McIntosh County Schools

Darien, Georgia

Three-Year Technology Plan

July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2012

McIntosh County Board of Education

Harold Webster, Chairman (County At Large – Post 5)

Joseph Maulden, Vice Chairman (Post 2)

Bonnie Caldwell (Post 1)

Dwight Jordan (Post 3)

Ronald Young (Post 4)

Superintendent

Dr. William A. “Al” Hunter

Technology Director

Mr. Zachary A. Crosby

ETC/Armstrong Atlantic State University

Ms. Wendy Marshall, Director

I. Vision for Technology Use

McIntosh County Schools is dedicated to a student-centered approach to teaching and learning. It is with this vision in mind that McIntosh County Schools work to assist each student in crossing the digital divide thereby ensuring that they are prepared for lifelong learning using technology. By integrating technology with our students' educational experience, we promote the value of higher order thinking, the ability to analyze logically, work collaboratively with educational entities and the opportunity for personal growth. This approach will ensure that our students will become productive citizens as they are preparing for post-secondary opportunities.

McIntosh County Schools is working toward providing each of our students the use of technology enhanced resources in each of their classrooms from Kindergarten through Graduation. Administrators, faculty, and support staff recognize the value that the 21st Century classroom experience brings our students and we are dedicated to enhancing our classroom both physically and virtually. Administrators will provide our faculty and staff with technology-based leadership; confidently modeling effective use of technology, telecommunication, and data-driven decision making in teaching and learning. Faculty and support staff will evaluate data that is used to focus instruction and strategies to enrich learning for all subgroups and each student individually. Students will be given the opportunity to interact with technology daily, evaluate their personal data in relation to their success as a student, and receive individualized instruction plans that work to advance the student beyond the GPS and toward higher order thinking, logical decision making, collaborative learning, and personal growth. It is this impetus that McIntosh County Schools currently has to see that our students excel beyond the K-12 education we provide.

McIntosh County Schools holds staff development of all administrators, faculty, and support staff in high regard. MCS uses a number of different platforms to offer staff development opportunities whether face-to-face, online or blended. These staff developments are offered in a number of different genres including but not limited to poverty training, data analysis, and expansion of certification, response to intervention (RTI), and technology initiatives. It is these staff development opportunities that give our employees valuable information to understand and teach our students to the best of our abilities.

Students in McIntosh County Schools are inundated with technology-based curriculum from their first day with us through their final, culminating experience: Graduation. Teachers provide student-centered lessons that provide the students with audio and video streaming as well as web and software based curriculum enhancements. McIntosh County Middle and McIntosh County Academy currently use the Georgia Virtual School (GAVS) to review for standardized assessments, enhance classroom curriculum, and high school credit acquisition and recovery. It is our plan to continue using these resources as well as incorporate video conferencing capabilities via Internet 2 over the next three years to further enhance our curriculum.

Initial plans are for a new K-6 elementary school to be centrally located within the County. The start date for this new elementary school has been slated for the 2010-11 school year. Once the new elementary school has been completed, McIntosh County School System will work to renovate the Todd-Grant Elementary School building by building as it transforms into a K-6 school as well. This work is necessary to bring the school up to wiring code, electrical requirements, and classroom size requirements. OGIS will be closed and the building will be reconfigured as a Performance Learning Center to serve all of the citizens of McIntosh County. There are currently no changes slated for MCMS. MCA will acquire an extension of a wing to add 8-12 additional classrooms.

In support of our Vision, McIntosh County Schools vow to:

  • offer access to hardware and software that assists our students in achieving mastery of curriculum standards, advance higher order thinking, logical decision making, collaborative learning, and personal growth;
  • provide staff development opportunities for educators and support staff in the integration of technology practices designed to enhance curriculum;
  • develop system level classroom expectations for the use of technology as well as monitoring our progress toward the achievement of this goal through observation;
  • disaggregate the data by system, school, grade-level, subject matter, teacher, and student to promote improved individualized and differentiated instruction;
  • expect technological literacy for elementary and middle school students through a standardized technology literacy program so that by the time any student finishes the 8thgrade, regardless of the student’s race, ethnicity, gender, free and reduced meal (FARM) status, family income, geographic location, or disability that they will be technologically literate;
  • provide students and educators reliable, high-speed Internet access to facilitate 21st Century classrooms in enhancing student-centric teaching and learning;
  • offer access to equipment with assistive technology for students with disabilities including those with diverse learning needs and styles;
  • maintain an up-to-date, centralized Web site designed to give access to individual and school system information, system requirements, performance, and achievement;
  • allocate funding for technology where documentation of the anticipated use of the technology, data-driven expectations, and reflection of the successes and/or failures of the technology initiative are revealed;
  • establish and evaluate a standardized electronic resource list across all subject matter and grade levels;
  • publish the plan for replacing outdated hardware and software, updating network infrastructure and evaluate Internet connectivity to a level of adequate, acceptable use;
  • include technology as reflected in the standard technology equipment list for all future construction projects;
  • maintain a system wide technology committee consisting of individuals from each school who will work as liaisons between individual schools and the technology department;
  • develop a review committee made up of principals, curriculum coordinators, and central office administrators who will meet semi-annually to make recommendations to the technology department;
  • offer technology training classes, open computer lab time, and semi-annual open houses for our parents and the McIntosh County community at large.

II. Current Reality

Data Sources

The McIntosh County School System utilized the following resources to collect valuable data for informed technology-planning decisions:

  • Annual Technology Budget that identifies purchases, training and support expenditures.
  • Annual Technology Inventory completed February 2009
  • McIntosh County School System 5-Year Replacement Plan for Technology (MCSS5YRP)
  • McIntosh County School System: Evaluation of Technology Infrastructure; by Allen Childress, AASU ETC (MCSS:ETI)

The McIntosh County Schools presently has 690 desktop computers, 140 laptops, 10 servers, and 100% of the hardware inventory was identified as supporting the instructional plan. This reflects a 2.25 student to computer ratio for the 2008-09 school years. This is a significant increase over the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years. McIntosh County Schools will begin the implementation of the 5-Year Replacement Plan for Technology beginning with the 2009-10 school year. Through this plan, the student to computer ratio for the district should come closer to 1.75 by the 2013-14 school year.

Instructional Technology Usage

Todd-Grant Elementary School

Our current elementary school has a closed circuit television system, cable connected TV's and video streaming capabilities available in each of the classrooms. There is one stationary lab and one mobile lab available for classroom teachers to use for centers and other projects, as well as a mini-lab of computers available in the Media Center.

642 - Number of Students

48 - Number of Classrooms (requested from E. Lane)

198 - Number of Computers

198 - Number of Computers connected to Internet

3 - Number of Special Education Classrooms

Student to Computer Ratio - 3.24

Hardware

Instructional Reality

Todd-Grant Elementary School (TGES) is home to Kindergarten through third grade students. It currently has computers that were purchased during the 2005-06 school year as indicated by the serial number on the back of the computer. Each teacher has a computer within the 5-year life cycle and is within the guidelines of the McIntosh County School System 5-Year Replacement Plan for Technology (MCSS5YRP) as determined for classroom machines. 95% of TGES teachers do not have a second instructional machine in their classroom that could be considered "modern" as defined by the Georgia Department of Education Technology Inventory. Therefore, the potential for students to complete online assessments with Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math are hindered due to lack of classroom computers. Printers at TGES are currently a mish-mash of different age range; many of which are currently over 3 years old but within the limits of the MCSS5YRP. The network infrastructures for TGES is Cat 5 and Cat 5e and running on Cisco switches that were installed in 2001-02. The TGES campus is completely wireless and is restricted to devices purchased by the school district for network protection. TGES currently has 19 Interactive Whiteboards (Promethean and SMART) and 2 sets of student response systems.

The TGE Computer Lab was purchased during the 2005-06 school year as indicated by the serial number on the back of the computer. The computer lab is outside the 3-year life cycle and in violation of the MCSS5YRP for Technology as determined for lab machines. The majority of the time, this lab is used for K-3 students to practice Language Arts with software such as Reader Rabbit and New Century. Outside of lab hours, teachers may reserve the lab for centers and computer-based projects. The mini-lab in the Media Center was purchased during the 2007-08 school year as indicated by the serial number on the back of the computer. The mini-lab is inside the 5-year life cycle and within the guidelines of the MCSS5YRP for Technology. These computers are used for students to take AR tests and run other media center related software. Replacement of the TGES teacher computers are slated for the 2010-11 school year while the lab computers are slated for replacement in 2009-10. This replacement includes the creation of a second instructional computer lab.

Administrative Reality

Administrators at TGES currently have updated laptop and/or desktop computers. There are some older machines located in the Front Office, Parent Resource Coordinator's Room, and other locations where Administrative, Non-Instructional use of the machines are taking place.However, these machines are outside the 5-year life cycle and in violation of the MCSS5YRP for Technology as determined for administrative machines. Each administrator at TGES currently uses a Smart Phone to acquire e-mail and receive phone calls. Their use of the phones is currently limited to these functions.

Parent/Community Reality

Parents and students at TGES are limited in technology availability in the home. Although parents are welcome to come to TGES to use the computers in the Media Center when they are not being used by the student population, few if any take advantage. TGES has a school Web site which is updated with calendar events. Each teacher at TGES has access to their own class page but the majority of teachers do not use the site to its potential for parent communication. There is currently not a parent portal through our student information system for parents and students to access valuable information regarding grades and class assignments. McIntosh County utilizes e-mail, Web sites, school newsletters, and local television to increase communication with parents, staff and the community. TGES does not currently have a PTA in place, but plans are to incorporate one for the 2009-10.

Instructional Software

New Century

AnyWhere Learning System (ALS)

Accelerated Reader

JumpStart Advanced Kindergarten

JumpStart Advanced First

JumpStart Second

Harcourt Math

Star Math

Wiggle Works

Type to Learn Jr.

Promethean ActivStudio

Promethean ActivPrimary

Gap Analysis

The results graphed below reflect the passing percentage of Todd-Grant Elementary students in the CRCT between 2005-06 and 2007-08.

Todd-Grant Elementary has held steady with regards to test scores over the past three years with some noted exceptions. Students in the 1st grade have been within six percentage points of one another in the areas of Reading, ELA, and Mathematics. Students in the 2nd grade have held steady in Reading over the past three years but have seen a deficit in ELA and Mathematics with reductions of seven and five percentage points respectively. In the 3rd grade, scores have held steady in Reading and increased in ELA and Social Studies. However, there has been marked decline in the areas of Mathematics and Science where decreases of 16 and 13 points respectively are noted.

Oak Grove Intermediate School

Oak Grove Intermediate School has a closed circuit television system, cable connected TV's and video streaming capabilities available in each of the classrooms. There is one stationary lab and one mobile lab available for classroom teachers to use for centers and other projects as well as a mini-lab of computers available in the Media Center. This Media Center is currently shared with McIntosh County Middle School.

251- Number of Students

22 - Number of Classrooms

123 - Number of Computers

123 - Number of Computers connected to Internet

1- Number of Special Education Classrooms

Student to Computer Ratio - 2.04

Instructional Reality

Oak Grove Intermediate School (OGIS) is home to fourth and fifth grade students. It currently has computers that were purchased during the 2005-06 school year as indicated by the serial number on the back of the computer. There are one or two occasions where a main computer in the classroom was purchased a year or two earlier. Each teacher has a computer within the 5-year life cycle and is within the guidelines of the McIntosh County School System 5-Year Replacement Plan for Technology (MCSS5YRP) as determined for classroom machines. 95% of OGIS teachers do not have a second instructional machine in their classroom that could be considered "modern" as defined by the Georgia Department of Education Technology Inventory. Therefore, the potential for students to complete online assessments with New Century Math and Reading or the opportunity to differentiate instruction for advancing students are hindered due to lack of classroom computers. Printers at OGIS are currently a mish-mash of different age ranges. Many of the printers are currently over 3 years old and within the limits of the MCSS5YRP. The network infrastructure for OGIS is Cat 6 and running on Cisco switches that were installed in 2007-08 through E-Rate funding opportunities. By upgrading this network, we are now capable of delivering content at speeds up to 1Gbps to the desktop. The OGIS campus is completely wireless and is restricted to devices purchased by the school district for network protection. OGIS currently has 13 interactive whiteboards (Promethean) and 2 sets of student response systems.

OGIS currently has two computer labs at their disposal. The new OGIS Computer Lab was purchased during the 2008-09 school year as indicated by the serial number on the back of the computer. The old OGIS Computer Lab was purchased during the 2004-05 school year as indicated by the serial number on the back of the computer. The new computer lab is inside the 3-year life cycle and in compliance with the MCSS5YRP for Technology as determined for lab machines. The new OGIS Computer Lab is used by 4th and 5th grade students where they use New Century for Language Arts and Mathematics practice. The old OGIS Computer Lab is outside the 3-year life cycle and in violation of the MCSS5YRP for Technology as determined for lab machines. The old lab is available for classes to use for computer-based projects as well as overflow for New Century. The mini-lab in the Media Center was purchased during the 2007-08 school year as indicated by the serial number on the back of the computer. The mini-lab is inside the 5-year life cycle and within the guidelines of the MCSS5YRP for Technology. These computers are used for students to take AR tests and run other media center related software and are shared with MCMS. Replacement of the OGIS teacher computers are slated for the 2010-11 school year.

Administrative Reality

The administrator at OGIS currently has an updated computer. There are some older machines located in the Front Office and other locations where Administrative, Non-Instructional use of the machines are taking place. These machines are outside the 5-year life cycle and in violation of the MCSS5YRP for Technology as determined for administrative machines. The administrator at OGIS currently uses a Smart Phone to acquire e-mail and receive phone calls. The use of this phone is currently limited to these functions.

Parent/Community Reality

Parents and students at OGIS are limited in technology availability in the home. Although parents are welcome to come to OGIS to use the computers in the Media Center when they are not being used by the student population, few if any take advantage. OGIS has a school website which is updated with calendar events. Each teacher at OGIS has access to their own class page but the majority of teachers do not use the site to its potential for parent communication. There is currently not a parent portal through our student information system for parents and students to access valuable information regarding grades and class assignments. McIntosh County utilizes e-mail, websites, school newsletters, and local television to increase communication with parents, staff and the community. OGIS also has a PTO in place for dissemination of vital information to parents.