The person ultimately responsible at the district office is the Superintendent. We have a Superintendent who is very aggressive about technology integration that ranges from teacher and student use in the classroom to supporting efforts for distance learning opportunities.

One of the Associate Superintendents oversees the technology and school services from the Instructional Support Center. Stakeholders involved in the district Technology Vision are Elementary and Secondary Curriculum Councils, administrators and teachers. The vision and beliefs of the district are based on data using the TEKS, STaR Chart and Portrait guiding documents (Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, 2009-2010).

The Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction and School Administration is supported by the Assistant Superindents of Instruction at two different levels: elementary and secondary. These people are responsbile for communicating goals to the District Coordinators who then in turn inflitrate the campuses through support of the technologists.

The technologist organization is arranged in the following manner:

Each content has at least one very important position played by the Instruction Service Center (ISC) Technologist. This person(s) is responsible for relaying information from the Director of Instructional Technology and District Coordinator to the coaches and curriculum specialist. The ISC Technologist will also provide technology training for coaches and curriculum specialist. The ISC Technologist, curriculum specialists, and coaches work closely together to evalulate individual campus needs for materials, software, curriculum, and training. It is their goal to embed technology within the curriculum. This places a prominet responsibilty upon the teacher to comply with the direction of the district.

The Principal attends curriculum and administrative counsels with the Superintendents, Directors and District Coordinators. This is one avenue of communication between ISC and the individual campuses. Another avenue of communication is through the campus curriculum coaches. I am a secondary math curriculum coach for a high school campus. I meet with the Principal, Associate Principal, and Director of Instruction on the first Thursday of each month to report on the implementation of district expectations. In addition to that meeting, I periodically meet with the Director of Instruction and Assistant Principals with concerns or celebrations of the math teachers or student needs. Furthermore, I work with the Academic Achievement Specialist to pinpoint strategic efforts for at risk students. We also work together to interpret and discuss Summative Formative Data and failure rates. Each of these meetings facilitates support of the organizational chart being implemented and monitored.

The District Action Plan mentions technology at each level. For example, “integrate new textbook and technology into the curriculum” is a strategy for improving achievement in elementary math. The person responsible is curriculum coordinator, coaches, and classroom teachers (Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District [CFISD], 2008-2009, p. 8). Likewise, this is sited again for improving achievement in secondary math with more specificity on the people responsible. The strategy specifically states that the coaches are to assist teachers and teams with lesson planning and technology integration (Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District [CFISD], 2008-2009). Science and social studies also includes technology as a strategy at the elementary and secondary levels. Furthermore, the district action plan includes an objective for teachers to expand their effective use of instructional technology for higher level thinking. These objectives are seen in lesson plans, modeled by teachers, implemented by students in their embedded coursework.

In looking at the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP), technology is listed as a strategy for math pullout programs for grades 10 and 11. Technology is also a classroom goal to support the needs of diverse learners. Specifically, COWS, Smartboards, and interactive technology tools are listed as ways to improve student success. Another area of integration of technology is sheltered language classes.

My action plan this week will specifically address TAKS math scores because that is an area of great concern. It is my intent to create an action plan that will involve the necessary stakeholders and provide professional development for teachers to integrate differientated instruction through technology to support increased student achievement.
The stakeholders in the organizational chart are derived from the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP). The focus of the CIP is the math TAKS results. One key group that supports the CIP is called “Cougar Smart Team which is a TAKS intervention Team comprised of the following: Principal, Director of Instruction, Associate Principal, Lead Counselfor, Academic Achievement Specialist, science/math department chair, and volunteer teachers. This TAKSmart group is a collaborative group lead by the Academic Achievement Specialist (AAS). The other two people responsible are the Principal and Director of Instruction. This group meets bi-monthly to discuss data and strategies for 10th through 12th grade test takers. Their resources include TAKS scores, SFA (Summative Formative Assessment) scores, test scores, grade reports, and interventions.

The action plan addresses the item in the CIP concerning math TAKS pullouts. Students will attend two 1-period sessions per week beginning the first week of February and lasting for 10 weeks. Program facilitators are teachers and substitutes. Targeted students are those who have scored between 2000 and 2125, Grade 12 TAKS exit failures, TAKS A, and TAKS M test takers.

I. Substitutes (3) for 2 day per week pull outs beginning the first week of February, 2010.
a. Tuesdays: teachers will work with small groups of students (8 to 12) using three modes of technology using COWS: Plato, Study Island, and TEA online TAKS tutorials with use of calculators.
b. Thursdays: coach and teacher will implement TAKS strategies through differientated instruction including student use of smartboard, airliner, and calculators as follow up to Tuesday’s computer activities.

II. Training for teachers to be provided by the math coach
a. Calculator
i. Many calculator strategies are used on the math TAKS test. Teachers need to be proficient in modeling these strategies through use of document camera. Students should also use document camera to share their proficiency.
ii. Calculator strategies will also be implemented by the students with the program “Smart View” in conjunction with the smartboard.
iii. Specific graphing calculator training to include:
1. graphing, tables, lists
2. order of operations
3. statistical analysis
b. Smartboard
i. Activities and games will be made available to teachers and students in the pullout program. These will be created by the math coach. The math coach will train the teachers on facilating uses; students will perform interactivities.
c. Airliner and document camera
i. Activities and games will be supported by the choice of a slate (airliner) and/or document camera.
d. Computer software for TAKS tutorials and practice sessions
i. Plato
ii. Study Island
iii. TEA TAKS online

III. Evaluation
a. Teacher/Substitute
i. Weekly monitoring of activities and reflections
ii. Make adjustments in objectives based on student needs
b. Student
i. Weekly monitoring of online practice scores
ii. Make adjustments in objectives based on practice scores
c. Overall evaluation
i. Goal of at least 50% of all students pulled pass TAKS in April 2010

Data has been collected from the last TAKS test taken by the targeted students. The scores range from 2000 to 2125. These students are very close to passing TAKS. The CIP includes the pullout program as part of the campus goal. My visit with the Director of Instruction stated that the teachers who participated in the program last year did not implement any computer technology. Implementing computer technology this year fulfills the campus and district expectation that technology be a tool for TAKS achievement. Additionally, data is being gathered by appraisers through mega monitoring. Part of the mega monitoring currently taking place emphasizes the use of effective technology. Therefore, appraisers already know the teachers who will be most familiar with the software we will use in the spring. Furthermore, the students in these classes are getting exposed to the software which will save basic how-to time in the spring.

Another way appraisers are monitoring the integration of technology is by calling all teachers’ attention to it as a PDAS requirement. All teachers on campus have been informed of the district and campus expectations and that consideration will be given on their professional evaluation tool. Mega monitoring and PDAS are two tools that are requiring effect use of technology.
Through the identification of student need in the CIP, teachers will receive professional development training in Study Island, Plato, and TEA TAKS online tutorials as well as calculator, smartboard, airliner, and document camera training. This will be monitored by appraisers prior to the TAKS pullout program by mega monitoring and attention to the technology requirement in the PDAS to ensure teacher and student readiness.