INTRODUCTION

Overview

On October 4, 1995, the Chico Unified School District (CUSD) Board of Education adopted 1995/96 Board Priorities including a "LEVEL 1" commitment to, "develop a mission statement and goals to assure all students have access to educational technology." To achieve this goal, CUSD staff representatives reviewed and updated the district educational technology plan.

The perspectives of this revised plan are the Philosophy Statement, Educational Technology Strategic Plan, Remarks, Major Features, Identified Needs, and Recommendations. The "Study Group" began with representatives from every CUSD school, condensed down to a smaller study group with diverse "perspectives." These sections were developed by selected members of the 94/95 Educational Technology Study Committee (each of which is also a mentor teacher), and was chaired by Alan Stephenson, Principal, Emma Wil son Elementary School and Chairman of the Educational Technology Curriculum Committee. The remaining sections, including costs and timelines, were developed by the CUSD Telecommunications staff.

Executive Summary

Issues

Four over-arching issues emerged from the meetings and surveys: Technology-based instruction, information and communication systems are essential for serving the students, supporting the teachers, and effectively carrying out administrative tasks. The staff is generally aware of available technology and is supportive of its integration into the instructional delivery system, but they are not trained sufficiently for optimizing the use of technology in the classroom. Currently, no comprehensive master plan for the District exists concerning the funding for and implementing of technology. The facilities are not designed or equipped to adequately accommodate current or future technology.

Recommendations

The District should:

• Support the use of technology to augment and enhance every learning situation.
• Provide student and teacher access to essential electronic library and research tools.
• Commit to staff development and operational support for technology.
• Have a comprehensive plan concerning the funding of technology.

Benefits

The benefits for the District are: Students will have greater access to essential technological resources and participate more fully in the educational opportunities this access affords. Teachers will incorporate contemporary ways to deliver essential educational material, which may be paced to the learner's ability, no matter how accelerated or remedial the learner may be. Staff productivity will increase through the appropriate use of technology.

Implementation Commitments

The Chico Unified School District (CUSD) will commit to placing appropriate technological resources in every learning environment within the District. Over the next five years this technology will provide student and teacher access to: Electronic research centers Curriculum specific resources Electronic and resource communication media, such as email and the Internet

CUSD will support the establishment of an ongoing District technology committee charged with the responsibility to: Recommend needed electronic library and research resources. Identify and evaluate curricular and instructional uses of technology. Establish appropriate teacher and staff support and training programs. Define standards for systems and facilities. Develop periodic budget and planning reports. Prepare recommendations for new policies to ensure acceptable use of technology.

In 1993/94, the CUSD Board of Education adopted a budget containing the first allocation ($35,000) specifically designated for educational technology. This amount was also funded in 1994/95 and 1995/96. Experts recommend 2% of a district's general fund budget be earmarked for educational technology. Although the Board of Education supports educational technology, past funding has been limited. Nevertheless, it is hoped that funding will be increased and that the models and standards proposed in this p lan will be considered by sites and departments as guidelines when designing educational technology projects.

Philosophy Statement

The primary goal of quality education is to help students acquire mastery of the basic skills. However, with a world that changes more rapidly each year, other skills and knowledge not in existence today will be necessary for tomorrow's adults. Student s must come to the realization that they are ultimately responsible for their own life-long learning. Thus, a secondary goal is to foster skills which allow students to retrieve, organize, and utilize information in such a way as to enable them to be fun ctioning adult members of society.

The major focus of the technology plan is the integration of technology in the instructional program to improve learning outcomes and prepare students for the future. It is essential that there be provisions within this master plan for maximum choice and flexibility in the selection, placement, and use of technology at each school site. Each school shall integrate educational technology into its school-based plan that coordinates with the district Educational Technology Plan. Leadership and coordinatio n shall come from the principal and designated educational technology resource persons.

In order to attain these goals, the Chico Unified School District's plan for quality education will address these issues:

• Enhancing Learning Process: Teachers are skilled in facilitating/implementing the learning process. Technology is viewed as a tool to enhance the learning process, and shall be tied to sound pedagogical procedures.
  
  
• Equity: The enhancements to learning made possible by the use of technology are available to all students in all district schools, consistent with sound educational practice. No student shall be denied access because of gender, age, or grade, ability or socioeconomic level, language differences, handicapping condition, or other exceptionalities. Instead, educators determine what technologically-assisted instruction is appropriate for students within the context of their total learning process.
  
  
• School-Based Management: It is essential that there be provision within this master plan for maximum choice and flexibility in the selection, placement, and use of technology at each school site. Each school shall integrate educational technology into a school-based plan that coordinates with the district Educational Technology Plan. Leadership and coordination shall come from the principal and a designated educational technology resource person, as well as other staff members.
  
  
• Curriculum: Technology must be integrated into all areas of the curriculum. The Educational Technology Curriculum Committee will work with district curriculum committees to ensure that educational technology reinforces, extends, and enhances all curricu lar areas.
  
  
• Staff Development: Staff development must support technology usage. Training at district and site levels, which matches the self-identified needs of staff, must be ongoing and must keep pace with rapidly changing technologies.
  
  
• Support System: In order to integrate technology into the daily instructional process, reliable, timely technical support is crucial.
  
  
• Technology Committee: The committee will be comprised of district and site administrators, the designated educational technology resource persons, and other site and community members. The Educational Technology Curriculum Committee will be the hub of c ommunication between school sites, the district, and the community.
  
  
• Partnerships: The Chico Unified School District will continue to solicit and expand partnerships with business, industry, and institutions of higher learning to enhance the infusion of educational technology into the curriculum. This district recognizes that schools alone do not have the resources or expertise to keep pace with rapidly changing technology. We believe that these partnerships will serve the growing needs of an increasingly technical society.

  Back to index