MONROE - Teaching students the technology skills they will need when they graduate is a top priority in the Monroe school district.
But just how does the district go about doing that?
That answer lies in the Information Library Media and Technology Plan recently endorsed by the Monroe school district: The three-year plan provides a detailed road map of how schools will teach students, and train staff to provide instruction, to be technology and information literate.
The district is required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to have a three-year technology plan in place. The current plan expires in June; the new plan runs from July through June 2011, explained Robin McLeish, business education teacher at Monroe High School. McLeish also serves as director of technology and curriculum integration and was instrumental in helping develop the plan.
The school board approved the plan at its May meeting. It now goes to the DPI for approval.
The plan provides an opportunity to move forward after budget concerns in the past three years forced the district to cut staff, including technology aides, LMC aides and LMC directors at individual school buildings.
"With the budget issues, we did not get an awful lot of the goals done," McLeish said of the past three years.
Still, there was progress. Two of the key accomplishments during the previous three years was getting Family Access, which allows families to access student information and grades online, and Destiny, an updated computer catalogue search for school libraries. Teachers also continued to increase their skills in technology.
"We did the best we could with a limited budget," she said.
Looking forward, the technology plan strives to, first and foremost, make sure students are ready for post-secondary education or the workforce when they graduate from the district.
"We want to make sure students are increasing skills and are ready to be a success," McLeish said.
Training staff also is at the top of the priority list. It's important that "we as staff members understand technology ourselves" in order to make transfer that knowledge and skills to students.
What the plan is not is a list of hardware and wiring, McLeish said. By design, the plan is an outline of the skills needed to align the school district with state standards.
Two groups were active in developing the plan - the District Technology Information Group and the District Technology Scope and Sequence Group. Mary Friedrich, district LMC director, also was key in developing the plan.
The budget to implement the plan for 2008-09 is $1,802,000; for 2009-10 it is $1,803,000; and for 2010-11 it is $1,797,000. That is similar to the budget for the current school year, which is $1,832,000.
Local funds will account for about $1.6 million each of those years, with grants accounting for the remainder.
Salary and fringe benefits account for a good share of those totals: The amount ranges from $570,000 in 2008-09 to $617,000 in 2010-11. Hardware costs are projected at $555,000 the first year, $520,000 the second year and $481,000 the following year.
The plan provides three main goals, with objectives for each. Following are the goals with a brief sampling of objectives listed for each:
1. The district will provide staff development opportunities in, but not limited to information literacy standards, technology integration activities, 21st century skills for students and Eclipse curriculum software.
• Develop technology in-services for staff, including Technology Summer Academy.
• Establish a tiered technology training system for staff that would include a series of benchmarks that staff must reach on key software packages used in the district.
• Develop staff programs that include visiting other districts to see how they integrate technology; also send at least one staff member from each building to technology-focused workshops.
• Explore adding more Library Media Specialists to staff.
• Provide professional development for school staff on resources available through the Monroe Public Library.
2. Monroe school district will provide opportunities for students to acquire information and technology skills needed to be successful in the workplace.
• Re-establish a fourth-grade introduction to keyboarding unit to be taught by a business education instructor or fourth-grade instructor.
• Evaluate and pilot podcasting as an instructional took with selected staff members.
• Explore the use of blogs as an instructional tool.
• Expand I-Safe (Internet safety) curriculum to be used more in elementary and middle school curriculums.
• Redesign the district Web site to be easier to use for parents, students and community.
3. Provide the district with an effective network infrastructure which includes, but is not limited to, hardware, district software packages, telephones and licensing agreements.
• Update existing internal phone system.
• Licensing of new workstations on a yearly replacement plan (180 per year).
• Provide laptops, digital cameras and portable LCD for staff checkout.
• Provide a "high end" hardware computer lab at the high school to house larger software such as CAD, Photoshop and Pinnacle.
• Meet with key IT personnel in community with the goal of exchanging ideas on hardware, software and network.
But just how does the district go about doing that?
That answer lies in the Information Library Media and Technology Plan recently endorsed by the Monroe school district: The three-year plan provides a detailed road map of how schools will teach students, and train staff to provide instruction, to be technology and information literate.
The district is required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to have a three-year technology plan in place. The current plan expires in June; the new plan runs from July through June 2011, explained Robin McLeish, business education teacher at Monroe High School. McLeish also serves as director of technology and curriculum integration and was instrumental in helping develop the plan.
The school board approved the plan at its May meeting. It now goes to the DPI for approval.
The plan provides an opportunity to move forward after budget concerns in the past three years forced the district to cut staff, including technology aides, LMC aides and LMC directors at individual school buildings.
"With the budget issues, we did not get an awful lot of the goals done," McLeish said of the past three years.
Still, there was progress. Two of the key accomplishments during the previous three years was getting Family Access, which allows families to access student information and grades online, and Destiny, an updated computer catalogue search for school libraries. Teachers also continued to increase their skills in technology.
"We did the best we could with a limited budget," she said.
Looking forward, the technology plan strives to, first and foremost, make sure students are ready for post-secondary education or the workforce when they graduate from the district.
"We want to make sure students are increasing skills and are ready to be a success," McLeish said.
Training staff also is at the top of the priority list. It's important that "we as staff members understand technology ourselves" in order to make transfer that knowledge and skills to students.
What the plan is not is a list of hardware and wiring, McLeish said. By design, the plan is an outline of the skills needed to align the school district with state standards.
Two groups were active in developing the plan - the District Technology Information Group and the District Technology Scope and Sequence Group. Mary Friedrich, district LMC director, also was key in developing the plan.
The budget to implement the plan for 2008-09 is $1,802,000; for 2009-10 it is $1,803,000; and for 2010-11 it is $1,797,000. That is similar to the budget for the current school year, which is $1,832,000.
Local funds will account for about $1.6 million each of those years, with grants accounting for the remainder.
Salary and fringe benefits account for a good share of those totals: The amount ranges from $570,000 in 2008-09 to $617,000 in 2010-11. Hardware costs are projected at $555,000 the first year, $520,000 the second year and $481,000 the following year.
The plan provides three main goals, with objectives for each. Following are the goals with a brief sampling of objectives listed for each:
1. The district will provide staff development opportunities in, but not limited to information literacy standards, technology integration activities, 21st century skills for students and Eclipse curriculum software.
• Develop technology in-services for staff, including Technology Summer Academy.
• Establish a tiered technology training system for staff that would include a series of benchmarks that staff must reach on key software packages used in the district.
• Develop staff programs that include visiting other districts to see how they integrate technology; also send at least one staff member from each building to technology-focused workshops.
• Explore adding more Library Media Specialists to staff.
• Provide professional development for school staff on resources available through the Monroe Public Library.
2. Monroe school district will provide opportunities for students to acquire information and technology skills needed to be successful in the workplace.
• Re-establish a fourth-grade introduction to keyboarding unit to be taught by a business education instructor or fourth-grade instructor.
• Evaluate and pilot podcasting as an instructional took with selected staff members.
• Explore the use of blogs as an instructional tool.
• Expand I-Safe (Internet safety) curriculum to be used more in elementary and middle school curriculums.
• Redesign the district Web site to be easier to use for parents, students and community.
3. Provide the district with an effective network infrastructure which includes, but is not limited to, hardware, district software packages, telephones and licensing agreements.
• Update existing internal phone system.
• Licensing of new workstations on a yearly replacement plan (180 per year).
• Provide laptops, digital cameras and portable LCD for staff checkout.
• Provide a "high end" hardware computer lab at the high school to house larger software such as CAD, Photoshop and Pinnacle.
• Meet with key IT personnel in community with the goal of exchanging ideas on hardware, software and network.