Technology Plan

2013 - 2016
545 Humboldt St
Rochester, NY 14610-1221
Phone: 585-288-5702
Fax: 585-654-9882

Prepared by Aaron Pascucci, Instructional Technology Specialist

Phone: 585-288-5702 ext. 252
Email: apascucci@urbanchoicecharter.org

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 4
Mission Statement................................................................................................... 4
Technology Vision Statement..................................................................................4
Background and Demographic Profile.....................................................................4
Stakeholders........................................................................................................... 5
Leadership Team.................................................................................................. 5
Technology Team.................................................................................................. 5
Board of Trustees................................................................................................. 6
Plan Duration........................................................................................................... 6
Integration Strategies................................................................................................. 6
Technology Plan Goals............................................................................................. 6
Technology Plan Integration.................................................................................... 7
Identified Infrastructure Needs............................................................................. 8
Curriculum.................................................................................................................. 9
Online coursework................................................................................................... 9
Delivery of Instruction........................................................................................... 10
Learning Management systems.........................................................................11
Device Management Systems............................................................................12
Device Deployment and Communications.........................................................12
Professional Development........................................................................................ 14
Current Teacher and Administrator Skills...............................................................14
Identified Needs and Support Strategies...............................................................14
Funding and Budget................................................................................................. 15
Identified Sources of Revenue...............................................................................15
Partnerships and Affiliate Programs.......................................................................15
Student Purchasing Program.................................................................................15
Financial Plan for long-term Investment and Sustainability...................................15
Monitoring and Evaluation........................................................................................ 15
Curriculum Monitoring Process..............................................................................15
Student Achievement............................................................................................ 15
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Professional Development Monitoring Process......................................................15

Infrastructure Needs Monitoring Process...............................................................15
Fiscal Monitoring Procedure................................................................................... 15
Measures used to indicate Success.......................................................................15
Evaluation Schedule.............................................................................................. 15
Acceptable Use......................................................................................................... 15
Guiding Principles.................................................................................................. 16
Discipline............................................................................................................... 16
Appendix.................................................................................................................. 17
Appendix A: National Educational Technology Standards...................................17
Appendix B: Urban Choice Charter School Technology Benchmarks..................17
Appendix C: Technology Improvement Plan Four Year Overview........................17
Appendix D: Existing Infrastructure....................................................................17
Appendix E: Identified Infrastructure Needs.......................................................17
Appendix F: Professional Development Schedule...............................................17
Appendix G: Device Deployment Schedule........................................................17
Appendix H: Formal Notice of Intent to Establish a 1:1 Environment.................17
Appendix I: Device Protection Agreement..........................................................17
Appendix J: Student/Parent Device User Agreement..........................................17
Appendix K: Mid-Year Program Evaluations........................................................17

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Introduction
Mission Statement
The mission of Urban Choice Charter School is to provide Rochester area students
with a safe, supportive, and intellectually challenging educational environment. The
central philosophy is that strong student-teacher relationships are essential to
student motivation, engagement, and achievement. This philosophy, in
combination with authentic efforts at family involvement, and the effective teaching
of a rich, rigorous, and engaging curriculum, will enable students to build a strong
foundation for college and career readiness, exceed state achievement standards
and defy the demographic destiny of poverty.

Technology Vision Statement

21st century college and career readiness requires students and instructors alike to
be technologically literate and equipped with lifelong learning skills. This
improvement plan was constructed with the following ideas in order to continue
providing a relevant academic program that is aligned with current demands of
college and career readiness.

Technological literacy is a necessary part of college and career readiness.

Technological literacy needs to begin early and build in its complexity as
other curricular topics do, throughout the students entire education.
Technology based curriculum should not be separate from academic
curriculum, but integrated to support academic goals.
Students should have adequate access and tools that encourage
technological literacy and make learning relevant to future college and career
aspirations
Instructional staff should have adequate access and tools for teaching and
managing information.
As technology changes, instructional staff should have adequate
development opportunities to be kept abreast of the latest technologies,
educational trends, and required skills to prepare students for lifelong
learning

Background and Demographic Profile

Founded in 2005 as a safe, supportive, and intellectually engaging alternative to the
public schools of the Rochester City School District, Urban Choice Charter School
(UCCS) strives to serve students educational needs while accounting for and
addressing the socio-economic factors that follow every student into the classroom.
This is achieved through the development of strong student/teacher relationships
and a balanced, standards-based curriculum. Counselors and social workers are
actively involved with the student body and work to help meet the needs of the
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student body by developing programs and partnerships to meet the hierarchical

needs of students.
Instruction is delivered in a technologically rich environment At the elementary
level students are exposed to interactive whiteboards and iPad centric lessons, as
well as participate in a pull-out style technology class. Middle school students
further their technological literacy by utilizing both Windows and Mac based
computers to complete projects and routinely use iPads in the classroom for
research. Integral to the efforts made by Urban Choice Charter School is the
authentic effort of staff to facilitate family involvement in the educational process
and a longer than average school day that takes place from 8:30 to 4:00pm.
Urban Choice Charter School is set on the grounds of St. John the Evangelist church
in the residential Winton and Blossom neighborhood of Rochester, NY. The school
serves 400 students annually in grade levels ranging from kindergarten through
eighth grade. Students are admitted based on a lottery system and come primarily
from the surrounding communities associated with The Rochester City School
District, but also from districts as far as Irondequoit. Class sizes are kept small to
maintain a student to staff ratio of 5:1. This creates an average class size of 23
students in elementary classes and 14 students in middle school class.
The school is proud of its highly-talented staff and dedicated students. For
additional information on the school, its mission, or academic program, please visit
the Urban Choice Charter School website at www.urbanchoicecharter.org

Stakeholders
The stake holders identified in this improvement plan are composed of staff and
community members who have an integral part in the approval and successful
administration of this plan. The creation of this improvement plan took place over
the course of the 2013-2014 school year and went through a multi-tiered approval
process involving all identified stake holders. Primary drafting and editing was
completed by Aaron Pascucci, Instructional Technology Specialist with necessary
input from the School Based Planning Team and the UCCS Leadership team. Drafts
were then submitted for review to the leadership team, and final approval was
granted by the board of trustees.
Leadership Team
Edward Cavalier Chief Executive Officer
Dan Deckman Director of Business and Finance
Nicole Berg Director of Student Support
Eric Robinson Dean of Students
Christina Schermerhorn Principal
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Miriam Steinberg Parent and Community Engagement Coordinator

Technology Team
Aaron Pascucci Instructional Technology Specialist (Primary author)
Scott Story Information Technology Administrator
Jaqueline Fluent Technology Teacher
Jennifer Swan Math Specialist
Board of Trustees
Frank Rossi Chair Person, Executive Committee Chair, Governance Committee
Sidney Moore Vice Chair, Executive and Governance committee
John Page Secretary, Executive and Finance Committee
Spiro Zoigas Treasurer, Executive Committee, Chair of Finance
Megan Bosco Chair of Governance Committee
Joan Moorehead - Co-Chair Parent Involvement Committee
Antwan Williams Co-Chair Parent Involvement Committee
Christine Murray Board Member, Teacher Evaluation Committee
Nelson Blish Board Member

Plan Duration
September 3, 2013 June 26, 2016
Facilitating the technological literacy of students is not done by creating a rigid set
of purchasing benchmarks but by creating a framework that will be relevant
throughout the plans duration. It is the intention of this plan to provide forethought
and guidance into purchasing and implementation of technologies without limiting
future decision making that might occur under drastically different conditions. It is
very possible that benchmarks and purchasing goals will become irrelevant by the
time they are intended to be executed and as such, what follows will be guidance
based on the current instructional technology atmosphere.

Integration Strategies
Technology Plan Goals
1. Increase student access to technology
2. Enhance technological literacy of both students and teachers
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Extend Learning opportunities beyond the classroom

Facilitate mastery learning of academic content
Facilitate increased communication between instructional staff and Parents
Facilitate increased academic responsibility of students
Encourage development of digital citizenship within each student

Technology Plan Integration

The single most important goal of this technology improvement plan is to facilitate
continued technological literacy and college and career readiness while meeting the
curriculum demands associated with the implementation of The Common Core. This
and the specific goals outline above will be met by students, teachers, and
administrators striving to meet and exceed The National Educational Technology
Standards and The Urban Choice Charter Technology Benchmark and the
implementation of this improvement plan. (See Appendix A and B P. __ )
Currently, UCCS has 1 full time (FTE) information technology position to maintain
hardware, ensure security, and establish server side technologies and 1 FTE
technology teacher who focuses on exposing students to necessary computer based
skills such as hardware operation, document creation and internet research.
Recently, UCCS has created a third FTE instructional technology position to lead the
use and implementation of technology within the classroom.
To accomplish these goals, UCCS plans to implement a series of instructionaltechnology initiatives described below.

Instructional-Technology Initiatives

Construct and approve a four year technology improvement plan.

Identify and complete gaps in the existing technological infrastructure.
Update and replace outdated infrastructure and software.
Evaluate the use of pull-out style programs
Increase curriculum based technology integration.
Develop a one device to one student program, commonly known as a 1:1
program.
Ensure proper bandwidth and wireless access for all students and staff.
Explore the future of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy.
Implement blended learning techniques.
o Teachers will be provided with adequate professional development and
support throughout development and deployment of the program
leading up to the distribution, of devices and continuing through
complete implementation. A specific timeline of activities and details
is outlined in the Technology Improvement Four Year Overview in (See
Appendix C, P. __ )
Explore web-based learning capabilities associated with development of
consistent online access to curricular materials.

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o Distance Learning Programs

o Independent Study Programs
Develop and implement digital citizenship curriculum.

Existing Infrastructure
Current Inventory Summary

The Above numbers are representative of a visual accounting of devices found in

the classrooms and offices on school grounds. A detailed breakdown of the
technology found the individual rooms can be seen in seen Appendix D, P. __ .
Identified Infrastructure Needs
(See Appendix E, P. __ )
The infrastructure described above has proven to be limiting in combination with a
notable increase in the desire of teachers to have their students interact with
devices. Middle school teachers have expressed desires to have their students
perform research on the internet as well as create presentations and documents.
The existing two computer labs and class set of iPads are constantly booked.
Teachers have often expressed frustration over the limited technological resources
available for students to use during class time. Aligned with goals of this lesson
plan UCCS will make an initial purchase of;

1 class set of iPads

1 Bedford sync cart
1 MacBook Pro
1 Class set of Google Chromebooks
1 Class set of Android or based tablets, preferably the Samsung Nexus 7
An undetermined number of Laptops set aside for Substitute teachers
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Scanners available for teacher and student use.

Google cloud print enabled printers
Increased bandwidth to account for increased number of Wi-Fi enabled
devices during the school day.

Curriculum
An infusion of hardware and technological skills into established core curriculum is
going to necessitate a change in the delivery of content. In practice the amount of
technology driven curriculum varies with the ability and needs of the students at
different grade levels and may remain so. This technology driven curriculum will
coincide with the Urban Choice Charter School Technology Benchmarks and National
Education Technology Standards implemented at each grade level.
Traditional Learning
Environments
Teacher centered
instruction
Streamlined
progression
Limited variation in
student output
Isolated student
work
Fact based learning
goals
Assessment
oriented instruction

21st Century learning

Environments
Student centered
learning
Student determined
progression
Varied output
Collaborative
student work
Critical thinking and
skill based learning
goals
Authentic, realworld context

Online coursework
The goal of establishing a 1:1 program is to increase student access to technology
in order to facilitate authentic technological literacy. The implementation of 1:1
programs will also have the added benefit of increasing student access to
curriculum and thus their ability to extend learning past the hours of classroom
instruction. An effective 1:1 program requires that teachers establish an online
presence. The teachers of UCCS will establish a unique online presence for
themselves through a combination of existing and new software and policies.
Currently, UCCS has an official website created through WordPress with space
dedicated for teacher profiles. A teachers online presence will begin with the
profile they create and publish here, consisting of a class description, contact
information, and a class calendar of assigned work. Ideally, web-based software will
be utilized by teachers to create online course work that provides students with
continued access to curricular content. The creation of this content will allow
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teachers to create self-paced course work which is the backbone of blended

learning. Structuring a class in this manner allows for an emphasis on formal
assessment of desired skills and knowledge. This structure also provides ample
opportunity for students to complete and internalize core knowledge.
Effective support will be provided for teachers at all levels in the form of;

Personal training
Professional development sessions (See Appendix F, P. __ )
Online instructional media (Lynda.com, UCCS tech blog, YouTube courses,
iTunes U)

Delivery of Instruction
Direct instruction has been a dominant model in education since formal education
was created. The implementation of new teaching tools requires the
implementation of new instructional models that embrace the benefits of
technologys presence in the classroom. One such models that will be encouraged
along with the implementation of the 1:1 program is the Blended Learning model.
This relatively new idea has emerged as the accessibility of mobile devices in the
classroom has increased.
As technology has become more accessible so has access to information. It is no
longer true that those with more schooling are more knowledgeable or that learning
can only take place in the presence of an instructor. Todays students are aware of
these ideas and have developed their own ideas of what learning is and routinely
engage in self-motivated learning.
The blended approach requires teachers to develop curriculum that is tailored to an
online platform and to structure their classes in a way that positions the teacher as
a facilitator of learning in various forms. The blended approach also encourages
students to consume videos, written text, and other forms of direct instruction as
homework instead of during class time. This allows for the time spent with
instructors to be devoted to the application of course content and maximizes the
effectiveness student/teacher interaction. These aspects of blended learning will
maximize student understanding and retention of course content by a shifting from
the consumption of content to the creation of content in various forms such as;
Video creation.
Webpage creation.
Forum discussion.
Peer editing and Collaboration.
Concept scavenger hunts.

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Shifting Roles in Education

Classroo
ms as
lecture
halls
Teachers
as
lectures
Students
as
consumer
s

Gathering
place for
independent
learning

Classrooms
as
collaborative
communites

Teachers as
project
managers

Teachers as
expert
resources

Students as
independent
learners

Students as
collabrative
creators

The use of blended learning techniques is not a substitute for proven instructional
techniques but meant to provide guidance to the effective use of mobile device
technology within the 1:1 paradigm.
Creating curriculum that is based online additionally allows for the teacher to easily
and effectively modify existing materials to allow students in unique situations to
participate and complete course work, either through a school established distance
learning program or simply through the web.
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Student Management System

Currently UCCS has adopted Pearsons Power School System as its Student
Management system. This system will continue to be utilized as the central
management system for
1. monitoring
o students attendance.
o Free and reduced lunch program.
o students assignment scores.
o students final grades.
o students discipline.
o students enrollment.
o Individualized Education Plans (I.E.Ps).
2. creating
o administrative reports.
o student achievement reports ( A.K.A report cards).
o school master schedules.
3. communicating
o student progress to parents.
Device Management Systems
In an effort to ensure proper use of school resources, provide compliance with
federal mandated internet filtering policies, and develop digital citizenship. UCCS
has committed to the adoption of a software solution that will allow the
administration and instructional staff to monitor and manage student devices on
campus and provide limited management capabilities while students are off
campus.
This software solution will have functionality that will allow instructors to deliver
content directly to student devices within the classroom and directly manipulate
students devices in the classroom as they see fit.
Through the use of this software solution teachers will be able to;

manage individual devices

o Internet accessibility.
o application usage.
monitor internet activity (both live and past history)
use devices to administer direct instruction
solicit real-time feedback

(See Appendix F, P. __ )
Device Deployment and Communications
The deployment of devices on a large scale will occur based on the timeline
developed for implementation of the 1:1 program. (See Appendix G, P. __ ) The
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deployment of devices on an individual basis will follow the set procedure described
below.

Written notifi cation

Upon approval and purchase of devices for the 1:1 program a formal notice will be
distributed to students and parents outlining the policies and procedures for
participation in the program. A key part of this written notification will be an active
refusal clause for those parents who do not wish to have their student involved. In
the event that parents do actively refuse to have their students participate,
reasonable efforts will be made to find a reasonable solution.(See Appendix H, P. __ )

Pre-information session and question

An information session will be held for all parents and involved in the program. The
session will provide time for the administration to present a rationale for the
program, its policies and procedures and provide a space for questions from
interested parties to be answered.

Distribution session
Devices will be distributed to eligible students during Device Orientation Parents
and students must sign and return the iPad Protection Agreement (See Appendix I,
P. __ ) and the Student/Parent iPad agreement (See Appendix J, P. __ )before iPads
will be issued. This session will be held prior to the beginning of the school year and
will provide time for collection of needed agreements and documentation. All
students who wish to participate in the program must attend.

Student Training Session

After students receive their devices and have agreed to the appropriate usage
policy, a session will be scheduled during the first weeks of school in which students
and staff members will work together to ensure that devices are set-up and working
properly. During this time teachers will work with students to ensure that students
are comfortable using devices and have created all necessary accounts for school
usage. During this time students will be informed of the idea of digital citizenship
and shown how the device management system functions. Students will also be
informed of the situations in which the school may revoke device usage.

Mid-year evaluation
Before winter recess, all devices will be collected. During this time, student activity
accounts will be reviewed and all devices will undergo necessary maintenance to
ensure continued performance of hardware. At the time of collection a survey (See
Appendix K, P. __ ) will be distributed to both parents and students assessing the
usefulness of the device and impact on student learning. Teachers will also fill out
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mid-year evaluations assessing and identifying problems, performance issues, and

benefits of having access to the devices on a regular basis.

Professional Development

Supportive Administrators
Effective Instructional Staff
Successful Students
Current Teacher and Administrator Skills
Identified Needs and Support Strategies
Hardware Integration
Upon the adoption of any new technology comes the initial need to familiarize its
users with the inherent functionality of the device. Initial support will be provided to
familiarize instructional staff with the functionality of the hardware itself as well as
how adopted devices will integrate into current technological infrastructure and
policies.
In addition to training of provided hardware and software, advanced professional
development and will be provided for new accompanying tools that will maximize
the benefits of having constant access to the adopted technologies and the internet.

Web-Development Tools
In establishing an online presence, teachers will be encouraged to develop webbased curriculum or at the very least provide online access to key components and
assignments, so that students will have continued access to material as described
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in the blended learning model. One tool for accomplishing this task is a HTML based
website which can easily be created through a number of different tools such as;
1. HTML editors (ex. Adobe Dreamweaver, Kompozer)
2. Web-Based HTML generators (ex. Weebly.com, WIX.com)
In addition to web-development, teachers will be encouraged and supported in the
development of offline curriculum for their classroom with tools such as;
1. iTunes U
2. iBooks Author
3. SMART Notebook
Lastly, an authentic effort will be made to provide support for other instructional
strategies and tools that instructors identify as they develop.

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Funding and Budget

Identified Sources of Revenue
Partnerships and Affiliate Programs
Student Purchasing Program
Financial Plan for long-term Investment and Sustainability

Monitoring and Evaluation

Curriculum Monitoring Process
Student Achievement
Professional Development Monitoring Process
Infrastructure Needs Monitoring Process
Fiscal Monitoring Procedure
Measures used to indicate Success
Evaluation Schedule

Acceptable Use
Urban Choice Charter School (UCCS) recognizes that the addition of personal
devices to the classroom for the purpose of enhancing curriculum and increasing
technological literacy opens a wide range of educational opportunities, while also
increasing students ability to access material that is not beneficial to learning or
character development. This policy is drafted in accordance with the schools code
of conduct and covers the use of any school provided technological resources that
students may utilize to achieve educational goals. These resources include but are
not limited to;

Devices provided through the 1:1 program

Desktop computers found in various locale on school grounds
Notebook computers
Wireless network

Use of UCCS technological resources is a privilege, not a right. The privilege of

using the technological resources provided by the school is not transferable or
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extendible by students to people or groups outside the school and terminates when
a student is no longer enrolled in the school.

Guiding Principles
UCCS recognizes that use of the internet and electronic communications are
essential tools for the current learning environment and future careers of our
students. Students and staff are encouraged to become literate with different
technologies and forms of electronic communication. These technologies and forms
of electronic communication are however, subject to misuse and abuse, and
therefore the following principles will govern the use of UCCS technological
resources and electronic communication.

Internet usage, e-mail, and other electronic communication on school

grounds and/or with school provided resources shall be for legitimate
educational purposes only. Internet usage, e-mail, or other electronic
communication for personal purposes is prohibited during school hours.
UCCS reserves the right to monitor or review internet usage and electronic
communication conducted with school provided hardware or resources.
Students shall have no expectation of privacy in connection with the use of
UCCS provided technological resources.
School provided devices are the sole property of UCCS and as such can be
collected at any point for maintenance, investigation or redistribution.
Students are expressly prohibited from accessing or viewing any
pornographic, adult, racist, discriminatory, derogatory or gambling-related
content.
UCCS will not tolerate any activity deemed as cyberbullying. Any harassing,
insulting, or attacking behaviors through email or any social networking
website or application are expressly prohibited and subject to disciplinary
actions that may go beyond school authority.

In compliance with federal law, the UCCS shall make reasonable effort to restrict
access to inappropriate materials and shall monitor the on-line activities of the end
user.
Violation of acceptable use principals will result in disciplinary action being taken.
Disciplinary consequences may vary depending on the severity of the offense.

Discipline
Step1
Step2
Step3

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UCCS reserves the right to remove provided devices in their entirety without prior
consequence depending on the specific circumstances of any given violation.

Appendix
Appendix A: National Educational Technology Standards
Appendix B: Urban Choice Charter School Technology Benchmarks
Appendix C: Technology Improvement Plan Four Year Overview
Appendix D: Existing Infrastructure
Appendix E: Identified Infrastructure Needs
Appendix F: Professional Development Schedule
Appendix G: Device Deployment Schedule
Appendix H: Formal Notice of Intent to Establish a 1:1 Environment
Appendix I: Device Protection Agreement
Appendix J: Student/Parent Device User Agreement
Appendix K: Mid-Year Program Evaluations

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