re-distributing donated PC equipment based upon requests from schools. ITD will monitor the school computer equipment inventory to determine end of life disposal, make recommendations regarding the necessary new purchases, and re-distribution initiatives.

Provide support for technology tools available in all instructional areas to support educational applications and curriculum implementation. (eRate)

ITD Technical Support; School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

Annual survey of school based instructional technology. Schools meet or exceed MSDE student to computer ratio of 3:1.


49


Milestones

projection device or display unit per classroom and other instructional areas;e) Connection to a broadband speed LAN/WAN from every instructional and administrative area, including all re-locatable classrooms, to support the use of high-quality digital learning resources; andf) A secure computing environment to ensure safe access and information integrity.

Support and facilitate the purchase and installation of LCD projectors in each school.

ITD; Office of Procurement; ITD Infrastructure; School Leadership Teams; ITD Teacher Support Systems

ITD will support the purchase of resources designed to support the full access to technology through the monitoring of new technology acquisitions and disposing and replacing of end of life equipment. School-based Staff Associates will assist administrators with making decisions about technology equipment. ITD Infrastructure will mount LCD projectors as needed.

Maintain, support, and repair voice, data, and video wiring in schools, laboratories, and offices.

ITD Infrastructure Weekly Project meeting will determine status of Help Desk tickets.

Upgrade the current WAN infrastructure to provide dependable reliable access to high performance technology for students, teachers and staff. (eRate)

ITD ITD will undertake the upgrade of the WAN for City Schools. The new network will position City Schools to deliver a combination of voice, video and data to all area schools. The project will be managed and monitored by a committee installed to oversee the project to completion. Success will be determined by the milestones delivered and user acceptance

Upgrade existing school networks to ensure all locations have broadband access to all modes of data delivery. (eRate)

ITD Infrastructure The project management team will meet weekly. Certify that the remaining 40 schools infrastructure upgrades meet broadband access standards. Revisit existing wired schools to ensure that current standards are met.

Continue to utilize systemic contracts for technology procurements. ITD; Office of Procurement

End users will have access to the master contract for procurement of specific technology tools. Procurements will be regularly monitored to ensure use of existing contracts. Update school administrators on revisions/ updates to technology procurement contracts.

Continue to employee system-wide content filtering for all users. ITD System administrators will use application tools and reports to ensure that inappropriate sites are blocked. Provide forms for users to report inappropriate content and to request that appropriate sites be unblocked.

Revise current City Schools Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to include all content, guidelines, and standards included within the Digital Citizenship section of the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards.

ITD Review current AUP to identify areas in which TL8 standards are not addressed or incorporated. Rewrite portions of the AUP to incorporate Digital Citizenship standards.


50


Milestones

Publish revised AUP on Teacher Support System and City Schools main website. Distribute hard copies of AUP and sign-off pages to all sites.

Ensure appropriate use of all technology by: distributing to all staff, students, and parents a copy of the City

Schools Acceptable Use Policy (AUP); requiring all staff and students to confirm receipt and understanding

of the AUP via a sign-off sheet; maintaining records at each site of who has submitted a sign-off

sheet; prohibiting technology use for staff and students who have not

submitted an AUP sign-off sheet.

ITD; Office of the Chief Executive Officer; School Administrators

All teachers who receive laptops will be given an AUP at the time of laptop deployment and will sign-off that they have received and understand the AUP. School administrators will maintain hard copies of all AUP sign-off sheets and will submit documentation to the CEO’s office that staff and students have received the AUP and that the school is abiding by all conditions and guidelines for technology use within the AUP

4.2 Have policies and procedures in place to address equivalent accessibility to technology-based products for students, as defined by Education Article §7-910 of the Public Schools - Technology for Education Act.

Provide technology based programs which will offer equivalent accessibility for students with disabilities. (eRate)

ITD Teacher Support System; Office of Special Education; Assistive Technology Team

Review each of the technology based programs used in City Schools for compliance with Section 508 accessibility standards. All technology based programs used in City Schools will meet or exceed published Section 508 accessibility standards

Provide information to schools regarding equipment that is available to assist students with disabilities, including technology that allows students with disabilities to use interactive whiteboards.


Monitor procurement system to ensure that assistive technology is included in the catalogs. Information regarding assistive technology equipment is made available to all schools via the TSS.

Purchase district license for text-to-speech software program such as Kurzweil.


Ensure that all schools have obtained and installed Kurzweil software. Ensure that instructional staff is trained to utilize the software appropriately.

Provide access to scanned files for text-to-speech software programs via TSS.


Files uploaded to the TSS and made available to school-based Staff Associates for use with school-based professional development.

4.3 Provide access Provide access to resources to teachers, students, and parents outside of the ITD Teacher Conduct monthly audit of usage of Internet


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Milestones

to technology after school hours for all learners.

school day via the Teacher-Student Support website (TSS) and the TSS Parent Portal.

Support System based resources. Asset management of City Schools teacher laptops. Instructional activities aligned to City Schools curriculum created and shared.

Provide access to resources to teachers, students, and parents outside of the school day via the City Schools website.


Conduct monthly audit of usage of Internet based resources. Asset Management of City Schools teacher laptops. Instructional activities aligned to City Schools curriculum created and shared.

Establish procedures for reserving space for professional development, training, demonstrations, and meetings at the Technology Training Center.


Track number and type of reservations at TTC.

Coordinate with the Office of Curriculum and Instruction to provide e-text versions of all textbooks purchased by the City Schools.

ITD; Office of Curriculum and Instruction

E-text versions available for purchase along with print copy of text books.

Coordinate with Procurement to ensure that e-text requirements are incorporated into all Request For Proposals (RFP) for textbook contracts.

ITD; Office of Procurement

All RFP’s contain verbiage related to the availability of e-texts associated with text purchases.

4.4 Provide:Technical support using a locally established response system, including an adequately staffed, efficient help desk; At least one full-time technical support person for every 300 computers; At least one full-time LAN administrator per 40 servers; and At least one full-time WAN administrator per 25 sites.

Technical support staffing will be provided to support technology tools and technology related universal access.

ITD ITD will evaluate technical staffing needs on a quarterly basis. Additional support staff and resources will be added based upon current and future needs and budget availability.

Provide adequate technical support to maintain and manage the network infrastructure.

ITD ITD will provide a three Tier technical support structure to manage and support City Schools. The first Tier is Help Desk, a first responder. A ticket is created. The second Tier is Technician deployment, an intermediate support. The third Tier is expert analysis and trouble shooting. Weekly reports will monitor the effectiveness of the support.

Provide adequate staffing at the City Schools Help Desk to assist with timely response and resolution to Tier One service calls.

Chief Technology Officer; ITD Infrastructure; CEO’s Command Center

ITD will provide a three Tier technical support structure to manage and support City Schools. The first Tier is Help Desk, a first responder. A ticket is created. ITD will evaluate technical staffing needs on a quarterly basis. Additional support staff and resources will be added based upon current and future needs.


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Milestones

4.4 Provide:Technical support using a locally established response system, including an adequately staffed, efficient help desk; At least one full-time technical support person for every 300 computers; At least one full-time LAN administrator per 40 servers; and At least one full-time WAN administrator per 25 sites.

Expand the field technical support staff so that there is at least one field tech for every 300 computers.

Chief Technology Officer; ITD Infrastructure

Successful Service Request closure rates improve from an average of 10.7 days to 1 day or less. ITD will evaluate technical staffing needs on a quarterly basis. Additional support staff and resources will be added based upon current and future needs.

Provide at least one full-time LAN administrator per 40 servers. Chief Technology Officer; ITD Infrastructure

ITD will evaluate technical staffing needs on a quarterly basis. Additional support staff and resources will be added based upon current and future needs.

Provide at least one full-time WAN administrator per 25 sites. Chief Technology Officer; ITD Infrastructure

ITD will evaluate technical staffing needs on a quarterly basis. Additional support staff and resources will be added based upon current and future needs.


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Strategy 5: Improve the instructional use of technology through research and evaluation.

Rationale for Selection: As in any area of education, it is important in the area of instructional technology

to use current research and proven best-practices to inform instructional decision-making and planning.

These efforts, when undertaken at the local system level, will help to ensure that the country maintain its

global leadership position in technology innovation. Research data on instructional technology can be

obtained from universities, professional organizations, and groups dedicated to technology research as well

as informal results of inventories, surveys, and evaluation measures completed by employees.

Key Efforts: To whit, in an effort to maintain efficient, effective, appropriate, and up-to-date technology

systems, infrastructure, and equipment, the City Schools will seek out current research and collect data from

in-house surveys, evaluations, and inventories.

We plan to undertake the following recommendations in the National Technology plan to “Improve

the instructional use of technology through research and evaluation”:

Ensure that every teacher knows how to use data to personalize instruction. This is marked by

the ability to interpret data to understand student progress and challenges drive daily decisions

and design instructional interventions to customize instruction for every student’s unique needs.

Use assessment results to inform and differentiate instruction for every child.

This strategy of our plan also aligns with MSDE Objective: “Technology will be used effectively to

improve school administrative functions and operational processes.”


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City Schools Strategy 5: Improve the instructional uses of technology through research and evaluation. City Schools Master Plan Objective: Design and implement effective and cost efficient management systems and practices to improve the support to instruction. City Schools Master Plan Strategy: Integrate technology into curriculum, instructional delivery, professional development, and administration.METP Objective: Professional Development: Improve the instructional uses of technology through research and evaluation.


Milestones

5.1 Bridge to Excellence Master Plans/Updates and Technology Plans will address needs identified from an analysis of data from the Online Technology Inventory Report and other sources.

Utilize online data collection tools to assess digital content and technology correlations for their appropriateness and for recommendations for other content resources and correlations.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher Support System

A review survey will be published using the system’s online survey tool. Data will be collected and analyzed.

Utilize the Online Technology Inventory Report to identify schools’ existing technology and technology needs.

ITD Report data collected, analyzed, and published.

5.2 Monitor the City Schools Technology Plan.

Develop Project Plans based on the goals, objectives, strategies, and activities in the City Schools Technology Plan. Associate dates, resources, and responsible parties as appropriate.

Chief Information Technology Officer; ITD

Project Plans developed, approved, and monitored monthly.

Convene EdTech Steering Committee to meet monthly to review progress and identify issues. The Committee will consist of staff from all departments associated with the plan.

Chief Information Technology Officer; ITD

Agendas and sign-in sheets collected. Agendas reflective of Tech Plan and Project Plan reviews.

5.3 To build capacity to evaluate instructional technology programs and initiatives related to the effective use of technologies for teaching and learning, the City Schools will: Be informed about existing research on the effective use of technologies for teaching and learning; andConduct surveys, linked to national and state standards, to assess the

Continue to expend the federally funded Enhancing Education through Technology Grants (EdTech) in order to provide professional development for school staff to enable them to better utilize newly acquired and existing technologies.


Survey all involved schools to assess the professional development and its impact on instruction. Survey results indicate increase use of instructional technology to enhance instruction.

Create Technology Curriculum Specialist position to be responsible for researching and sharing effective use of technology for teaching and learning.


Research school systems that are effectively integrating technology into instruction and professional development. Research existing technologies and determine effectiveness. Share findings with Office of Curriculum and Instruction. Incorporate best practices in current curriculum documents.

Utilize online data collection tools to evaluate professional development offerings and revise them based on participant feedback.

Office of the Chief Academic Officer; ITD Teacher

Committee to review use of on-line evaluation surveys. All professional development offerings have an on-line evaluation form


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Milestones

impact of technology on teaching and learning by specific interventions such

Support Systems available.

as: New program and content implementation;School reform models;Instructional strategies for targeted subgroups and students at risk;New models for professional development; and Innovative models of instructional practice.

Conduct in-school surveys to teachers to determine specific technology needs and goals and to inform future professional development sessions and course creation.

School Leadership Teams; School-based Staff Associates

ITD will monitor progress toward technology goals using the Progress Monitor application, and online survey tool data.

Conduct in-school surveys to administrators to determine specific technology needs and goals and to inform future professional development sessions and course creation.

School Leadership Teams; School-based Staff Associates

ITD will monitor progress toward technology goals using the Progress Monitor application, and online survey tool data.


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PROGRESS TO DATE

Results are based upon MSDE data gathering survey for 2004-2005. These results are reflected in MSDE 2007 report. (HTTP://MD.ONTARGETUS.COM/DISTSUM.ASP?OTID=30&ACCDESC=BALTIMORE+CITY)

Baltimore City Technology Inventory Summary Report 2007

Total Students, Classrooms, & TeachersDistrict Total Students Total Classrooms Total Teacher

City Schools 87,848 5,583 5,559MD Total 867,253 52,586 60,722

Student to Computer RatioDistrict RatioBaltimore City Totals 5.6 to 1Maryland Average 4.3 to 1Maryland Target 5 to 1

Computer Count by LocationLocation PC’s Laptops PDA’s Projection

DevicesTelephones

Offices 2,525 673 9 188 2,087Classrooms 9,463 941 4 386 718Library Media Center 1,467 16 4 84 67

Stationary Computer Labs

4,451 75 2 58 30

Mobile Computer Labs

162 2,095 30 19 0

Classrooms with Internet Connected ComputersDistrict % Classrooms with Internet AccessBaltimore City Totals 93%Maryland Average 98%Maryland Target 100%

Classroom Computer DataPercent of classrooms with at least one computer (dedicated or shared) for student use, teacher use, and five+ computers for student use.

District

Percent Student Access (1+ computer)

Classrooms

Percent Teacher Access (1+ computer)

Classrooms

Percent Student Access (5+ computers) Classrooms

Baltimore City Totals 59% 73% 6%Maryland Totals 81.68% 94.18% 10.06%


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http://md.ontargetus.com/distSum.asp?otid=30&accDesc=Baltimore+City

Maryland Targets 100% 100% N/A

Computer Projection DevicesBelow is the percent of projection devices by school location

Average Number of Projection Devices per School 3.6

TV/Video ReceptionSchool's TV/Video reception is through

District Cable TV

Closed Circuit/Media Retrieval System

Satellite Dish

Distance Learning Network

Antenna

Baltimore City Totals 86% 11% 0% 1% 9%

Maryland Totals 91% 40% 3% 2% 6%

Home/School CommunicationTypes of Home/School communication systems are in place

District Voice Broadcast

Voice Mail

School Web Site Email Other

Baltimore City Totals 9% 33% 31% 45% 21%Maryland Totals 40% 40% 82% 88% 29%

Assistive Technologies (see Appendix A) Is assistive technology (e.g. portable word processors and braillers, electronic communication aids for speech, or computers with adaptive devices) used by teachers in your school for students with disabilities or students with learning difficulties?

District

Yes, for both students with disabilities who have an Individualized Education Plan or a 504 Plan and for students who experience difficulties learning but do not receive special education services or support through a 504 Plan.

Yes, primarily for students with disabilities who have an Individualized Education Plan or a 504 Plan.

No, most teachers are not aware of these options

No, most teachers are aware of these options but have not been trained on how to use with students.

No, there is not a clear process in place in our school for obtaining assistive technology.

Baltimore City Totals 21.18% 43.35% 10.34% 9.85% 15.27%


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Maryland Totals 26.39% 27.58% 22.25% 13.89% 9.89%

Instructional Support -School BasedWhich school-based employees provide the PRIMARY instructional support (e.g. professional development and lesson planning) for the use of technology to teachers in your school?

District Full Time

Part Time

Library Media

SpecialistsVoluntary None


Maryland Totals 20.63% 25.12% 19.65% 24.49% 10.11%

Instructional Support -Non School BasedWhich non school-based employees provide the PRIMARY instructional support (e.g. professional development and lesson planning) for the use of technology to teachers in your school?

District Central Office

Vendor Contract Students Parents or

Volunteers

Other support not available


Maryland Totals 97.05% 0.21% 0.00% 0.56% 2.18%

Through the 1997-2005 Technology in Maryland Schools (TIMS) infrastructure-wiring program,

City Schools was able to fully achieve this “universally accessible communications enabled” state. As

productivity and communications technologies have evolved, so have the infrastructure requirements to

supply these resources to all locations. In the course of the wiring sites have also been identified for

upgrading and the technology wiring put into place in the early years of the TIMS program. The district's

intent is to upgrade the early wiring projects to meet the current wiring standards in the coming year 2009.

The upgrades will include:

Additional data drops in each class room Wireless computer technology Consolidation of telecommunication distribution closets Cross connections of Voice telecommunication system Acquisition of voice hand sets for each class room Upgrade to Ethernet switches and Routers Design and installation of Digital Video Surveillance System in 180 schools


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EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

The Baltimore City Public Schools “needs to measure success both in reaching the

Technology Plan targets and, ultimately, in achieving the vision of the plan for learners to be competent and

creative thinkers as well as effective communicators and problem-solvers.”

Researchers have measured student progress in technology in a number of ways, including by

generally increased computer usage and by engagement in specific learning tasks (Becker et. al., 1999;

Becker, 2000b; Means, 1995). These studies also indicate that there is a need for further analysis of the

explicit effects of technology resources on student achievement, creative thinking and communication. “To

gauge such progress, multiple measures must be used, including standardized State and local school system

assessments, targeted research studies, school and classroom-based evaluations, and State and local surveys

and inventories. Technology should be used, as appropriate, to facilitate the analysis and communication of

results.”

According to Cronback (1980), “the proper function of evaluation is to speed up the learning

process by communicating what might otherwise be overlooked or wrongly perceived…success…payoff

comes from the insight that the evaluator’s work generates in others.”

A systematic and comprehensive evaluation will be conducted. To design and implement this

program evaluation, the Division of Research, Evaluation, and Accountability will implement a

participatory program evaluation model that involves key stakeholders. Key Stakeholders will be

identified to include members of the Information Technology Advisory Committee, department staff, and

technology users. The individuals identified to represent key stakeholder groups will serve on a program

evaluation advisory committee (herein called The Committee). The three-fold charge to members serving

on The Committee will be to serve in an advisory capacity to the program evaluators with regards to (a)

identifying the most pertinent evaluation questions to be addressed that are in alignment with program

goals and objectives, (b) offering suggestions on the methodological design, (e.g., what data to collect

and how), and (c) providing feedback on draft documents with special attention to formulating the most

significant findings and areas for further improvement in student achievement through the use of

technology.

Among the general evaluation questions (with an illustrative accompanying specific sample

question) proposed to be addressed in this program evaluation design are the following:

How will the successful implementation of the educational technology goals, objectives, and strategies outlined in the 2008 Master Plan and subsequent updates be measured?


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What benchmarks and milestones will be put in place to monitor the successful implementation of the educational technology goals, objectives, and strategies outlined in the 2008 Master Plan and subsequent updates be measured?

To what degree has student achievement and school effectiveness been enhanced as a result of the implementation and use of technology? For example, has student “on task” time increased as a result of the engaged technology use?

To what degree has technology implementation afforded the opportunity to address growth, downsizing, and restructuring? For example, how has technology in City Schools contributed to the implementation of new instructional designs such as project learning, e-learning, and on-line courses?

To what degree has technology implementation assisted with embracing diversity efforts? For example, how effective has the implementation of technology practices been in providing readily accessible data to enhance data-driven decision-making by policy- makers and educators because of the implementation of the new personnel management information system?

To what extent has technology been used to further improve student and staff safety and security? For example, have video security and emergency monitoring systems been integrated into the campus and wide area network, thereby enabling central response coordination that results in an overall decrease in the number of infractions?

How has technology enhanced student and staff accountability practices? For example, how well has the service management system been implemented to track all service requests between schools and support services departments and thereby improve customer satisfaction due to more efficient response rates?

What efforts were taken in implementing the use of technology to expand partnerships and organizational development efforts that are in alignment with the Master Plan? For example, how well has the implementation of a partnership project management system been at affording staff resources of multiple partners to be dynamically combined with district/school staff into task teams?

To what extend has the use of technology assisted City Schools efforts in attracting and retaining staff members as specified within Master Plan II? For example, how beneficial do staff members perceive the efforts are associated with establishing an electronic staff development program to meet individual needs?

To what extent has technology been used to increase productivity and efficiency? For example, how often is the OWA email application used by staff.? , What is the perceived level of usefulness of this service, and what are the results of a cost-benefit analysis of these efforts?

What efforts have been implemented to increase parental and community participation through the use of technology? For example, how often do parents access services such as the Parent Portal in the TSS?

Has the biennial review of district technology standards by the Information Technology Department resulted in maintenance of technology currency within the criteria of cost and advances in technology? For example, has the proportion of the installed inventory classified as obsolete been reduced over the evaluation period?

Do the City Schools guidelines for the selection and evaluation of technology–based instructional products used by students and staff include the requirements governing equivalent access for students and staff with disabilities?

Among the first steps of The Committee will be the finalization of the set of overarching and

specific evaluation questions. Additionally, a detailed operational plan that includes data collection and


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reporting timelines for conducting this program evaluation will be formulated. The plan will specifically

indicate action steps associated for the first year, and key benchmarks for subsequent years.

The evaluation will entail mixed-method design using both qualitative and quantitative analyses.

A mixed-method methodology combines quantitative data, such as physical inventory and usage with

qualitative data, which includes interviews, document analyses, and observations.

The use of multiple data sources will allow for methodological multiangulation and comparisons

of information gathered in the same periods and across different methods. This mixed-method approach

is often thought to be preferable because it allows for the inherent weaknesses of one method (e.g.,

subjectively of interviews) to be compensated by another.

Throughout the process, the Department of Research, Evaluation And Accountability (DREA)

will adhere to The Program Evaluation Standards, How to Assess Evaluations of Educational Programs,

2nd Edition (1994). This document will be used as the on-going reference and guide relative to the

established principles on the utility, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy standards for conducting,

implementing, and disseminating program evaluation results.


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BUDGET

Needed technology often can be funded successfully through innovative restructuring and

reallocation of existing budgets to realize efficiencies and cost savings. The new focus begins with the

educational objective and evaluates funding requests – for technology or other programs – in terms of how

they support student learning. Today, every program in No Child Left Behind is an opportunity for

technology funding – but the focus is on how the funding will help attain specific educational goals.

Funding and budgetary recommendations as outlined in the National Technology Plan are:

Determine the total costs for technology as a percentage of total spending. Consider a systemic restructuring of budgets to realize efficiencies, cost savings and

reallocation. This can include reallocations in expenditures on textbooks, instructional supplies, space and computer labs.

Consider leasing with 3-5 year refresh cycles. Create a technology innovation fund to carry funds over yearly budget cycles.

We plan to adopt the recommendations as outlined in the National Technology Plan. Consistent with

past cost projections, the responsibility for funding will not fall solely upon any one entity. Technology

funding will continue to be a partnership among federal, state, local, corporate and foundation partners. Nor

will this require all “new” money; there is already a strong base of expenditures by all the aforementioned

stakeholders to build upon. However, the following funding streams will serve as the primary foundation to

meet these costs.

For purposes of supporting this Plan, we in the City Schools plan to take advantage of a variety of funding sources as outlined below.

Access federal funding through the new “Enhancing Education through Technology” program, which is part of the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act, No Child Left Behind.

Use funding available from other programs in “No Child Left Behind” legislation to support technology-related expenditures, especially in developing digital content and providing professional development. For programs such as Reading First, Math and Science Partnerships, and Teacher Quality, which allow expenditures for technology-related products and services.

Continue to apply each year for E-rate discounts on eligible services. Recycle savings realized through the E-rate program back into technology-related expenditures. Seek out all other grant opportunities available at the federal and state level to support portions

of our Plan. Allow "instructional materials" budgets in specific program areas to be used to develop digital

content and delivery systems for the content. Continue to seek out partnerships, especially with business and higher education that will help

reduce and leverage costs.


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ENSURE ADEQUATE FUNDING

To ensure adequate funding, City Schools will refine, edit, modify, and develop strategic,

integrated instructional and administrative technology plans. City Schools will undertake a comprehensive

comparative analysis of all currently allocated, proposed or pending capital and operating expenditures to

support technology. Budget recommendations will be developed to support the implementation of City

Schools technology plans, strategies, and initiatives. In order to ensure the adequate funding of the projects

necessary to allow City Schools to be a leader in informational and instructional technology and to support

and maintain the established infrastructures that have been put into place to date, local, state, federal, and

non-public funds must be vigorously sought after.

The following strategies will be used to obtain the necessary funding for the implementation of the

Instructional/Information Technology Goals:

The grants office will provide training and technical assistance for school personnel to develop skills to write grants and proposals for federal and state funds.

Invite staff from the Grants Office to deliver information at citywide staff development activities. The grants office forward electronic copies of the Grants Newsletter to all schools. Work collaboratively with Grants Office, school personnel, and the local business community to

seek grants for all aspects of educational technology. Budget recommendations will be developed to ensure adequate funding for support for the

implementation of City Schools technology plans, strategies, and initiatives. Work collaboratively with MSDE, federal government, FCC, US Department of Education and

the business community to seek federal, state, and local funding for all aspects of educational technology.

Support legislation that ensures educational restructuring or reform bills that include technology components as vehicles to assist and improve the system.

Identify sources of funding with information from MSDE, federal government, and the business community.

Obtain educational technology equipment, hardware, software, and services in the most economical and efficient manner and develop, evaluate, obtain, and deploy resources that support all City Schools curriculum and MSDE standards

Develop an integrated City Schools computer studies curriculum Identify, develop, research, implement, monitor, and facilitate instructional technology grant

opportunities Articulate technology plans and standards to schools, local, state, and federal agencies. Establish and maintain business partnerships with various agencies internal and external to the

school system. Develop an integrated City Schools Media Literacy Program Identify, develop, research, implement, monitor, and facilitate information literacy grant

opportunities. Articulate standards to schools, local, state, and federal agencies.


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Funding for technology shall be composed of funds for system-level initiatives and maintenance and

school/department level initiatives and maintenance.

A) System level initiatives and maintenance, which shall be primarily focused upon bringing all schools/departments to District Technology Standards and maintaining all such technology in good order, or upon major implementation projects shall be funded as follows:

Each year, as part of the operational and capital budget development process, the Information Technology Department will calculate the unmet need (distance between current inventory and District Technology Standards) for each school and department and estimate the cost of all system level initiatives, and prepare budget request as follows:

1) For those technology components that become incorporated within the school or administrative buildings (wiring), the Information Technology Department will prepare a capital budget request.

2) For those technology components that constitute a system-wide subsystem (such as ERP, Student Records, or Security Systems), the Information Technology Department will prepare both capital budget requests (covering hardware, software, and initial installation costs) and operational budget requests (covering ongoing operational and maintenance costs).

B) Site-level (school or department) initiatives and maintenance, which are primarily focused upon site specific improvement priorities will be funded as follows:

Each such site, with the technical assistance of the Information Technology Department, will prepare an estimate of all such cost and identify the sources of local (site level) funds that will be utilized to cover the acquisition, implementation, and ongoing maintenance costs.

C) The Information Technology Department will maximize efforts to secure additional funds through technology related grant applications and donations of equipment and/or funds.


65

The charts below shows the projected expenses for Information Technology related program

expenses. The figures shown include hardware, software, maintenance, professional development and

salaries for the Information Technology Department operational budget for the next three years.

ITD COST CENTER

ANNUAL COSTS FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Office of the Chief Technology Officer $ 5,742,145.24

$ 5,167,930.72

$ 4,651,137.64

$15,561,213.60

Call Center Services $ 662,018.61

$ 595,816.75

$ 536,235.07

$ 1,794,070.43

Student Support Services $ 2,769,872.43

$ 2,492,885.19

$ 2,243,596.67

$ 7,506,354.29

Human Resources Management Systems $ 769,385.00

$ 692,446.50

$ 623,201.85

$ 2,085,033.35

Financial Resource Management Systems

$ 707,907.00

$ 637,116.30

$ 573,404.67

$ 1,918,427.97

Business Support Systems $ 824,926.00

$ 742,433.40

$ 668,190.06

$ 2,235,549.46

Security and Data Services $ 2,890,254.00

$ 2,601,228.60

$ 2,341,105.74

$ 7,832,588.34

Telephone Support Services $ 3,411,001.00

$ 3,069,900.90

$ 2,762,910.81

$ 9,243,812.71

Technical Support Services $ 938,460.00

$ 844,614.00

$ 760,152.60

$ 2,543,226.60

E-Rate / Network Support $ 4,585,000.00

$ 4,126,500.00

$ 3,713,850.00

$12,425,350.00

Teacher Support Systems $ 3,370,441.22

$ 3,033,397.10

$ 2,730,057.39

$ 9,133,895.71

Learning Management Support $ 268,356.00

$ 241,520.40

$ 217,368.36

$ 727,244.76

Total Budget $26,939,766.50

$24,245,789.85

$21,821,210.87

$73,006,767.22

ITD COST CENTER

OPERATIONAL COSTS FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Office of the Chief Technology Officer $ 5,742,145.24 $ 5,167,930.72 $ 4,651,137.64 $15,561,213.60

Call Center Services $ 610,018.61 $ 549,016.75 $ 494,115.07 $ 1,653,150.43

Student Support Services $ 1,857,372.43 $ 1,671,635.19 $ 1,504,471.67 $ 5,033,479.29

Human Resources Management Systems $ 769,385.00 $ 692,446.50 $ 623,201.85 $ 2,085,033.35 Financial Resource Management Systems $ 707,907.00 $ 637,116.30 $ 573,404.67 $ 1,918,427.97

Business Support Systems $ 491,926.00 $ 442,733.40 $ 398,460.06 $ 1,333,119.46

Security and Data Services $ 1,270,254.00 $ 1,143,228.60 $ 1,028,905.74 $ 3,442,388.34


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ITD COST CENTER

OPERATIONAL COSTS FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Telephone Support Services $ 3,411,001.00 $ 3,069,900.90 $ 2,762,910.81 $ 9,243,812.71

Technical Support Services $ 938,460.00 $ 844,614.00 $ 760,152.60 $ 2,543,226.60

E-Rate / Network Support $ 30,000.00 $ 27,000.00 $ 24,300.00 $ 81,300.00

Teacher Support Systems $ 1,230,441.22 $ 1,107,397.10 $ 996,657.39 $ 3,334,495.71

Learning Management Support $ 268,356.00 $ 241,520.40 $ 217,368.36 $ 727,244.76

Total Budget $17,327,266.50 $15,594,539.85 $14,035,085.87 $46,956,892.22


67

The following charts show the projected costs for the ITD new initiatives over the next three years.

ITD COST CENTER

NEW INITIATIVES FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Office of the Chief Technology Officer $ - $ - $ - $ -

Call Center Services $ 52,000.00 $ 46,800.00 $ 42,120.00 $ 140,920.00

Student Support Services $ 912,500.00 $ 821,250.00 $ 739,125.00 $ 2,472,875.00

Human Resources Management Systems $ - $ - $ - $ - Financial Resource Management Systems $ - $ - $ - $ -

Business Support Systems $ 333,000.00 $ 299,700.00 $ 269,730.00 $ 902,430.00

Security and Data Services $ 1,620,000.00 $ 1,458,000.00 $ 1,312,200.00 $ 4,390,200.00

Telephone Support Services $ - $ - $ - $ -

Technical Support Services $ - $ - $ - $ -

E-Rate / Network Support $ 4,555,000.00 $ 4,099,500.00 $ 3,689,550.00 $12,344,050.00

Teacher Support Systems $ 2,140,000.00 $ 1,926,000.00 $ 1,733,400.00 $ 5,799,400.00

Learning Management Support $ - $ - $ - $ -

Total Budget $ 9,612,500.00 $ 8,651,250.00 $ 7,786,125.00 $26,049,875.00

NEW INITIATIVES

Call Center ServicesFY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

HEAT Upgrade Total $ 11,666.67

$ 10,500.00 $ 9,450.00

$ 31,616.67

Consultants $ 11,666.67

$ 10,500.00 $ 9,450.00

CEO Command Center Support Total $ 28,666.67

$ 25,800.00

$ 23,220.00


$ 10,500.00 $ 9,450.00

$ 31,616.67

Training $ 10,000.00 $ 9,000.00 $ 8,100.00

Hardware $ 7,000.00 $ 6,300.00 $ 5,670.00

Crystal Reports Server Total $ 11,666.66

$ 10,500.00 $ 9,450.00

$ 31,616.66


$ 10,500.00 $ 9,450.00

Total Budget $ 52,000.00

$ 46,800.00

$ 42,120.00

$ 140,920.00


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NEW INITIATIVES

Student Support ServicesFY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Integrated Student Management $ 912,500.00

$ 821,250.00

$ 739,125.00

$ 2,472,875.00


$ 198,000.00

$ 178,200.00

Maintenance & Support $ 692,500.00

$ 623,250.00

$ 560,925.00


$ 821,250.00

$ 739,125.00

$ 2,472,875.00

NEW INITIATIVES

Business Support SystemsFY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Trapeze $ 52,666.67

$ 47,400.00

$ 42,660.00

$ 142,726.67


$ 47,400.00

$ 42,660.00

WinSNAP $ 60,166.67

$ 54,150.00

$ 48,735.00


$ 47,400.00

$ 42,660.00

$ 142,726.67

Training $ 7,500.00 $ 6,750.00 $ 6,075.00

Safe & Secure Schools $ 220,166.66

$ 198,150.00

$ 178,335.00

$ 596,651.66


$ 47,400.00

$ 42,660.00

Training $ 7,500.00 $ 6,750.00 $ 6,075.00

Hardware $ 50,000.00

$ 45,000.00

$ 40,500.00

Software $ 110,000.00

$ 99,000.00

$ 89,100.00


$ 299,700.00

$ 269,730.00

$ 902,430.00

NEW INITIATIVES

Security and Data ServicesFY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total


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Network & Security Management $ 1,215,000.00

$ 1,093,500.00

$ 984,150.00

$ 3,292,650.00

Consultants $ 1,215,000.00

$ 1,093,500.00

$ 984,150.00

Enterprise Resource Planning $ 405,000.00

$ 364,500.00

$ 328,050.00

Hardware $ 405,000.00

$ 364,500.00

$ 328,050.00

$ 1,097,550.00

Total Budget $ 1,620,000.00

$ 1,458,000.00

$ 1,312,200.00

$ 4,390,200.00

NEW INITIATIVES

E-Rate / Network SupportFY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Local Area Network Upgrade $ 2,405,000.00

$ 2,164,500.00

$ 1,948,050.00

$ 6,517,550.00


$ 1,890,000.00

$ 1,701,000.00

LAN/WAN $ 305,000.00

$ 274,500.00

$ 247,050.00

Wide Area Network Upgrade $ 2,150,000.00

$ 1,935,000.00

$ 1,741,500.00


$ 1,890,000.00

$ 1,701,000.00

Tech Infrastructure Maintenance $ 30,000.00

$ 27,000.00

$ 24,300.00

$ 81,300.00

Training $ 20,000.00

$ 18,000.00

$ 16,200.00


$ 4,099,500.00

$ 3,689,550.00

$12,344,050.00

NEW INITIATIVES

Learning Management SupportFY 09 FY 10 FY 11 3 Year Total

Digital Curriculum $ 87,500.00

$ 78,750.00

$ 70,875.00

$ 237,125.00


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$ 78,750.00

$ 70,875.00

Blackboard Support $ 87,500.00

$ 78,750.00

$ 70,875.00

$ 237,125.00


$ 78,750.00

$ 70,875.00

Xtenda Student Workstations $ 1,965,000.00

$ 1,768,500.00

$ 1,591,650.00

$ 5,325,150.00

Hardware $ 1,965,000.00

$ 1,768,500.00

$ 1,591,650.00


$ 1,847,250.00

$ 1,662,525.00

$ 5,799,400.00


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APPENDICIES


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APPENDIX A: Assistive Technologies

City Schools has developed a policy as related to Assistive Technology. This includes any of the broad range of services and devices used to ameliorate the educational challenges faced by individuals who have disabilities (IDEA of 1997). Assistive Technology Services are defined as “any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the acquisition and/or use of an assistive technology device.” This service may include:

A. The evaluation of the needs of a student with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the student in the student’s customary environment;

B. Purchasing, leasing or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by students with disabilities;

C. Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;

D. Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or service with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs.

E. Providing training or technical assistance for a student with a disability, or if appropriate, that student’s family; and

F. Providing training or technical assistance for professionals, including individuals who provide services to employ, who are substantially involved in the major life functions of that student.

This service may include:A. Aural/auditory training;B. Offering training in the use of technology/computer systems for fine-motor and/or perceptual motor

skills and are based on writing deficits that affect speed and legibility;C. Providing training in the use of augmentative communication; and/orD. Providing training into assist the visually impaired on the use of technology.

Assistive Technology Devices include any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially, off the shelf, modified, or customized, used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of these individuals. Devices may include:

A. Vision technology;B. Written communication technologyC. Augmentative communication technology; D. Classroom hearing technology; and/orE. Mobility Aids

An Assistive Technology Team (ATT) has been in operation within City Schools for a number of years. This group is a citywide, multidisciplinary team composed of a speech/language pathologist, a special educator, and an occupational therapist, with consultation from an audiologist, vision specialist, physical therapist, and/or regular educator, all of whom have been trained in the area of assistive technology.

The ATT provides assessments to determine the need for assistive technology services and devices. Based on a written assessment report, the Assistive Technology Team will recommend specific devices in the IEP. If the Child Study Team and parent agree, the Assistive Technology Team will obtain, or assist in obtaining, any device specified in the IEP. The ATT provides consultation to the Child Study Team and school-based staff, thus becoming service providers.

Referrals are made by the school to the ATT when the school suspects that a student will require assistive or adaptive technologies. At a Child Study Team meeting, the team will then determine if an Assistive Technology assessment is needed. If so, a Request for Assessment is completed.


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There are two categories of assistive technologies available to City Schools students. Those that address the need to augment communication to request intervention form ATT. Those conditions are:Communication:

A. Student must have a Speech/Language Assessment to document a receptive/expressive language gap of one year or greater.

B. Student must have a Speech/Language Assessment to document an articulation/speech motor disorder.

C. Picture-based communication boards or sign language must be attempted prior to a referral. Student must be using picture boards or sign language to communicate.

Written Communication:A. Student must have an Occupational Therapy Assessment to document a fine motor/visual

perceptual deficit.B. Student must have a Written Language Assessment, which documents deficits in the area of

written language expression. This assessment would address organization, mechanics, and spelling.

C. There must be documentation of at least two accommodations for written assignments, which were attempted prior to the referral. Listed below are examples of typical accommodations.

1. Extra time allowed for completion;2. Shortened assignments;3. Utilize content outlines, webbing strategies, writing strategies, and/or story starters;4. Tape record thoughts before writing;5. Adapt tests to “fill-in-the-blank”, multiple choice, and/or true/false;6. Buddy system for note taking;7. Provide teacher notes and/or copies of overheads.


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APPENDIX B: City Schools Systemic Reform Efforts

As stated in the City Schools Technology Plan, the school system will utilize information and instructional technology to meet the systemic reform objectives through the following strategies:

Outcome 1: Improve Student Achievement and School Effectiveness by: Enabling students to increase time on task and pursue a greater variety of learning activities, more

tailored to their individual needs and unique learning styles. Making available to all students and staff that may benefit, a wide array of assistive and adaptive

technology that are integrated into the school systems network we will enable those individuals to learn and grow at a rate and in a manner that best suites them.

Implementing computer-based adaptive testing systems within instructional computing laboratories (making such labs dual-purpose), as a means of reducing test-taking time and reducing the lag time between testing and use of results to improve the learning opportunity for each student.

Utilizing electronic portfolios to support wide scale adoption of performance-based assessment to measure both student achievement and self-development.

Establishing the communications and information exchange/sharing capacity to allow every school staff member to communicate with any and every other staff member on-demand.

Providing specially focused (as well as general-purpose) learning opportunities to every student through language labs, business labs, vocational labs, distance learning classrooms, etc.

Providing a secure method to allow every student and staff member to connect to all learning resources available via the wide area network (WAN or Internet), and there through to the world of external information and resources available via the Internet.

Outcome 2: Address Growth or Downsizing (Changes in Student Population) by: Enabling new instructional designs and learning activities, such as community-based project learning

and on-line course/schools, the net effect of which is reduced classroom utilization. Improving the district’s command and control system in order to maintain operational effectiveness

in a changing environment without disruptive fluctuations in administrative staff. Improving the level and quality of support services to schools through electronic communications-

based service catalog publishing, service ordering, order status tracking, and electronic materials distribution systems.

Increasing the capacity of satellite schools and other campus-extending designs (distance or virtual learning), which result in reduced student utilization of the primary campus, thus increasing the effective capacity of the primary campus.

Delivering access to learning resources and alternative instructional activities to the students’ desktops throughout the school, thus reducing the square footage necessary for libraries/media centers, computer labs, and other special purpose rooms.

Using geographic information system (GIS) and data warehousing (DWH) technologies to develop alternative boundary/zoning-based catchment areas to facilitate decision-making related to new schools, closures, program design, reform/restructuring, and other issues relating to utilization of facilities.

Outcome 3: Embrace, Celebrate, and Demonstrate Diversity by: Implementing new personnel management information systems, which improve the scope and

accuracy of the recruitment, selection, assignment, staff/professional development and performance evaluation processes.


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Implementing new information access and reporting techniques such as data warehousing and web-based applications, in order to increase access to information at every organizational level district wide.

Implementing data-based boundary analysis and transportation optimization systems that increase the feasibility of goal-seeking iterative planning. To the extent that diversity is specified within a planning goal, boundary setting and transportation routing can be adjusted in extremely small or large increments to accomplish the goal.

Outcome 4: Improve Student/Staff Safety and Security Integrating site level video security and emergency monitoring systems into the campus and wide

area network, thereby enabling central monitoring and response coordination. Increasing information sharing with law enforcement and other social services agencies. Improving the accuracy and consistency of security incidence recording and reporting. Implementing smartcard-based multipurpose ID systems, which integrate physical access, library

usage, food services, transportation, and other functions.

Outcome 5: Increase Student and Staff Accountability by: Implementing a longitudinal intra- and inter-school curriculum development and instructional

support system capable of tracking each learning variable (curriculum goals, instructional materials, learning and teaching styles, pace of instruction, time allowed for mastery, teacher interventions, and progress measuring system) used by each teacher for each student. This instructional support system would also provide access to “best practice” libraries, data warehouses, and on-line mentors, and track each teacher’s utilization of these resources when making instructional decisions.

Implementing a district wide “customer service management system” to track all service request/responses between schools and support services departments.

Utilizing data to establish student achievement entry benchmarks for each student each year, establishing progress indicators, monitoring progress, determining the value added growth from each year’s instruction and determining the efficacy and efficiency of learning variables.

Outcome 6: Expand Partnerships and Organizational Development by: Implementing a “partnership project management system”, which will assist the district in defining

its resource needs more specifically and thereby allowing the development of more focused partnership agreements? This system would also facilitate the definition and monitoring of “matrix management” based project, wherein the staff resources of multiple partners are dynamically combined with district/school staff into task teams.

Implementing a cross-organizational collaborative workgroup-based communications and information sharing system to make the partnerships more effective and less burdensome to their constituents.

Using information management and communications capabilities to support organizational development efforts.

Maintaining a grants database thereby enhancing the use of grant funds to reduce the burden on educational funds.

Outcome 7: Attract and Retain the Best Teachers, Principals and Support Staff by: Implementing a “human resource management system” capable of discrete mapping of required job

skills and knowledge to the recruitment, selection, evaluation and placement processes. Creating an information worker friendly/supportive environment with working conditions and tools

that help staff to be successful at the jobs they are asked to complete.


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Implementing a just-in-time job-embedded training system (electronic performance support system) where information and skill-building exercises are available via the technology infrastructure to every staff member’s desktop on demand.

Establishing electronic individual staff development programs for each staff member, every year. By integrating these staff development programs with data warehousing technology, such staff development programs could be informed with the individual learning needs of each student throughout the year.

Outcome 8: Utilize Technology to Increase Productivity and Efficiency by: Upgrading of energy management capabilities by integration of more sophisticated environmental

control systems and more discrete (information intensive) energy conservation and modeling. Implementing a “learning community-wide electronic mail service” available to students, staff,

parents, and community partners. Implementing “electronic document management systems” that will support multi-site collaborative

document creation, distribution, retrieval, and archive. Implementing an “electronic smart forms system” wherein a centralized electronic forms database

will be integrated with software that will initiate forms based upon events/triggers, route forms according to established rules including automatic extraction of required information from operational databases, automatically edit all fields for accuracy and referential integrity, route the form for electronic approval, and distribute completed forms according to distribution lists maintained within the system. This forms management system will be e-mail enabled, meaning that each form will create and send e-mail to all parties with responsibility for the given form’s eventual completion.

Implementing a “district wide calendar management system” that will support the maintenance of an organizational (including formal, standing, and ad hoc) structure database. From this database, such features as organizational and committee membership lists, chairpersons, subcommittee memberships, events (graduation, etc.), meeting times and locations, and agendas and summaries would be available district wide. The system would be e-mail enabled; meaning that calendar and other changes could automatically create and send e-mail to all parties with responsibility for the given event.

Converting the district’s project management systems from stand alone departmental systems to network-centric applications, thereby increasing access to information and improving the quality and efficiency of technology upgrade projects, construction and maintenance projects, other special projects, and operations management in general.

Outcome 9: Empower Parents and Community Through Participation by: Implementing a security-protected system for parental access to each school’s information system

and learning resources. Such access would then allow student household-based communication and information sharing between parents, teachers, and administrators, as well as extending the school’s rich learning environment to the home.

Implementing a security-protected cross-organizational network that will allow interconnection between each school and every community organization within its boundaries/zone.

Establishing a district-hosted education cable television channel reaching most households within the system’s boundaries, for the distribution of educational programming, instructional materials, and school news.

Interconnecting all other organizational members that comprise the local, state, national, and international “educational community.”

Implementing a very dynamic system of continuous focus groups, electronic town halls, and broad scale opinion research, one result of which would be a continuously updated “opinion research data


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warehouse” accessible by every school and department with user friendly query and trend analyses/pattern mapping and information presentation tools.

APPENDIX C: Acceptable Use Policy

1. INTRODUCTIONThe Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Baltimore City Public Schools System (City Schools)

provides terms and conditions that must be accepted by students, parents and legal guardians, the school and teaching staff, guests, consultants, administrative staff located in headquarters and satellite offices, as well as affiliated agencies. Signatories to this document will be held accountable for acceptable uses, rules of behavior, and access privileges to City Schools Internet, Intranet connections, e-mail correspondence sent and received, [use of City Schools computer hardware and peripherals], and installation and maintenance of software. Signatories to this UAP acknowledge that they endorse a binding directive of the New Board of Baltimore City Public Schools and that a copy of the acknowledgement will be deposited in the personnel and/or student file of each consenting person.

It is the mission of City Schools to empower students and employees with knowledge and skills to utilize electronic technology to access and manage information and data so that the proficiency in communications contributes to the quality of life and endows understanding to better adapt to rapid educational and socio-economic changes.

Therefore, users of these resources are directed to read, understand, and comply with rules, regulations, and demands of this AUP. Violations of the UAP, which also include the breach of rules that apply to security maintenance and vandalism of the system, will result in punitive sanctions.Users of City Schools technologies are advised that the computer network is established specifically for educational and administrative purposes, is a shared resource that it is not for personal, commercial, profitable, religious, and political use. Furthermore, great care will be taken by City Schools network administrators to ensure the users’ right of privacy.2. DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of clarity the term “technologies” in the AUP refers to any electronic device and instrument that uses, manages, carries or supports audio, video or data and includes, but is not limited to, information transmitted or received via radio, television, cable, microwave, telephone, computer systems, networks, and fax machines.

The City Schools “communications system” refers to the entire City Schools technological infrastructure and encompasses the collective use of the Internet, Intranet, e-mail, coaxial and wireless telephone, pagers, facsimile machines, computer hardware and peripherals, duplication machines, audio and video recording tape machines, television, Compact Disc (CD ROM) recorders and players, still and motion picture cameras and projectors, digital environmental control systems, security and safety monitoring systems, and any other instrument or device used to transmit and receive electronic literary and/or audio and visual information.

The term “user” applies to City Schools students enrolled in grades K through 12 as well as all employees, consultants, contractors, parents, guardians, guests, and any and all affiliated agents.

3. SYSTEM RESPONSIBILITIESThe Chief Technology Officer (CTO) will serve as the coordinator to oversee the appropriate

use of the City Schools communication system accessibility. Department, division, and Area Office management, as designees of the Chief Executive Office (CEO), are responsible for the dissemination of


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the AUP and are expected to assist school, teaching, and administrative staff to enforce the restrictions in the policy.

4. FILTERING – ALL USERSThe process of filtering is responsible for governing the use of certain electronic materials that

pertain to crime, violence, intolerance, obscenity, profanity, rude and disrespectful language, pornographic, inflammatory, threatening, and abusive text, graphics, and photo/video imagery. Filtering prevents all users from visiting Internet Web sites that are considered inappropriate and include, but are not limited to, the categories cited above. Predetermined text and concepts, such as interactive chat sites and message boards, which are considered objectionable, are scanned by a special software that automatically denies users access to them.

4 (A). FILTERING - STUDENTSFiltering as it pertains to students’ access is governed by the same prevention processes that

apply to employees (See Section 4). It is also restrictive consistent with age at the elementary, middle school, and high school grade levels.

5. REGULATION OF ACCESS AND LIMITATIONS – ALL USERSAccess privileges are determined by privacy, freedom of expression, and limitation of usage. In

efforts beyond those that exist in filtering, City Schools has the option to pursue random electronic surveillance when it is discovered that a user has and/or intends to install and/or accesses unauthorized software and/or software that is restricted by licensing to a single user at one workstation while being accessible to multiple users at more than one workstation. Random electronic surveillance may also be used to detect when a user accesses prohibited Web sites and monitor access for use that is not work-related.

Furthermore, users are advised that they will be ordered to produce proof of licensing and when none exists or cannot be produced a notice to cease and desist will be presented and the software will be deleted. The City Schools may also choose to seek more punitive action that may include management discipline, and penalties and litigation instituted by the vendor(s) and/or owner(s) of the unauthorized software. The City Schools will cooperate with local, state or federal officials in any lawful investigation concerning or relating to any illegal activities conducted by a user of City Schools technologies and the communications system.

The City Schools will not use any surveillance methodology to gather personal identifying information (names, home addresses, e-mail sent from a location not managed by City Schools) about any of its users. However, users have no privacy expectations in the contents of their personal files and records of their online activity while using City Schools technologies and the communication system.

5 (A). REGULATION OF ACCESS AND LIMITATIONS - STUDENTSIn addition to the regulations in Section 5 that apply to all users, there are additional restrictions

pertaining to students.

Student users will not post or transmit photographs or personal contact information about themselves and others without prior written consent from the parent and/or legal guardian of the student whose information is being posted or transmitted. This written consent must be delivered to the user’s teacher or principal.


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Student users will not agree to meet in person with anyone they have met or corresponded with online without written approval and participation by the student’s parent or legal guardian.

6. EXISTING LEGAL CONTEXTAll existing federal, state, and local laws as well as the regulations and policies of the Baltimore City

Public Schools are applicable to this AUP, including laws and regulations that are specific to computer systems and electronic networks and laws that may apply generally to personal conduct.City Schools users do not own accounts on City Schools computers, but are granted the privilege of use. Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 [Title 18 U.S.C., Section 2510 et.seq.] users are entitled to privacy regarding information contained in these accounts. This act, however, allows systems administrators or other City Schools employees to access user files in the normal course of their employment when necessary to protect the integrity of communications systems and the property of City Schools. Example: system administrators may examine or make copies of files that are suspected of misuse or that have been corrupted or damaged. User files may be subject to search by law enforcement agencies under court order if such files contain information that may be used as evidence in a court of law.

Misuse of the communications systems and City Schools technologies or other information resources may result in the loss of computing and/or network accessibility and is subject to disciplinary actions at the site, department or system level.

Moreover, misuse can be prosecuted under applicable statutes. Users may be held accountable for their conduct under applicable City Schools policies, procedures or collective bargaining agreements. Illegal production or use of software, audio, video or other data files network facilities that are reachable via the City Schools network may have their own policies governing the use of those resources. When accessing remote resources from the City Schools, network users are responsible for obeying both the policies in this AUP and the policies of the other organizations whose computing and networking facilities are accessible by City Schools.

7. END OF USE - EMPLOYEESUsers’ access to City Schools technologies and communications systems will cease immediately when

the users’ employment is terminated, when the users are in lay-off status, during lengthy leaves of absence, at the conclusion of a public official’s term, and when the relationship/partnership between contractors and/or consultants and the City Schools is terminated.

Directors, and staff managers will be responsible for attaching to the deposited copy of the Acknowledgment form in each user’s personnel file, an addendum relating to, and copy of the addendum attached to the Acknowledgment form will be retained in the department files, and a copy will be forwarded to the Information Technology Department c/o the Chief Technology Officer.

7 (A). END OF USE - STUDENTSStudent users’ access to City Schools technologies and communications systems will cease immediately

when the student users vacate the classroom environment because of expulsion, graduation, or relocates to a different school jurisdiction

Principals will be responsible for attaching to the deposited copy of the Acknowledgment form (which is on page 11 of this document and is to be detached after signatures are affixed) in each user’s personnel file, an addendum relating to, and describing the reason for, end of use of both technologies and communications systems. A copy of the addendum attached to the Acknowledgment form will be retained in the school files, and a copy will be forwarded to the Information Technology Department c/o the Chief Technology Officer.

8. ENFORCEMENTMinor infractions of this AUP, when accidental, such as consuming excessive resources or overloading

City Schools communications systems, are generally resolved informally through E-mail or in-person City Schools Technology Plan

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discussions between the user and the site level administrator with advice from the Information Technology Department.

9. PENALTIES – ALL USERSMajor infractions or repeated minor infractions of this AUP may result in penalties that include the

temporary or permanent loss of the City Schools communications systems access or the modification of the user’s access. More serious violations, such as the unauthorized use or duplication of licensed software, City Schools data files, passwords of other users, repeated harassment and threatening behavior, will be subject to disciplinary action that may result in suspension (to be determined by the level of assessment defined in this Section and Section (b) of the AUP) or employment termination.

Any offense that violates local, state or federal laws may result in any and all of the above penalties and, in addition, a determination to levy fines and/or arrest, litigation, and imprisonment. Employees will be subject to penalties that are based on levels of assessment.

LEVEL I General infractions that result in no loss of data or damage to a technology resource and are not classified as a misdemeanor or felony. This level includes account sharing and misuse of computer resources. Penalty may be suspension of an employee from direct technology resource access for one month and a letter of reprimand deposited in the permanent personnel file.LEVEL II Infractions that result in minor loss of data or damage to a technology resource and are not classified as a misdemeanor or felony. This level includes unauthorized deletion of data files and unauthorized shut-down of file servers. Penalty may be suspension from the workplace for three days and suspension from direct technology resource access for six months and a fine to cover replacement of data or resources.LEVEL IIIInfractions that result in irreplaceable loss of data or severe damage to a technology resource and are classified as a misdemeanor or felony. This includes copyright violations and virus introduction into a computer or network. Penalty may be permanent suspension from direct technology resource access and possible criminal charges and termination of employment and possible criminal charges and litigation.

9 (A). PENALTIES - STUDENTSIn addition to the penalties described in Section 9 that are in effect for all users of the City Schools

technologies and communication systems, students will be subject to penalties that are also based on levels of assessment.

LEVEL I General infractions that result in no loss of data and or damage to a technology resource are not classified as a misdemeanor or felony. This level includes account sharing and misuse of computer resources. Penalty may be suspension of one month or more and/or technology resource access for one month or more and a letter of reprimand deposited in the student’s permanent deportment file.LEVEL II Infractions that result in minor loss of data or damage to a technology resource and are not classified as a misdemeanor or felony. This level includes unauthorized deletion of data files and unauthorized shut-down of file servers. Penalty may be suspension from school for two months and suspension from direct technology resource access for six months and a fine to cover replacement of data or resources.LEVEL IIIInfractions that result in irreplaceable loss of data or severe damage to a technology resource and are classified as a misdemeanor or felony. This includes copyright violations and virus introduction into a computer or network. Penalty may be permanent suspension from direct technology resource access and possible criminal charges and expulsion from school, and possible criminal charges and litigation.

10. VIOLATIONSConduct that violates this AUP includes the following:

a) Unauthorized use of a computer account;b) Using the site level local area network or the City Schools wide area network to gain or attempt to gain

unauthorized access to any computer system;City Schools Technology Plan

2008-201182

c) Misrepresenting the user’s identity or the City Schools in an electronic correspondence;d) Connecting unauthorized equipment to any part of the City Schools network;e) Unauthorized attempts to circumvent data protection schemes or uncover security loopholes and/or

decrypt intentionally secure data;f) Deliberately or carelessly performing an act that will interfere with the normal City Schools operation of

computers, terminals, peripherals or networks;g) Deliberately or carelessly installing or running a program intended to damage or to place excessive

burden on the City Schools computer system or network. This includes, but is not limited to, programs known as computer viruses, Trojan Horses, and worms;

h) Deliberately wasting or overloading computer resources, such as printing large quantities of a document from a workstation;

i) Violating terms of applicable software licensing agreements or copyright laws;j) Violating copyright laws and their fair use provisions through inappropriate reproduction or

dissemination of copyrighted text, images, audio, video, etc.;k) Using electronic mail to harass or threaten others. (includes sending repeated, unwanted e-mail to

another user);l) Initiating or propagating electronic chain letters;m) Inappropriate mass-mailing. This includes multiple mailings to news groups, mailing lists or individual,

e.g., spamming, flooding, bombing; n) Forging the identity of a user or machine in an electronic communication;o) Transmitting or reproducing materials that are slanderous or defamatory or that otherwise violate

existing laws and regulations;p) Displaying or downloading obscene, lewd or sexually harassing images, text or audio;q) Attempting to monitor or tamper with another user’s electronic communications or reading, copying,

altering or deleting another user’s files or software without the explicit agreement of the owner;r) Using City Schools’s computing or network facilities to conduct personal or business activities for

entertainment or personal gain; ands) Using City Schools’s computing or network facilities to engage in activities that do not support student

learning, instruction or support processes.

11. DISCLAIMERThe City Schools liability for use of its technology is limited relative to the following:

a) Information retrieved through City Schools’s computers, networks or online resources;b) Information stored on City Schools’s diskettes, hard drives or servers;c) Personal property used to access school computers, networks or online resources;d) Notification to the users that if City Schools uses technical means to limit student Internet access, these

limits do not provide a fool-proof means for enforcing the provisions of local acceptable use policies;e) Notification to parents that it is possible for students to purchase goods and services via the Internet, and

that these purchases could potentially result in unwanted financial obligations; f) Notification [to users] that all provisions of the AUP are subordinate to local, state and federal statute;

andg) While users are prohibited from accessing the Internet and e-mail for advertising, promotion,

commercial purposes, religious activities, and any non-governmental-related fund raising or public relations activities, such as solicitation for religious purposes, lobbying for political purposes, or soliciting votes, the City Schools does not condone and is not responsible for these and any and all activities in which users might engage.

12. PURGING ELECTRONIC MESSAGES


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Users are required to maintain their individual mailboxes and encouraged to purge messages no longer needed for student/teacher/administrator job and educational-related purposes.

The Information Technology Department (ITD) will also reserve the right to delete messages sent and received and stored in the user’s mailbox for an unreasonable length of time. The ITD will notify users via e-mail prior to the routine purging of stored messages. The ITD is not responsible for any loss of e-mail data residing in a user’s mailbox for what it may consider an unreasonable length of time.

13. WEB SITE CONTENT STANDARDSThe worldwide Web is a global database system that provides access to information from around the

world. The primary purpose of operating the Web site is for City Schools student users and employee users to share information about curriculum, instruction, authorized activities, and resources that enhance intellectual curiosity and encourage scholastic endeavors or which assist employees in the completion of assigned tasks.

To ensure that these educational resources are easily accessible to student users and employee users, it is suggested that when users log in to the communications system they fix the City Schools web site as the default home page. Having the City Schools web site as the home page will allow users immediate access to the menu of resources that are available.

All subject matter permitted on the City Schools Web page and any and all links and access to other web sites must relate to Curriculum & Instruction and/or research that is related to the workplace, supervised classroom projects and course work. This AUP prohibits students, staff, and others who have accessibility to the City Schools Web to open, copy, and/or transmit text and graphics from personal and non-work related, non-classroom related home pages.

All information developed for a City Schools Web page must be free of spelling and grammatical errors, not contain language and graphic art and/or photographs that are directed to prurient interests, focus on violence, rude behavior, racism, blasphemy, and/or any and all provocative anti-social conduct. City Schools Web pages must not include the name, address, telephone number of a student and /or student’s family members without the written consent of a parent or legal guardian. The signed consent form must be retained on file in the school and a copy retained on file in the Information Technology Department.

No unlawful copies of copyrighted materials may be knowingly produced on or transmitted via the communications system, including its web server.

All information inserted in a City Schools Web page or Web sites retrieved through global links must be authorized and approved by City Schools departmental management, principals, and teachers. In finality, the entire content, presentation, and evaluation of the City Schools web site must be coordinated and monitored by the Information Technology Department, the management facility that is responsible for knowledge, understanding, and compliance with the contents of City Schools telecommunications polices and rules.

Preparation of all Web documents should be created in an off-line environment. When completed, pages that meet the guidelines for content and technical organization will be uploaded and linked to system web pages. The ITD is responsible for editing and testing the document for accurate links, and ensuring that the page(s) meet the system content standards.

The Acknowledgment form must be signed and retained in file at the school site and in the Information Technology Department to permit the likeness (still photograph/video) of the student to appear on a web page.


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ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ACCEPTABLE USE POLICYAs a user of the Baltimore City Public Schools communications systems, which are defined in the AUP, I agree that the technologies components that are part of the communications systems are the property of the City Schools. I furthermore agree not to access or to retrieve any electronic communication from these resources other than those that I have been granted prior authorization to access or to retrieve.

As a user of the communications system, I agree to comply fully the City Schools Technology Acceptable Use Policy.

I am aware that the City Schools reserves the right to review, audit, intercept, access, and disclose all matters of City Schools electronic communication system at any time, with or without notice to its users, and that such rights may be exercised during or after normal working hours and even if the electronic communications appear to have been deleted from the systems. I acknowledge that I have no expectations as to privacy or confidentiality of any electronic communication in the City Schools communications systems.

I understand that if I fail to comply with the Technology Acceptable Use Policy and am discovered to be in violation of the rules dictated in the policy, I may be subject to disciplinary action and/or applicable legal penalty as it is prescribed in the policy.

______________________________________ ______________Signature of User Date

______________________________________ ______________Signature of Department Manager Date

[(Please check the appropriate box before fixing signature) ] As the parent or legal guardian of the student user who has signed this acknowledgment, I grant deny permission for the student user to access the communication system in accordance with the City SchoolsS Technology Acceptable Use Policy. I understand that individuals and families may be held liable for violations and that some materials on the Internet may be objectionable, but I accept responsibility to assist in setting and conveying standards for the student user to follow when using the City Schools communication system.

_________________________________________ _________________Signature of Parent or Guardian Date

On behalf of

Name of Student-User School Number Grade


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