Web Version of the state required Technology Plan (Updated Feb. 2008)

Shrewsbury Public Schools Technology Plan "Setting a Vision for the Future: 2010" is a "living" document. The original document published in 1995 represented hundreds of hours over 18 months of research, discussion, and consensus building by the members of STAT, Shrewsbury Technology Advisory Team. This documents remains under continuous monitoring, evaluation and revision. On behalf of the Shrewsbury Schools, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the following individuals representing district staff, school parents, students and community stakeholders for being active participants in the planning activities which have resulted in the following technology plan. Although the entire team has not convened recently, each member continues to contribute and serve as a resource to the schools on a variety of topics and issues. Please use the following links to navigate through our technology plan.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Information technologies impact nearly every aspect of society and continue to transform the lives of our entire Shrewsbury community. The skills for the 21st Century has created a sense of urgency on all educational organizations to also change. Schools must change the way they prepare students to find, manage, collaborate, analyze and present information. Teachers must learn new instructional strategies in order to prepare their students for the rapidly changing world. One of the greatest challenges facing schools today is to provide professional development and support for the acquisition and implementation of technology.

TECHNOLOGY MISSION STATEMENT

Shrewsbury Public Schools is committed to the use of technology to create optimal learning opportunities for all students and staff. We strive to continuously improve our electronic infrastructure, which supports the use of appropriate technology for curriculum, management, communications, and professional development.
Shrewsbury Public Schools, through the effective and appropriate integration of technology, strives to:

1) provide appropriate and sufficient technology for all teachers and students,

2) create a seamless electronic infrastructure connecting schools, the community and the world,

3) provide opportunities for students to use technology in meaningful ways, both in the classroom and in preparation for careers,

4) develop learning outcomes for students and competencies for staff,

5) provide high quality professional development for teachers, establish partnerships with town departments and businesses,

6) maintain a broad-based technology task force.

SHREWSBURY'S HISTORY

Shrewsbury's schools, as well as the community, have been leaders in the area of developing technology options. From the establishment of Shrewsbury's Cable Company and the establishment of a strong Instructional Technology and Media Department for the schools, to the implementation of technology in the classroom and the professional development of teachers, Shrewsbury has been a model for others to follow. Technology changes at a rapid rate and long range planning is difficult at best, and nearly impossible in most cases.

SHREWSBURY'S PLAN

Shrewsbury's plan, Setting a Vision for the Future, was developed through a partnership between school department staff, business leaders and community members. It is ambitious and dynamic. The plan includes assessment of the present state of our technology, guidelines for future growth, expectation for professionals and students as well as a plan to fund future needs.
Shrewsbury has long benefited from partnerships with both other town departments and businesses. This partnership must continue to provide for seamless access to technology, both in schools and in the community.

CONCLUSION

As advances in technology race ahead, schools must maintain flexible, dynamic plans designed to meet the challenge these developments present. This plan positions our district address these issues and is committed to meeting the needs of students in our schools, today, tomorrow, and into the future.

Assessment of Students and Staff (2002)

In the spring of 2002, Shrewsbury Public Schools participated in The Boston College/inTaSC (Technology and Assessment Collaborative) Survey. It was designed to answer the following questions:

1. How can teachers use technology effectively in the classroom?
2. What impact does technology have on student learning?
3. How do we know that instructional technology is actually working for us?
   

STUDY DESIGN
The study was conducted by Boston College, in cooperation with inTASC, a non-profit collaborative group that conducts research and development on technology assessment. The study is given over a three-year period and is funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement’s Field-Initiated Studies Program. Sixteen of the study districts had been participants in a collaborative and six were invited to take part as a result of on-going building and technology initiatives.
Of this group of twenty-two school districts, 130 schools, 4,225 teachers, 120 principals, and 13,388 students participated. Overall, the survey had a 70% teacher response rate, an 80% principal response rate, and an 83% student response rate for students in grades 5, 8, and 11.
Participating districts include:

The study was designed to determine the interconnections between the complex factors influencing the successful use of technology. At the district level, these include: vision, leadership, community, resources, physical network, professional development, curriculum and instruction models, and policies and standards. At the school level, these include: school leadership (principal’s beliefs and preparedness) and school culture. At the classroom level, the factors include: teacher beliefs and preparedness, resources, student use at home, and barriers to use.
The survey responses discussed below represent only a portion of the study questions, but give us a good indication of general use trends and participants’ attitudes towards technology.

STUDENT SURVEY RESPONSES
Overall, the students surveyed indicated a high comfort level with the use of computers for all grade levels. Students also revealed that they use computers at home more than at school. The home purposes cited by students for computer use included: e-mail, Internet access, chatting, playing games, and word processing. Grade 5 students reported greater use than those in grades 8 or 11. Students reported that one major factor limiting their access is rivalry for computer time from a sibling. As far as school use, students reported using computers more in English/ language arts and social studies classes than in math or science classes (not including graphing calculators).

TEACHER SURVEY RESPONSES
Teachers were asked how often they used the computer to perform certain tasks. They responded by indicating a number from 1 (never) to 5 (several times a week). The most commonly cited teacher use of computers was for word processing purposes: to “Make handouts for students” (4.17), “Create and assessment document” (3.99). Next in frequency of use cited was communication/research: “e-mail teachers in your school (3.58), or “e-mail school and district administration” (3.11) or “e-mail students and parents” (2.47), or “conduct research for your lessons” (3.54). The least frequent use was for direct teaching: “use of computer to deliver instruction” (2.43).

Teachers were also surveyed to determine what value they placed on computer hardware, equipment, or peripherals. Survey responses indicated that teachers place the most value on having direct access to technology. Thus, teachers placed a high value on having their own classroom printer, their own desktop computer, classroom Internet access, overhead projectors, and classroom telephones. They placed less value on items they were less familiar with, preferring a television/VCR to a LCD projector, desktop computers over wireless laptop computers, and overhead projectors over digital cameras.

PRINCIPAL SURVEY RESPONSES
When asked the same questions as teachers, principals valued classroom Internet access very highly, along with teacher desktop computers. Like teachers, principals strongly preferred the familiar overhead projector to TV/VCR or LCD Projectors. Principals placed less value on classroom printers, telephones, and digital cameras. They also placed a lower value on wireless technology. The principals’ responses appeared to be tied to comfort levels with technology and sensitivity to cost, with the lower-cost item showing more favorable preference. Since this survey was adminstered, SPS has significantly increased its' inventory of wireless laptops which undoubtedly has changed thier opinion of this form of technology.

SURVEY CAUTIONS
This survey asked participants to answer up to 250 different questions, and participants responded from choices such as “always, usually, sometimes, never” or ‘moderate, minimal, agree, disagree, seldom, many”. Since these subjective choices can be strongly influenced by the individual taking the survey, it is important to look at general trends when drawing conclusions about the data.

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT TEACHER AND STUDENT USE IN SHREWSBURY
Among the selected districts, all of which are active in pursuing technology or building initiatives, Shrewsbury fell solidly into the average range on most sections of the technology survey. Only a small percentage of responses/categories fell outside the expected range. Some general conclusions:

• Among high school student respondents, teachers reported a more frequent use of computers by students in school than students did.
• At the high school level, teachers reported using computers for preparation for teaching more than for direct instruction.
• At the middle school level, teacher reports of student computer use are closer to amounts reported by students.
• Use of technology at all grade levels is affected by user comfort level with hardware and its reliability, software and peripherals, curriculum, specialists, and teaching repertoire and strategies.
• The significant increase in available technology at the new high school will have a profound impact on teacher and student use of and attitudes toward technology, as will the completion of the former high school renovation.
  

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Increase access to newer portable and projection technologies
2. Increase collaboration between specialists and directors
3. Increase site-based professional development
4. Increase the number of integration specialists, especially at the secondary level
5. Increase the use of technology for instruction through focused professional development
6. Ensure equity as new buildings with new technology are added
7. Address the zonal printing challenge by purchasing addition networkable devices in advance of stand alone printers becoming obsolete.
   

ACTION PLAN
The ITAMS team and the assistant superintendent will continue to work to analyze specific study results in order to plan new initiatives and professional development that supports the use of instructional technology. The following comments (Oct 2005) represent a brief review of the actions steps on each of the seven recommendations above:

1. SPS has significantly increased access to newer wireless laptops as a result of our two building projects. As of the fall of 04, teachers in Grade 7-12, Grade 4, 50 % of Grade 5/6 team teachers and 25% of Grade 3 will have been issued a wireless laptop to enhance teaching and learning.
2. Our Asst. Superintendent Judith Evans has created numerous opportunities for technology specialists to collaborate with curriculum specialists. We are very excited about the newly created curriculum coordinators for Grade 5-8 and the potential to create meaningful learning activities with technology in the core content areas.
3. As a result of the inTASC Survey, a major of all technology professional development has been offered as site based workshops. Our technology specialist survey staff about their availability and establish appropriate dates for each staff.
4. With the new 30-day competency program for Grades 5-8, a few periods per week will now be available for integration. At this time, no additional FTE's have been allocated for Grades 9-12. Additionally as a result of a failed override vote, 1 FTE of K-4 integration specialists was cut.
5. We continue to schedule many technology PD offerings for our new Oak Middle School. Apple employees remain involved with our district.
6. Equity is one of highest priorities when purchasing all of our technology. As mentioned above, SPS will work to address the laptop inequity that currently exists in our district.
7. Zonal printing is a core value of our department Additional high capacity network printers have been purchased for all buildings and older ink jet personal printers have been discarded when they require costly repairs. As a result of site based printing of standards based report cards, each front office was equipped with high speed duplex printers.
   
   Shrewsbury will continue to participate in the survey in order to learn more about the conditions that must exist for technology to make its greatest impact on teaching and learning in our schools.

DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW- November 3-5, 2004

In the fall of 2004, the ITAMS department invited a visiting team into our district to evaluate our department, staff, students, curriculum and budget. The visiting team was comprised of:

The following is the visiting teams report as submitted to the School Committee in February 2005. The report was written and presented by team chair, Gail Jenks.

Introductions
As part of an ongoing program of reflection and self assessment, Anthony Bent, Superintendent of the Shrewsbury Schools, invited four educators to visit his schools, meet with various stakeholders, and evaluate the structure and function of the Instructional Technology and Media Services Department.
The three-day schedule included opportunities to visit the high school, two middle schools, the four elementary schools, and early childhood center, arranged meetings with teachers, administrators, students, and parents, and observations in classrooms and libraries. The four team members had expertise in either library services or in instructional technology and therefore, two members each focused on these areas.

In preparation for our visit, the Shrewsbury Administration provided a binder of information that documented the background and qualifications of staff members, mission statements, job descriptions, survey results, and essential questions. This report will address each question including a summary of our observations and suggested recommendations where appropriate.
During our three-day visit we were extremely impressed with the knowledge of all staff members, their willingness to collaborate and support each other, and their desire to grow professionally. Everyone was cordial, welcoming, and eager to discuss the strengths of his or her program.

Library/Media Essential Questions

1. What role do library/media specialists play in developing curriculum and interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning experiences for students?
Visits to the various libraries allowed us to witness many instances of library/media specialists teaching classes and collaborating with classroom teachers which made the library an extension of the classroom and subject area curriculum. The numerous project-based activities incorporated into the middle school that make use of the library affirm this.

Continuing and expanding collaboration with teachers and increasing the opportunities for library professionals to meet with curriculum specialists, classroom teachers, and technology integration specialists will strengthen the coordination of interdisciplinary learning experiences for students. Library media specialists should be included in district professional development offerings that focus on this collaboration and the effective instruction that it creates.

2. To what extent does our current library/media program encourage an appreciation of literature, develop independent readers, and promote lifelong learning?

Shrewsbury’s library/media specialists are obviously very eager to assist students in finding appropriate materials and encourage the appreciation of literature. In the words of one high school student, “The librarians here will drop everything to help you.” The students described how the librarians know just what books are needed to complete an assignment, what databases they should use for research, and were able to direct them to resources that would clarify concepts they had not understood in class. During our discussions with high school students, it was evident that they liked being able to access many of the databases from their homes.

The careful attention that went into the design process has resulted in impressive facilities at the new middle school and the high school. Shrewsbury’s young adults are fortunate to have access to such a fine collection of resources.
Students reported to the visiting team that they would like to use the library more, but their class schedules, lack of a late bus, or the space being used by other groups (after school) interfered with this.

Students’ access to materials is somewhat limited by insufficient staffing. For example, most of the middle and elementary schools lack an assistant to help students select and check out books while the librarian is teaching or otherwise occupied with students. Providing an additional staff member or possibly parent volunteers to work with individual students might alleviate this problem.

3. How effectively does our program result in students who can
a. Access information effectively and efficiently
b. Evaluate information critically and competently
c. Use information accurately and creatively

We observed evidence of a strong library curriculum with a good scope and sequence being implemented. In particular we noted a literature/history project in the junior year, science, English language arts, math, and social studies projects at the middle schools, several opportunities for independent studies, and senior exhibitions. The incorporation of technology was evident in a lesson at the Sherwood Middle School where students were researching the Vikings. It was obvious that there was extensive collaboration between the librarian and the classroom teacher in designing and preparing for this lesson which included accessing and evaluating information. At the Oak Middle School, the librarian was observed taking a lead role in developing projects that focus on not only the important information literacy skills but also seek to strengthen the subject area skills as well.

Students spoke of the ability to access library resources beyond the school day on their home computer. However, in some buildings students were only able to check out one book per week. The expansion of library collections would help to alleviate this restriction. To increase access at the high school level administrators may want to revisit the use of the library during study periods.

4. How well do our resources match and enhance the Shrewsbury K-12 curriculum and the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks?

The high school reference collection supports the curriculum due to the commitment of the library media specialist who hand selected the entire reference section rather than outsource that process to a vendor. This results in holdings that are tailored to meet the needs of Shrewsbury High School students. In the newer buildings books were specifically purchased to address the various frameworks. At the middle schools connections were being formed between Information Literacy skills and specific curriculum frameworks. The resulting student projects were very impressive.
The age of many volumes is an issue particularly when it pertains to sciences, geography, technology, and other curriculum subjects that have changed significantly during the last several years. The relatively small dollar amount earmarked for library maintenance would not allow replacement of an appropriate number of books to improve this situation.

5. To what extent does the library/media specialist have an active role in curriculum and instructional leadership?

All library media specialists expressed a strong interest in being an important component of the development and implementation of curriculum and the interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning experiences for students. However, there is no formal procedure in place for them to meet with the curriculum specialists, classroom teachers, reading specialists, nor are they part of the building leadership team. At the high school this could be addressed by allowing the media specialist to vary her schedule so that she could meet with teachers when they are available.6. To what extent does site-based management lead to equitable funding of library/media resources in each school?

Principals expressed a sincere desire to address the needs of the whole school and as a result there are competing needs that differ from school to school. Site-based management does not appear to ensure that the library gets a fair share in the distribution of the funds. The direction and priorities of the principal affect the ability of the library staff to provide adequate resources and fulfill the Shrewsbury Public Schools Library/Media Mission Statement. Establishing a baseline or minimum budget for each building and encouraging suggestions from the librarians may help to equalize the discrepancies. We could not determine if there is a long-range plan for the maintenance of the library collections or for a process of discarding outdated resources. This should become a priority.

7. What impact does the current schedule have on our ability to effectively deliver the library/media program?
At the middle school level having a full flexible schedule is a positive aspect and needs to be maintained. Flexible scheduling of the library media centers at the elementary schools would improve student access to library resources, the integration of the library media program, and the ability of the library media specialist to support the curriculum. This is considered best practice at the state and national levels.

8. To what extent do students entering Middle School have common experiences in library/media services?

All elementary schools are staffed with certified librarians, which ensure that the scope and sequence of the Library Media Program is followed. Most schools have a webpage maintained by library staff that provides extensive references for student to access in school as well as at home. However, in some schools it was evident that the school library resources were not as extensive or up to date and therefore students coming from these schools are at a disadvantage as they enter middle school.

The Massachusetts School Library Media Association (www.mslma.org) recommends a collection of 20 titles per students with 70% published in the last 10 years and a minimum of 6000 volumes.

9. What impact does the current level of staffing have on media services and collection/facility maintenance?

The Massachusetts School Library Media Association recommends a FTE (full time equivalent) certified librarian and one full time support staff person for every 500 students. Shrewsbury Public Schools should be commended on providing and maintaining a certified librarian in every building. In addition to these positions, full time library assistants are needed in the elementary and middle schools. As recommended earlier, individual students would have an opportunity to access library resources, extended hours would be feasible, and there could be increased collaboration time between library and classroom teachers.

Educational Technology Essential Questions

1. How effective is the use of instructional technology in supporting teaching and learning?

In our visits to the Shrewsbury Public School we observed many instances in which technology, including computers, cameras, and digital editing systems, were used to enrich instruction. Due to increased demands on teachers, both in time and responsibilities, technology may be considered an additional preparation class rather than a tool to extend knowledge and address learning styles.

The middle school computer classes provide a consistent base for all students, but could be enriched with the inclusion of curriculum connections to the particular skills being taught. One staff member felt that “we are losing ground concerning technology integration.”

2. With our growing district, how well are we balancing our personnel and hardware/software resources for integration and technology support?

It was evident from many discussions that the technical support staff is highly regarded. They are well respected, valued, and knowledgeable. Integration specialists, in addition to providing appropriate and valuable lessons, also assist whenever needed in troubleshooting hardware and software problems.
Despite considerable growth in technology resources, the district has not added corresponding staff members to support staff and the equipment. The Massachusetts Department of Education Technology Guidelines 2007 recommend two areas of support: a full time integration specialist for each 40-80 staff members and a full time technical support person for each 100-200 computers.

The Director of Instructional Technology and Media Services has a wealth of experience and expertise. Providing a regular schedule for him to meet with his staff to share problems, issues, concerns, and solutions would be extremely valuable to all participants.

3. How does having a technology support staff help teachers use technology?

The technology support staff in every building is essential. Shrewsbury Public Schools have invested heavily in providing state of the art technology especially in the new buildings but also in the other schools. Adequate technology support encourages teachers to take risks which enrich curriculum presentation and the means to meet the needs of diverse learners. Technology staff provides just-in-time support, strategies, and professional development opportunities. Without technical support staff, the return on the community’s investment is diminished. Many faculty members reiterated their needs for increased technology staffing and support.

4. How are we communicating to staff what the effective use of technology looks like?

At the elementary schools, the technology integration specialists model the effective use of technology to enhance curriculum. At the middle school levels this role is often carried out by the library media specialist. The computer teachers at the middle schools focus on application instruction to students and do not have the responsibility or opportunity of working with teachers to make meaningful curriculum connections.

Building principals may want to consider methods to facilitate sharing of successful use of technology. Devoting a few minutes at each staff meeting to have teachers share their experiences using technology in the classrooms, encouraging peer observations, and including technology practices in formal evaluations could confirm the value that the administration places on technology. In addition the use of technology by administrators sets an example for others to follow.
In speaking with parents we noted concern that they were not fully aware of how technology is used in the Shrewsbury Schools. Principals may want to use their newsletters as a means of communicating the technology standards incorporated into classroom curriculum and how it improves instruction on a daily basis. Shrewsbury’s television access could provide another avenue for publicizing technology use.

5. What impact does the use of technology have in meeting the needs of all learners?

The availability of courses such as Introduction to Web Design, Visual Basic, Multimedia Development, and Television Production provide a broad range of opportunities to all students. High school students say that they have a “jump on our careers” because of technology courses offered and the way guidance uses technology to assist with the college process. Technology tools, such as touch screens, modified keyboards, and speech recognition software, are available to meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles. Shrewsbury is extremely forward thinking in having a dedicated staff member in the area of assistive technology to ensure a means of assessing and providing appropriate equipment for students with specific learning needs.

The impact of technology could be strengthened by providing more opportunities for students to access computers. The administration may want to investigate ways to allow access to computers before and after school, during indoor recess, and increase availability during classroom time. A permanent computer lab in the elementary schools, where feasible, could help with this problem as well.6. How does our technology staff support and provide meaningful professional development experiences?

Integration specialists provide workshops for grades 1-4 in their buildings. There was also evidence of one-to-one support when the specialists are working and planning with classroom teachers. The Professional Development Opportunities 2004-2005 booklet includes an impressive number of after school workshops in a wide variety of topics: Using Filemaker Pro, Creating Webpages, digital cameras, Inspiration, and Integrating Technology to name a few. These workshops are offered to all faculty members, but, we were told, are not always well attended.

The administration may want to consider a planned schedule of workshops or “tech time” that is building based, possibly on a monthly basis – first Monday of the month, for example. These could be after school sessions with the entire faculty focusing on a particular topic, grade level or subject matter teams collaboration, or individual project work. Brief presentations to address a specific skill, i.e., importing images into Microsoft Word, could be on a voluntary basis and be held before the start of classes in the morning. These options would help meet the DOE recommendations for professional development that is sustained and ongoing and help reach the goal of 85% of staff having 45 hours of professional development by 2007.

7. How effectively do teachers incorporate technology based learning experiences at all grade levels?

In walking through several buildings it was evident that laptops were being used frequently. This equipment allows teachers to remain in their rooms and quickly take advantage of technology without having to schedule time in a lab. Although we witnessed several instances of technology in action, it appeared to originate primarily from the integration specialists and the library media specialists. Several classroom teachers felt that they did not have time “to fit it in.” Staff members need support, encouragement, and strategies to use and to infuse technology. In addition the DOE has developed technology standards for students K-12 that should be the responsibility of classroom teachers in conjunction with the integration specialists.

8. After addressing technology competencies, are students better able to implement what was learned?

The six-week cycle of computer instruction in the middle school grades provides the skills necessary for developing technology-based projects and assignments. Students that we spoke with confirmed their ability to transfer the learned skills to projects assigned in their core curriculum subjects.

9. How do our students’ keyboarding skill affect their technology options and performance?

It is admirable that the Shrewsbury Schools places an importance on the ability of students to properly use the keyboard. Keyboarding is taught at fifth grade level to all students. Administrators may want to consider developing a plan that would reinforce these skills through the other middle school grades so that students do not regress.

10. To what extent do our teachers and students have sufficient access to the technology needed to integrate effectively?

The elementary schools have 2-4 projectors in each building and several laptop computers. Some libraries had mini-labs with 10-12 computers. Computers were also available in individual classrooms. With the increased emphasis on delivering curriculum and sharing student knowledge through presentations, it appeared as if more projectors were needed as well as more mobile or permanent labs. The Shrewsbury Public Schools should strive for the DOE minimum standard ratio of 5 students to 1 high capacity, Internet-connected computer and a replacement cycle of six years or less. A long-range plan should be developed to provide an equitable means to replace old equipment and purchase other technologies such as probes, electronic whiteboards, and handheld computers.

Conclusion:
In assembling this evaluation summary, it is easy to point out shortcomings and neglect to emphasize the strong program initiatives and dedicated staff members that make the Shrewsbury Public Schools an excellent example of the very best.

The clear strength of the library/technology program lies in the skills of the front line staff. The professional staff have the expertise to keep the Shrewsbury library-media and technology programs strong and in the forefront of the rapid changes that we see in the areas of library and information technologies. Every effort should be made to support this staff and seek their input and guidance relative to staff, program, budget, and curriculum needs.

The district should be commended for its practice of self-assessment and its willingness to undergo scrutiny. This team found Shrewsbury personnel forthcoming, reflective, and collegial well beyond the parameters of the visit.

ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT CURRICULUM STATUS AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES IN RELATIONSHIP TO EDUCATION REFORM

In Shrewsbury, technology has never driven the curriculum, rather our use of technology is and always has been determined by the curriculum. Shrewsbury employs a comprehensive curriculum review cycle to ensure that it aligns with each of the D.O.E. Curriculum Frameworks.
Initiatives addressed in the technology plan will give teachers and students greater access to technology and provide them with the instruction and strategies to be able to effectively use technology. When students are taught how to use technology to gather, process, organize and present information, we believe that:

• students will learn using a variety of strategies and approaches
• purposeful interaction will be a vital ingredient to student learning
• technology will provide an important tool for enriching the learning process.

Assessment of Current Technology Support Staff
The commitment of Shrewsbury Public Schools to integrating the use of technology into the teaching and learning process is most evident in the allocation of staff to support technology. Presently Shrewsbury schools have 14 FTE's within the Instructional Technology and Media Services Department (ITAMS) as well as 9 paraprofessionals. The assignment of FTE's is as follows:

K12 ITAMS Director, 1 FTE
Director of the Educational Television Studio 1 FTE
Audio Visual Technician 1 FTE
Media Specialists 3.0 FTE's ( cut from 6.5 FTE's Fall 2006- 1 @ Elementary, 1 @ Middle Schools and 1 @ SHS)
Media Assistants 8.5 FTE's ( increased from 2.5 FTE at each school total in an attempt to offset the loss of media specialists )
Elementary Technology Integration Specialist 0 FTE's ( reduction of 1 FTE, Fall 2005 and reduction of 2.5 FTE, Fall 2006)
High School Technology Teachers 2 FTE's ( reduction of .4 FTE- loss of Integrated Keyboarding due to budget cuts)
High School Technology Integration Specialist 0 FTE, elminated in FY 01
Middle School Technology Teachers 2 FTE ( reduction of 1 FTE, Fall 2006)
Technical and Network Support Specialists 5 FTE
Assistive Technology Specialists, 1 FTE

 

 

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Software Procurement:
Software procurement is managed through the ITAMS Department and recommendations for purchases are coordinated between the school curriculum directors and school Technology Specialists. We continue to upgrade district and site licenses for presentation software, integrated word processing software, assistive technology software and content specific software to implement curriculum initiatives. Although our district primarily uses the Mac-based platform, we use Microsoft Office Suite of productivity tools.

Hardware, Facilities, and Network Acquisition/Implementation:

Shrewsbury’s network has evolved from our early cable town ring in the late 1980’s to a 10 mb fiber ring as a result of NetDay 1996. During 2000-2001, the town of Shrewsbury implemented a major networking effort, which continues today. This has already had an effect on most technology goals and initiatives throughout the district. Shrewsbury has implemented a new delivery system for school access to Internet through a partnership with Shrewsbury Light & Cable, which shares the cost of multiple T-3 lines, and maintains the web server as well as supplying our schools with cable access. Today, all the classrooms are networked to allow access to the email, shared network resources, student/staff file servers and Internet access. Shrewsbury will continue to expand the networking infrastructure as needed. Since the town and schools share the same infrastructure, several years ago a network administrative team, which meets on a monthly basis, was comprised of following: Town Side-Tom Josie, Wayne Cullen, Scott Dorsey, Andre Beliveau and the School Side- Bob Cornacchioli, Cliff Leoni and Greg Onorato. Special thanks continues to be extended to Scott Salvidio who remains actively involved with our networks and serves as a consultant and mentor to our staff nearly on a daily basis.

Currently we have nearly 2000 computers (Level A,B & C as defined below) in our school system for student, staff and administrative use. Our philosophy has evolved from clustered computers in classrooms to mobile technology. In the fall of 2005, all teachers in Grade 7-12 and Grade 4 core content teachers have been issued a wireless laptop. Additionally, 50% of Grade 5/6 and 40% of Grade 3 core content teachers have been issued laptops. Desktop computers are still purchased for labs and specific personnel who have significant desk time. We have increased student access to mobile technology; however, this inventory is growing outdated faster than we can replace the units. Oak Middle School has no computers in the classroom; however, each team has access to mobile carts with 12-15 computers in each. A second mobile cart was added to Floral Street School in 2005.

Our new challenge is to evaluate the hardware at the K-6 level to insure that we have the technology present to enhance teaching and learning, including teacher laptops. The elementary schools continue to have Information Research Centers (IRC) in the general proximity of the elementary media centers comprised of 8-12 computers. Additionally, we have a 12-15 unit wireless laptops per cart at each elementary school. The Sherwood Media Center has 12-15 computers. The High School and Oak Middle School each have a 24-station computer lab. The high school media center also has three clusters of 6 computers for research in the media center proper.

The high school continues to offer courses in Technology Service and Design, Web Design, Multi-media and various Television Production courses. In the fall of 05, Integrated Keyboarding had to be dropped due to budget cuts. During the fall of 2004, all students in Grade 5-8 will have a 30-day experience in four competency areas. The focus areas are as follows: Grade 5- Keyboarding and Word Processing, Grade 6- Presentation Techniques, Grade 7-Data Manipulation with database and spreadsheets and Grade 8- Digital Storytelling with iMovie. Our K-4 technology program aligns itself with the Massachusetts guidelines as an awareness program.

These hardware, facilities and networking activities are managed through the ITAMS Department. All purchases are coordinated through the Central Office and implementation of the programs for curriculum use are coordinated between the school curriculum coordinators and Technology Specialists.

Operations Maintenance and Upgrades:

The ITAMS Director and Shrewsbury School District Business Manager continue to investigate cost, terms and conditions of the maintenance plan. Shrewsbury Public Schools continues to participate in the Assabet Collaborative repair and service contract agreement with Computer Exchange of Northboro. This company continues to service our schools today. This agreement is reviewed annually. SPS regularly uses students to assist staff to maintain our hardware and services.

Professional Development:

SPS has a long and rich history of support the staff through innovative professional development opportunities. The year 2004 marks the second year that we have offered online registration for all of professional development offerings. As we implement and assess our student technology standards, we continue to plan targeted offerings by these standards. Our goals is to balance our tool-based offerings with integration strategies and best practice workshops.

Tracking Human Resources in Support of Technology:
During the past several years, our district has committed considerable resources to the support of many technology initiatives.
* 1997: Additional Technology Specialist for Elementary Schools - funded
* 1997: Media Clerk for Middle School - funded
* 1997: Media Clerk for Floral St.- funded
* 1999: Additional 20 hrs/wk for audio/video technician - funded
* 2002: K-8 Video Production Coordinator - eliminated
* 2002: Lab Assistant for Digital Language Lab at the High School - funded
* 2002: K-12 Technical Support Specialist - eliminated
* 2003: K-12 Technical Support Specialist -re-instated
* 2003: Media Clerk for Middle School cut to .5 FTE ( grant funded to .75 FTE)
* 2004: Additional K-12 Technical Support Specialist - funded
* 2004: Additional Technology Teacher for Oak Middle School – funded
* 2004: Media Clerk at Floral - reduced to .5 FTE
* 2004: Media Clerk for Sherwood and Oak- re-instated (split 50% at each building)
* 2005: Integration Specialist K-4 - cut from 3.5 to 2.5
* 2005: Lab Assistant for Digital Language Lab at the High School – reduced 50%
* 2005: Direct Instruction at the HS, .4 FTE – eliminated
* 2005: Virtual High School program -eliminated
* 2006: Integration Specialist K-4 - eliminated - cut from 2.5 FTE
* 2006: Media Specialists- cut from 7.5 to 3.0 FTE
* 2006: Direct Instruction @ Middle School Level- cut from 3.0 to 2.0 FTE
* 2006: Media Assistants increased to 8.5 from 2.5 in an attempt to offset cuts listed above
* 2007: Network Manager/Oak Tech Support staff increased to full year

Secure Funding:

As SPS implements this educational technology plan, we are committed to finding the resources through the normal budgetary process, grants and new building assistance programs. We prefer not to seek additional funds though a town warrant. We continually review D.O.E. Grant opportunities and have applied for several over the past few years.

Software Priorities

Software must be used consistently throughout the district and offer the highest level of functionality to a wide variety of users. To assure this software requirements for all users will be described and the most appropriate software application will be recommended. Wherever possible and economically feasible, the district will obtain district software licenses. We need software that offers data manipulation (Microsoft Office Products & FileMaker Pro) , problem-solving, simulation and creative technology capabilities. We also need to offer appropriate presentation software (Appleworks, iPhoto, iMovie, Inspiration, PowerPoint, Dreamweaver and Macromedia Director) for various grade levels. The district presently offers standardized e-mail capability (Microsoft Entourage, Exchange or Outlook) both within and outside of the district, but needs to expand access to that capability. In 2003, our district made email available via the web using Squirrel Mail so teachers can securely check their mail from outside the district. We hope to revise this decision for a more robust and reliabe web based email product. Library automation software is presently standardized throughout the district and all schools are currently using Companion's Alexandria software for library automations.

Hardware, Facilities, and Network Priorities

The Shrewsbury School District plans to continue its support of technology and the expansion of its network infrastructure. We plan to significantly increase technology in the classroom to support curriculum needs. The table below shows the ratio of computers to students, by category and school levels, as well as for the entire district.

The reporting to D.O.E. is submitted in June of the year, our results do NOT reflect the new hardware recently purchased, therefore, SPS ratios are actually slightly improved.

In response to our district's commitment to increased and more effective communications and the successful deployment of wireless technology, the infrastructure which provided 2 data, 1 voice and 1 video drop to all instructional areas of our schools has been increased to a new construction standard of 7 data, 1 voice and 2 video drop per room. As technology continues to advance in the area of digital video improve it may not be necessary to activate these cable runs as visuals will be able to be distributed over existing copper wire. Based upon industry standards and specific building floor plans, each school will experience growth in its own local area network (LAN) to include fiber backbone runs, as needed, to each wiring closet (IDF) from the main distribution frame (MDF).

Presently we have new hardware at each site which allows T-1 connectivity between buildings and 100 megabyte to the desktop. With the opening of the high school in 2002, we consolidated servers at the new high school to better serve all remote sites. Now that our former high school has been renovated to our upper middle school, some network resources have move to Oak Middle School as well. Students and staff continue to have network access to printers and on-line resources as well as the Internet. We continue to expand our virtual private network providing remote access capabilities for administration and staff. We continue a strong relationship with Shrewsbury Light & Cable, which shares the cost of our T-3 line, maintains the web server as well as supplying our schools with cable access.

Operations, Maintenance, and Upgrades Priorities

Shrewsbury School District presently has a maintenance and repair service contract that offers quick response to all hardware problems. Repairs are made by technicians twice a week and a database of repairs is centrally maintained. We are presently assessing the maintenance plan and investigating alternatives, such as entering into a collaborative maintenance and repair service contract.

1. Commitment to a clear vision and mission statement

A: The district's technology plan contains a realistic and clearly stated set of goals and strategies that align with the district-wide school improvement plan. It is committed to achieving its vision by the end of the school year 2006-2007.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
A1: Establish technology goals for the District and provide input to the design of the Educational Technology plan.	x						On-going conversations with ITAMS Staff and District Leadership Team and on an as needed basis members of Shrewsbury's Technology Advisory Team. The Town Network Administrative Team continues to meet monthly. This is a "living" document and is tweaked as needed.
A2: Conduct annual assessment of the the technology plan by our district leadersip team.	x						Currently we are investigating the appropriate time of year for the review committee to evaluate the plan for updates and additions.
A3: Comunications with staff, students and community members							Design, implement innovative annual strategies for communication of these goals, ideas could be but not limted to the following: List Serv messages to parents at each school Faculty Meetings Incorporate technology rich classroom activities that highlight specific learning expections
A4. Connect Ed - phone messaging system		x					Connect Ed phone messaging system is in place for the fall 2007. Principals and Superintendent have been using it for community outreach calls and we hope to make the decision soon to use this technology for snow cancellations and delays for students and staff. This service was paided for using E-Rate funds.

C: Budget
1. The district has a budget for its local technology plan with line items for technology in its operational budget.
2. The budget includes staffing, hardware, software, professional development, support, and contracted services.
3. The district leverages the use of federal, state, and private resources.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
C1: Develop and implement software license strategies.	x						We have made progress in this area; however, as we move from OS9 to the newest OSX Tiger, we'll have to wait for software titles to become carbonized for OSX. We are using key servers for distribution of some of our more expensive software titles.
C2: Hardware and software acquisitions in the area of Assistive Technology	x						Working on standardizing hardware and software set including being compliant with licensing. Success in this area is due in large part to our assistive technology staff person. We recommend this current "grant funded" position become part of the regular budget on the technology paraprofessional scale.
C3: Establish a long term plan for support of technology hardware purchase.	x		x				No progress on this initiative; however, we have great support from Central Office with respect to hardware and staffing. The anticipated technology replacement plan in the five year budget report being developed for School Committee later in the fall 2005 was tabled due to the budget crisis. Some additional funds were added to the hardware line item for 06-07. We hope the budget will support the continuation of a rolloever equity lease to refresh older technology each year.
C4: Explore Leasing options as it applies to extending purchasing power of the district	x	x	x				In the fall of 2005, we leased nearly $75,000 worth of hardware at an annual premium of $25,000. The Director of Business Services and Director of Technology will evaluate the benefits of leasing and impact on budget process and planning. In the fall of 2007, $300,000 of hardware was leased. We hope the budget will support the continuation of a rolloever equity lease to refresh older technology each year.
C5: Investigate possibilites of establishing technology foundations to accept cash donations	x						No movement on this initiative at this time. There is a policy in place that establishes the minimum level of technology donations. All donations must be approved by the Director of Technology. We are no longer in a position to accept technology or pay for removal that doesn't have an immediate need in our schools.
C6: Investigate and establish a policy for repair and maintenance fees incurred to teacher issued laptops as well as student abuse to technology.							As our technology becomes more portable, we have seen a slight increase in damages to laptops. The district in consultation with the teachers' union should develop a policy regarding repair costs. We can build upon an agreement users sign for use of the technology during the summer when the use of a laptop changes from a "condition of" to "benefit of" employment. Team may consist of SEA Union representation, Director of Business Services and Director of Technology.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
D1: Significantly expand hardware inventory according to long-term plan.	x						Great strides have been made in this area with respect to numbers of units; however, our new goal will be to provide each classroom teacher with a wireless laptop. In the fall of 2004, teachers in Grades 7-12 and Grade 4 will have been issued laptops. In the fall of 2005, 50% of Grade 5/6 team teachers were given laptops.
D2: Monitor, evaluate and revise technology plan.	x						On-going, last status updated July 2004, web version last updated July 2006.
D3: Establish Annual Review of Tech Plan.							Establish the appropriate time of year for the School and District Leadership Team (SLT/DLT) to discuss the "Vision for the Future: 2010"
D4: Develop a set of elementary, middle school and high school student competencies in the area of technology.							The department is currently working on an action plan to address of the recommendations of the visiting team report. The ITAMS Director and Assistant Superintendent of Schools will work with Department Directors to infuse these standards into the cuiiruclum. Our Middle School program, Grades 5-8 addresses the competencies recommended by DOE.
D5: Participate in the Curriculum Review Process.							Our district employs a curriculum review process. Some of the components of this process include self study, essential questions, data collection, hosting a visiting team and creating an action plan for any recommendations the team might suggest. To read their report click here!
D6: Develop assessment strategies to measure student attainment of technology competencies.							Our standards have been designed. We plan to assess students during Grade 8 in the following areas: Word processing, spreadsheets, databases and multi-media. These areas will be offered to all middle school students in the form of 30-day experiences in Grades 5-8.
D7: Annual expenditures for technology software, hardware and supplies.							Annual expenditures are reviewed in anticipation of budget process. The Director of Business Services and Director of Technology work closely on the budget in order to sustain the supplies and not be surprised by an unexpected bill.

2. Technology Integration

A: Teacher and Student Use of Technology
1. (a) Outside the Classroom
At least 85% of teachers use technology everyday, including some of the following areas: lesson planning, administrative tasks, communications, and collaboration. Teachers share information about technology uses with their colleagues.
(b) Within the Classroom
At least 85% of teachers use technology appropriately with students each week, including some of the following areas: research, multimedia, simulations, data interpretation, communications, and collaboration.
2. At least 85% of students from grades 5 to 8 show proficiency in all the Massachusetts Recommended PreK-12 Instructional Technology Standards for Grades 5 to 8.
3. At least 90% of teachers are working to meet the proficiency level in technology, and by the school year 2006-2007, 60% of teachers will have reached the proficiency level as defined by the Massachusetts Technology Self-Assessment Tool (TSAT)
4. The district has a CIPA -compliant Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) regarding Internet use.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
A1: Use of technology by staff outside of the classroom	x						All teachers use technology on a daily basis. With the purchase of web-based products (PowerSchool and SEMSnet), teacher issued laptops and the increased personal computers, the use of technology has increased greatly. We assess this % on our annual technology survey. The predominant application for sharing with colleagues is email. We provide access to school mail with a web based product called Outlook Web Access. Phones: Through the efforts of the Shrewsbury Light and Cable Department and Tom Josie- (all staff have voicemail) and are encouraged to list this number (and e-mail) on all homebound communications. A new voicemail system has been purchased to better serve our staff and community. It's slated to be installed during the 05-06 school year. We provide assess to voicemail from off site.
A2: Disseminate to students, staff and parents an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).	x						The AUP has been originally adopted by the school committee in 1996 and revised and adopted a new policy on Jan 2002. We have four agreements: K-2, 3-5, Middle and High School as well as a Employee Agreement. These are included in the student handbooks and are review viewed annually by staff with students. This collection and dissemination processed must be reviewed.
A3: Increase opportunities for sharing best practices with the use of technology							Our success for integrating technology is a result of designated professional instructional specialists who have dedicated their careers to understanding all curriculum levels and designing activities that infuse technology to enrich teaching and learning. Clearly the best model would support the continuation of these positions. Recent budget cuts have resulted in the elimination of some of these teachers. We may be forced to re-invent the integration process by rethinking the way we deliver these services. Potential sharing of best practices and modeling could be: • Grade Level Meetings in Grades K-4 • 2nd Prep for Team Teachers in Grades 5-8 • Department Meetings in Grades 9-12
A4: Identify and develop technology rich by grade level and specific content areas.							Technology specialists have designed, implemented and provided direct instruction of these units. If the critical mass of these instructors is reduced beyond a reasonable school/classroom ratio, direct instruction may have to be replaced with technology-rich content development working with curriculum specialists and the Assistant Superintendent of Schools. With the loss of the K-4 Integration specialist this goal takes on added importance.
A5: Develop research strategies making full use of the most effective technologies.							The Media and Technology Specialists has been instrumental in this area. Students receive training on search strategies on web-based resources available or created. With 8.0 FTE reduction from FY 06 to FY 07 many of our initiatives will have to be revisited.
A6: Design a curriculum to assist students in the access, processing, synthesizing and presenting of information.							Once again, the Media and Technology Specialists, along with the classroom teachers have collaborated on this issue. The acquisition of presentation skills with rich content is one of our standards. The speed in which students are able to access information should result in additional time to process and synthesize
A7: Design opportunities for curriculum and integration specialists to meet, plan and provide technology rich activities for teachers.		x					The budget is likely to impact the numbers of support staff; it's imperative that any reoganization include a focus on appropriately infusing technology in the classroom through our curriculum. All specialists - reading, curriculum, technology and media must be given time to collaborate. After the budget is approved in the Spring of 06 and the dust settles on the remaining staff, Central Office and the director of technology will meet to implement a plan. Action on this initiative is likely to be deferred to the summer of 06.

3. Technology Professional Development

A: By the end of the school year 2006-2007, at least 85% of district staff will have participated in 45 hours of high-quality technology professional development covering technology skills and the integration of technology into instruction.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
A1: Work with Professional Development Committee (PDC) and ITAMS staff to establish appropriate workshops and courses.	x						Ongoing and as result of the inTASC study and Departmental Review, many of our offerings are site based which ensures a greater comfort level with our instructors. Additional the focus on our PD for 2005-2006 will primarily revolve around PowerSchool and PowerGrade.
A2: Use the Educational Television Studio for instruction.	x						An ETS workshop was offered the past several years. In addition to any organized Professional Development offering, ETS Director provides ongoing training with various groups and staff. We need to do more in this area this includes pilots with our new video on demand capabilities.
A3: Conduct annual technology survey to assess skill levels and collect other data	x						Annual Technology Survey is conducted in the spring of each year. If some changes were made to a few questions, we might be able to collect data that would serve as a measurement of our progress on these 45 hours of high quality professional development.
A4: Design alternatives to traditional workshops for staff to attain required hourly training	x	x					This intitiative will need to be publicized better than it has in the past. Certainly Shrewsbury provided opportunities for staff to participate, but we are not reaching all staff. We will work with PDC( described in A1 above) and the district leadership team to explore alternatives. • encourage & increase participation grade-level study groups design of technology rich activities • encourage & increase participation in the use of Atomic Learning resources especially the curriculum tools link
A5: Design alternatives support structures for teachers since the integration specialists have been eliminated.			x				In the fall of 2007, we are training 6 classroom teachers to serve as building based trainers.This is at best a stop gap measure to lessen the digital divide. We will continue to evaluate the efforts of thee 6 and their impact on teaching and learning with technology. This program has been labeled Teacher Technology Leaders or TTL.

C: Professional development planning includes an assessment of district and teachers' needs. The assessment is based on the competencies listed in the Massachusetts Technology Self-Assessment Tool. The Department, the Educational Technology Advisory Council and stakeholders will review the levels of competencies in the Massachusetts Technology Self-Assessment Tool on an annual basis.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
C1: Annually assess staff technical competencies	x						SPS has assessed staff technical competencies for several years. We have developed our instrument before the TAST from DOE. We have reviewed their instrument and made adjustments to our own to reflect current trends in technology as well as provided better data for the annual DOE Technology Update.

4. Accessibility of Technology

A. Students per Instructional Computer
1. The district has an average ratio of fewer than five students per high-capacity, Internet-connected computer. The Department will work with stakeholders to review the capacity of the computer on an annual basis. (The ultimate goal is to have a one-to-one, high-capacity, Internet-connected computer ratio.)
2. The district considers students' access to portable and/or handheld electronic devices appropriate to their grade level.
3. The district has established a computer replacement cycle of six years or less.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
A1: Develop a plan for phasing out obsolete technologies.	x						On-going; The Director of Technology and Business Manager have developed an appropriate plan working with non profit recycling organizations.
A2: Maintain adequate access to technology	x						SPS is committed to maintaining an adequate access to technology for students and staff. As our inventory moves more towards laptops, data suggests that shared portable devices ( one cart per floor at the elementary level) could replace the traditional 4 computers per room. We hope to improve the line item for the purchasing of technology in the 06-07 budget year.
A3: Access to portable technology	x						Every building has wireless laptops that students and staff are able to access. The High School and Oak Middle School have a greater number of carts. Each elementary school have one laptop cart of 12-14 units. The condition of most of our Sherwood Middle School and elementary carts is only fair to adequate, a large number ofthese units are OS9. A new portable cart was added to Floral in the fall of 2005.
A4: Replacement Cycle for Technology							SPS has made no progress on establishing a 6 year replacement cycle for technology. It is certainly a high prioirity for the district as we look forward to creating the 06-07 school budget.
A5: Complete and maintain district wide hardware and software inventory.	x		x				On-going process; using Filemaker Pro software. District database for hardware, software is a site based inventory item. All new hardware which has a bar code is scanned into the database. In 2007, we purchased the latest Filemaker Pro and converted this inventory to allow web access.

5. Infrastructure for Connectivity

A. Internet Access
1. The district provides connectivity to the Internet in all classrooms in all schools including wireless connectivity, if appropriate.
2. The district provides bandwidth of at least 10/100 MB to each classroom.

Initiative	Years 8-10 (2003-2005)	Year 11 (2006-2007)	Year 12 (2007-2008)	Year 13 (2008-2009)	Year 14 (2009-2010)	Year 15 (2010-2011)	Status
A1: Expand access to web streaming media.	x						Our goal is to provide quicktime streaming resources to staff and students for curriculum projects. We plan to pilot live streaming during the 2004 school year. In 2005, we hope to pilot podcasting student work.
A2: Increase wireless connectivity in all buildings.	x						In the 2000, SPS became a fully networked district. Since that time, all new construction and rennovations have taken advantage of the latest technology and highest possible network connectivity speeds. Additionally, all 10 mb hubs have been swapped out for 10/100 mb switches to improve network speed. With the deployment of wireless technology SPS is a 100% networked distric, that isn't to say there are spaces in each building that the signal is weak. In the fall of 2005, Sherwood Middle School became a fully wirless school assisted by a generous donation from the Middle School PTO (Apple airport technology) .
A3: Maintain email distributuon lists.							All staff are provided with an e-mail account after successfully completing a training workshop. We will need to begin migrating staff from Microsoft Exchange to the latest Microsoft email product. All Town employees are using Exchange. Paraprofessional and all now have secure home access to email using a Squirrel Mail. We are currently investigating a secure alternative to Squirrel Mail