TO: Utah State Board of Education

Attention: Ms. Sarah Young, Coordinator FROM: South Summit School District

Dr. Shad Sorenson

DATE: 22-November-2016 SUBJECT: Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Program Application

FY 2017

Vision Statement

South Summit School District - valuing students and preparing them for success.

Mission Statement

We support, empower, and inspire individuals to promote and achieve academic and character excellence.

District Digital Teaching and Learning Theme

Scale your Summit

Qualifying Grant Application and Rubric FY 2017

I. LEA’s Results on the Readiness Assessment Required in Section 53A-1-1404

South Summit School District completed the North Carolina Digital Learning plan. The findings are below:

LEADERSHIP

Early Developing Advanced Target

L1 Shared Vision

A district leadership team is being created for the purposes of planning and leading digital teaching and learning.

A vision for digital teaching and learning has not yet been created.

A planned effort to discuss the eventual vision for digital teaching and learning with faculty, staff, and other stakeholders has not yet been put in place.

There is no consistent effort to have district and school leaders consistently

A district leadership team, consisting of a few individuals, collaboratively crafts the vision for digital teaching and learning.

A vision for digital teaching and learning guides district digital education activities .

District and school leadership annually promote the district vision for digital teaching and learning to faculty and staff.

School leaders communicate about digital teaching and learning practices but do not model effective use of digital resources .

A district leadership team, consisting of many individuals, collaboratively crafts the vision, goals, and strategies for digital teaching and learning.

The vision, goals, and strategies for digital teaching and learning exist as a self-contained initiative .

District and school leadership occasionally promote the district vision for digital teaching and learning to all stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, parents, and community members .

A diverse, representative district leadership team, consisting of district and school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members , collaboratively crafts the vision, goals, and strategies for digital teaching and learning.

The vision, goals, and strategies for digital teaching and learning are integrated as core components of the district’s strategic plans and other high-level guiding frameworks .

District and school leadership

1

communicate about digital teaching and learning practices.

School leaders serve as lead learners for digital teaching and learning practices, modeling effective use of high quality digital resources .

consistently promote the district vision for digital teaching and learning to all stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, parents, and community members .

District and school leaders serve as lead learners for digital teaching and learning practices, modeling effective use of high quality digital resources.

L2 Personnel District schools require teacher leaders and other faculty to lead, learn, and share together about digital teaching and learning in meetings before or after school.

Schools within the district do not yet make digital teaching and learning skills a requirement or priority for any teaching position.

District schools do not yet identify teacher-leaders for digital teaching and learning.

Every school within the district has at least one part-time instructional coach for technology or at least one full-time certified school library media coordinator .

Schools within the district recruit, hire, and develop a few teachers on their faculty to have high quality digital teaching and learning skills.

Every district school has informal pathways to identify current teacher-leaders for digital teaching and learning.

Every school within a district has at least one full-time instructional coach for technology and at least one full-time certified school library media coordinator.

Schools within the district recruit, hire, and develop many teachers on their faculty to have high quality digital teaching and learning skills.

Every district school has informal pathways to identify and develop current and future teacher-leaders for digital teaching and learning.

Every school within the district has at least one full-time instructional technology facilitator and at least one full-time certified school library media coordinator.

Schools within the district recruit, hire, and develop all teachers on their faculty to have high quality digital teaching and learning skills.

Every district school has formal pathways to identify and develop current and future teacher-leaders for digital teaching and learning.

L3 Communicatio

n & Collaboration

Digital tools are rarely used to provide just-in-time information about important district activities and to connect parents, community

Digital tools are occasionally used to provide just-in-time information about important district activities and to connect parents, community members,

Digital tools are consistently used to provide just-in-time information about important district activities and to connect parents, community members,

Digital tools are continuously used to provide just-in-time information about important district activities and to connect parents, community

2

members, and other stakeholders to the district using two-way communication.

School leaders do not yet maintain a digital culture within their schools, in which the collaborative, transparent, free-flow exchange of information takes place among sub-groups of school faculty and staff.

and other stakeholders to the district using two-way communication.

Few school leaders maintain a digital culture within their school, in which the collaborative, transparent, free-flow exchange of information takes place among sub-groups of school faculty and staff.

and other stakeholders to the district using two-way communication.

Many school leaders maintain a digital culture within their school, in which the collaborative, transparent, free-flow exchange of information takes place among sub-groups of school faculty and staff.

members, and other stakeholders to the district using ongoing, two-way communication.

All school leaders maintain a collaborative, transparent digital culture within their school, in which the free-flow exchange of school information takes place among all school faculty and staff.

L4 Sustainability

The district has not yet considered a sustainability and scalability plan for maintaining and expanding digital services for more students in more contexts.

The district has not yet developed a long-term funding plan for digital teaching and learning.

The district leadership team is not yet considering options for supporting digital teaching and learning through managed services.

The district is not yet considering efficiency, effectiveness, or the total cost of ownership for services to be purchased.

The district is considering developing a sustainability and scalability plan for maintaining and expanding digital services for more students in more contexts, but has not yet studied financial projections or budget items .

The district has a long-term funding plan that provides ongoing funding for digital teaching and learning with discretionary funds and accommodates for refresh cycles .

The district leadership team is exploring options for supporting digital teaching and learning through managed services.

The district is building their capacity to evaluate efficiency, effectiveness, or the total cost of

The district has a sustainability and scalability plan for maintaining and expanding digital services for more students in more contexts that is updated with new financial projections, budget items, and priority areas every couple years.

The district has a long-term funding plan that includes: ongoing funding for digital teaching and learning as a core operating cost; leverages at least one external funding source; and accommodates for refresh cycles .

The district leadership has identified options for supporting digital teaching and learning through managed services.

The district occasionally

The district has a sustainability and scalability plan for maintaining and expanding digital services for more students in more contexts that is continually updated with new financial projections, budget items, and priority areas and is aligned to the district improvement plan .

The district has a comprehensive long-term funding plan that includes: ongoing funding to fully fund digital teaching and learning; leverages multiple external funding sources; and accommodates for refresh cycles, product upgrades, and expansion of services.

The district uses options for supporting digital teaching and

3

ownership for services to be purchased.

evaluates efficiency, effectiveness, or the total cost of ownership for services to be purchased.

learning through managed services.

The district consistently evaluates efficiency, effectiveness, or the total cost of ownership for services to be purchased.

L5 Policy District-specific Terms of Use agreements including policies for data privacy and confidentiality are not yet in place .

District and school digital technology policies include language for an Acceptable Use policy, but have not been updated within the past two years and do not yet have a systematic process for consistent policy updates.

District leaders have not yet considered policies that enable and support: 24/7 access to devices and content, student-owned mobile devices in the school setting, flexible uses of time, and alternative assessments.

School and district digital technology policies are not yet aligned to the district improvement plan and do not mention the role of digital technology in furthering the district

District-specific Terms of Use agreements including policies for data privacy and confidentiality have been discussed by leadership and are in the process of being created .

District and school digital technology policies include an Acceptable Use policy, but do not have a systematic process for consistent or continual policy updates .

District leaders are considering policies that enable and support: 24/7 access to devices and content, student-owned mobile devices in the school setting, flexible uses of time, and alternative assessments.

School and district digital technology policies are in the process of being aligned to the district improvement plan and do not mention the role of digital technology in furthering the district toward the goals

District-specific Terms of Use agreements include policies for data privacy and confidentiality have been adopted by the district .

District and school digital technology policies have shifted from an Acceptable Use policy to Responsible Use guidelines, but do not have a systematic process for consistent or continual policy updates .

District leaders have adopted policies that enable or support at least one of the following: 24/7 access to devices and content, student-owned mobile devices in the school setting, flexible uses of time, and alternative assessments.

School and district digital technology policies have been aligned to the district improvement plan and do not mention the role of digital technology in furthering the district

District-specific Terms of Use agreements include policies for data privacy and confidentiality have been communicated (e.g. public forums, parent information nights, media sent home with students, faculty memos, etc.) with all stakeholder groups, and serve as a guide for purchasing and service agreements for new product acquisition .

District and school digital technology policies incorporate Responsible Use guidelines that encourage proactive, positive behavior with digital technologies and have a systematic process for consistent or continual policy updates .

District leaders have adopted and communicated policies to enable and support : 24/7 access to devices and content, student-owned mobile devices in the school setting,

4

toward the goals outlined in the improvement plan.

School and district policies do not yet mention the role of digital technology in a student-centered learning environment.

outlined in the improvement plan.

School and district leaders are discussing the role of digital technology in a student-centered learning environment.

toward the goals outlined in the improvement plan.

School and district leaders have adopted policy regarding the role of digital technology in a student-centered learning environment.

flexible uses of time, and alternative assessments.

School and district digital technology policies have been aligned to the district improvement plan and explicitly delineate the role of digital technology in furthering the district toward the goals outlined in the improvement plan.

School and district leaders have worked with a variety of stakeholder groups to create and adopt policy regarding the role of digital technology in a student-centered learning environment and have a systematic process in place to continuously advocate for this policy with relevant stakeholder groups.

L6 Continuous Improvement

The district is not yet considering continuous improvement plans for digital learning initiatives.

Continuous improvement systems have not yet been identified or established.

Data is not yet being used or collected related to digital learning initiatives.

District leaders are considering continuous improvement plans for digital learning initiatives.

Digital learning initiatives are seen as separate from the rest of the teaching-and-learning process and little effort is given regarding overall evaluation .

Limited data are being used to continuously improve the implementation of

District leaders have begun to develop  continuous improvement plans for digital learning initiatives.

Digital learning initiatives are improved every 1-2 years based upon summative results of continuous improvement data (e.g., based on findings professional development is adjusted; schedules are changed; content access protocols are

A team of stakeholders that includes district leadership and representatives of some other groups such as, school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and/or community members have developed continuous improvement plans for digital learning initiatives aligned to the district improvement plan .

Digital learning initiatives are continuously

5

digital teaching and learning.

improved; policies are updated; etc.).

Mostly high-level data (e.g. student grades and test scores) are being used to continuously improve the implementation of digital teaching, but district leaders are beginning to develop plans for the collection of more nuanced, informative data.

improved based on results of the ongoing data collection (e.g., based on findings professional development is adjusted; schedules are changed; content access protocols are improved; policies are updated; etc.).

Multiple and varied sources of data (e.g., student performance data, classroom observation data, web analytics, participation tracking, survey data, etc.) are being used to continuously improve the implementation and impact of digital teaching and learning.

L7 Procurement

District-procured digital content is purchased as a package .

The accessibility and usability of digital content is not addressed.

Procured licenses for each student and teacher and are not transferrable between individuals as needed.

District-procured digital content is purchased by course .

Accessibility and usability of digital content for all students with disabilities or special needs is partially addressed by at least asking the vendor to provide assurances .

Procured licenses are based on enrollment count, and are not licensed to individual students and teachers .

District-procured digital content is purchased by unit .

Accessibility and usability of digital content for all students with disabilities or special needs is addressed by providing alternatives for inaccessible content .

Procured licenses are based on a flexible licensing model on the number of concurrent users .

District-procured digital content is purchased by topic, enabling teachers to customize content from multiple sources and create curriculum tailored to their standards .

All digital content is accessible and useable by all students with disabilities or special needs.

Procured licenses are based on a flexible licensing model that allows for transferability among users, or on the total enrollment of the school .

6

TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE & DEVICES

Early Developing Advanced Target

T1 School

Networks

Network and Internet connection bandwidth are not yet sufficient to support average district access needs .

Wireless access points are not yet managed by a central controller.

Wireless network is not yet available in all classrooms, or is not yet sufficient to meet demand.

Wireless connectivity is not yet sufficient to support one device per student with some performance degradation during average use.

Network performance monitoring is not yet in place.

Network and Internet connection bandwidth are sufficient to meet average district access needs (though not peak demand).

Some wireless access points are managed by a central controller.

Wireless network access is generally available in computer labs and classrooms; wireless access is available in some common spaces.

Wireless connectivity is sufficient to support one device per student with some performance degradation during average use.

Network performance monitoring is in place at MDF and core switching equipment.

Network and Internet connection bandwidth are sufficient to support all district access needs with some performance degradation at peak access times.

All wireless access points are managed by a central controller.

Wireless access is available in all instructional and indoor common areas.

Wireless connectivity is sufficient to support one device per student without performance degradation during average use.

Network performance monitoring is in place for the wired and wireless networks including individual access points.

Network and Internet connection bandwidth support all district access needs without performance degradation even during times of maximum use.

All wireless access points are managed by a central controller with redundancy and traffic routing.

Wireless access is available and reliable in all instructional spaces and indoor/outdoor common areas .

Wireless connectivity is sufficient to support two or more devices per student without performance degradation during average use.

Network performance monitoring is in place for the wired wireless network and can measure usage at the device level.

T2 End-User Devices

District-owned devices are available in a fixed location on a limited or scheduled basis for teacher and learner use.

District-owned devices are not yet configured for remote

District-owned devices are available to entire classes on a rotating basis in the classroom for teacher and learner use.

Some district-owned devices are configured for remote management or update.

District-owned devices are available to all students and teachers during the school day.

District-owned devices are configured for remote management or update at the school.

District-owned devices are available to all students and teachers 24/7.

District-owned devices are configured for remote management or update across the district .

7

management or update.

Standards for the alignment of district-owned devices to instructional programs (e.g. NC Test Specifications) do not yet exist.

District does not yet allow students to bring their own devices.

Some district-owned devices meet standards for the alignment of district-owned devices to instructional programs (e.g. NC Test Specifications, modern LMS, instructional applications).

District allows students to bring any devices.

Most district-owned devices meet standards for the alignment of district-owned devices to instructional programs (e.g. NC Test Specifications, modern LMS, instructional applications).

District provides support for schools to implement a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) program.

All district-owned devices meet standards for the alignment of district-owned devices to instructional programs (e.g. NC Test Specifications, modern LMS, instructional applications).

District requires BYOD, student-owned devices used on campus to meet specifications that ensure they can be used for core learning applications.

TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE

Early Developing Advanced Target

T3 Learning Environment

s

All instructional spaces do not yet have a dedicated large display.

Classrooms have fewer than five power receptacles available for student use .

Peripheral devices (e.g., document cameras, 3-D printers, assistive/adaptive devices, etc.) are not yet available in the classroom, or do not function.

Learning spaces are not yet designed and furnished to provide flexibility for students to work individually and collaboratively.

All instructional spaces have a large display system that is hard-wired to a single device .

Classrooms have enough receptacles to allow students to rotate for access to power .

Peripheral devices are available for use in the classroom, are functional, but are only for teacher use .

A few learning spaces are designed and furnished to provide flexibility for students to work individually and collaboratively.

All instructional spaces have a large fixed display system that is hard wired to a single device .

Classrooms have sufficient power receptacles available, but are not conveniently located for student use .

Peripheral devices are available in the classroom and can be used by students .

Many learning spaces are designed and furnished to provide flexibility for students to work individually and collaboratively.

All instructional spaces have a large display system with the ability to show teacher and student screens wireless ly .

Classrooms have sufficient power receptacles available, located in positions that allow students to charge devices .

Peripheral devices are available in the classroom and controlled by both teacher and student devices .

All learning spaces are designed and furnished to provide flexibility for students to work individually and collaboratively.

8

T4 Technical Support

Technical support response time is a barrier to instructional delivery and normal business operations .

Technical support response time is typically more than four days.

Technical support is provided primarily by Instructional personnel (e.g., instructional technology facilitators, coaches, or other instructional positions).

No defined technical support procedures exist yet .

Technical support requests are not yet tracked .

Inventory of digital technology assets (i.e. counts of devices) has been formalized .

Technical support responses are sometimes a barrier to instructional delivery and normal business operations .

Technical support is available within two to three business days, in most cases.

Instructional personnel provide “first level” technical support .

A technical support procedure exists only at the individual school level.

Technical support requests are tracked, but are not reviewed for trends.

Inventory and tracking of portable digital technology assets is cataloged and linked to individuals.

Technical support responses are rarely a barrier to instructional delivery and normal business operations .

Technical support is available within 24 hours, in most cases .

Instructional personnel serve as back-up technical support .

A well-defined technical support procedure is in place, but is not consistently enforced .

Technical support requests are tracked and reviewed for trends periodically.

Inventory and tracking of portable and fixed digital technology assets is catalogued and linked to individuals and spaces .

Technical support is available enough that instructional and business operations are minimally impacted.

Technical support is generally available within the same day .

Technical support does not rely primarily on instructional technology facilitators, coaches, or other instructional positions .

A well-defined technical support procedure is in place and consistently enforced .

Technical support requests are logged, tracked, and annotated .

Inventory and tracking of portable and fixed technology assets is catalogued and linked to individuals and spaces and incorporates repair history and refresh plans.

TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE

Early Developing Advanced Target

T5 Network Service

s

Equipment is replaced at the point of failure.

Single-sign-on is not yet in use.

Equipment is replaced sporadically as funding is available.

Single-sign-on is in use only for basic services (i.e., network

A routine and comprehensive replacement cycle exists for some devices and digital technology infrastructure.

A routine and comprehensive replacement cycle exists for all devices and digital technology infrastructure.

9

Content filtering is not yet differentiated by user type .

Content filtering exclusively restricts and often prevents teachers and students from accessing instructional tools/resources.

Guest devices do not yet have wireless access .

logins, content filtering, and email systems).

Content filtering is differentiated by staff and students .

Content filtering sometimes prevents the use of some instructional websites .

Upon request guest devices can be connected to the district wireless network.

Single-sign-on is in use for basic services and some additional applications .

Content filtering is differentiated by school level and user role .

Content filtering seldom prevents the use of instructional websites .

Guest devices can connect to the district wireless network but no system is in place for access control.

Single-sign-on and identity management are integrated across all applications.

Content filtering is in place at the school level, grade level, and by user role.

Content filtering does not restrict Internet usage beyond legal requirements and local responsible use policies .

Guest devices connect to the district wireless network through a system with multiple and varied rates and that tracks users.

T6 Outside

of School

Fewer than 50% of teachers and students have Internet/broadband access outside the school day.

Partnerships with the community groups (e.g. public libraries, community centers, municipalities, downtown areas, and Internet providers) to support out-of-school Internet access are not yet established .

Commercial Internet/broadband providers do not yet offer discounts for rural or economically disadvantaged families.

Student and teacher devices are not yet filtered off-premises.

50% of teachers and students have Internet/broadband access outside the school day at least two days per week.

Partnerships with the community groups (e.g. public libraries, community centers, municipalities, downtown areas, and Internet providers) to support out-of-school Internet access are brief and rare .

Commercial Internet/broadband providers offer modest discounts for rural or economically disadvantaged families.

Limited content filtering operates on student and teacher devices off-premises.

Most teachers and students have Internet/broadband access outside the school day 3-5 days per week.

Partnerships with the community groups (e.g. public libraries, community centers, municipalities, downtown areas, and Internet providers) to support out-of-school Internet access exist with a small number of organizations or individuals .

Commercial Internet/broadband providers offer substantial discounts for rural or economically disadvantaged families.

Sufficient content filtering operates on student devices when they are off-premises.

All teachers and students have Internet/broadband access outside the school day 6-7 days a week.

Partnerships with the community groups (e.g. public libraries, community centers, municipalities, downtown areas, and Internet providers) to support out-of-school Internet access are continuous and leverage multiple types of organizations .

Commercial Internet/broadband providers offer free service for rural or economically disadvantaged families

Sufficient content filtering operates on student and teacher devices when they are off-premises.

10

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Early Developing Advanced Target

P1 Professional Developmen

t Focus

Digital learning-focused professional development focuses on sharing information about digital technology tools and resources .

Professional development on pedagogy in a digital learning environment has not yet been provided.

Digital learning-focused professional development has not yet been provided on content-specific strategies for integrating digital technology into the curriculum.

Digital learning-focused professional development focuses on engaging with digital technology tools and resources .

Professional development on pedagogy in a digital learning environment introduces digital learning frameworks (e.g., TPACK, SAMR, 4Cs, etc.).

Digital learning-focused professional development has been provided on content-specific strategies for integrating digital technology into the curriculum for CCSS subjects (ELA, mathematics).

Digital learning-focused professional development focuses on curriculum planning integrated with digital technology tools and resources.

Professional development on pedagogy in a digital learning environment explores digital learning frameworks (e.g., TPACK, SAMR, 4Cs, etc.) for the effective uses of digital technology to support instructional strategies .

Digital learning-focused professional development has been provided on content-specific strategies for integrating digital technology into the curriculum for ELA, mathematics, social studies, and science.

Digital learning-focused professional development focuses on curriculum planning and student-learning activities integrated with digital technology tools and resources.

During professional development on pedagogy in a digital learning environment, teachers reflect on and revise their implementation of digital learning frameworks (e.g., TPACK, SAMR, 4Cs, etc.).

Digital learning-focused professional development has been provided on content-specific strategies for integrating digital technology into the curriculum for all subject areas.

P2 Professional Developmen

t Format

Digital learning-focused professional development is typically delivered in a large-group via lecture.

Digital learning-focused professional

Digital learning-focused professional development is typically delivered in small group settings via lecture .

Digital learning-focused professional

Digital learning-focused professional development is typically delivered in small group settings using an appropriate pedagogical strategy (e.g., job-embedded,

Digital learning-focused professional development is typically delivered in small group settings using multiple pedagogical strategies (e.g., job-embedded,

11

development is designed to address large group needs as determined by district goals or initiatives.

Digital learning-focused professional development does not yet include ongoing support through coaching, mentoring, or learning communities.

Digital learning-focused professional development is rarely delivered in face-to-face or synchronous settings.

Teachers do not have the opportunity to discuss digital learning in professional learning community meetings.

development is designed to address large group needs identified through perceptions of district leaders .

Digital learning-focused professional development includes ongoing support through coaching, mentoring, and/or learning communities.

Digital learning-focused professional development is delivered in face-to-face or synchronous settings.

Teachers occasionally share lessons and activities about digital learning through infrequent professional learning community meetings (e.g., quarterly early release days).

ongoing, relevant, or sustainable).

Digital learning-focused professional development is designed to address large group needs identified through data (e.g., surveys, teacher evaluations).

Digital learning-focused professional development includes ongoing support with coaching, mentoring, and professional learning communities.

Digital learning-focused professional development is delivered in face-to-face or synchronous settings and informal opportunities are encouraged.

Teachers frequently share lessons and activities about digital learning in their regular professional learning communities (e.g., weekly common planning periods).

ongoing, relevant, and sustainable).

Digital learning-focused professional development is personalized based on participants’ professional learning needs identified through data (e.g., surveys, teacher evaluations).

Digital learning-focused professional development includes ongoing support through peer observation, assessment, coaching, professional learning communities, and mentoring.

Digital learning-focused professional development is delivered in face-to-face or synchronous settings and includes intentional opportunities for informal and anytime, anywhere learning.

Teachers frequently share lessons and activities about digital learning in their regular professional learning communities, guiding their work with research-based framework (e.g., Marzano, DuFour,

12

Senge, Hord, etc.).

P3 Professional Developmen

t Participation

Teachers are responsible for pursuing digital learning-focused professional development independently.

District provides information to administrators about opportunities for teacher professional development on digital learning.

The district has no additional CEU requirements specific to digital learning.

District provides some digital learning-focused professional development typically available after school or during planning time .

Administrators attend professional development on digital learning with their teachers.

The district encourages teachers to pursue professional development opportunities specific to digital learning .

District provides multiple opportunities to meet the professional development needs of all teachers, including some release time to participate in professional learning opportunities .

Administrators participate in professional development on leading digital learning initiatives.

The district requires 1 CEU specific to digital learning during a renewal cycle.

District provides multiple and varied opportunities to meet the individual professional development needs of all teachers, including some release time to participate in professional learning opportunities.

Administrators participate in professional development on leading digital learning initiatives, including evaluating authentic digital learning.

The district requires 2 or more CEUs specific to digital learning during a renewal cycle.

CONTENT & INSTRUCTION

Early Developing Advanced Target

C1 Educator Role

Shifts in educator role in a digital learning environment, in which teachers do more facilitation, are not yet being addressed.

Teachers do not demonstrate proficiency with the “NC Digital Learning Competencies for Teachers” (focus areas include:

Shifts in the educator role in a digital learning environment, in which teachers do more facilitation, are driven at the teacher level and are not systemic.

Few teachers demonstrate proficiency with the “NC Digital Learning Competencies for Teachers” (focus areas include:

Shifts in the educator role in a digital learning environment, in which teachers do more facilitation, are driven at the school-leader level and are not systemic.

Many teachers demonstrate proficiency with the “NC Digital Learning Competencies for Teachers” (focus areas include: Leadership in

Shifts in the educator role in a digital learning environment, in which teachers do more facilitation, are driven at the district level and are systemic.

All teachers demonstrate proficiency with the “NC Digital Learning Competencies for Teachers” (focus areas include: Leadership in Digital Learning, Digital

13

Leadership in Digital Learning, Digital Citizenship, Digital Content and Instruction, Data and Assessment).

Leadership in Digital Learning, Digital Citizenship, Digital Content and Instruction, Data and Assessment).

Digital Learning, Digital Citizenship, Digital Content and Instruction, Data and Assessment).

Citizenship, Digital Content and Instruction, Data and Assessment).

C2 Student-Cen

tered Learning

Students do not participate in digital learning activities that develop critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills.

Students do not have the ability to use digital tools to select their own learning paths.

Students have a few opportunities to participate in digital learning activities that integrate critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills.

Students have few opportunities to use digital tools to select personalized learning paths based on their learning differences.

Students have many opportunities to participate in digital learning activities that integrate critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills.

Students have many opportunities to use digital tools to select personalized learning paths based on their learning differences.

Students have consistent opportunities participate in d igital learning activities that integrate critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills.

Students have consistent opportunities to use digital tools to select personalized learning paths based on their learning differences.

C3 Access to Digital Content

Students do not have access to digital content and resources.

Teachers do not have access to digital content and resources for instructional use in the classroom .

Parents do not have access to teacher-generated and curated digital content.

Students have few opportunities to access digital content and resources.

Teachers have few opportunities to access digital content and resources for instructional use in the classroom .

Parents have few opportunities to access teacher-generated and curated digital content.

Students have many opportunities to access digital content and resources.

Teachers have consistent opportunities to access digital content and resources for instructional use in the classroom .

Parents have many opportunities to access all teacher-generated and curated digital content.

Students have anytime/anywhere access to digital content and resources.

Teachers have anytime/anywhere access to digital content and resources for instructional use throughout the entire school.

Parents have consistent access to all teacher-generated and curated digital content and the work submitted by their students .

C4 Learning Managemen

t System (LMS)

The district does not have a policy regarding a learning management system.

A learning management system is not used by teachers .

The district provides flexibility and support to schools in choosing a learning management system .

A learning management system is used by some teachers .

The district provides an integrated learning management system(s) but not all are schools are using it.

A learning management system is used by most teachers.

The district provides support in implementing a comprehensive, integrated learning management system(s) to help teachers plan and organize curriculum, provide student activities, and

14

track students’ progress.

A district-provided learning management system is used by all teachers.

C5 Curation &

Development

District-supported digital content and instructional resources are selected without teacher input .

Teachers do not have access to a searchable repository to share their curated and/or developed digital content.

Teachers are not yet able to customize digital content aligned to their standards from any sources.

District-supported digital content and instructional resources are selected with teacher input .

Teachers have access to a searchable grade-level or subject-area repository to share their curated and/or developed digital content.

Teachers are able to customize digital content aligned to their standards from a few sources .

District-supported digital content and instructional resources are selected with input from teachers and content/pedagogy experts .

Teachers have access to a searchable school-level repository to share their curated and/or developed digital content.

Teachers are able to customize digital content aligned to their standards from many sources .

District-supported digital content and instructional resources are selected through a vetting process with input from teachers and content/pedagogy experts.

Teachers have access to a searchable district-level repository to share their curated and/or developed digital content.

Teachers are able to customize digital content aligned to their standards from unlimited sources .

C6 Data-Inform

ed Instruction

Teachers do not yet use digital tools to access a variety of data to inform instruction.

Teachers do not yet engage in data-driven re-teaching.

Few teachers use digital tools to access a variety of data to inform instruction.

Teachers engage in large group data-driven re-teaching on a few key standards with which the majority of students are struggling.

Many teachers use digital tools to access a variety of data to inform instruction.

Teachers engage in small group data-driven re-teaching on a few key standards with which particular groups of students are struggling.

All teachers use digital tools to access a variety of data to inform instruction.

Teachers engage in personalized data-driven re-teaching to individual students who are struggling.

DATA & ASSESSMENT

Early Developing Advanced Target

15

D1 Data System

s

Learner data storage plan is not yet developed .

A process for collecting, managing, and accessing learner data in place .

Learning and content tools do not yet share assessment, grading, or analytics data with a central repository (e.g. a learning management system or student information system).

Learner data is stored by individual teachers according to school/district policy or procedure.

A process for collecting, managing, and accessing learner data is used by some educators and administrators .

Some learning and content tools share assessment data with a central repository.

Learner data is housed in centralized applications but is not accessible through a single portal .

A process for collecting, managing, accessing, and analyzing learner data is used by some educators and administrators in real time .

Most learning and content tools share assessment data with a central repository .

Learner data is housed in centralized applications and is accessible through a single portal .

Educators, administrators, parents, and students access individualized learner data in real-time.

Most learning and content tools share assessment and analytics data with a central repository.

D2 Learner Profiles

Student-level learner profiles are not available district wide .

Teachers make limited use of student data from state level systems.

School Administrators make limited use of student data from state level systems.

Student learner profiles exist district wide and include historical student performance data.

Teachers use learner profiles to plan instruction at the classroom level .

School Administrators use learner profiles to make general plans to support schoolwide instructional goals .

Student learner profiles exist district wide and include historical student performance data and real-time formative assessment data.

Teachers and students use learner profiles to make just in time adjustments for differentiated instruction.

School Administrators use learner profiles to support schoolwide instructional goals at the grade/subject level.

Student learner profiles exist district wide and include historical student performance data, real-time formative assessment data, information on student learning differences and other contextual out of school factors.

Teachers and students use learner profiles to personalize learning at the student level.

School Administrators use learner profiles to support schoolwide instructional goals at the classroom level.

DATA & ASSESSMENT

Early Developing Advanced Target

D3 Multiple & Varied

Multiple and varied assessments are not yet in place.

Multiple and varied assessments are used to identify grade- or subject-level needs

Multiple and varied assessments are embedded into instruction and are

Multiple and varied assessments are embedded into instruction and are

16

Assessments

A few teachers use Multiple and varied assessments at the classroom level as indicators of student learning.

Teachers independently create multiple and varied assessments.

Rubrics that measure critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity across content areas are not yet in place.

and strengths for learning goals.

Most teachers use multiple and varied assessments at the classroom level as indicators of student learning.

Teachers collaborate informally to create multiple and varied assessments.

Rubrics that measure critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity across content areas are in place in individual classrooms .

used to identify classroom-level needs and strengths for learning goals.

Schools encourage and support the use of multiple and varied assessments as indicators of student learning.

Teachers work across grade- or subject-level teams to create multiple and varied assessments.

Rubrics that measure critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity across content areas are in use and are vertically-aligned at the school level.

used to identify individual student needs and strengths for learning goals .

Districts encourage and support the use of multiple and varied assessments as indicators of student learning.

Teachers work district wide in grade- or subject-level teams to create multiple and varied assessments.

Rubrics that measure critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity across content areas are in use and are vertically-aligned at the district level.

Appendix B. Scoring Sheet District Name: _South Summit _______________ Date Rubric Completed: _23-September -2016___ Names and/or participation numbers of district staff completing the rubric: District administrators: · Dr. Shad Sorenson, Superintendent of Schools · Mr. Gary Crandall, IT Director School Administrators:

17

· Wade Woolstenhulme, High School Principal · Louise Willoughby, Elementary School Principal · Lisa Flinders, Middle School Assistant Principal Teachers: · Cindy Butterfield, Middle School 6th Grade · Alisa Crandall, High School Math Teacher · Shelly Bess, Elementary School 1st Grade · Rick Albright, Elementary School 3rd Grade · Aaron Tillett, High School English Teacher Other: · Ms. Suni Woolstenhulme, Board of Education Enter the identified ranking or “score” into the blank boxes beside each key element name, and calculate overall score (sum). Early = 1 Developing = 2 Advanced = 3 Target = 4

Leadership Score

L1 Shared Vision 2

L2 Personnel 1

L3 Communication & Collaboration 3

L4 Sustainability 3

L5 Policy 2

L6 Continuous Improvement 3

L7 Procurement 3

Overall Leadership Score 17

18

Technology Infrastructure & Devices Score

T1 School Networks 2

T2 End-User Devices 2

T3 Learning Environments 4

T4 Technical Support 2

T5 Network Services 3

T6 Outside of Schools 1

Overall Tech Infrastructure & Devices Score 14

Professional Learning Score

P1 Professional Development Focus 1

P2 Professional Development Format 2

P3 Professional Development Participation 2

Overall Professional Learning Score 5

Content & Instruction Score

C1 Educator Role 2

C2 Student Centered Learning 3

C3 Access to Digital Content 2

C4 Learning Management System (LMS) 2

C5 Curation & Development 1

C6 Data-Informed Instruction 3

Overall Content & Instruction Score 13

19

Data & Assessment Score

D1 Data Systems 2

D2 Learner Profiles 1

D3 Multiple & Varied Assessments 2

Overall Data & Assessment Score 5 Below, enter each main area’s overall score (e.g. Leadership = 15), and calculate your district’s overall rubric score (sum).

Digital Learning Progress Score

Leadership (61%) 17/28

Technology Infrastructure & Devices (58%) 14/24

Professional Learning (41%) 5/12

Curriculum & Instruction (54%) 13/24

Data & Assessment (42%) 5/12

Overall DLP District Rubric Score 54/100

Our district’s overall rank on the North Carolina Digital Learning Progress Rubric for Districts is:

(Circle one.)

EARLY (0-25) DEVELOPING (26-50) ADVANCED (51-75) TARGET (76-100) Appendix C. Data Interpretation Guide

20

Analysis for strategic planning is the process of breaking down and examining data to understand project implementation or impact. Before meaningful decisions can be made, it is necessary to understand what the data shows by manipulating them in thoughtful ways. Analysis bridges the gap between collecting data and interpreting those data for monitoring and adjusting a project. Interpretation, the next phase in strategic planning, is the process of determining “what the data mean”—an important activity between the analysis of data and the making of decisions for next steps.

PHASE GUIDING QUESTIONS

Explore ● Do your rubric results resonate? ● Any surprises? Why? ● Any disappointments? Why? ● Do you see any correlation or inconsistencies

between the rubric results and other data you have? Why do you think this is the case?

Identify 3-4 questions that emerge as you review your data. As expected, professional development is the lowest area. Additional data supporting this finding included IT surveys the past two years, UEN Tech Audit and feedback, primarily from staff. The data suggests we have more demand for IT professional development support than what is currently provided. Some of the mitigating measures we have tried were to have an IT specialist assigned to each school; however, due to student enrollment the support is not being provided at the high school this year (Alisa Crandall). Data suggests employee appreciation for devices and they are being utilized, but certainly not at the capacity they could with the technology we have available. Several staff members have attended FETC, which we continue to attend, but that is minimal per year. The District has obtained the STEM PD Grant (Edivate), but still is missing technology coaches to fulfill the ideal model, which will impact respondent scores. Data and Assessment was our second lowest, it wasn’t a surprise, but presents a challenge on how to improve. PLC teams meet weekly and are asked to collaborate, but the state system doesn’t reward collaboration and promotes silos as compensation which is tied to student learning performance for a particular class rather than a team. The District is in it’s fourth year of a modified 1:1 implementation plan. Prior to implementation, access points were installed and saturation coverage analysis was conducted, which included the Middle and High Schools. Since that time we have also evolved to a 1:1 in the Elementary School and older access points were moved to that school to accommodate those devices. Last year we did another saturation coverage

21

analysis including all three schools and concluded that the access points at the Elementary School need to be updated. Questions:

1. How can we provide all of our teachers with more training and coaching opportunities so that they can become more competent with technology?

2. Would technology and teaching coaches be utilized if one or more were in every building?

3. How do we find more time for teachers to work together for more analysis of student data and enhance collaboration?

4. How does technology training and PLC time fit together, or should the two be separate?

5. Should our district (digital and/or traditional) curriculum be standardized or left to the discretion of the teacher and/or team with the understanding that it will vertically align?

Interpret ● What do the results mean? How would you summarize the data?

● What is working really well in your district? What is not?

● What are the critical points or trends you saw in the data?

● At your district, who needs to be involved in a discussion about this data? How can you engage teachers and other stakeholders?

Document at least 3 takeaways from your review of your data. The UEN Technology Audit confirmed what we already knew; our technology infrastructure is much farther ahead than our overall ability to effectively use it. However, there are some aging equipment needs that require critical upgrades. What is working well is that usage of devices is increasing and there are more opportunities for personalized learning. The UEN report also suggested that to simply maintain the devices and provide IT support (Help Desk) was enough work for two people. We are also currently asking IT to provide strategic planning, network and server security, coaching, and assessment in addition to those end-user support responsibilities. We need to establish goals as a district to ensure that our technology initiative is successfully implemented and addresses effective staffing in addition to hardware and software. We understand that technology does not replace the teacher, but all teachers should be able to use it to enhance their classroom instruction. Takeaways:

22

1. Staffing deficit issues related to strategic IT planning and coaching need to be addressed.

2. We need to ensure that faculty are continuously moving forward in adopting and implementing 21st century digital teaching and learning in their classrooms.

3. Analysis needs to happen regarding our modified model. a. Does our model work by receiving older devices from Park City? b. What would happen if that resource were no longer available? c. Could we continue to afford our model (Macs)?

Act ● What does this rubric data tell you about efforts you should prioritize now? Next school year?

● What changes are you going to make based on this data?

● How do these data inform local policy?

Identify two things you should do based on the data and who in your district should be involved in next steps.

1. The technology committee needs to be broadened and meet regularly with a specific scope and purpose including creating a shared professional development vision that embraces standards based and digital learning.

a. Questions: i. Who should comprise the technology committee? ii. What should their specific charges be? iii. How do you provide “just in time” training for faculty and staff? iv. Do the District Technology Competencies fulfill their purpose? v. How can they be better embraced?

2. We will provide teacher based one-to-one trainings at the teacher’s

convenience focusing on the ability level of that teacher and eliminating before and after school technology training that interferes with preparation and student intervention time.

3. Networking infrastructure must be flawless to successfully implement our

digital teaching and learning initiative and high priority must be given to upgrading critical equipment for uninterrupted connectivity.

Share ● How should you share your interpretation of the data with staff? Parents? School Board?

● Who should have this information?

23

● How can your data support current or ongoing initiatives in your district?

● What is your vision for getting additional input as you go through the planning process?

Note how and with whom this data should be shared. Our data should be shared throughout the district to all school board members, staff, students and parents. We will inform parents of our findings by posting information on our website. The data that we have gathered is helpful for our direction. We have the backbone and devices in place, but the plan needs to be more focused.

Collect ● What local data do you already have available? ● What new data do you need to collect? ● What about qualitative data?

List other data you already have available and additional data that you need. The District conducted an internal survey from staff, with a high response rate, that provided data on how to improve technology services. The results led to requesting the services from Utah Education Network (UEN) to provide a comprehensive Technology Audit, that included networking services and reliability to end-user satisfaction, comfort level and equipment/network reliability (see appendix). This data will be used in addition to this tool.

II. Inventory of the LEA's Current Technology Resources, Including Software, and a Description of How a LEA Will Integrate Those Resources into the LEA's Implementation of the Three Year Proposed Program

Part A. The following is a current inventory of South Summit School District’s current technology.

24

25

Technology Update since inventory was first gathered 1. Laptops using Windows OS : Students = 35 Administrators = 3 2. Mac Desktops: Students = 225 Teacher/Admin = 104 3. Mac Laptops: Students = 2100 Teacher/ Admin = 104 4. IOS Tablets: Students = 150 Teacher/Admin = 104

Age of wired gear in the District === 2 years old Age of wireless gear in the District ==== 66% is 1 year old, 33% is 4 years old

Part B. Description of How the LEA Will Integrate Existing Resources into the Proposed Three Year Digital Teaching and Learning Program South Summit School District will use the existing hardware/software infrastructure as a baseline for improvement in the area of providing additional resources for teacher and student use. The District will participate in future inventory efforts with UETN as requested.

III. Statement of Purpose that Describes the Learning Objectives, Goals, Measurable Outcomes, and Metrics of Success an LEA Will Accomplish by Implementing the Program South Summit School District will utilize option B: Local Baseline.

Option A: SAGE Baseline A 5% increase on each school’s

performance on SAGE using a baseline of the school’s 2015-16 SAGE proficiency scores by the end of the third year of the

LEA’s implementation of the program;

Option B: Local Baseline Selected by the LEA related to student

learning outcomes;

South Summit School District is expecting to grow 30% in the next ten years. The population is becoming more diverse and the need to prepare students to be college and career ready is becoming significantly more challenging. Students are entering our

26

District less prepared and lacking literacy, numeracy and basic skills (cutting, pasting, handwriting) and cognitive skills. Certainly, the demand for individualized learning experiences to help our students succeed is critical to address this root cause of lack of prepared students at all levels. As the needs of our students continue to grow and become increasingly diverse, the District recognizes the need to continually train our teachers to meet these demands to provide them with access to the digital tools available to help provide the individualized instruction students need to to be successful. We believe that one of the root causes of our students preparation is the lack of digital teaching professional development for our faculty. We are fortunate to have a modified 1:1 plan and students have access to devices, but faculty are not equipped to keep the devices assigned to their room updated or utilize the technology available. ACT scores will not improve without the use of digital resources that are personalized to the learner.

The Digital Teaching and Learning Grant will allow South Summit School District to continue advancing toward the goal of fully utilizing technology to enhance student learning and outcomes. The benchmarks are scores on the ACT subject-area tests that represent the level of achievement required for students to have a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing first-year college courses. The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are:

College Course ACT Subject-Area Test The ACT® Benchmark

English Composition English 18

College Algebra Mathematics 22

Social Sciences Reading 22

Biology Science 23

The District is committed to preparing our students to be academically prepared and scoring at the ACT Benchmark. Five-year trends for the District show that in English our average has exceeded the benchmark and we have been close most years in exceeding the benchmark in reading. However, in science and math, our student average is well below the benchmark by two points. Although, we will continue to strive for improvement in all areas, the focus for the next three years will be raising math and science ACT scores.

27

Long Term Outcomes: Increase the average District’s ACT score to benchmark levels. Specifically during the next three years, using the 2015-16 year as the baseline. The specific focus will be increasing District ACT average scores in math and science. The specific increases are identified in the chart below. These are very aggressive goals in a short three-year period, but by utilizing effective digital teaching and learning resources, it is achievable. Intermediate Outcomes: Incrementally increase ACT science and math scores as outlined in the chart below.

Academic Year ACT Math Goals ACT Science Goals

2015-16 18.9 19.2

2016-17 19.2 19.6

2017-18 19.6 20.4

2018-19 20.0 21.0

Direct Outcomes: Obtain resources and encourage teacher participation in the use of Edivate (PD and Evaluation), Canvas (LMS) and subject specific digital curriculum and technological intervention tools. Currently, every faculty member has a licence for Edivate and a Canvas licence for every high school teacher. Faculty will be expected to utilize Edivate, specifically math and science resources, in their teaching to enhance student learning and also obtain peer feedback from electronic review of their instruction using swivel camera devices. The metric will be an annual goal set by the teacher and his/her principal. The goal needs to be a stretch goal. Coaching will also happen by utilizing technology; as peers will be able to provide constructive feedback to their colleagues by watching the recorded lesson and then viewing it during a time that is not disruptive or taking them out of their own classroom. The plan is to eventually have digital teaching coaches in every single school. We believe that providing professional development to our faculty and improving the system to update devices to run personalized learning software will allow them to utilize the technology that will benefit the students in their learning and performance on standardized testing.

IV. Implementation Process Structured to Yield an LEA’s School Level Outcomes

28

South Summit School District has set ambitious goals to help every student reach college and career readiness standards as defined by ACT through implementing the following: Please note that the following chart starts at the Kindergarten level and moves through the High

School level. Please also notice that an asterisk sign (*) appears after each digital element and

has been highlighted in yellow if it is of particular impact or importance to the benchmark goal.

Activity Timeline/Date Role/Responsibility Communication

Go Math * Working

within Tier 1 and Tier 2 learning, utilizing

laptops and individualized

digital learning

programs

Fourth year/Ongoing

Grades 1-2 Teachers and students participating in learning

and demonstrating fundamental building blocks put in place to ensure future success

Published data in the form of Mastery

Connect and Power School

communicated to students, teachers,

parents and administrators.

My Math* Evidence based,

individualized digital

instruction utilized for Tier 1 and

Tier 2 instruction

Fourth year/Ongoing

Grades K-3-4 Teachers, students, and parents working

with administrators and counselors in

building to creating a strong foundation of

mathematical understanding

Parents, teachers and students

participate in grade level conferences to review and reflect

digital data. Edivate and Ontrack are used to provide

support and communicate progressive

strategies for digital teaching and

learning.

Dibles Testing at Elementary

Fluency testing (Ongoing)

Teachers and Para- Educators actively

Data detailing growth trajectories

29

administering Reading fluency testing at the Elementary School;

Grades K to 4

communicated to parents and

administration by face-to -face meetings and parent/teacher conferences.

Imagine Learning Evidence based,

individualized digital

instruction utilized for Tier 1 and

Tier 2 instruction

Second year of Implementation/

Ongoing

Elementary School; Grades 1-4

Teachers and students participate.

Data communicated to students, parents and administration

by program generated reports. Data is also used

during PLC Teacher Meetings.

After School Program*

One on one instruction and small

group work with laptops and digital programs.

Two days a week

25 minutes of digital learning

Elementary School; Grades 2-4

Teachers, students and parent volunteers

focusing on addressing the individual needs of learners to succeed in all academic content

areas.

Results celebrated and communicated by teachers, parents and students to all stakeholders by

recognition at year end assembly and District web page.

Math Facts Incentive Program before school*

Early morning activity before school begins

Elementary School Grades 2 to 4

Teachers, Administrators and

Para Educators Promoting and

encouraging a love of numbers and the building blocks of

mathematics.

Success and progress

communicated to teachers at faculty

meetings; to parents and stakeholders

through the District website.

ST Math at Elementary* Each student has access to

a laptop providing

Second year of implementation

Elementary School; Grades K-4

Teachers, students and parents participate in a

digital program that

Teachers, students and parents

communicate progress,

interventions and learning gaps by

30

access to a research

based individualized

learning program.

reinforces and extends mathematical understanding

conferencing and face-to-face meetings.

Santillia Dual Immersion 1-4

Language/Spanish Teachers, students and

parents working together to enforce and

support the Dual Immersion Program

Information, results, progress and learning plans

communicated to stakeholders by faculty meetings, PLC meetings,

surveys and focus groups.

ixl language arts

Research based

program that is consistently

updated. Uses

sequenced lessons and progressively

based lessons to

obtain desired outcomes.

Second year of implementation

Middle School; Grade 5

Teachers, students and parents participate in

supporting the acquisition of core

content understanding.

Students and teachers access the ixl program through

MacBook Air laptops. Data is

relevant and used to determine

grade-level content understanding.

Progress is communicated to

teachers and administrators through digital

reports.

ixl math* Research

based program that is consistently

updated. Uses

sequenced lessons and progressively

based lessons to

obtain desired outcomes.

Third year of implementation

Middle School; Grades 5 and 6

Teachers and students: Engaging practice and

application of mathematical concepts.

Results and information

communicated to stakeholders through email, face-to-face

meetings, small group conferencing, and PLC Meetings.

31

Kahn Academy*

Third year Grades 5 and 6 Alternative instruction and practice in core

mathematics standards

Reports and results communicated to

stakeholders in PLC meetings, faculty

meetings and small focus groups.

Reading Plus Benchmarks

at Middle School.

Staff and students engage in

informational and narrative

texts. Comprehensi

on assessments and leveling of students.

Implemented for the past 8

years.

Middle School Grades 5 and 6

Data is communicated

weekly to teachers and

administrators.Parents are informed at scheduled parent meetings and can view their student’s

success online.

Math Big Ideas for sixth and seventh

grades*

Digital Online support/Third

year of implementation

Middle School; Grades 6 and 7

Resource for teachers, students and parents to enhance the teaching and comprehension of

math concepts.

Students and parents may access

the math online support help for the lessons taught at

school.

Wildcat Mentoring Program at the Middle

School Program

designed to address the

tardies, absences,

and Teachers refer students

to the program after

First Year of Implementation

Middle School Grades 5 to 8 Administrator,

teachers, students working to facilitate

students’ understanding of core

content areas.

Updates, progress and celebrations are

communicated through personal

phone calls, emails, PLC Meetings and

District Board Meetings.

32

interventions and parent

contact students who

make the choice to not

achieve in core content

areas.

Google Classroom

Third year of implementation

Middle School; Grades 7 and 8

Teachers, students and parents can

easily access assignments, rubrics, and

communicate through the

web-based program

Edgenuity* Designated

time during a student’s schedule permitting them to

recover credit lost.. A highly

qualified mentor

monitors the student’s progress.

Sixth year of implementation

Credit Recovery Grades 7 to 12

Teachers, administrators and students working

together. Allows students to

learn and understand math content (and

other content areas) that were missed due

to poor academic performance,

attendance issues or extenuating

circumstances.

Communication to stakeholders is

through personal phone calls, emails,

conferences and grade-level

celebrations.

Wildcat Academy at

the High School* Program

required of every student

who is entering high school as a ninth grader.

Second Year of Implementation

High School: Grade 9

Ensures that every ninth grader starts their high school experience with the right attitude

and successful habits. (Math homework

completed each day).

Parents are informed about the

expectations and the outcomes of the program through

parent meetings and email.

33

ACT Aspire*

Program to

prepare

students for

success on

the ACT

exam. Allow

students to

examine their

individual

proficiency in

content areas.

Fall Freshman/Sophomores

Allows students to

assess their individual

academic proficiency in

specific content areas.

Results are obtained

electronically and

shared as a means

of evaluation,

reflection, and future

educational planning

with District officials,

administrators,

counselors, teachers

and students.

ACT Prep

Class*

Semester Class

(4 sections)

Juniors and Seniors

Prepares students to

take the ACT Test.

Parents and

students are

informed by having

access to

preliminary scores.

ACT Test* Designated

national test

dates

Juniors and Seniors

High stakes national

test determining

students college

readiness

High stakes test

used to

communicate

students proficiency

and readiness for

their college

experience. Results

and data used to

reflect, evaluate and

plan for future

educational choices

34

with the school.

Information is shared

with District

employees,

administration,

teachers and

students.

Canvas High School;

Grades 9-12

Digital tool that

allows students and

teachers to

communicate

through an online

education and

communication tool.

ALEKS math* Online math program that supports and empowers students in

learning math core

concepts.

Digital Math/First year

of implementation

High School; Grades 9-12

Digital resource to support students,

teachers and parents in math.

Content Reading on

Fridays at the High School

First year of Implementation

All teachers and students participate.

Online article provided and comprehension questions pondered

and answered

Staff members and students participate

in the content reading on Friday.

Information is disseminated

through email, and personal visits.

UEN District wide Resources used at elementary, middle and

high schools.

Resources available to teachers, students

and parents that support the objective

35

of effectively educating the

students in Utah.

Mastery Connect* Students

participate in formative and

summative assessments using Mastery

Connect.

Assessment District Wide

Grades K-12 Empowers students

and teachers by providing real time data

and tracking.

The data gathered is shared with

students for self- data tracking, with parents to show

proficiency and for teachers in determining

proficiency and effective instruction. Data is passed on to the next grade level.

Edivate All staff

members participate in online and

video professional development.

Edivate allows

teachers to receive

inspiration anytime and any hour of

the day.

All staff members

involving district wide

Elementary, Middle and High Schools

Reports are viewed and evaluated by

team leaders, teachers, and administrators.

The table above illustrates the commitment of the South Summit School District to digital literacy. Our schools use digital data to guide instruction, to reflect upon instructional strategies, to evaluate research-based practices and to discover the best way to improve student learning We communicate this data and these efforts by personal conversations, emails, PLC Meetings, surveys, faculty meetings, board meetings, the district website, district administration meetings, district professional development, community council meetings and small focus groups. Communication is critical and an essential factor in the successful implementation of this grant. We will continue to reflect, revise and update our technology use as innovations and research-based practices become available. We are committed to providing all of our stakeholders the opportunity to participate in the “digital wave” that continues to impact

36

education. Administrators, teachers and students strive to embrace the 21st century curriculum that continues to shape the lives and lifestyles of today’s learners. We will provide implementation data to USBE on an annual basis.

V. Description of High Quality Digital Instructional Materials with a Three Year Plan for How an LEA will ensure that Schools Use Software Programs With Fidelity The primary focus of the Digital Teaching and Learning Grant for South Summit School District will be to increase access, through upgrading wireless hubs and to help teachers become more proficient in the use of technology tools that are listed below and those the faculty choose to integrate to increase electronic collaboration between teachers and students. We do not anticipate using any grant funds to purchase any additional digital instruction materials. South Summit School District uses digital instructional materials to aid in classroom instruction and increase proficiency in language arts, mathematics, and science. The chart below lists the District/school digital instructional materials to enhance student learning and understanding, but doesn’t include software that are only class specific.

Dibles: Reading fluency testing for grades K - 4 (every quarter)

Reading Plus: Benchmarks are measured weekly for students in grades

5 and 6.

Go Math: Math core concepts for grades 1-2.

Math Big Ideas: Online math support for grades 6-7.

Edgenuity: Credit recovery and remediation for grades 7-12.

ST Math: Grade specific content level personalized math for grades K-4.

Kahn Academy: Instructional math videos for grades 5 and 6.

My Math: Math core concepts for grades k-4.

Axcel math: Online math program that provides support to students of all learning

levels in grades 9-12

Ixl math: Students preview and review math core content in an interactive

online program

Waterford: Online self-paced learning for preschool and kindergarten.

Ixl language arts: Students preview and review language arts core content in an

interactive online program

37

Mastery Connect: formative and summative assessments for grades K-12.

Imagine Learning: Online program that provides support to students of all

learning levels in grades 1-4

Canvas: Online learning management system used in grades 9-12

Google Classroom: Teachers facilitate student use in grades 7-12.

Santillia: Digital program used to support the Dual Immersion Program.

Edivate: Online professional development for all faculty.

The District monitors digital instructional material usage regularly (monthly in some cases). Usage reports are generated from the software and other sources such as the STEM Action Center. From that usage data we are able to determine if the content is being used with fidelity. During the last year the District piloted using the Labstats software during the latter part of last year and will be utilizing this technology to monitor usage and ensure fidelity requirements are met to provide opportunities to engage our students in relevant and rigorous learning. LabStats software provides a simple cloud-based solution to measure how technology is used in our schools. The software tracks every user, device, and application and provides charts and reports tailored to our needs. In the cases where digital content is not being used with fidelity, we will employ the following strategies to improve utilization:

● School administrators will receive reports on utilization which enables them to monitor use in the schools.

● Expert teacher coaches and/or administrators trained in the use of digital instructional materials will work with teachers individually to help them overcome roadblocks in utilization.

● The high school is committed to using mathematics and science digital content to aid in credit recovery.

South Summit School District uses these resources as part of a comprehensive instructional plan to help provide students with tailored learning experiences designed to meet the needs of individual learners. The educator evaluation process requires all teachers to utilize a Student Growth Measure (SGM) to demonstrate student growth which includes the consistent monitoring of student learning to guide instructional practices, specifically in math and science to improve ACT scores. Teacher expert coaches will be assigned to each school and trained in the use of digital learning materials to assist teachers in selecting the appropriate materials to tailor instruction to meet the individualized needs of students. Data reports from the tools are frequently used in PLCs to inform instruction. This strategy is ongoing and will be evaluated annually. South Summit School District recognizes that teachers significantly impact student achievement and are given the autonomy to determine which instructional tools are best

38

for their students. The expectation is that all students will learn at high levels. The philosophy is that by allowing faculty to choose curriculum which they can personalize, instruction will meet students at their level of development. However, some curriculum has been purchased at District and/or school level. The District has purchased digital curriculum from educational partners and have utilized that curriculum well. The purchasing guideline is to select digital curriculum that can be individualized per student based on student need, especially including students with special needs. All students have a google account and access to the google suite, including email. When considering new curriculum, the District puts great emphasis on job-embedded professional development. Most vendors we partner with provide PD training from their staff as part of the contract. As a result, teachers are comfortable with digital curriculum products and their use in their classroom. The District is in discussion with the International Center for Leadership in Education regarding services they could provide to accelerate our integration and professional development for teachers to become facilitators for 21st century learners. Adjustments will be made as needed over five years to align with the goal to increase math and science ACT scores.

VI. Detailed Three Year Plan for Student Engagement in Personalized Learning Including a Three Year Plan for Digital Citizenship Curricula and Implementation Digital Citizenship for students and employees is an ongoing process. Users are first provided with instruction prior to receiving District technology through viewing online training modules. Students are required to do this annually at the beginning of each academic year, prior to signing the “Acceptable Use” agreement. The concepts are then reinforced in the classroom using the state recommended NetSmartz digital curriculum. Parents are also provided online access to the information when they annually sign the “Acceptable Use” agreement. It is essential that students have consistent opportunities to participate in digital learning activities that integrate critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity skills that are essential for success in the math and science ACT assessments. Students have access to a device in every classroom and will be able to access programs they can use to personalize their ACT preparation during appropriate times, specifically ST Math and ALEKS. Specific focus will be in the high school for students that will be taking the ACT within the next three years, targeting specifically juniors during the specific academic year as the District provides an opportunity for them to take the ACT. We will monitor general overall class improvements and each student individually based

39

on the strategies and personalized learning math and science softwares utilized in every classroom. Students will be instructed during their freshman Wildcat Academy class of their responsibility to self-monitor their ACT progress scores, which they will receive annually taking ACT Aspire (funded through Trustlands for all high school students) and practice ACT scores. Discussions will take place with parents during IEP conferences and parent-teacher conferences. Teachers will be asked to develop at least one new digital learning activity specific to their math and science content every quarter. Software is available on student devices that allow students to create evidence of their learning, as well as, depicting the relationships from one topic to another. These software packages allow students to create digital videos, graphics audio files and other work that demonstrates content understanding. The District utilizes Learning Management Systems (LMS) to allow teachers to choose their learning activities for their students that will allow them time to work at their own pace and interact with peers and teachers effectively. As assignments, assessments and other evidence of learning is evaluated by the teacher, students are able to view their progress in the gradebook of LMS and parents can receive weekly progress reports from the Student Information System (Power School). The following LMS systems are used in the District; Canvas is used in the high school, Google Classroom is used in the 7th and 8th grade and the elementary grades use Mastery Connect.

VII. Professional Learning Realizing that many initiatives come and go in the education field, and recognizing the importance of doing what it takes to provide the needed resources, adequate training, and continued support for educators at all levels of expertise, South Summit School District (SSSD) feels that it is essential to invest in educator effectiveness and continued learning, which will ultimately increase ACT scores. Anytime a district initiates change in instruction or adds initiatives or programs, there must be a process in place to ensure success at all levels. According to Dr. Mary Lippitt, a system for change must consist of a clear vision, a procedure for providing stakeholders with the skills they need to implement the change and see it through, incentives and appropriate resources, and a clear action plan. If any of these components are missing, the process can create confusion, anxiety, resistance, frustration, or the “running in place” effect instead of the desired change. SSSD is committed to seeing these changes in digital teaching and learning take place in a very systematic manner. The District feels that a district wide initiative for immediate change is ineffective and will receive immediate pushback, as teachers are increasingly faced with change, and state, district, or curriculum mandates. In addition, educators throughout the District sit at various levels of understanding, comfort, and use of technology. The most effective type of change happens as stakeholders see the need for change, see the success of others, and feel supported in making change. Therefore,

40

this plan will be rolled out in phases and will rely on innovators and quick starters throughout the District, working with expert teacher coaches, to take on new ideas, implement them, collect data, and then share their successes with others. South Summit School District’s mission is that we support, empower, and inspire individuals to promote and achieve academic and character excellence. We recognize that our faculty and staff are vital to the success of fulfilling our vision and mission and providing timely and effective professional learning is essential. The District will provide personalized professional learning opportunities for all teachers, including special education teachers, specifically focused on utilizing personalized teaching and software to improve cognitive skills needed to score well on the math and science ACT assessments. The District schedules four days annually that are specifically for professional development provided by District and/or school. During the next three years the topics will specifically be centered around competency based learning and how to become a facilitator in the classroom. The days are strategically placed at the beginning of quarters 1, 2 and 3 to allow educator teams time to implement the information. Educator teams will need to show a specific tie between their integration of technology and student growth as measured benchmarks, and/or summative assessments, as well as other common formative assessments, specifically for the purposes of this grant is grade level for math and science. The District will assist in skill development, data collection, and the monitoring of projects throughout the year. This allows for completely personalized, self-directed, job-embedded professional learning in relation to technology integration with student-learning activities, and curriculum planning. In addition, project participants will have several opportunities to collaborate, share ideas and successes, and assist others through school based sharing, social media, and District sponsored professional development days throughout the year. The ultimate goal of all professional development needs to be student achievement. Anytime something new is integrated into the curriculum it must point to student growth. By investing in our educators we are investing in our students. Teachers must understand the direct correlation between educator effectiveness and student achievement. If student ACT test scores do not increase, if there is not growth, the professional development and technology integration was not effective. Thus, professional development will be monitored regularly with follow-up surveys and will be assessed. Yearly math and science assessments will take place based on collected data to include ACT, SAGE, benchmarks, and final summative data. This specific correlation of data will continue to take place over the course of the grant and beyond. The District’s Digital Teaching and Learning Expert Coaches, to be hired as part of the plan, will be primarily responsible for introducing, promoting, and monitoring these projects in addition to providing regular high-quality, personalized professional learning for educators, administrators, and staff in relation to digital teaching and learning with support from administrators. The DTL coach(es) will be sent to trainings as needed to

41

build his or her knowledge base, on 21st century skills, blended learning models, curriculum planning and technology integration with student-learning activities, and encouraged to use existing resources such as UETN, the STEM action center, Edivate, and NUES to assist with professional development needs. It will also be important to leverage the use of the professional development provided with the purchase of digital instructional materials and student learning management software. In order to ensure that the complex change process is adhered to and systematic, SSSD will:

● Provide teachers with DTL professional development to include the skills needed for adequate implementation, evaluation and appropriate use of current and grant related technology.

● Calculate return on investment by evaluating professional development, with technology integration and usage, with ACT scores yearly, and after the three-year grant, to determine student growth and plan effectiveness.

● Assist all teachers in curriculum planning and creating student learning activities integrated with digital teaching and learning resources.

● Promote the development and use of content-specific, innovative strategies for the delivery of curricula and instruction through online, digital technology, and a variety of distance learning technologies within the first year of the plan and continue indefinitely as needed.

● Support new faculty in their effective use of educational technology, curriculum planning, and the integration of student-learning activities.

● Identify and promote best practices and innovative services in support of technology and curriculum planning and use of technology to transform teaching and learning and showcase these practices at regional and state events as well as through examples on social media and related websites

● Provide access to research-based studies and best practices for use of technology to transform teaching and learning and enhance student achievement.

● Monitor educational technology implementation throughout the District using Labstats.

● Provide immediate and ongoing support through professional development given by the software provider, and coaching provided by the District expert teachers and coaches

● Arrange and provide opportunities for interested educators to connect with and/or visit other digitally innovative classrooms, schools, and districts for implementation ideas directly related to their projects or future project ideas. Monies will be set aside for travel and substitute expenses.

● Create groups in Edivate for teachers to connect, discuss, and share technology related questions, challenges, and ideas.

The District is currently in conversation with the International Center for Leadership in Education regarding services they could provide to accelerate our integration and professional development for teachers to become facilitators for 21st century learners.

42

However, one of the limitations is not having coaches to work with faculty to implement the strategies and software they have available. Our three-year plan includes incorporating building level expert teacher coaches that can support faculty through providing leadership training for educators, staff and administrators to effectively utilize technology to provide personalized learning. The District will also make available professional development opportunities including faculty meetings, digital resources, conferences, partner vendors’ professional development and collaborative teams. The District is also considering partnering with neighboring districts to sponsor a regional Wasatch Back tech conference. The event will build upon the success that Wasatch School District has provided the past two years for their faculty during their beginning of the year in-service. The administration and Board will review and determine how to best compensate employees for professional learning that is outside of their contract. One of the best professional learning experiences the District provides is sending at least two faculty from every building to the Florida Education Technology Conference. The primary requirement for teacher attendees is to find at least one or more digital programs or practices that they can implement during the academic year. Most of our faculty that have participated have utilized free materials and online programs. Unfortunately, it takes time to give all faculty this opportunity and we have only sent about half of our faculty up to this point. The feedback from faculty is that this is one of the best PD opportunities they have been given, we will continue to provide this opportunity. We will continue to participate in the professional learning and implementation support offered by USBE and UETN.

VIII. Three Year Plan for how an LEA will Monitor Student and Teacher Usage of the Program Technology South Summit School District piloted using the Labstats software during the latter part of last year and will be utilizing this technology to monitor usage and ensure fidelity requirements are met to provide opportunities to engage our students in relevant and rigorous learning utilizing technology. LabStats software provides a simple cloud-based solution to measure how technology is used in our schools. The software tracks every user, device, and application and provides charts and reports tailored to our needs. The District will also be monitoring faculty usage of Edivate to ensure that teachers are spending at least one hour per month using the professional learning opportunities, including their own peer reviews.

43

Because our goal is to increase ACT scores we will be monitoring our student and faculty usage rate related to math and science instruction. Software that is not being used with fidelity will be placed on a watch list and removed from the curriculum if not proven beneficial to student learning. We will provide implementation data to use on an annual basis.

IX. Three Year Plan for Infrastructure Acquisition and Process for Procurement and Distribution of the Goods and Services an LEA Intends to Use as Part of an LEA's Implementation of the Program Over the past several years South Summit School District has invested resources to enhance our infrastructure to facilitate personalized learning. Students now have access to a computer in every class. We are confident we have met all of the requirements of this goal area. Our network infrastructure is in place, and it is robust. The maintenance and upgrade schedule is in place and being followed. The long term plan includes moving towards a 10 gig network infrastructure by upgrading our switches and swapping out our fiber backbone as the need arises. The District now provides an Apple device in every classroom, K-12 and the systems are running mostly smooth, even in peak usage, and issues are immediately addressed. The District recently had the Utah Education Network (UEN) conduct a Technology Audit. Primary findings were a need for improvement with network security and central management of being able to centrally manage devices. The report also suggested, as a consideration, the longevity of computers that we use that are donated from Park City School District. However, the evaluation of our IT team is that because of the durability of the machines the capability to serve the needs of most of our students is met. Digital devices are inventoried regularly, assessed for integrity and updated, typically, annually. Wireless routers provide connectivity in all buildings and most outside common areas. The oldest routers are nearing end-of-life and will be replaced with part of the first year’s funds. Connectivity is critical to utilizing technology to increase our ACT math and science courses South Summit School District, in the past, has only been eligible for level 1 e-rate because of our 57% qualifying students for free and reduced lunch. For years this reimbursement included up to 80% of our communications, telephone and voice-over IP charges. Level 1 e-rate has gradually disappeared and we are currently only eligible for a 20% reimbursement level for our voip services. We have already been approved for this year at 40%. We have recently learned from UEN that level 2 for e-rate is now much more accessible with less restrictions based on low income students for typically

44

non-qualifying districts (which we are) and as such we are exploring the possibilities of requesting e-rate for the purpose of upgrading our wireless access points throughout the District, especially in our Elementary School. The District will continue to track our inventory with the methods currently used and as machines are replaced, those will be removed from the list and replaced with the new and updated equipment. Because we typically get between 6-8 years before end-of-life of our equipment, the tracking of equipment for at least 5 years is relatively easy once entered into our system. Most of our equipment is tracked using the serial number, Mac address and IP address. Because they are all tied to that classroom’s assigned Apple ID, any missing machines are easily tracked through an onboard gps system that comes built in with every apple device. Other classroom assets are fixed to that room and inventoried yearly. We currently have wireless access available in every classroom and commons area throughout the District. Because this was a requirement before we could move forward with our modified 1:1 plan, we installed this system back in 2012 to the specifications suggested by a wireless engineering company. This wireless survey was designed for machines requiring both 2.4 or 5ghz speeds. The network was designed to accommodate up to 60 devices per access point and was engineered to handle all applicable network traffic. It has been adequate so far but our access points are aging and we have already begun replacing them with the new models that enable more devices and faster speeds. Most have been replaced in the High School and Middle School but we are still in need of new access points to replace the Elementary School devices.

X. Technical Support for Implementation and Maintenance of the Program Currently, the District has a technical support staff of 2 people for over 2500 Apple devices. Our current support structure is based on “mission critical” priorities first. District personnel have multiple ways to contact support staff. The following is a list of those methods. 1. Cell phone. All teachers have the support staff cell numbers and the most common way of contacting them is currently by cell phone by either calling or texting. Since we are a small district and support can get to the buildings quickly, this is a very efficient way of solving problems quickly. 2. Email. If the problem is not mission critical, an email is sent to support staff and is flagged for easy access. The support staff prioritizes the importance of the problem and works through the series of flagged emails.

45

3. A shared Google Document. A building administrator puts building priorities on a shared google document. District tech support staff logs onto the Google Doc and marks off tasks as they are completed. 4. Deep networking support is provided by a network engineer from NUES. This person is responsible for the deep networking in 5 districts and is contacted by the District support staff when problems arise. 5. Repairs are done by the two District support staff when applicable, when it is beyond their skills, machines are taken to an outside source for repairs. Typically to either Valcom or Simply Mac depending on the nature of the repair. Technical Support Procedure 1. Although the District has survived on the above model for over 20 years, we plan to evolve our support structure with the funding from this grant. The plan will be as follows: a. Incorporate Jamf Pro in the kindergarten for the 150 iPad maintenance management. This will be a preliminary study to see if the convenience of a central management system for those machines justify the cost of the program. b. Hire 2 building support personnel for each of the 3 buildings. They will be responsible for updating and maintaining basic software maintenance on the classroom labs once a month, after hours when the machines are not in use. They will be paid the same as an assistant coach for an athletic team. c. Possibly incorporate a ticketing system for requests, logging and tracking of repeat issues. UEN has informed us that they have a system that we can use. Inventory Management 1. Because each classroom is set up identically in the District, tracking of inventory tracking is a simple process. All classrooms have a cart of 30 Macbook Airs, a document camera, a mounted ceiling projector, a wireless printer, a teacher desktop, a teacher laptop, a teacher iPad and an audio enhancement system. Because we are a small district all devices are tracked by their Mac ID inside of our dhcp server with the name, serial number, Mac ID and IP address. 2. Assets over $2000 are tracked at the District level on an inventory spreadsheet. 3. The District will continue to participate in the periodic statewide inventory surveys.

XI. Proposed Security Policies, Including Security Audits, Student Data Privacy, and Remediation of Identified LaX. Technical Support for Implementation and Maintenance of the Program South Summit School District will continue the support for the hardware and networking devices by continuing to build stronger relationships with 3rd party support as well as utilizing the resources available at the Northern Utah Educations Services (NUES). The District is currently planning to partner with neighboring districts to pool money and

46

resources over the next 3 years and hire another deep networking and security technician in order to offload some of the demands from the current networking specialist currently supporting 5 districts in the NUES region.

In order to offload the support burden from the classroom teacher the District will study the feasibility of implementing a central management system from Jamf. Jamf is a company that specializes in the central management of Apple devices. In addition to, or in place of Jamf, the District is considering paying a stipend to two technology-savvy teachers in each building to take on the task of doing system and software updates on a monthly basis in the evenings or on weekends.

Part A. LEA Security Policies

Security policies are set in place to protect the District data with a Fortigate Firewall. This firewall is configured as to only allow known companies with known IP addresses access to our various servers. Securities are also set up with a segmented network allowing only school owned devices from specific IP addresses and ranges to access a particular network. Student devices can not change to any other networks throughout the District unless they have a 2 tier password access. They must first know the password to change networks, then they must know the Wi-Fi password to join the other network. The guest network for BYOD devices is a vlan outside our firewall and does not allow tunneling back in for access to our inner District infrastructure. At the beginning of each year, the students and their parents, through the online registration have access to and must sign the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) in order to use the school technology resources. The policy link is http://www.ssummit.k12.ut.us/Page/697 and an example of the form, that includes the policy, can be found at: http://www.ssummit.k12.ut.us/cms/lib010/UT01917229/Centricity/Domain/75/MiddleSchoolacceptableusepolicy.pdf This policy is evaluated and updated every other year to ensure that it covers the necessary terminology to keep our students safe. Although the plan is available online and also must be signed yearly during registration, our computer and technology teachers also cover this AUP at the beginning of the required computer classes in the Elementary specialists time, the 7th grade TLC classes and the High School CTE business classes. We are in the process of developing a plan so this will be covered in all classes throughout the year since every classroom is now also a computer lab. The online registration forms also include items such as permission to publish clause and student data privacy statements re-enforcing that it is a top priority. The District underwent a Technology Audit during the Summer of 2016 (see appendix) and received many helpful suggestions for security items such as frequency of password changes, firewall ports to close, most accessible and open ports used by hackers to get into our network and hold servers hostage for things such as ransomeware, etc. We are currently in the process of addressing these issues and many have already been solved. The NUES Center has been extremely helpful in tightening up our vulnerabilities

47

and will continue to offer their services. The budget has been on an “as needed” basis and when we recognize a weakness, an assessment is made and a product purchased to help maintain the integrity of our network. An example of this would be the HP Procurve software that helps monitor the network traffic and can pinpoint problems such as broadcast loops, broadcast storms, massive email spams, etc. All teachers are trained during their introduction into the District. They are cautioned about various passwords they are given and explicitly told not to write passwords on sticky notes, etc. The District is in the process of setting a more uniform password policy practice requiring certain passwords to be changed at least bi-monthly. Typically staff only have administrative rights to the devices in their own classroom. Sophos antivirus is on all teacher machines for protection against viruses, etc. and all wi-fi, SIS and administrative passwords are managed at a district level. All classroom computers are tied to a classroom Apple ID and are tracked by GPS built into the device.

Part B. LEA Security Audit Plan

The District just went through a comprehensive Technology Audit from UEN and has received valuable input as to how to "tighten up” our network within the District. Many of these suggestions have already been put into place and we will continue to implement more as funds and equipment are made available. The report stated the following: “We are very concerned about security holes that were easily identified through this assessment process. The Wi-Fi network was wide open at the time of the assessment. The Local Area Network is one flat network and all devices could be seen and accessed through the Wi-Fi network. The Guest Wi-Fi was open and we believe this issue has since been resolved upon our identifying the vulnerability, however, the nature of this design process and implementation raise concerns in how security is handled within the District. Other security risks likely exist. This assessment was not directed at addressing security concerns specifically, although in our brief time with SSSD we were able to identify several security vulnerabilities.” There has been considerable attention to this the past few months and major holes have been fixed. However, the District is in need of a skill set that is provided by NUES, but more time from this person is needed than is currently allocated.

Part C. LEA Student Data Privacy Policies and Procedures

The student data resides primarily in 2 places on the District network. All student classroom data is housed in the Google environment domain and protected by their servers. This allows for student controlled access from wherever they have a device and internet connectivity. We rely on Google to keep that environment safe. The other student data resides in our SIS system, PowerSchool, on a server that is housed here at the District Office. That server is backed up offsite to the NUES center nightly and is also on a raided hard drive for added security. It is behind the District firewall and can

48

not be accessed from outside sources. The SIS system runs on an Oracle database which is the industry standard and is considered rock solid.

Part D. LEA Remediation Plan of Identified Lapses

The District is partnering with another district and combining funds for equipment to help our deep networking specialist at NUES buy software that will help find vulnerabilities in our network in order to stay pro-active in solving problems before they arise. This will be able to monitor traffic and help to identify weaknesses in or infrastructure now and in the future.

XII. Budget The LEA's overall three-year financial plan, including use of additional LEA non-grant funds, to be utilized to adequately fund the LEA plan.

Part A. Disclosure of LEA’s Current Technology Expenditures The South Summit School District has budgeted the following resources to support digital teaching and learning/administrative IT services.

● ETI Supplies and Software $ 45,000 ● Instruction Related Technology $ 60,914 ● ETI Administrative Costs (Compensation) $156,881 ● Equipment $175,000 ● TOTAL $437,795

Part B. Budget for Grant Funding Year 1–3

2017 Salaries and Benefits OR $24,000 Supplies In order to offload the support burden from the classroom teacher, the District will study the feasibility of implementing a central management system from Jamf. Jamf is a company that specializes in the central management of Apple devices. In addition to, or in place of, Jamf, the District is considering paying a stipend to two technology savvy teachers in each building to take on the task of doing system and software updates on a monthly basis in the evenings or on weekends.

49

Purchased Services $ 6,165 Consulting Services (probably from International Center for Leadership in Education) Travel $ 5,000 21st Century Teaching and Learning Conferences and Trainings Supplies & Materials $20,000 Purchase 25 access points for wireless routers to replace those nearing end-of-life. 2017-18 Salaries and Benefits $42,956 Hire a digital teaching and learning coach to provide on-going job-embedded professional development. The desired goal is one full-time person for every school, which would require additional funding. If the additional funding is not secured we will use these funds to purchase the prep and also provide a stipend for additional duties to one of our current faculty to fulfill that need. An effective coach will be able to highly influential teachers to facilitate learning that will increase ACT scores and other student learning outcomes. 2018-19 Salaries and Benefits $42,956 Hire a digital teaching and learning coach to provide on-going job-embedded professional development. The desired goal is one full-time person for every school, which would require additional funding. If the additional funding is not secured, we will use these funds to purchase the prep and also provide a stipend for additional duties to one of our current faculty to fulfill that need. An effective coach will be able to highly influential teachers to facilitate learning that will increase ACT scores and other student learning outcomes.

Part C. Possible Increase in Funding (10% Increase Plan) All additional funds would be directed to the cost of hiring digital teaching and learning coaches for every building and providing them with the professional development and support they need to successfully mentor their colleagues. An effective coach will be able to highly influential teachers to facilitate learning that will increase ACT scores and other student learning outcomes.

Part D. Projection for Future Support Costs Digital teaching and learning coaches will cost the District on average $84,000. Job-embedded coaching is critical and an effective coach will be able to highly

50

influential teachers to facilitate learning that will increase ACT scores and other student learning outcomes. Total cost would be $252,000 annually for salaries and benefits.

Part E. Sustainability The Board of Education is committed to coaching and has given verbal support to funding if we have the resources within our budgets. Administration is seeking to find resources either through District funding or other grants to supplement this grant and provide more coaching support than this grant currently will provide. It is anticipated that within the three year period, funding to continue supporting the coaching will be available to supplement what this grant has been providing. South Summit School District anticipates the potential for cost savings and will redirect cost savings from digital teaching and learning to support the maintenance and growth of the program.

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCES Should an award of funds from the Digital Teaching and Learning Program be made to the applicant in support of the activities proposed in this application, the authorized signature on the cover page of this application certifies to the USBE that the authorized official will: 1. Upon request, provide the Utah State Board of Education with access to records and other sources of information that may be necessary to determine compliance with appropriate federal and state laws and regulations. 2. Conduct educational activities funded by this project in compliance with the following federal laws: a. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 b. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 c. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 d. Age Discrimination Act of 1975 e. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 f. Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 3. Use grant funds to supplement and not supplant existing funds from all sources. 4. Take into account, during the development of programming, the need for greater access to and participation in the targeted disciplines by students from historically underrepresented and underserved groups. 5. Submit, in accordance with stated guidelines and deadlines, all program and evaluation reports required by the Utah State Board of Education. 6. The applicant will retain records of the program for five years and will allow access to those records for purposes of review and audit.

51

Budget

Part 3: BUDGET

Applicant: South Summit School District

Description Funding Requested – Year One

January 1, 2017 – June 30, 2017

Funding Requested – Year Two

July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018

Funding Requested – Year Three

July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019

TOTAL FUNDING REQUEST

A. (100) Salaries

18,272 39,903 39,903 98,078

B. (200) Employee Benefits

5,727 3,053 3,053 11,833

C. (300) Purchased Professional & Technical Services

$6,165 $6,165

D. (400) Purchased Property Service

E. (500) Other Purchased Service

F. (580) Travel 5,000 5,000

52

G. (600) Supplies & Materials

20,000 20,000

H. (800) Other (Exclude Audit Costs)

I. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (Lines A through H)

55,164 42,956 42,956 141,076

J. (800) Other (Audit Costs)

K. Indirect Cost

L. Property (includes equipment)

M. TOTAL (Lines I through L)

55,164 42,956 42,956 141,076

This form is a required element of the grant application. Justification for each of the categories shall be included in the budget narrative portion of the application. Modifications to the grant must be reflected over the three years of the grant and included as part of the annual reporting. For reporting, it must include an itemized breakdown of these budget categories and a budget narrative explaining how you calculated each line item and the actual total project cost share.

XII: Appendix A - UEN Audit

53

South Summit School District Technology Assessment Assessment Report Assessment services provided by CONFIDENTIAL Forward Report Data Classification The information contained within this report is classified as “SENSITIVE”. This report contains descriptions of situations, vulnerabilities, and other details which should be considered sensitive to the organization. We urge you to release this information in accordance with information disclosure best practices and under organizational policies and procedures. Assessment Engagement This report was generated from a technology assessment performed at the request of South Summit School District and under its direction. Disclaimer The authors of this report make no representations nor guarantees with respect to the full accuracy or completeness of this report due in large part to the timeframe constraints and assessment tasks that were completed. Not all recommendations in this report may be suitable for every situation and should be considered carefully and adjusted as necessary to address the specific needs of the organization. Privacy and ownership of Information The information collected by the assessment team while performing this assessment, including notes, documents, scan data, etc. shall be destroyed once the final draft of this report is accepted by the organization as the final product of this assessment. Upon receipt, the client own all right, title, and interest in the provided report and deliverables. Assessment services provided by: Utah Education and Telehealth Network 101 South Wasatch Drive Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 Assessment team members: Jim Stewart Chief Technology Officer Troy Jessup Associate Director of Operations Matt May Sr. Network Operations Engineer Executive Summary South Summit School District (SSSD) has made substantial investments in education technology resources. Two full time staff are tasked with deploying and supporting this technology. The Apple centric equipment base if very difficult to centrally manage, especially with the large amount of devices that have been implemented and relied on by the district educators. Planning happens at many levels, however, strategic planning should be formalized and a comprehensive educational technology plan should be developed and implemented. The district should invest in defining and staffing a dedicated technology director position. This certainly could be redefining the role of current staff. Organizationally, back office and classroom technology support must be defined and changes should be made. Technology tools should be part of the planning and the entire technology back office support must be addressed and redefined. Outsourcing is an important part of how SSSD supports technology. SSSD should take time to define outsourcing relationships and

54

expectations. Leaders should have tools to help understand when outsourcing is appropriate, i.e. cost effective, and when support should be brought in-house. NUES is a strategic partner and should be engaged in the planning and technology support processes. A trouble ticketing system would give SSSD information that can be used in developing future initiatives and in seeing and understanding trends in technology usage and support. Stakeholder involvement is key to education success and technology integration in the classroom. Stakeholders should be involved in the strategic planning process. Stakeholder needs should be considered in the SSSD technology investment planning and implementation. Decisions that are tied to an overall plan will help leverage district resources and reduce the possibility of stranding technology investments. Security is a real concern and even though it was not a focus of this assessment we were able to identify several security vulnerabilities. SSSD should consult with a reputable security expert and take steps necessary to mitigate against known and avoidable security risks. We did inform the staff of the specific security risks and steps were taken immediately to address and correct these. The Superintendent and technology staff should develop a communication plan and find an effective way to engage the SSSD Board in the planning and operation of education technology throughout the district. This communication should be effective and help develop trust and respect for the technology resources needed to meet the important education mission of the district. A summary of answers to the interview questions is provided as part of this report. CONFIDENTIAL 3 Technology Assessment Findings General Observations South Summit School District (SSSD) has made a substantial investment in technology. Technology is used extensively to support the education mission of the district. Communication happens between the technology staff and the administration and faculty. Members of the technology staff have a great understanding and share close ties with the district education community. This combination of resources can, and in many instances does, produce a superior technology product. This report outlines our findings, offers encouragement to continue with positive initiatives and activities and offers recommendations that will allow SSSD to reach new levels of excellence in meeting the needs of its students, parents, faculty and staff. District Technology SSSD uses and supports over 2,600 network attached devices. The majority of these devices are Apple Computer technologies, and are implemented throughout every school, at every grade level, and within the district office. The school district employs two dedicated technology staff members to maintain these devices, along with other technology responsibilities, throughout the district. Apple products can be difficult to manage, especially in a large enterprise deployment. At the time of this assessment SSSD was not using a central management system or process to deploy and manage this Apple environment. All efforts to management and maintain these devices is on the shoulders of the two dedicated technology staff. Some of the

55

computers and technology implemented in the classrooms are not purchased new by the district. SSSD benefits from a relationship with the Park City School District and receives many donated devices that are then used effectively within the district. A perception exists that some of the donated equipment is retained for a long period of time and that the oldest of this equipment is ending up at the elementary schools. Frustration exists that some equipment is not meeting the educational needs in areas where it is deployed. We were not able to verify that this was the case. We did observe and believe that equipment is meeting the education needs at the Elementary level and indeed at all grade levels. District equipment, even the oldest equipment, is adequate with the exception of defective devices with specific service issues. Some of the service issues are related to the general patching and maintenance needs that are part of any Apple environment. Some or perhaps most of the service problems are related to the age of the equipment. Whatever the actual cause or causes, the effect is that the technology staff is overwhelmed in supporting the extensive Apple environment. It is more work than two dedicated staff are able CONFIDENTIAL 4 to handle. When technology needs arise in other areas of responsibility, the technology staff often ends up neglecting one thing or the other. Planning Superintendent Sorenson is very good at communicating his vision for education and the role technology plays in support of it. Staff are very aware of the importance and role of technology. The technology staff have a vision of what is needed to take care of the Apple environment. Gary and Brent are very conscientious when it comes to meeting the needs of faculty in the classroom. They are very active in finding new technology, introducing staff to new ideas and prioritizing the education needs of the district. Tactical planning is happening and stakeholders are engaged a positive way. This is happening in a more or less informal process. Dedicated and strategic education planning is incorporated into the overall district processes, however, specific, dedicated strategic technology planning is not happening, to the best of our knowledge. This is manifest most noticeably in the lack of back office technical tools, processes and solutions. While this may not be an every day part of the planning process, it should be addressed at some level and district leadership should be engaged in understanding, planning and budgeting to meet technology infrastructure needs. If planning continues to be neglected it is probable that the infrastructure capacity will not keep up with the classroom needs and utilization. Organization Developing an effective organizational structure should/must be part of the planning process and will be part of the overall District technology plan. With that in mind, we offer a possible organizational strategy and plan for SSSD. District Technology Director This position is, and should be, the educational technology strategic thinker for SSSD. Duties and responsibilities many include, but are not limited to, the following: • Ongoing strategic planning including assessing plan effectiveness • Management of stakeholder involvement and expectations • Communication with

56

District leadership and Board • Development and management of outsourcing relationships • Ensure district technology staff are managed and trained and are effective • Responsible for setting and following technology standards Tier Three Technician (this role could also be filled by the Technology Director) • Responsible to install and maintain the district network infrastructure and design. • Responsible to identify, implement and support district technology standards. CONFIDENTIAL 5 • Responsible for day-to-day district security initiatives and operations. • Provide support to the tier two technical resource(s). Tier Two Technician (this would be a very competent technical resource that would assist the Tier 3 person and move from school to school as needs dictate.) • Provide direct support to the tier one technical support staff. Be a mentor. • Prioritize school needs and district level initiatives • Possess deep knowledge of all technology deployed in the schools with emphasis on classroom technology. • Establishing for following district technology standards • Responsible for school level technology planning and integration of these plans to the district technology plan • Communicates school based needs or chronic issues to district technology leadership Tier One Support staff (this could be a ‘technology coach’) School level professional development & technical support • Lead the Cyber Corp program • Develop faculty and staff professional development opportunities • Provide educational technology interface with school faculty and staff • Prioritize school technology and technical professional development • Participate in the district strategic planning process • Be completely familiar with all school based technology, especially classroom technology. Cyber Corps students • Pull cables • Work on school web sites • Receive instructions from coach and perform tasks as directed • Deal with rudimentary technical issues, problems that often repeat. • 2 to 4 students per school • Activities should not interfere with class or study time Customer Support The users of SSSD technology, school and district faculty and staff, are generally appreciative of the technology department and the services being provided to them. As stated earlier, some service issues do exist. There seems to be two general areas of frustration. First, there is a concern about how Windows devices are supported. The technology staff does not provide direct support for windows devices. These tasks have been outsourced. With no district level Windows support, responses CONFIDENTIAL 6 to service problems do not occur as quickly as users would like. Although Windows machines make up only a small number of the devices in the district, they are running some of the essential tools and services used in the SSSD education process. Second, it is well known, if not widely acknowledged, that part of the professional development time is spent instructing the faculty and other staff on how to manage user devices. Many of the tasks and services performed by teachers and faculty are, in other district environments we’ve observed, provided through central management services provided and maintained by the technology staff. Training and expecting faculty and staff to perform these actions frees

57

up the technology staff to address other technology related needs. Technology management tools SSSD has implemented and maintains a relatively large and complexity technology environment. We are concerned with the lack of technology management tools. Certain tools have been implemented to manage a small subset of specific hardware and software. Unfortunately, a comprehensive technology management system is not currently in place. The most obvious concern is the inability for SSSD technology staff to ‘see’ into the network, understand what is happening and make informed assessments as to what is working well and where there are issues that need be addressed. In many interviews participants stated that known performance problems were the result of a shared circuit, yet we found no evidence that the circuit capacity is saturated at any time during the school day. We aren’t sure why the shared circuit was blamed for the known issues. Without proper tools, it is impossible to isolate the cause of problems or begin to find appropriate solutions. Another example of missing tools is that no trouble ticketing tool exists. There is no ability for technology staff or district leadership to understand or track the frequency of technology issues, where these issues occur and how quickly problems are addressed and corrected. There are many benefits from the information provided by regular usage of a trouble ticketing system. This is and should be part of the district’s best technology practices. Outsourcing SSSD relies on outsourcing important district technology services that are essential in supporting the education mission of the district. NUES and other entities provide these services and are important resources. This is not necessarily a good or bad practice. Many organizations provide excellent technology support through third party services. Properly planning and managing these outsourcing relationships is a key component that will define and ensure success. We observed that NUES is relied on to perform many important technology services. NUES is willing to do even more in support of SSSD. There is great value in the SSSD/NUES relationship. We believe that the value of this partnership can be improved through greater communication, CONFIDENTIAL 7 planning and documentation. NUES staff have clear understanding regarding SSSD expectations about some aspects of the relationship. Examples of this are the Windows support, firewall implementation and Wi-fi management and support. Even so, with every one of these examples SSSD could receive improved and expanded services with further clarification and communication. Other opportunities for collaboration likely exist and should be explored. SSSD also receives services from other third party providers. All of these relationships should be addressed. The work product should be evaluated and planned within a broader scope, taking into consideration all technology and education needs. Some third party outsourcing may be expanded. In other cases, SSSD may determine to bring services in-house that are either less costly or of a more strategic nature. Stakeholder Interaction Many of the SSSD stakeholders’ critical needs are being met. As expected, there are other issues

58

that remain unresolved and are not being addressed. Stakeholders are left, at times, to fend for themselves if their technology needs are outside of the Apple platform or have not been considered or outlined in a third party agreement. In one case, the stakeholder was left to identify, procure, design, implement and support a critical SSSD application. The technology staff and others advised against this action. We understand that the stakeholder could have benefited from listening to the technology staff. We certainly don’t know all of the details and we don’t believe there are any easy answers. It would probably have been better had the stakeholder not gone out and done something without technology department support. We also believe that this incident makes our case and is a good example of why SSSD should develop and deploy a strong strategic planning methodology. We are concerned that with a lack of planning and integration the best technology services may not be identified and implemented. We are also concerned that SSSD will not be able to derive the greatest benefit from its technology investment without planning, communication and cooperation between district leadership, technology staff and key district stakeholders. Communication Working with School Boards can be difficult. We have been told in past assessments that Board members expect technology to run flawlessly and without Board member involvement. It is unlikely that a technology staff will be recognized and praised when technology is running smoothly, stakeholders are happy and technology is meeting the education needs. However, when technology is not meeting these needs, Board members very often get involved. SSSD should evaluate how to effectively interact with the Board regarding technology. It will be best for the Superintendent and the technology staff to take charge of communication with the Board. This should be a dialog where the staff listens to Board input and provides important pieces of information to foster trust and support from the Board. CONFIDENTIAL 8 There is also a need for the technology staff to listen to and communicate with the stakeholder base. Security We are very concerned about security holes that were easily identified through this assessment process. The Wi-Fi network was wide open at the time of the assessment. The Local Area Network is one flat network and all devices could be seen and accessed through the Wi-Fi network. The Guest WiFi was open and we believe this issue has since been resolved upon our identifying the vulnerability, however, the nature of this design process and implementation raise concerns in how security is handled within the district. Other security risks likely exist. This assessment was not directed at addressing security concerns specifically, although in our brief time with SSSD we were able to identify several security vulnerabilities. Recommendations 1. SSSD needs a full time, dedicated technology director who has proven skills in strategic planning, stakeholder involvement and technology integration. 2. SSSD should invest in and develop a strategic planning methodology. 3. Through the planning process SSSD should engage stakeholders and Board members to determine education technology needs and identify

59

specific actions to support the education community. 4. This may be too much in the weeds, but critical questions remain regarding the SSSD current Apple environment. 4.1.Does the district need 2600 devices? 4.2.How will the district support these devices (2 dedicated staff are not enough, PD training to support, no capacity to provide in-house support for MS Windows, etc.) 5. Staffing 5.1.SSSD should evaluate how to best organize to meet classroom needs 5.2.SSSD should evaluate and plan how to best organize and meet the back office technology needs. 5.3.We encourage SSSD to look at and evaluate the support structure provided in the ORGANIZATION section of this report. 5.4.Two keys to SSSD Technology organization are: 5.4.1.Defining and staffing a SSSD Technology director to address overall strategic planning and specific back office support, and 5.4.2.Defining and staffing classroom technology support to include: a) coaches (Tier One support) and b) cyber corps students. 6. Outsourcing 6.1.SSSD should address third party vendors and outsourcing as part of the strategic plan. CONFIDENTIAL 9 6.2.MOUs and contracts should define the scope of work for each third party. 6.3.The finance department should be engaged to determine if/when the cost of third party outsourcing is greater than bringing support in house. 7. Tools 7.1.SSSD needs to plan for and deploy a full compliment of technology tools to monitor, manage and maintain the district technology 7.2.SSSD should deploy and use a trouble ticketing system. 7.3.Tools should provide reports that will allow SSSD leadership to evaluate current technology investments and plan for future technology changes 8. Security 8.1.SSSD should engage a reputable Security organization to perform a thorough security assessment. 8.2.SSSD should implement security best practices based on a well know security methodology. 8.3.SSSD should provide security training for all district staff. 9. Communication 9.1.SSSD should develop a communication plan that will inform SSSD Board and staff regarding technology directions, plans and operations. Conclusion SSSD leadership is assessing the current technology environment and asking if the resource level, two FTE, is sufficient or if additional resources are required? We wish that the answer was clear and simple. It is not. We feel that the recommendations offered within this report will lead to answering the fundamental questions that are central to organizing technology to best support and meet the educational goals of the district. Key to moving forward are establishing a Technology leader who is responsible to address the complete breadth of technical issues and in creating a comprehensive technology plan that involves all major stakeholder groups. The plan should establish best practices for acquiring and supporting school based technologies along with a robust network infrastructure and technology tools to complement the teaching environment. It is possible that all of the resources are currently in place and all that is needed is to implement organizational changes as outlined in this report. It is also very likely that additional resources will be

60

needed to meet the support needs of the constantly growing role of technology in the South Summit School District education environment.

61