Our learning community understands the importance of information technology and its role in administering a school and

educating its students. Further, we support the belief that all students and staff must be able to use and apply it skillfully if we

are to adapt standards-based curriculum through the Vermont Framework of Standards.

To provide equitable, expedient, efficient, accountable and cost-effective access to information technology for all students, staff and administration.

Bellows Free Academy is a secondary school providing educational opportunities for all students in St. Albans and its Surrounding communities. The central purpose of the school is to foster intellectual and personal development by teaching students to think critically and to communicate effectively; to help students understand themselves, their human heritage, and the interdependent world in which we live; to prepare students for further education, work, and the social and civic responsibilities of an adult living in a pluralistic society.

Our school is an integral part of the community and strives to encourage and increase cooperative efforts aimed at meeting the challenges of providing a quality education to a student population with diverse needs, abilities, talents, and interests.

Bellows Free Academy is founded on the principle that human beings are of great value and have the fundamental right to be

• Work in progress

• Improved technology offerings. Increased use of computer labs.

• Improved technology offerings. More hardware available. More teachers using network for school business and student learning.
• Math Computer classes revitalized with access to new technologies, which increased student enrollment.

BFA/NWTC must meet the needs of purchasing and account tracking. Accounting services will enhance their current capabilities by utilizing network information sharing during the budgeting process. We also want to add the security of electronic transfers.

The shift to block scheduling in the trimester format puts increased demands on guidance staff and the information system that serves them. Administration and guidance must have the tools that streamline the scheduling and classroom management. One of the keys to a successful educational environment is effective communication. The development of the technology infrastructure must support communication within the entire educational community: administration, teachers, staff, students and parents. The technology infrastructure will support administrative efficiency and accountability through expedient access to a variety of data. Every teacher will have access to a classroom computer in which they can log data related to grading, attendance and other administrative tasks.

• Improved / work in progress

• Work in progress

• Not possible with current software.

• There is no curricular or administrative tool for building student or teacher profiles.

• Accounting services now use electronic transfers

• This goal was predicated on use of more advanced scheduling software, that could make use of the school-wide network. Guidance is still using DOS-based software. This prevents data collection over the network.

• Although in-house email is available. Its use is scarce.

• School-wide phone and voice-mail system is in place.

• Administration has access to student information across the network.

• Guidance software does not have the capability to manage this data.

4.2 Communication and Information Access Goals and Initiatives

"We believe that every classroom should have the ability to connect to the school-wide network."

Our goal in terms of access to communication and information is to provide an environment where all teachers will be provided a sufficient infrastructure to access the BFA/NWTC intranet and the Internet from within the classroom and in their office. Further, each teacher should have sufficient access to computer systems either within their classroom or at a central lab in order to integrate information technology into their general curriculum. Additionally, students should have sufficient access to quality information systems for independent study and general research. We need to provide a broadband television distribution system carrying the standard cable signals and an in-house channel allowing us to distribute satellite broadcasts or locally generated programming. Finally, we need to provide enhanced forms of traditional services such as telephones with individual voice mail menus and an intercom system with multi-zone capabilities.

The school-wide network at BFA/NWTC is a collaboration of all the integral parts of the school and vocational center including organizational departments, communication facilities, and the instructional components. It will pull all efforts at running this educational institution under one umbrella. The network will include the administration, guidance, accounting, Internet services, cable television, including an in-house channel, a telephone system, an intercom system, specific instructional department resources, and the Media Center. This networked system is referred to as BFANET.

Access to services such as the Guidance office and the Accounting office databases should be available from selected locations and through a special security layer. Our intranet shall also provide an internal HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) (a.k.a. World Wide Web (WWW)) server to allow administrators, teachers, student groups, and staff to provide information content on BFANET. Some of this information will also be made available on the BFA/NWTC Internet Server. This network design will allow individual departments to provide information resources greatly enhancing intercurricular opportunities.

Through the process of upgrading hardware and software, the Media Center will go beyond its physical four walls to encompass the school as a whole. This new network will include the original library network and resources within and without the physical building. Those resources managed by the Media Center, including not only print material but also video and audio media and electronic databases and the indices, will be available to all areas of the school accessed by a computer.

• All classrooms do have the ability to connect to the school-wide network.

• Work in progress, classroom access has been provided

• Insufficient information is available to assess the degree to which technology is part of instruction.

• Completed.

• Completed.

• Completed.

• Completed.

• Completed

• External access is in place.

• Completed.

• This goal is incomplete and is being reconsidered.

• Every classroom has a live network connection.

• Two labs currently exist for class sign-out

• Every classroom has a connection to the cable network.

• More equipment is needed to use effectively in all classrooms.

• Every classroom has a telephone

• All staff have 4 digit extensions with voice-mail.

• BFANET exists.

• Administration, Guidance, and Accounting exist on networks separate from BFANET

• In-house channel now being utilized

As BFA/NWTC takes giant steps toward providing the best opportunities for learning, three central goals are guiding the integration of information technology:

Standards Based Educational Reform

Equitable Access to Learning Opportunities

Communication and Assessment as a Vehicle

for Future Planning

BFA/NWTC is using this time of great change to align its learning opportunities with Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities, as well as state designed and mandated program competencies for technical education. This section uses the learning opportunities identified in the Framework to outline current and proposed information technology initiatives at BFA/NWTC.

A. Access

BFA/NWTC’s information technology infrastructure will provide closed circuit television, voice, and data transmission to every classroom and staff office in the school. With this infrastructure students and staff will be able access resources such as distance learning, the Internet, the intranet, voice mail, email, and personal network accounts from over 100 locations. In addition to the Media Center facilities, two 24-seat computer classrooms will be available for use by classes from all academic levels and disciplines. Such a robust infrastructure will provide greater and more equitable access to administrative, guidance, curricular

and special services. Access will be available to all staff and students under guidelines designed to be fair, known to all, and consistently applied.

Access is an equity issue for many of our students who do not have easy access to information technology after school hours. We are committed to the goal of opening our school every weekday afternoon and evening for students and community members. This long-term goal will take financial resources. We will take our first step towards this goal by opening a computer lab in the evening one day a week starting in January of 1998 (See Appendix I for timeline).

B. Instruction

With block scheduling, longer instructional time periods have allowed teachers to develop new teaching styles. Teachers now provide activities that promote the use of multiple intelligence and address different learning styles. Teaching has become more efficient because there is more opportunity for self-guided learning, peer teaching and in-depth applications. As the diverse information technology resources come on line, the teacher’s role will expand to that of an explorer and co-learner. This will enable learning outcomes at BFA/NWTC to become more closely linked to the Vermont Framework of Standards. These resources include curricular specific software and databases, Internet access, shared learning among schools.

We will adopt sets of performance indicators for all students, grades K-12, in cooperation with all feeder schools (See Appendix E for timelines and goals). Sample indicators are referenced in Appendix F.

C. Assessment and Reporting

BFA/NWTC will use information technology to enhance assessment on several different levels. Pilot projects using electronic portfolios will provide new ways for BFA/NWTC to share educational results with parents, other schools, business, and supervisory organizations. Administrative communication, grade reporting, and attendance procedures will become more efficient. Administrative tools will be installed to improve data collection and data tracking. Professional development activities for staff and administration will help to create a system where the Vital Results are referenced in evaluating all students.

D. Connections

The use of email, electronic portfolios, and distance learning facilities will establish connections across disciplines to enhance current interdisciplinary programs and serve as a catalyst for developing others. Such communication tools will also provide the opportunity to expand current collaboration with business and community. As this collaboration expands, students benefit from added relevance to their education and the community benefits by increased ownership in the educational process.

E. Best Practices in the Fields of Knowledge

• Work in progress

• Limited work in progress.

• A limited work in progress.

• Incomplete

• Limited work in progress

• There is a telephone in every room. There is internet access in every room, except for Building Trades and the alternative off site areas.

• There is voice mail, e-mail, and the internet availability from all areas.

• There are two computer labs in the English and Math areas. We do not have a separate school wide room, although all classes are allowed access to both existing labs.

• There was an attempt in 1998 to open the writing lab one night a week. There was little use and the interest was not there to justify keeping the lab open at night

• The math department, the science department, and English department have had conversations and/or comprehensive curriculums developed, Very little however speaks to the technology of the feeder schools.

• We do have a BFA webpage. Some departments have some information on the page. Little time is spent updating the information and providing the community with important information.

• There is currently no attendance, grading, or data tracking being done over the intranet.

• No Evidence

• Except for some mathematics examples, and the obvious English department there is little evidence that there is an improved writing across the curriculum due to the technology that we currently have operating.

We have adopted the Staff Information Technology Competencies from Vermont’s Statewide Education Information Technology Plan: Guide to Professional Development as the foundation for planning, monitoring, and assessing staff (technology competency) literacy and experience with technology. We are committed to standards-based learning and insuring that our work aligns with the "got it" and "wow" column found in Appendix A of the Vermont Framework of Standards.

General Goals:

Clearly articulated expectations for staff use of technology in the classroom

Alignment of professional development with technology goals and staff needs.

Integration of technology into the curriculum

Use of technology competencies as additional benchmarks in hiring new employees

Use of technology competencies to guide staff development

Provide adequate professional development time through the trimester model

Ensuring that there is alignment and a scaffolding process between our technology goals and feeder school goals (See Appendix E for suggested K-12 student performance indicators).

BFA/NWTC intends to adapt concrete Staff Competency Goals that will reinforce the pedagogical goals laid out in Section 4.3. Keyed to the Staff Information Technology Competencies from Vermont’s Statewide Education Information Technology Plan (see Appendix D), BFA/NWTC intend to assure staff excellence by closely aligning teacher and staff competencies with curricular goals(see Appendix E for specific alignments). In upcoming negotiations, we will work with staff and administration, along with the Local Standards Board, to approve a technology component in our local certification process. The professional development plan outlined in Section 6.4 will help meet this requirement.

Access – To assure student access to the proposed information technology infrastructure, staff will be required to achieve proficiency in Technology Awareness, Technology Operation and Application, and Adaptation and Assistive Skills. Access to technology can only be assured if the mentors can use it.

Instruction – Excellence in instruction will be assured by building on Access-level competencies, building to proficiency in the areas of Technology Operation and Application and Instructional Integration and Management, and a commitment to Professional Growth. By building staff competencies in these areas, we can achieve the goal of using technology as a learning tool rather than as a novelty.

Assessment and Reporting – Honoring the increased demands for accurate assessment of learning – and the reporting thereof – BFA/NWTC will stress staff proficiency in Technology Evaluation and Assessment, Instructional Integration and Management, and Presentation and Production Skills. To be able to more efficiently track student and staff progress – and to clearly and graphically report that progress – makes for an accountability that only reinforces the role technology plays in learning.

Connections – In order to better reach out across departments, into the community, and around the world, staff will need to achieve proficiency in Acquisition of Information (Research) and in Presentation and Production Skills. We will need experts in accessing information as well as in packaging it in home pages and in other electronic modes.

Best Practices in the Fields of Knowledge – Expert teachers will use those same skills – Acquisition of Information (Research) and Presentation and Production Skills to maximize learning opportunities across the curriculum. Research, publishing, and collaboration should become the norm throughout the learning spectrum.

• Incomplete

• Work in progress

• Work in progress

• Incomplete

• Incomplete

• Complete

• Incomplete

• Incomplete

• Work in progress

• Incomplete

• Incomplete

• Incomplete

• Work in progress

• Incomplete

• No evidence

• Staff members for staff members on the use of technology have offered courses.
  
   

• Science, Math, and English departments have used the technology to enhance their programs.

• No Evidence

• No evidence

• There is one trimester of 2 prep periods and one of them is to be used for professional development Technology workshops offered after school.
  
   

• No Evidence

• No evidence

• Staff has been encouraged to become proficient, but have not yet been required.

• No evidence

• No evidence

• No evidence

• Some teachers are becoming experts.

• No evidence

• No evidence

7.1 Monitoring and Evaluation Process

We believe it is essential to develop a constant monitoring and evaluation process for our plan given the dramatic changes that

can occur in technology over short periods of time.

We will gather data related to our goals to monitor and evaluate the success of our plan on a quarterly basis. We will enlist a core group of teachers, students, community members, and parents to carry out this process. We will assess our progress toward the following goals (detailed explanation in section 3.3 & 3.3) at these quarterly benchmarks: Instructional & Curricular Goals

Standards Based Education Reform

Equitable Access to Learning Opportunities

Communication and Assessment as a vehicle for

Future Planning

Staff Competency Goals in Support of Student

Clearly articulated expectations for staff use of technology in the classroom

Alignment of professional development with technology goals and staff needs

Integration of technology into the curriculum

Use of technology competencies as additional benchmarks in hiring new employees

Use of technology competencies to guide staff development

Provide adequate professional development time through the trimester model Ensuring that there is alignment and a scaffolding process with our technology goals and feeder school goals

We will assess our goals and use the data to guide our on going technology planning.

This data will drive our technology planning and allow us to make changes as necessary to meet unforeseen needs and

circumstances.

The reporting process is critical to the success of our plan through holding us accountable to the goals of our plan. It will also serve as a powerful tool to enlist continued support for the integration of technology into our curriculum. Our report to

stakeholders will outline our accomplishments and problems we encounter in addressing the goals of our technology plan. We will report to stake holders in the following ways: BFA/NWTC Web Page: A copy of our technology plan will be posted as

well as quarterly reports that outline our progress toward our technology goals. BFA/NWTC Board of Trustees: Community members will present our quarterly report. Public Access Television: A listing of availability of our Network to students, parents

In addition, community members during non-school hours. Monthly BFA/NWTC Parent Newsletter: A narrative explaining the progress we have experienced toward meeting our goals as well as listing of the availability of our Network to students, parents and community members during on-school hours. Rotary: Presentation of our quarterly reports Community access to the

Network during non-school hours

Our technology plan will be rewritten on a two-year cycle. During this two-year period, we will evaluate our success toward meeting our goals on a quarterly basis. These evaluations will take place during the first week of November, February, May and August. Each evaluation period will produce a report to be disseminated to the stakeholders mentioned above. The report will include data that indicates our success toward attaining our goals over the previous quarter. The reports will also reference any adjustments to the plan that have been precipitated by changes in technology or Network user needs. Our May quarterly

evaluation process will be more extensive in that we will be preparing technology items for the budgeting process that takes place in the fall for the following school year. This requires us to forecast our needs over a year in advance. This report will

• Work in progress

• Incomplete

• Incomplete

• No evidence

• Staff was surveyed to arrive at new goals for this update.
• No true assessment of previous goals from entire school community.

• Current Technology Plan is on the BFA web page http://www.bfa.k12.vt

• No evidence