Possible Funding Source -- Local District Funds. This project is organized based on criteria set for UIUC CTER course EdPsy 490TER.

Our school district does not address the national technology standards in our curriculum. Our district needs to find a way to modify this issue. I am proposing to use local funds to allow teachers time learn and implement technology into our curriculum.

The District Learning Standards (DLS) project is a proposed three-year plan to develop a working set of district standards that align with both the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) and the Illinois Learning Standards (ILS). The purpose of this project is to bring our school into the twenty-first century by providing our teachers and students with the skills necessary to survive and find success in today's technological society.

Teachers will spend several School Improvement sessions compiling a set of standards for the school district that will incorporate both the NETS and the ILS. Workshops and conferences will provide teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to make use of the available technology. They will have an opportunity to spend time investigating the technology that has been developed to generate and enhance learning. Then, they will have the knowledge and skills to effectively integrate the technology into their classrooms.

Located on the edge of Shelby County, Illinois, the communities of Cowden and Herrick (which carries over into Fayette County) have a combined population of around one thousand people. These small rural communities of Cowden and Herrick organized their school districts (Elementary District 11 and High School District 188) in 1971. The communities are made up mainly of farmers and factory workers with a few professional people. In 1998, the communities voted to join the districts and become Unit District, 3-A.

Each community maintains its own elementary school (K-6). Students from both communities attend junior high (7-8) in Herrick, and then high school (9-12) in Cowden. The school district has an average enrollment of 530 students. Along with its high attendance rate (about 90 %*), the school carries an average low-income rate of about 30%* with little to no racial diversity. Most of the students (60 %*) ride a bus to school each day. (*The percents are estimated based on the district’s 2002-2003 School Improvement Plan.)

Our school, like so many others around us, is in danger. Our high school has been placed on the state’s academic warning list. The state of Illinois has put standards in place by which to evaluate all school systems. Our high school has fallen short of these standards. We now need to find a way to improve our scores to meet the standards. We must prove to the state, and the community, that we can provide our students with a good and solid education. We must prove that we can provide our students with an education that will help them grow and succeed in today's ever-changing society.

We live in a society that values technology as much as it values education. It is a well-known reality that students enjoy working with technology. Therefore, I am proposing to integrate this technology into our school system. This will increase motivation as well as provide hands-on experiences to teach students the skills necessary to meet the state standards and to find success in their future careers.

Currently, the technology available to us is used to facilitate learning through word processing, research, and skills drill and practice. I am proposing to increase our use of the technology available to further enhance our students' education. This technology provides multiple venues through which learning can take place, but we are only scraping the top of the surface. Why shouldn’t we dig deeper and discover more in-depth ways of using this technology?

The nature of the DLS project calls for approval and a willingness to participate from first, the administrative and secondly, the teaching staff at Cowden-Herrick Schools. This approval will be gained through informative discussions with the superintendent, principals, and staff during the school year preceding the start of the planned project. The administration and staff will be introduced to the NETS. A copy of this proposal will be distributed and explained then.

Once the administration has agreed to approve and participate in the project, a questionnaire (see attached questionnaire) will be distributed to the staff. The questionnaire will assist the administration in judging the practicality of the DSL project for our school district. Teachers will have the opportunity to offer suggestions of modifications that they would like to see. Questionnaires will be analyzed by administrators. This project will be implemented in the school district if the administration determines that at least 80% of the staff approves and are willing to participate. Modifications to proposal will be made as necessary.

Objectives:

• To create a complete set of district standards based on Illinois State Standards and National Educational Technology Standards
• To provide staff development to increase teachers’ technology knowledge and skill that will enable them to integrate technology into their classrooms
• To develop a curriculum that will enrich students and allow them to meet and exceed state and technology standards.
• To completely integrate technology into the Cowden-Herrick School District

As previously stated, the DLS project is a proposed three-year plan to develop district standards based on the NETS and the ILS. To do this, all teachers and administrators will study technology through workshops and exploration of software and hardware. Those teachers who are more technically advanced, will mentor those who are not as knowledgeable in technology.

Teachers will spend approximately one afternoon per month working together to combine the NETS and ILS into a complete set of standards that emphasize learning through technology. Following the standards, teachers will create an outline for the curriculum of each grade level. They will identify specific goals for each grade.

Using the grade-specific goals, the teachers can develop rubrics to assess student achievement at the end of each year. This assessment will identify which goals have been met as well as those goals that need to be continued into the next school year. The assessment will also highlight areas of the curriculum that need improvement. Teachers can begin brainstorming strategies and lesson plans on how to carry out the standards in the classroom. They will compile resources, activities, lesson plans, and units that will meet the identified goals.

These School Improvement sessions will be documented to create a set of district standards. The document will include the grade-level goals with compatible resources, lessons, activities, and rubrics. This document will be available in print and online for teachers, administrators, and parents.

Throughout this time, teachers will attend workshops and conferences in groups of two. These workshops will focus mainly on technology and its benefits on education. They will spend time learning how to use the available technology and discovering ways of implementing it into the classroom. Teachers can then bring this new knowledge back to the schools and share it with the rest of the faculty. The teachers who attend a particular workshop will then be mentors to the rest of the faculty. They will assist their fellow teachers in implementing the new technology into their classrooms.

Once the school district has a standards-based curriculum and teachers with the knowledge and ability to use technology, the challenging process of implementing the new curriculum will begin. We will modify our existing curriculum to consist of more technology-rich, hands-on lessons and projects. These lessons and projects will assist our students in their exploration of the world of learning and will allow them to meet the standards that the state has laid out.

The district will hold workshops to train teachers in creating classroom web pages. The teachers will create and maintain their own classroom web pages. Along with current news, activities, and contact information, the pages will include copies of the class curriculum, goals, and rubrics. These pages will provide a way for parents to stay informed about and involved in their child’s classroom. This information will allow parents to reinforce their child’s education and help their students with homework. The contact information will increase communication between teachers and parents. Email will present a cheaper and more convenient way for such communication to take place.

A new curriculum, which implements current technology, technologically literate teachers, and informed parents, will create an environment that will support students in the learning process. This environment will not only enable students to meet state requirements, but it will also prepare students to venture out and find success in our technologically advanced world.

• Presentation of proposal to school district administration
  • If the administration does not approve of the proposal, the project ends here.
• Presentation to teaching staff
  • Copies of NETS and DSL proposal distributed to teachers. Teachers review information and complete accompanied questionnaire.
• Administrators analyze questionnaires
  • If 80% of staff are willing to participate, then school district will implement DSL project.
  • Suggestions for modifications will be analyzed. If approved by administrators, modifications will be made.
• Project Implementation.

• Year 1 – Late August – The Project Coordinator will distribute the first round of surveys. This data will be complied. Coordinator will make note of specific areas that teachers are interested in investigating.

• Year 1 – Early September – The Project Coordinator will join with the school principals and one teacher per building or academic levels. The teachers will be chosen based on questionnaire questions 3, 4, and 10. These individuals will create the technology team. They will begin to schedule workshops where teachers will study and explore technology. These workshops will also provide training in web page development.

• Year 1 – September - December – The district will hold workshops during School Improvement and after school sessions to introduce and guide teachers through an exploration of technology. Teachers will learn how to create web pages that will provide parents with news and information regarding their child's classroom.

• Year 1 – December – The technology team will analyze the staff members to divide them into working groups. Each group will be assigned a content area or section of standards. At least one member of each group must have a working knowledge of technology.

• Year 1 – January - May/June – On one afternoon each month, the students will be dismissed early. Teachers will break up into their assigned groups. The groups will spend 1 ½ - 2 hours working on the DLS project. They will develop a document that merges their ILS and NETS. They will break down the merged standards to create specific goals for each grade. They will begin brainstorming activities and lessons that will meet the standards.

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• Year 2 – September - December – The groups will continue to gather one afternoon each month. They will develop a rubric for each grade level based on the grade-specific goals that were developed. These rubrics can be used to create competency tests for each grade level. The tests will include both traditional test-style questions and hands-on activities/projects to assess students’ achievement of the standards. The teams will also continue to collect activities, lesson and unit plans, and projects that will correlate with the standards at each grade level.

• Year 2 – December – The Project Coordinator will distribute the second round of surveys. This data will be complied. The technology team will make note of specific areas/skills that teachers have explored or are interested in investigating.

• Year 2 – March - May/June – During their monthly meetings, teachers will begin to compile the district standards, grade-specific goals and rubrics, and lesson plans and activities into one document. The groups will convene as a whole and combine their documents to create one single document. This document, District Learning Standards, will be bound and made available to the school and community members. The document will also be published on the school web site.

• Year 2– May/June – Teachers will administer the competency tests that were developed based on the Standards. This will give them a good idea of where students are starting out with the goals that have been assigned. The student results will be passed on to the teachers at the next grade level for use in preparing for the next school year.

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• Year 3 – Late August/Early September – Teachers will meet to plan implementation of the new DLS into their classrooms. Teachers will review last year’s state test results and merge them with the competency results. These results will identify where students are and provide insight into areas that teachers will need to focus on during the next year.

• Year 3 – September - May/June – Teachers will integrate the DLS into their classrooms by implementing lessons with hands-on activities and projects. Each class will spend at least thirty minutes each week in the computer lab. This time can be spent teaching students to use the computers and completing projects.

• Year 3 – September - May/June – Each month, teachers will continue to convene during School Improvement meetings. They will discuss how the integration is proceeding. They will brainstorm solutions to challenges that they have ran across. They will make notes of any changes that need to be made.

• Year 3 – May/June – Teachers will administer the competency tests created for their grade level. The tests will tell them what advances the students have made. They will make note of areas that will need to be improved next year. The student results will be passed on to the teachers at the next grade level for use in preparing for the next school year.

• Year 3 – May/June – The Project Coordinator will distribute the third round of surveys. This data will be complied. The technology team will make note of specific areas/skills that teachers have explored or are interested in investigating. This information, along with the competency and state test results will be used to continue the school improvement process.

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Continuous activities throughout and beyond the project:

• Teachers will search out and attend one workshop or conference each year. Most of the workshops will focus on educational technology and on how the technology can be implemented and used to meet standards. They will attend the workshops/conferences in groups of at least two. The teachers who attend the sessions will bring the materials/knowledge back to share with their co-workers. Teachers will have one “workshop day” each year.

• Teachers will continue to update and maintain their classroom web sites. These sites will provide parents, students, and community with classroom news and activities and teacher contact information. They will provide links to the goals that the class is working on and will list assignments and up-coming projects that the students are working on.

• Teachers will have up to 5 hours of release time each year in addition to their workshop day. During this time, teachers can investigate new technologies, act as mentors to train other teachers, receive training from other teachers, and develop their classroom web sites. Approximately half of this designated time can occurs during school hours, a substitute will be hired. Times will be coordinated so that one substitute can "float" between classrooms as needed. During off-school hours, teachers will be reimbursed for their time.

• The technology team will continue to analyze state and competency tests to determine areas where improvement is necessary.

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This project will be funded by the local school district.

• Project Coordinator/Evaluator -- The project coordinator/evaluator will be hired by the district. The Coordinator will spend approximately 500 hours each year working to implement this project. He/She will schedule activities, gather materials, make contacts, and collect data to evaluate progress. This salary includes time spent working with Technology Team.

• Technology Team -- The technology team members, minus the Project Coordinator, will be reimbursed for up to 5 hours of work each year. This time will be spent scheduling workshops and School Improvement sessions, dividing teachers into groups, and reviewing evaluation data. They will earn $15.00 per hour for their extra efforts.

• Substitute Teachers -- The teacher's contract already allows for teachers to have one professional day each year. During the professional day, teachers can attend a workshop or a conference and a substitute teacher paid from the district. For this project, each teacher will have 5 additional hours available each year to mentor or learn from other teachers and work on classroom web sites. This money will be used to pay substitute teacher to relieve teachers during this time. This will provide teachers with an extra boost in professional development. Substitutes earn approximately $12.00 per hour.

• Teacher Reimbursement -- Teachers will have the opportunity to turn in up to 5 hours worth of work for reimbursement each year. This time spent mentoring or learning from other teachers and working on classroom web sites. Teachers will receive $15.00 an hour for "overtime" work.

• Teacher Transportation -- Those teachers who travel back and forth between buildings (approximately 15 teachers) to attend meetings and district workshops will receive reimbursement for mileage. The distance between buildings is 9 miles. Teachers will receive $0.25 per mile. Teachers will make approximately 10 trips per year. 9 miles X $0.25/mile = $2.25 x 10 trips a year = $22.50 per teacher X 15 teachers = $337.50 a year.

• Office Supplies -- This money will be used to purchase consumable supplies to be used during the project. Such supplies include pens, pencils, paper, printer ink cartridges, staples, tape, notebooks, and folders for organization, etc. $20.00 per year will be allocated for each staff member.

• Publication of Documents -- This money will be used to purchase supplies needed to publish the completed DLS. Documents will be copied and bound for distribution. Copies will be housed in the school office, the teacher's lounge, and administrators' offices and in the local library.

• Project Coordinator/Evaluator -- The district will hire a knowledgeable professional to coordinate and evaluate this project. This person will be in charge of planning and carrying out the process. He/She will be on-hand to offer assistance and suggestions to the staff.

• Technology Team -- The Project Coordinator, the school principals and one teacher per building. The teachers will be chosen by the administration based on questionnaire questions 3, 4, and 10. These individuals will create the technology team. The technology team will analyze the staff members to divide them into working groups. They will schedule and monitor staff meetings. They will analyze surveys and test results. Once the project is over this team (minus the Coordinator) will continue to monitor classroom curriculum and test results.

• District Staff Members -- The principals, teachers, and teacher's aids will work together to develop District Standards and then align the curriculum to those standards. They will attend undergo Professional Development to enhance their classroom.