District Technology Plan
2006-2011
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CDS Code: 21-73361
By Dr. Stephen Rosenthal, Superintendent
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Curriculum
II. Professional Development
III. Infrastructure, Hardware, Technical Support, and Software
IV. Funding and Budget
V. Monitoring and Evaluation
VI. Adult Literacy
VII. Research-Based Strategies
Appendix A: NETS - Technology Standards for Students
Appendix B: Information Literacy Benchmarks
Appendix C: EETT Grant Criteria
Appendix D: Acceptable Use Policy Benchmark Review
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Shoreline Unified School District technology plan is a five-year technology plan and has been written in order to meet certification requirements of the California Department of Education.
This plan has been developed, not only to set future directions for the use of technology in teaching and learning, but also to help the school district qualify for District E-Rate benefits and other potential State and Federal funding through educational technology grants, such as the K-12 Educational Voucher Program and potential Digital Classroom funding that is in the governor's proposed budget for the coming year. Additionally, a current State-certified technology plan qualifies us to continue to receive Federal Formula funding under the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant.
The Shoreline Unified District Technology Plan describes steps to responsibly integrate computers and related technology into the district curriculum. The technology master plan addressed the roles of students, teachers, staff, parents and community members.
For each goal, the Technology Plan outlines the concrete objectives that will effectively support Shoreline Unified School District mission. The plan identifies a need and method for routine review and revision of the plan itself with the related site plans, to insure continuing alignment of technology with curriculum development and the district's mission. The plan will be reviewed annually and specified areas may be reviewed more frequently, as indicated.
Mission Statement:
The Shoreline Unified School District, in partnership with the home and our richly diverse community, will prepare students for their future, assist them in becoming life long learners and enable them to reach their full potential as responsible, productive and contributing members of society. The District will provide a safe educational environment in which students are actively engaged, excellence is expected and differences are respected and valued.
District Vision for Technology
"Students create HyperStudio slide shows. The last project the students finished was on volcanoes. They first create storyboards that include their layout, ideas, and research. They then move to the computer and begin designing their project. It usually includes typed information, pictures, sound, animation, and sometimes movie clips. All of the students in my classes (homeroom 20 students) (science 19 students) enjoy using and learning new technology. It definitely can enhance the learning experience for many of the students." --Jennifer Warner describing the use of technology in her sixth grade classroom.
The need for technology may seem obvious in this technology dependant world; however, technology has a particular meaning for Shoreline Unified School District. For us, technology offers a sense of what is possible; a vision of learning that takes advantage of our community's diversity, explores our cultural and personal histories, and challenges us to make the best use of a vast array of community and global resources. Shoreline Unified School District envisions the fulltime student, a student who is "always on," always connected, and who assumes instant satisfaction for his or her intellectual hunger. At home and school, our students will have discovery and learning at their fingertips. Teachers and students will exchange email, assignments, lectures, information, evaluations, standards and expectations, support and encouragement. And when the students are on the move, they will have, literally in the palm of their hand, a virtual teacher in the form of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) that helps organize their studies while dispensing information with the touch of a stylus. The creation of this five-year district technology plan is the first step towards this possibility.
The Shoreline Unified School District consists of six schools, four of which have been designated as Necessary Small Schools by the State of California: Tomales High School is a comprehensive school serving grades 9-12; Shoreline Continuation High School is an alternative education high school serving grades 9-12; Tomales Elementary School serves grades K-8; Bodega Bay Elementary School serves grades K-5; West Marin Elementary School serves grades 1-8; and Inverness Elementary School serves grades K-1. The district also supports an Independent Study Program.
The Shoreline District is both resource-rich and unique. The district spans two counties, is bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and the nearby highway 101 corridor on the other. The district stretches over 40 miles from the metropolitan San Francisco area to the beauty of Northern California's redwood forest. Shoreline Unified School District spans the unincorporated coastal western portions of both Marin and Sonoma counties, and the schools serve the rural communities of Bodega Bay, Bodega, Bloomfield, Valley Ford, Dillon Beach, Tomales, Marshall, Point Reyes Station, Inverness, Olema and their surrounding areas.
Many residents work locally on dairy and cattle ranches or as shellfish farmers and fishermen. County, state and federal park personnel and Coast Guard servicepersons are an additional component of Shoreline families, which also include small business owners, artists, entrepreneurs, educators and tourist community managers and workers. Some residents commute to jobs in surrounding cities and approximately twenty per cent are senior citizens. Most Tomales High School students completed their elementary education at either Tomales Elementary School in Tomales or West Marin School in Point Reyes Station.
Both Sonoma and Marin Counties' Departments of Education are available to us. Marin County office of Education provides us with Internet access, library assistance, technical and curricular training, and technical support. Sonoma County Office of Education gives us access to their education library and allows our faculty to attend their technology training sessions.
Tomales High School is the comprehensive high school for the Shoreline Unified School District. It is located in the town of Tomales, in the northwestern part of Marin County, four miles from the mouth of Tomales Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Set amidst the ranches and rolling hills of West Marin with a creek bordering one side, the campus is comprised of a main building with classrooms, a science lab, a small theater, a gymnasium and weight lifting facility, a band room, a newly remodeled library with computers networked for research and word processing, an additional computer lab, an art studio with a graphics arts lab attached, a weather station, tennis courts, football, soccer, baseball and softball fields, a greenhouse and a track. Every classroom has at least one networked multimedia computer for teacher and student use.
The local economic community is undergoing a radical shift in methods and products. Agriculture in Marin now contributes over $50 million annually to the local economy, with milk production representing 63% of the total. About 20% of the Bay Area's milk comes from Marin dairies. However, while milk and livestock products dominate Marin's agricultural activities, a small but rapidly growing number of small organic farm operations produce specialty vegetables and dairy products for Bay Area restaurants and farmer's markets. Despite the specific technological purpose of this plan, the plan reflects the growing awareness of our need to serve this growing trend.
In addition to this economic base, our district population is composed of a surprisingly wide variety of occupations, cultures, and educational backgrounds. An historic familial base of Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Pomo Indians, and Spanish-Mexican cultures has been joined by a cosmopolitan array of folks from all areas of the globe. The Two Rock Coast Guard Training Center faculty and staff itself brings with it a constantly changing and very diverse group of students. Many business, legal, and education professionals commute from the district to various Bay Area locations. Many of our students, while being rural, bring with them the community experience of ranching, fishing, tourism, recreation, research (both the Bodega Bay Marine Lab and Point Reyes National Seashore lie within our boundaries), gourmet coffee roasting, European-style cheese making, and more. For additional educational resources, we draw on talent and support from two universities, Dominican and Sonoma State, and two community colleges, Marin Community Colleges and Santa Rosa Junior College.
A significant number of students in Shoreline Unified School district are Title 1 and on the free and reduced lunch program - 50% at Bodega Elementary School, 41.7% at Inverness Elementary School, 25.9% in West Marin Elementary School, and 32.3% at Tomales High School. Student enrollment, according to the 2005 CBEDS report, totaled 660 for the 2005/2006 school year. The student body is made up of 68% Caucasian, 28% Hispanic and 4% other although at some of our schools, the Hispanic population is >40%. The primary language of 80% of our students is English, with Spanish making up the other 20%.
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