October 2001 — Features
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Collaborative Technology Planning
Its primary purpose is to enhance student learning through teachers' professional growth. Between August and October, each teacher meets with his or her supervisor for a diagnostic conference. Together, they develop two to three goals – top priorities – for the school year. The goals must specifically address how the teacher plans to increase or expand his or her own abilities, and how that will measurably impact student performance. One of these goals must focus on improving student academic achievement and be directly aligned with the Campus Improvement Plan, while another goal must focus on technology. During the formative process from October through April, the teacher's supervisor conducts walk-throughs, in which what is observed in the classroom and how the teacher is progressing toward accomplishing the stated goals are documented. In April or May, the teacher and supervisor meet again for a summative conference, where the teacher describes information and data that substantiate the accomplishment of the goals. The supervisor then provides a summary of the teacher's performance and that of the teacher's students.Throughout the year, both the district and the schools provide an array of professional development opportunities to help teachers produce and expand their technology capabilities while meeting their individual technology goals. The district's Instructional Technology Training Center, housed in the Spring Branch Education Center, has five computer labs and offers training on a wide variety of technology tools and topics. In addition, SBISD provides each school with a technology coach who works one-on-one with teachers to help them integrate technology in their classrooms. Thanks to the training center and the coach, the teachers at School of Choice have made great progress toward achieving the second activity in the school's 2000-2001 technology plan: to increase the integrated use of technology, such as the Internet, Web design, graphic design, and presentation software throughout the curricula and in teachers' lesson plans.
Online Curricula
The third activity in our technology plan is the continued use of NCS Learn's NovaNET system for online curriculum. The NovaNET system is an online comprehensive courseware system that delivers thousands of hours of standards-based, interactive curriculum with integrated assessment, student management and record keeping. It is an integral part of our curriculum and our commitment to provide alternative methods of instruction to prevent, intervene and recover dropouts. It acts as a personal tutor for each student and allows us to meet each student's unique academic needs. As students progress at their own pace, they receive continual positive feedback and instructive encouragement along the way.
The system's curricula are organized into units covering a distinct set of objectives. Each unit consists of a diagnostic test, a prescriptive pretest, several lessons and a posttest to confirm objective mastery. School of Choice uses the system to provide instruction in our core curriculum, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, and expand our curriculum to include courses and electives that we would otherwise be unable to offer in a small school.
