October 2001 — Features
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Collaborative Technology Planning
- Two or more years behind in math or reading
- Not expected to graduate within four years of entering ninth grade, and has failed one or more courses within the last semester
- Has failed one or more sections of their most recent Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test
- Had failed one or more grades from first through eighth
- Previous or current dropout
- Pregnant or a parent
Technology Committee
Teachers have played a central role in technology planning at School of Choice since 1995, the year the SBISD determined that all staff members would adopt a new way of doing business through e-mail. To help implement the district's vision across all schools, each school created a technology committee comprised of teachers, a technology coach and specialist, the school librarian and administrators. Initially, the technology committee's primary role at School of Choice was to create the campus' vision for technology using the district's vision as a framework. Today, the committee makes recommendations about the purchase and implementation of all technology on campus. If a teacher wants an extra computer or a particular software program for the classroom, he or she enlists the help of the committee. The committee provides the expertise needed to make well-informed and research-based decisions regarding the purchase and implementation of software and hardware.
The committee is a self-selected group of teachers. About one-third of all the teachers participate throughout the school year. The committee's primary role is to look at where the school is going with curriculum and instruction, and decide how and where technology should be used to enhance that. Each April, the committee begins planning for the next school year. They begin by reviewing the current year's technology plan and measuring the school's progress against its goals. The committee then presents its recommendations to the site operations team, a group of elected teachers who serve in an advisory capacity to the director (school principal). In May, the school finalizes and submits the Campus Improvement Plan to the district.
Staff Development
Although School of Choice is nontraditional, it is still very much connected to the district as well as its vision and goals. As such, staff development is a top priority in both the district's technology plan and that of the school. The primary thrust of the SBISD's current technology plan is to provide the preparation and support teachers need to effectively integrate technology into teaching methods and content areas to help students learn. Similarly, the No. 1 activity in School of Choice's 2000-2001 technology plan is to continue to provide staff development for all staff members in areas directly related to the support and implementation of instructional objectives, as specified in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills guidelines.
A big part of the school's technology plan and the district-level framework is the Learner-Centered Teacher Appraisal System. It was designed by a committee of Spring Branch teachers and administrators, and is used across the district.
