Tool: Guiding Questions for IT and Facility Departments

Tool: Guiding Questions for IT and Facility Departments

Tool: Guiding Questions for IT and Facility Departments

This document contains guiding questions for district leaders who are drafting Opportunity Culture plans that may involve changes to IT and /or facilities. These questions can guide conversations with IT and facility departments as the district decides how to carry out its OC vision and goals, and help select feasible OC school models and roles. See additional resources on OpportunityCulture.org.

Current Use & Resource Planning

1) IT Hardware

  1. What hardware do the OC schools have and what is planned?
  2. How many devices are available within each school? For students? For staff? For what purpose(s)?

2) IT Software

  1. What software do the OC schools have and what is planned?
  2. What are district mandates and guidance for using the software?

3) Facilities

  1. Are OC schools undergoing any facilities changes, and are any other changes planned?
  2. Do any of those changes affect the availability of technology in the classrooms? If so, how?

4) Training & Support

  1. What training and support do teachers receive for current IT initiatives, and what is planned?

Process for Purchasing & Making Changes

5) IT Purchasing

  1. How is IT financed at the district and/or OC school level?
  2. What process(s) exist for making IT hardware / software purchases? What is the timeline?
  3. Do school leaders have the authority to make decisions about IT purchases aligned to their OC vision and goals, selected school model, and/or curricular needs?
  4. If yes, what are limitations in selecting software (if any)? If no, are waivers for flexibilities available? Do school leaders have the authority to use cost savings from school-level staffing redesigns?

6) Facilities Changes

  1. What process(s) exists for making facilities changes? What is the timeline?
  2. Do school leaders have the authority to make decisions about facilities changes aligned to their OC vision and goals, selected school model, and/or curricular needs?
  3. If yes, what are limitations (if any)? If no, are waivers for flexibilities available? Do school leaders have the authority to use cost savings from school-level staffing redesigns?

7) Training & Support Adjustments

  1. If the district purchases new IT hardware/software related to OC models, what new training and support will OC teachers receive? On what timeline?
  2. What is the funding source for OC-related training and support? Do school leaders have the authority to use cost savings from school-level staffing redesigns?

©2014 Public Impact OpportunityCulture.org1

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