Baltimore City Public School
Baltimore City Public Schools
200 East North Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

VISION

Objectives, Rationale, Key Efforts, and Initiatives

Progress to Date

Evaluation and Assessment

BUDGET

ENSURE ADEQUATE FUNDING

Appendix A: Assistive Technologies

Appendix B: City Schools Systemic Reform Efforts

Appendix C: Acceptable Use Policy (Draft Revision)


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) recognizes that technology empowers students to take more control of their learning. Access to emerging technologies, curriculum resources, content experts and communication tools enable them to participate in the learning process in a way that promotes active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participation in our globally networked society.

With the continuation of the upgrade of the Wide Area Network and the integration of 21st Century technologies and tools, City Schools will maintaina “universally accessible, communications enabled” network encompassing all of its schools and connecting them with each other, the districtoffice, and with global resources. 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 National Education Technology Plan, Maryland Plan for Technology and the City Schools Master Plan. 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.

INTRODUCTION

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 creative, ethical, analytical and critical thinkers.

In addition, it is important for all educators to understand that technology has had an impact on the learning styles of today’s Net Generation students. According to studies, the differences between previous students and the millennial students include:

  • They are intuitive visual communicators.
  • They are better able to integrate visual spatial skills.
  • They learn better by discovery than being told.
  • They can shift their attention easily from one thing to another.
  • They have a fast response time and demand fast turnaround time as well.

Most importantly, technology is now so embedded in the lives of students that they think not in terms of what technologies they use, but in terms of the activity technology enables. Students indicate that they want instructors who are comfortable enough with technology to use it much as they would a textbook. Surveys also showthat they are more than ready to embrace technology in education. Today’s students have grown up using digital technology. Surveys show that, of young people aged 12-17:

  • Over 50% have their own blog or contribute to another blog or website
  • Over 50% download music
  • 90% use the internet to search for information for class assignments
  • 80% are given internet assignments to complete at school
  • 60% are using online dictionaries, encyclopedias and thesauruses
  • Over 70% say that having access to the internet helps them earn better grades & be stronger students

Given this knowledge, this plan is driven by the needs of today’s generation of students. Creating learning spaces that are rich with educational content, connected to a multitude of resources, and which offer students opportunities to use technologies in new and exciting ways will ensure that Baltimore City Public Schools students will become responsible citizens who can actively contribute to not just the local and regional community, but to the global one as well.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Baltimore is the twenty-first largest city in the United States, with a population of 637,418 residents. Though perceived by many to be a city touted for tourism attractions and a growing convention and hotel area, along with a more focused policing effort; some of the city statistics related to young citizens show the need for attention. For example, according to the Maryland StateStat Juvenile Crime Report for October 8, 2010, 54% of all state juvenile felony arrests between May and August of 2010 are Baltimore City youths, while 53% of the state juvenile misdemeanor arrests during the same time period are Baltimore City residents.

The following information is compiled from the Maryland State Department of Education 2010 School Report Card for the Baltimore City Public Schools. As one of 24 public school jurisdictions in Maryland, City Schools currently serves 82,866students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 (based upon the September 30, 2010 real student count). The City Schools is serving pre-kindergarten through grade twelve, including 56 elementary schools, 70 elementary/middle schools, 14 middle schools, 31 high schools, 6 special education schools, and 8 program sites. These are inclusive of 29 charter schools and 13 transformation schools. Student demographics show a population comprised of 87.8% African American, 7.8% Caucasian, 3.1% Latino, 0.9% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native.

Research shows that socio–economic status is positively correlated to student achievement.Therefore it is important to note that approximately 83.6% of the students in City Schools participate in free and reduced-price meals (FARMS) programs.The percentage of special education students by level is as follows: 13.8% of elementarystudents, 18.7% of middle schools students, and 16.6% of high school students

In comparing students with disabilities with regular educationstudents, City Schools results are lower than statewide peers. In examining the gap betweenthe performance of City Schools students overall and the subgroup identified as receivingservices due to a disability, there is a variance of about 40 percent. For example, whileoverall at grade three in the area of reading, 68.8 percent were proficient; 47.7 percent forstudents with disabilities were proficient. The percent of students with disabilities who areproficient 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 / 68.2 / 67.1 / 75.5 / 64.4
Special Education / 21.8 / 23.9 / 39.8 / 19.9

Students with disabilities at the elementary level did reach Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in all categories; however those in the middle grades met AYP in the area of Participation alone, while those in high school solely met AYP in Reading. The needs of studentswith disabilities are fully addressed in the City Schools Plan for Monitoring, ContinuousImprovement, and Results.

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 decreased slightly over the last four years, while that of the special education population has shown an increase.

Baltimore City Public Schools’ Graduation Rates
Year / Special Education Students / General Education Students
2010 / 42.25 / 65.90
2009 / 39.36 / 62.69
2008 / 38.85 / 62.65
2007 / 35.79 / 60.05

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 graduation rate is currently 66%, while the dropout rate is 4.01%. This marks the third straight year of City Schools best-ever dropout and graduation rates. The attendance rate in elementary school is 93.6%, in middle school is 93.2% and in high school is 82.6%. The MSDE 2010 Report Card also reports that the total cost per City Schools pupil was $14,302. The local wealth per pupil in the community was $241,651 which is $218,831 below Maryland’s average.

The district employs 11,273 employees, 10,281 of which are school-based. The current percentage of our teaching staff certification status as referring to “highly qualified” as indicated in No Child LeftBehind is as follows:

Advanced Professional Certification (APC) is 41.9%

Standard Professional Certification (SPC) is 25.4%

Resident Teacher Certification (RTC) is 5.5%

Conditional Certification is 5.1%

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.

VISION

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, thereby readying them for the world beyond the K12 classroom.

This updated technology plan includes goals, objectives, 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 Education Technology Plan, the objectives of the Maryland Plan for Technology in Education and local technology plans.

In alignment with State and National Technology Goals, Baltimore City Public School’s 2011-2014 Technology Plan Goals are as follows:

Improved Student Learning through the Integration of the Most Appropriate and Effective Technology and Digital Content

Professional Development to Improve Staff’s Knowledge and Skills to Integrate Technology into Instruction

Use of Technology for Administrative Productivity and Efficiency

Equitable Access to Technologies Among All Stakeholders

Improvement of Instructional Uses of Technology through Evaluation and Research

Objectives, Rationale, Key Efforts, and Initiatives

Rationale: While the act of learning is something that will never change, the tools and resources used by both the instructor and the learner have and will continue to evolve over time. Other evolutions include the types of activities that most actively engage the learners. With today’s digital environment, students live a media rich, connected and mobile lifestyle, and they are just as often producers of content as they are consumers. Given this, it is no surprise that students have an expectation that the learning space will mirror this digital environment. There is a disconnect, however, between what students expect and what schools deliver. Baltimore City recognizes the weight of this disconnect and acknowledges that the connection between technology, engagement and achievement is vital to the overall success of the district.

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. Researchsuggests 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.

In the past five years there has been significant growth in organized online instruction (e-learning), making it possible for students at all levels to receive high quality supplemental instruction personalized to their needs. City Schools are utilizing these services provided through the Teacher Student Support System (TSS) to expand opportunities and choices for students and professional development for teachers. Growth in the use of the TSS has been exponential during this time period, indicating an increased interest in e-learning and online information and resource management. As of the last iteration of this document in 2007, 15,474 distinct users accessed the TSS on a regular basis. This has grown to 27,606 active users in SY10-11, an increase of 56%. The ongoing addition of resource and learning objects will ensure that this growth will continue.

The advent of online assessments makes this tool even more 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.

Curriculum design is vital 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. 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.

Key Efforts: Technology has changed the way people live and work within the global society. Having a foundation of technology skills is imperative, as students will be expected to apply these skills within daily life. Therefore, the importance of the integration state and national instructional technology standards into the instructional program is a priority for the Baltimore City Public Schools.

The Information Technology Department (ITD) has undertaken several significant projects to ensure that all City School Stakeholdersintegrate the use of technology tools and digital content to engage students in daily instruction. These include the ongoingcreation of additional resources and tools that are linked to curriculum documents and housed in the district's content management system, theTeacher Student Support System (TSS),and the creation of TSS Master Courses that provide a level set of instructional materials available to every student and parent. To date, ITD staff has utilized content provided by the Teaching and Learning Office to develop and push Master Courses for US History, American Government, Algebra I, Mathematics grades 1-8, Literacy grades 1-8, Science grades 1-8, and Social Studies grades 1-8. These courses are updated and re-pushed as content and resources are revised.

Additionally, the Course Synchronization tool will allow teachers to manage content within their own courses by synchronizing what is uploaded into one course into other courses as chosen by the instructor. This will enable the teacher to fully customize all of their courses in a minimal amount of time.

ITD continues to work with the City Schools Office of Teaching and Learningto develop and deliver learning objects, courses and curriculum to the classroom through web-based tools. The continued expansion and customization of the TSS has enabled the district to centralize all of these digital resources into one location so that teachers can simply log in to the system and be granted access. Some of those resources are embedded into the City Schools curriculum guides, which are aligned to the Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC). 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 curriculum writers and developers to locate, assess, and align online videos, websites, and other instructional resources to the curriculum.