School Environment Evaluation Amy Eko Morgan EDTECH 501-4175

Demographics: Cow Pie High Cow Pie High is one of two public high schools in a city of roughly 17,000 people. As of May, 2012 the school had a total of 822 students. 412 of these students are male and 427 are female. In terms of race/ethnicity, the vast majority of students (77.8%) are identified as white which closely reflects the gender makeup of the community in general. 26.2% of the students qualify for free or reduced-priced meals and 9.5% of the students qualify for special education and 2.7% of the students qualify for special services under Section 504. 1.6% of the students participate in a transitional bilingual program and 0.4% live in foster care. The yearly graduation rate is roughly 85%. There are 49 classroom teachers at Cow Pie High, with 39 of those teachers teaching core classes. On average number of years experience is 12.3 and 69.4% of the teachers hold at least a Masters degree. The school itself is somewhat isolated and not easily accessible by walking. Most students either ride the bus, drive themselves, or have parents drive them. It is located near a dairy farm, hence its nickname Cow Pie High.

Evaluation/Survey Method: I am not currently teaching or working in a school, so I had to devise another way to gather information about Cow Pie High. It is a school that I have worked at in the past, so I created an online survey using SurveyMonkey.com and then asked former coworkers to complete it. I had a vice-principal, library/media specialist and two classroom teachers complete the survey. I also asked follow-up questions to clarify points or to arrive at a rating when there was a large discrepancy between responses. Administrative Filter: Policy Behavioral Ranking: Integrated The district has a technology use policy in place. This policy is shared with the staff and students via the staff and student handbooks. This year additional wording was added to the policy to define proper wifi usage within the building It was indicated by one survey participant that all staff dont consistently enforce the policy, thus the rating of Integrated and not Intelligent. Policy Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Intelligent There is a policy that is common among all schools in the district. Planning Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Intelligent The school has a newly formed technology committee with representatives from all facets of the school. This committee has been in place in the past, but had dissolved due to changes in

staffing. There is also a district technology committee which has three members from this school. Budget Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Islands Money is tight and there is not a lot to spend on new technology. There is a budget for technology, but money is spent based on need and not based on previous long-term plans. It is hoped that the newly formed technology committee will make budgeting for new technology a greater priority. Administrative Information Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Integrated Administrative systems are available to teaching staff and administrators, but not other staff members (paraeducators, etc.) A program called Skyward is used for keeping attendance and grades. There are still some paper systems in place which is why the ranking of Intelligent was not achieved. The school is also going to be implementing Data Dashboard soon as well. Some teaching use services such as Turnitin.com and a computerized Acclerator Reader program.

Curricular Filter: Electronic Information Behavioral Ranking: Integrated Both staff and students regularly use electronic information. Each teacher has a computer in their classroom that is connected to the internet and most have projectors so they can easily share electronic information with their students. Students have access to computers in the library as well as two computer labs. These resources are not necessarily used on a daily bases, however. Electronic Information Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Intelligent There are many resources available to both staff and students. Assessment Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Emergent Tools for assessment are scarce and not used by many staff. Traditional assessment measures are primarily used. Curricular Integration Behavioral Ranking: Islands Many staff create their own PowerPoint presentations or use other resources, but the curriculum as whole is only somewhat dependent on technology. Curricular Integration Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Integrated Technology is available for teachers to use, but they do not always take advantage of it or find it difficult to integrate it into their curriculum without proper training or adequate time to do so. Teacher Use Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Intelligent

Even though technology does not dominate the curriculum, it is true that it is so highly integrated within the school environment that the teachers work would not be possible without it. Student Use Behavioral Ranking: Integrated Students use technology frequently within their classes, but unlike a one-to-one environment, their coursework or outcomes are not dependent on its use. Student Use Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Intelligent Students have access to computers in both the library and in two computer labs and are able to easily access them when needed. Support Filter: Stakeholder Involvement Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Islands As mentioned earlier, a new technology committee formed at the school this year. Many of the stakeholder groups are represented in this committee, but the because the work is so new there has not been a chance to inform all stakeholders of the work being done. Administrative Support Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Integrated There are ongoing discussions between the administration and staff about technology, especially now that the new technology committee has been formed. There are twice-monthly meeting after school and committee members are compensated for the extra time spent on committee projects. Three of the schools staff members at Cow Pie High are also part of a district-level technology committee. Training Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Integrated Training is given to staff primarily when new technologies are introduced. The technical support staff, however, is available to help teachers individually if needed, thus training is available on an ongoing basis. Technical/Infrastructure Support Behavioral Ranking: Integrated Most staff do utilize formal and informal support, but not all staff does. Technical/Infrastructure Support Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Intelligent: Their is a technical support specialist assigned to the school. She also serves the nearby middle-school. There is also a district-level support person who is also available if help is needed. The staff is fairly tech-savvy, however, and often times are able to figure out solutions to problems themselves. Connectivity Filter: Local Area Networking Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Intelligent The is a comprehensive network available which staff can use for video, voice and data. There has also been the addition of several wifi hotspots throughout the school. This was necessary

because the building itself is constructed with steel and and makes transmitting cellular or wifi signals difficult. District Area Networking Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Intelligent All schools in the district have the save level of networking, therefore this is also Intelligent. Internet Access Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Intelligent High-speed internet is available to all computers in the school and is used by both staff and students extensively at some time or another. Communications Systems Behavioral Ranking: Intelligent E-mail is the primary form of communication in the school between administration and teachers and quite often with parents. Teachers are also provided a webpage on the schools website where they can post their biography as well as class information (syllabi, downloadable papers and PowerPoint presentations, etc.) Communications Systems Resource/Infrastructure Ranking: Integrated Each staff member (support staff included) has their own email address. Students are not provided with a school email address but are able to access their own email accounts via outside provider websites. Innovation Filter: New Technologies Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Integrated New technologies are readily accepted by most, but not all, staff members. Immediate implementation throughout the school does not usually occur unless it is a mandated. Some teachers, for various reasons, are still reluctant to try new technologies or take their time before doing so. For example, 15 ipads were purchased this summer with the intent of being used in the classrooms on a special-project basis. When I asked one of the teacher who took my survey if they were being used often, she said she didnt think so because not everyone knew they were available. Some were using them, but others were not. Comprehensive Technologies Behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure Rankings: Integrated: Technology is fairly comprehensive and is used, but there is still room for improvement. Conclusion: It is difficult to assign as single stage to the overall technology maturity of Cow Pie High because in some areas, such as Connectivity, it is very strong, and in other areas, such as Budgeting and Assessment, it is fairly weak. Therefore, I feel it would be best to give it a rating of Integrated minus in order to reflect that most of the criteria for being within the Integrated Systems Stage are being met, but there is still room for improvement to reach the full Integrated stage.

The lowest ranking the school received was in the area of assessment. It was noted by one survey participant that the tools for assessment are scarce. Because of this, it would be suggested that the school technology committee research potential assessment tools that could supplement or augment the traditional assessment measures that are currently being employed. The Budget category was another area in which the school received a low ranking. Because there are many competing needs within a school for the limited funds available, it will be imperative that the schools technology committee prioritizes it greatest needs and then make a strong case for these improvements. This will help to ensure that the technology budget receives a higher priority than it currently does to a point where funds for technology projects are included as line items in other budgets to help meet long-term budget needs. In my experience, the school district to which Cow Pie High belongs has always been supportive of providing new technologies to its schools. The desire to provide these resources to its students is there, but as in many institutions, monetary and resistance from some staff often slow such implementation. The schools newly reinstated technology committee should helpful in identifying the areas in which the school needs to grow. Hopefully the staff members who are part of this committee can serve as examples or mentors to those staff members who are hesitant about adopting new technologies.