Part 2 - Acknowledgments Stakeholder Involvement.
Part 3 - District / Community Profile
Part 4 - Executive Summary
Part 5 - Vision
Part 6 - Connecting to the Learning Standards and School Improvement Initiatives
Part 7 - Closing the Gap: Getting from Here to There Part 7a - Gap Analysis to Determine the Gap: Current Reality vs. the Vision
Part 8 -Goals and Strategies Based on the Gap Analysis: Part 8a - Community Involvement, Part 8b - Engaged Learning, Part 8c - Professional Development, Part 8d- Technology Deployment and Sustainability
Part 9 - Assessment/Evaluation
Part 10 - District Policies and Procedures
Part 11 - Communication and Marketing
Part 12 - Time Line Summary
Part 13 - Budget / Financial Plan
Appendix A - Technology Survey for Parents of Prairie Hill School District
Appendix B - Scope And Sequence of Basic Computer Skills Prairie Hill School
Appendix C - Minimum System Requirement as of 5/1997
Appendix D - Computer Network And Internet User Agreement
Appendix E - Prairie Hill Technology Development and Implementation Schedule
Appendix F - Letter: Wisconsin Power and Light
Appendix G - Letter: Verification by Superintendent: Free and Reduced Lunch
Appendix H - District Report Card
Appendix I - District Hardware/Software Inventory
Appendix J - Board Policy Addendum
Prairie Hill CCSD #133 involved stakeholders from the beginning of the process
of adding technology to the Prairie Hill School. Community members as well
as administration, teachers and board members were part of the technology
committee established to plan, purchase and implement the school's addition
of computers/ networks and AV equipment.
Members of the original committee included:
Mrs. Debbie McClellan - Parent.
Mrs. Pat Fleury - Teacher.
Mrs. Cathy Hobson - School Principal.
Mr. Mike Paulii - Board of Education, Parent.
Mrs. Kathy Lewis - Teacher.
Mr. John Finlen - Superintendent.
Mr. Richard Gurnett - Teacher.
Mrs. Jeanne Montalbano - Parent.
Mr. Jeff Aronson - Parent.
Mr. Dan Johnson - Business Man, Parent.
Mrs. Dal Santo - Parent.
Mrs. James Saudargus - Board of Education, Parent.
The committee met to determine, hardware and software plans/purchases, staff training and curricular concerns. Tasks were performed primarily 'in committee' however individual talents and skills were applied as follows; Hardware: Saudargus, Johnson, Finlen, Aronson. Software: Hobson, Finlen, Fleury, Paulii, Lewis, Gurnett, Johnson and Dal Santo. Staff Training; Hobson, Finlen, Johnson, McClellan, Fleury and Montalbano. Curricular concerns: McClellan, Fluery, Hobson, Lewis, Gurnett, Montalbano, Aronson and Dal Santo.
An ongoing committee of parents, staff, administrators and the Technology Coordinator* meets to assess where the district has been with technology. Implementation, staff training and further community involvement is also discussed.
*Mr. Bob Zdeb - District Technology Coordinator - Adult Literacy Provider.
Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District #133 is nestled in the upper northeastern part of Winnebago County. It is a Kindergarten through 8th grade district whose students attend nearby Hononegah High School in Rockton Illinois. The total student body of 381 students attend classes in the districts only building. The community has no focus area, that is the Prairie Hill Community has no downtown or commercial areas. There are only three business establishments in the area covered by the Prairie Hill School District; two car dealerships and a diner. The population and traffic of the community are scattered through out the relatively small area. Economically speaking, the people of the district look to Beloit, Wisconsin, South Beloit, Rockton and the major municipal areas of Rockford, 20 minutes to the south.
The racial composition of the district is predominately white. This is reflected in the districts minority enrollment: 17 students of the total student population of 381, (slightly over 4.5%). The relative economic health of the residents of the district is reflected by the totals for free or reduced lunch viz. a viz. the Federal program: Reduced Lunch - 10 students (3.8%), Free Lunch - 5 students (1.9%). Appendix G
Until recently Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District #133 was a basically rural area with some housing development. The population of the district was blue/white collar and farm families. Recent problems with the schools in the larger Rockford area and the raising of property taxes in that community has generated an influx of housing development.
During the summer of 1996, Prairie Hill School District made major additions to its building and technology to meet the growing student population with a corresponding tax burden to the community. Taxes however have not matched the pace of Rockford's rising rates, nor have they noticeably had an impact on real estate desirability in the Prairie Hill Area.
This is Prairie Hill School's second year with a computer network, technology coordinator, staff training and student computer use. Assessment has been through formal staff feedback, community involvement and observation, student usage patterns, informal evaluation by the staff of the Regional Office of Education and student product. A parent/student questionnaire was developed by the Technology Committee and distributed (results in Appendix A)
To ensure these deliverables, the district will budget for upgrades to both hardware and software, continuing staff development, and the employment of a certified staff member as District Technology Coordinator to maintain the network, instruct students, train staff, and coordinate the infusion of the technology into the curriculum. The district also plans to connect the school to the Internet through either the
State of Illinois backbone or through an ISP (Internet Service Provider).
The vision statement was developed by the Technology Advisory Committee. Community input to the development came via questionnaires, parent-teacher conferences and discussion with parents and community members.
The committee consisted of teachers, parents, board members, administration and the technology coordinator. Meeting on a monthly basis, the committee is a venue for community input as well as an arena to showcase student and teacher achievements with technology. Curricular concerns, hardware, and training are discussed and planned.
Quotes from these papers follow:
"We should have virtual reality teachers...." Lindsey Wilson and Candace Lewis
"... for tests you just hook up your laptop and take it on the computer. No hassles with having pencils and pens and things. To grade the tests, the teachers just get it off the network and grades it. He e-mails the score back to you." Emily Mylin and Erin Harris
"It is the first day of a new week of school at Prairie Hill Elementary. Kids discuss the previous nights basketball game as they file in to class. As the bell rings they take there seats. An eighth grader, Teddy takes his seat at the back of the class. He plugs in his laptop to one of the extensions at his desk. The virtual principal pops onto the screen and gives the announcements for the day. Then a tiny waving flag appears on the screen and Teddy recites the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the teacher tells the class what the assignment is. Teddy points and clicks on the "start homework" button and a worksheet appears on the screen. He begins to type in the answers when a box pops up on the screen. A computerized voice says, "Theodore, you forgot to fill in your lunch menu." Teddy slaps his head as he clicks on the taco salad with chocolate tort button. A timer goes off on his screen and he moves on to his next class.
The first thing you see when you enter the science room is a long row of desks. Teddy is so happy, because today is the day they will dissect frogs. He plugs in his computer and logs on to the Internet. He heads straight to the science web site and links to the dissections page. Using his trackball, Teddy moves his scalpel to cut and remove the virtual frog's organs. This was just the beginning. Soon they will be on the chapter where they dissect humans.
Teddy's next class is Math. He uses his computer to figure out advanced calculus for the math teacher, Mr. Strothoff, who is in his 60th year of teaching. Teddy begins to ask a fellow student a question when he hears a loud voice say, "Ah, I don't need to hear the talking." Then all of a sudden, 40 extra problems pop up on his screen.
This is just half of an average day in the life of a student at Prairie Hill School. - Charley Kurlinkus
"...for field trips, your class puts on head gear and takes a virtual reality trip..." Dan Ludios