Running Head: STRATEGIC PLAN 1

Reynolds Elementary Strategic Plan

Sarah Mallette
University of Arkansas
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Introduction
Since 1973, Pat Reynolds Elementary School has been preparing elementary school
students for their transition to secondary education and beyond. We are committed to ensuring
that our scholars are active participants in their world, skillful in their academics, and the next
generation of responsible adults that model inclusion and kindness to others. We are continuing
this ideology by constantly revolutionizing our instruction to meet the needs of our diverse
scholars while preparing them for the increasing demands of the modern, global workforce. Our
Reynolds Elementary scholars represent the Spring Independent School District and their
dedication to ensuring that every child has the foundations and tools necessary for their success
in the future.

In order to provide the stimulating, rigorous atmosphere that Reynolds strives for, the
fifth-grade team evaluated our current learning environments using our campus and district core
values. We determined what was most important not just for current teachers and scholars, but
what could best support our future students and staff. As a team, along with our campus
administrators, district technology specialists, and the president and vice president of the parent-
teacher organization, we created a strategic plan that will carry our students to new academic
heights while reinforcing the core values and vision of Reynolds Elementary. Our team and
administrators wanted to participate in the strategic planning process because when we evaluated
our classrooms and school, we came to a consensus that we could do more to better prepare our
students for the future. We all determined that technology was our weakest area and we wanted
to use a strategic plan to help us solve this problem. Our strategic planning team has a wide
range of technological proficiencies, so we felt that using a plan could benefit all team members
with correcting this issue.

Technology Vision and Stakeholders

The Reynolds Elementary fifth-grade team vision statement is “to integrate effective
technology into the fifth-grade classrooms that increases student comprehension of content by
supporting language development, higher order thinking, remediation and differentiation for
struggling students, and the growth of every student’s twenty-first century learning skills.” We
created our vision in a group brainstorming session that allowed for all participants to provide
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their insights and feedback. Session members included principal Dr. Angeles Perez, assistant
principal Mrs. Rebecca Perez, Counselor Claudia Hurtado, our technology specialist Jon West,
the president and vice president of the PTO organization Jessica Nunn and Torrey Paul, and the
fifth-grade team: Mrs. DeLeon, Ms. Valentine, Ms. Mallette, Ms. Daniels, Mrs. Ruzzi, and Mrs.
Kyle. During our meeting, we wrote all of our ideas on a large sheet of anchor chart paper and
determined which ideas were most aligned to our campus core values and ideas that were
capable of being solved by teachers and administrators. From there, we created our vision and
wrote it on a new piece of anchor chart paper that hangs in our data room. This chart allowed us
to constantly reflect on our plan’s progress and currently guide us to where we should be by the
end of this process.

This plan affects a large group of stakeholders, including:

 113 5th Grade Students at Reynolds Elementary

 Six 5th Grade teachers

 Three Campus Administrators: Principal, Assistant Principal, and Counselor.

 Two Technology Specialists: Jon (primary) and one rotating

 District Superintendent Dr. Rodney Watson

 Seven members of the Spring ISD School Board

 Parents of students

 Surrounding community

 Students: Many of the students do not have access to modern technology in the

classroom. The plan ensured proper training for students in order to be successful. The

students enjoyed using technology in previous grade levels and are familiar with basic

functions of a laptop.

 Fifth grade teachers:

o Mrs. DeLeon: Mrs. DeLeon is the 5th grade team leader and had little experience

with effective technology implementation. Most of the technology usage in her

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classroom consisted of an Elmo or projector. She was open to new technology and

planning as long as her voice can be heard. Her role in the project was to provide

input on all components of the plan and assist with project implementation.

o Ms. Valentine: Ms. Valentine is a 20+ year veteran teacher who did not know

how to text and use her computer. She is severely limited in technology fluency

and dislikes using technology unless someone models how to use it. She did not

oppose the project but stated that she needed lots of support. Her role in the

project was to provide input on all components of the plan and assist with project

implementation.

o Mrs. Ruzzi: Mrs. Ruzzi is extremely fluent with technology and was open to the

idea of technology planning. She frequently researched outside technology tools

to implement in her classroom. She liked to learn about new technology tools and

how they could be implemented in her classroom. Her role in the project was to

provide input on all components of the plan and assist with project

implementation.

o Ms. Daniels: Ms. Daniels is impartial to technology but was a team player. She

was willing to participate in the plan but required a lot of assistance because she

was not technology fluent. She asked if she could participate but take a smaller

role because she was nervous about not being competent enough with what might

be expected. Her role in the project was to provide input on all components of the

plan and assist with project implementation.

o Mrs. Kyle: Mrs. Kyle is a first-year teacher who possessed average technology

skills. She liked to learn about technology but required much support with
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implementation. Her role in the project was to provide input on all components of

the plan and assist with project implementation.

 Campus Administration:

o Dr. Angeles Perez: Dr. Perez is the principal of Reynolds Elementary and is a

strong advocate for teacher led projects. Her master’s degree is in educational

technology leadership, so she is familiar with the process of strategic planning

and is excited to implement it at Reynolds. She is an avid texter and email user so

communicating with her is simple. She oversees all purchasing, technology

implementation in the classroom, team activities, and any type of planning.

o Mrs. Rebecca Perez: Mrs. Perez is pursuing her doctorate in educational

leadership and is the assistant principal at Reynolds Elementary. She does not

oversee the 5th grade team but was still interested in keeping up with the project.

She is not an avid technology user but can perform basic functions.

o Claudia Hurtado: She is the counselor at Reynolds as well as testing coordinator

and behavior specialist. She knows how to perform basic functions on the

computer, such as checking emails and making a slideshow on PowerPoint. Her

role in the plan was to assist the project manager as necessary with interviewing

parents or translating information.

 Spring ISD Technology Specialists (Jon and one rotating specialist): Jon is the primary

specialist assigned to Reynolds with one other person who comes every other week. The

technology specialists oversee all functioning technology at a specific campus, fix any

minor problems that teachers cannot troubleshoot, install technology, and ensure that all

additional technology is functioning properly according to district guidelines. The

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specialists report directly to the superintendent and inform him of the technology usage

they see at the campuses. The specialists only served as guidance supervisors to the

project and helped ensure that the project is compatible with the district technology

vision.

 District Superintendent: Dr. Watson recently proposed an increase in technology

throughout the district. The technology initiative has been proposed through the 2016

bond and has hired strategic planners to come in and begin the initiative. He is a close

friend of the Reynolds Elementary principal, so he is a stakeholder that will be updated

regularly with information regarding the project progress. Dr. Perez had informed the

superintendent that this was taking place and he was interested to hear the results of the

project. The superintendent’s role in the strategic plan was minor; he was overseeing the

project to success.

 School Board: The Spring ISD school board oversaw all projects at every campus. They

are a stakeholder in that they just wished to stay informed with what was happening at

each school. They are avid supporters of technology in the schools, approving the

technology bond to be implemented. If the project would have included a budget that

extended past the campus budget, the school board would have been informed so they

could decide and potentially lend our campus some extra money. There are seven school

board members, including:

o Assistant Secretary Justine Durant

o Vice President Jana Gonzales

o President Rhonda Newhouse

o Dr. Deborah Jensen

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o Chris A. Bell

o Secretary Donald Davis

o Winford Adams, Jr.

 Parents: In order for the project to have been successful, the parents must have been

involved. Additionally, the project manager needed to get their permission regarding their

child’s participation. Many of the Reynolds parents work during the day so occasional

meetings were scheduled in the evening. Since almost all of the students have internet

access at home, the project manager sent updates about the project via email to all parents

who request more information. The role of the parents in this project was to provide

permission for the students to participate in the plan and stay updated with events and

plan progress.

 Community members: Community members included members of the school’s PTO and

other surrounding businesses. The role of the community members was to provide

supplies if necessary while staying updated with events and plan progress.

Our students, fifth-grade team: Mrs. DeLeon, Ms. Valentine, Ms. Mallette, Ms. Daniels, Mrs.
Ruzzi, and Mrs. Kyle, and administrators Dr. Perez, Mrs. Perez, and Mrs. Hurtado, will be
working with this project daily. The fifth-grade students, ranging in age from 10-12, will be the
“guinea pigs” of the project and will allow the teachers to determine what types of technology to
implement and how we will do it. The teachers will plan what technology to implement,
determine its success in the classroom, and use it to strengthen student comprehension of
content. Teachers will also use technology to record and track student data throughout the
strategic plan process. Our parents, who are mostly highly involved with our campus, will grant
their permission for their children to participate in this plan and will receive updates of their
child’s progress throughout the year. Their purpose is to support their child with what they are
learning while staying up to date on their current academic standings. The community members
will also be informed about what is happening at Reynolds when we have our community
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meetings. Their role in the strategic planning process is to provide their input on how they think
the plan is working and provide their feedback. They will not be directly involved with plan
implementation, but we encourage an open line of communication between the two parties. Our
technology specialist will be overseeing the technology implementation process, providing
infrastructure or technological support as necessary. He will not be involved with the day-to-day
implementation of the plan but will support teachers with trainings on the technology, how to use
it, and modeling how to use specific programs. The Spring ISD school board of trustees consists
of eight members: Assistant Secretary Justine Durant, Position 3; Vice President Jana Gonzales,
Position 7; President Rhonda Newhouse, Position 5; and Dr. Deborah Jensen, Position 1; Chris
A. Bell, Position 2; Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Rodney E. Watson; Secretary Donald Davis,
Position 6; and Winford Adams Jr., Position 4. The board of trustees and Dr. Watson will
oversee any budgetary concerns and just wish to be updated with how the plan is functioning.
Any additional approvals, such as purchasing Chromebooks or energy usage, will need to be
approved by the school board of trustees.

With a focus on the long-term results, we will be completing this strategic plan to assist with
technology integration in the fifth-grade classrooms. When we completed the assessment, we
determined that most of the technology we have is outdated and rarely used. As part of the 2016
bond, the district provided our campus with 100 new Chromebooks, but they have been sitting in
the library since. One teacher, Ms. Mallette, only has the old set of Chromebooks that dates back
to 2014 and is the only teacher on the fifth-grade team that uses them with fidelity. The need is
for teachers to integrate effective technology into their lesson plans to enhance instructional
practices. Additionally, the teachers will need training and accountability for this plan to
succeed, including the discussion of technology during professional learning communities and
planning time. Another need is for teachers to understand how to track student growth using
technology and using technology to further student understanding of content. Technology will
also be expected to be a part of every teacher’s lesson plan. Since 100 Chromebooks does not
allow for 1:1 technology to student ratio, we also need to purchase twenty more Chromebooks
over the next two years, so each student has the ability to expand their twenty-first century skills.
Over the two-year period that this plan is to take place, we expect that this implementation will
raise student standardized testing scores and provide differentiation and remediation support for
all learners, including EL’s and students receiving special education services. These needs are
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related to our vision statement in that are addressing all learners, current and future. We are also
supporting our teachers in their professional development by including technology during
planning periods and inservice meetings. We will determine if our vision is successful by
referring to student data, lesson plans, and overall observations. This plan will allow us to
maximize effective instruction to target all scholars while providing teachers with the necessary
trainings to continue this plan for years to come.

Technology Evaluation
The Reynolds strategic plan team utilized common assessment techniques throughout the
duration of the strategic plan, including questionnaires, surveys, focus groups, and the nominal
group technique (NGT). By using a wide range of assessment techniques, we were able to ensure
that we were hearing from every stakeholder and identify the true needs of the grade level.
Additionally, we wanted to ensure that every participant felt as if their voice and opinion
mattered. Using the multiple assessment modalities also guaranteed that we collected
quantitative and qualitative data, including the amount of money needed for tools or training
required for teachers. The strategic plan questions ensured that we assessed all parts of the
project, including the effectiveness and the progress.

Questions we asked related to the evaluation process included:

 What kinds of technological professional development do you need in order to

modernize and improve instruction for all diverse learners? How will this help
Reynolds fifth grade students? Explain.
 How has technology played a role in classroom learning? Has it helped you
understand a concept better? Does the current technology help support your
learning and understanding of a specific topic or subject? Give at least three
examples.
 In order to drive effective instruction for all learners, what processes or tasks do
you need your technological tools to complete? Is this different than what you
already have? How will this guide instruction and remediation? Provide three
examples.
 Is the project on track to meet the current objectives?
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 Have there been new realizations as the project progressed?

 Has the project uncovered issues or tasks that need to be completed? What steps
will be taken to fix those?
 What changes have we seen so far with the implementation of the strategic plan?
 How has this plan affected student and teacher productivity?
 Is there any part of the strategic plan that could have been better planned?
These questions allowed for the strategic plan members to get a thorough understanding
of how the plan was progressing in all aspects and what was needed in order to be successful.
These questions could have been asked at any point in the strategic plan to ensure effectiveness
and that the plan is addressing all components, not just the needs. The first three questions were
asked to selected stakeholders to collect information on the required needs. The remaining
questions were used to ensure that the project was staying on task once the initial needs were
determined. One area of concern with asking the questions was ensuring that the questions have
been translated for second language speakers. Some of the families speak only Spanish so in
order to evaluate how the plan is progressing, the questions needed to be asked in another
language. Additionally, our counselor is bilingual, so she was able to record their answers in
English. This allowed for everyone to be able to understand and apply their opinions.

Gathering Data
The data for this plan was collected using multiple modalities, including surveys,
questionnaires, focus groups, and the nominal group technique (NGT). The nominal group
technique is similar to a round robin style discussion where participants can share their thoughts
and opinions, then vote on ideas mentioned by the participants. The data that the participants
collected included teacher feelings regarding technology, the status of current technology
integration on the fifth-grade team, and how technology is currently supporting all students’
learning. Some of this information was collected through a survey, which can be found here.
Additionally, we wanted to collect data on how the plan was progressing at multiple points of the
implementation. The NGT was used to determine needs for the administrators and technology
specialists, the teachers, and then a select group of students. For the parents, school board, and
other community members, we provided them with a survey to complete.
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Evaluation Analysis

Once all of the data was collected, we evaluated the data by looking at the results of the
surveys first. This gave us information from stakeholders such as parents and the school board.
For the participants that were more directly related to the project, we then assessed the results of
the nominal group technique and the ranking of the needs. We also evaluated the results of the
student focus group and survey. By looking at all assessment types that we used with our
stakeholders, we determined what underlying issues and strengths we have. We identified
common ideas for the needs that this plan needed to address. Some preliminary findings from
two surveys given to the fifth-grade teachers and campus administrators showed that the
administrators and teachers both felt that the technology was extremely out of date and that many
of the current Chromebooks were missing keys or chargers. Additionally, the administrators
wanted more technology implementation in the classrooms while the teachers stated that they
were already uncomfortable with what they currently had and did not know how to use them.
When we gave the administrators and teachers a survey consisting of online programs that they
could use, 7 of the 10 participants did not know any of the programs except for two: Prodigy and
iStation. This data proved that there is a need for teacher training not just with technology but
with the online tools that can be used for student learning. Additionally, this also proved that the
plan needs to be focused on resource allocation, which meant that the budget needed to be
looked at by our administrators and district budget office.

Tech Needs
In order to determine the needs of the fifth-grade team, the project manager created
questions that was asked to specific stakeholders. These questions allowed for the project
manager and strategic planning team to determine what the exact needs of the grade level were in
relation to technology and education. Questions included:

 Question #1: What kinds of technological professional development do you need

in order to modernize and improve instruction for all diverse learners? How will
this help Reynolds fifth grade students? Explain.
This question was asked to both team teachers and administrators to get a sense of what
the teachers need in order to have a successful technology implementation. This question was
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asked using a focus group as well as a questionnaire. In the focus group, the six fifth-grade
teachers were asked what type of professional development was needed in order to make
technology a method for enhancing instruction. The same question was sent to administrators in
a questionnaire form in order to practice multiple data collecting modalities and to cater to
scheduling conflicts. The strategic planning team wanted to know how technology would best
help instructional practice but also help their specific students. Since all students are diverse
learners, the planning team wanted to know how professional development would modify and
drive future instruction. The team also wanted to know how this would benefit their students and
if that was a good enough reason to implement this strategic plan.

 Question #2: How has technology played a role in classroom learning? Has it helped
you understand a concept better? Does the current technology help support your
learning and understanding of a specific topic or subject? Give at least three
examples.
This question was asked to both team teachers and administrators to get a sense of how
technology is currently being used in the classroom. The team also wanted to know how students
felt with the technology integration and how it helped them with their learning. This question
was asked using a focus group as well as a questionnaire. The administrators answered this
question using a questionnaire, the same one that the first question was on. Both students and
teachers participated in a focus group to ask this question. There were two focus groups; one for
students and one for teachers. Both groups had the same questions but were worded differently in
order to be developmentally appropriate for students. The student focus group consisted of six
students, three from the bilingual track and three from the general education track. The teacher
focus group consisted of all six Reynolds Elementary fifth-grade teachers.

 Question #3: In order to drive effective instruction for all learners, what processes or
tasks do you need your technological tools to complete? Is this different than what
you already have? How will this guide instruction and remediation? Provide three
examples.
This question was posed to both the Reynolds fifth-grade teachers in addition to the
Reynolds administration. The team teachers were asked this question during a focus group
interview. The purpose of this question was to ask teachers what they needed their technology to
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do. Did teachers need their technology to just provide remediation or did teachers need to use
technology to track student progress and report their learning analytics? The strategic planning
team also wanted to determine how the teachers will use the new tools to guide instruction. For
administrators, they were asked the same question using a questionnaire. Although they are not
in the classroom, they still provided insight on what they wanted the tools to do and how they
wanted technology to help teachers and students with their learning.

Prioritizing Needs
The strategic plan team used the nominal group technique (NGT) because it was an
interactive process for a small group of stakeholders. This allowed for multiple people to provide
their opinions and perspective while working with others to determine needs. Additionally, the
plan used the NGT earlier in the strategic plan so this was a familiar process for the participants.

First, the plan manager had all participants come to the data room where they led an
opening statement which took about five minutes to complete. Participants introduced
themselves and their role in the project. Once that was finished, the group transitioned to the
nominal group technique. Then, the planning manager introduced the concept of prioritizing
needs. The manager made a list of the proposed needs that was determined from looking at past
records, conducting focus groups, and reading the questionnaires. Then, the manager allowed
each participant to write their thoughts on their notecard that was passed out at the beginning of
the session.

Once everyone wrote down their thoughts and ideas, the planning manager encouraged
each participant to share their thoughts and ideas over the needs, their importance, and express
any other needs they may think are relevant. The planning manager wrote them on a flip chart
and told the participants that the ideas would be discussed in detail later in the meeting. Each of
the seven participants had two minutes to respond with their ideas and feedback.

After all ideas were recorded on the chart paper, the manager allowed 8 minutes of
discussion time. This discussion was a round-robin style discussion, so everyone could
participate. The group discussed each need and its importance to the project. The planning
manager encouraged participants to share their ideas and defend their opinions to others to
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encourage critical thinking. After the discussion, the group transitioned into voting and ranking
the needs.

To effectively vote and rank the needs, this was an independent process. On the back of
their notecards, the participants ranked them in order from most important to least important.
Once all thoughts were collected, the moderator placed the needs on a chart paper and the most
widely chosen placement (1 for most important, 5 for least important). There was then a second
vote to finalize the placement, which was in the form of tallies. Once the tallies were recorded,
the group reviewed the placement and priorities of the needs. This served as the official order of
the prioritized needs and determined the order of how the strategic plan will address the needs.
Once the votes were tallied, the planning manager hung the chart paper displaying the prioritized
needs next to the vision statement in the data room.

Data Conclusions

From the meeting, the teachers were able to determine, prioritize, and finalize the needs
of the Reynolds Elementary fifth-grade team in regard to technology. There were four main
needs determined by the committees: student subpopulations and their content comprehension,
teacher professional development on technologies and tracking student data, subscriptions to new
technology programs for the students to use, and training for parents to use the programs at home
to continue learning. The main need, decided by the fifth-grade team, is to increase student
subpopulation’s comprehension of content by using technology-based programs for remediation,
extensions, and practice. The secondary needs that the team members wish to address with the
plan include program subscriptions, teacher professional development, and parent trainings. The
planning team ranked the needs as follows with the first need ranked as the most important:

1. Increase student subpopulation’s comprehension of content by using technology-

based programs for remediation;
2. Purchasing subscriptions to effective technological tools that will allow teachers
to achieve that goal;
3. Allowing teachers to attend professional development to not only learn how to use
the technology but how to use technology to track student data; and
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4. Inform and train the parents on how to use these programs at home so learning
can continue.
These needs were created in part from the questions originally asked to the participants.
The first and third needs relate to the first question because the question discusses what the
teachers need to be successful and how this training will impact all learners. The second question
relates to needs one and two in that students need tools in order to help them learn. Additionally,
the programs used can help all learners master content if the teacher researches them and proves
their effectiveness and viability. The third question relates to needs three and four, which discuss
how technology can be used to track student data and its effectiveness. This also can be used to
see how students are performing on tools outside of school and how parents can assist their
children with learning.

Action Plan

The information from the needs assessment completed by the strategic planning team at
Reynolds guided the creation of the action plan. The plan has an implementation time frame of
one-year with the potential for an extension of an additional two-years once the superintendent
evaluates the plan at the end of the year. The cost of implementation is estimated at $25,000-
$35,000 in the first year with annual maintenance fees being covered by the district as an in-kind
donation. The funds for staff developments, technological tools, and implementation will come
from the Reynolds Elementary Title I budget, campus operating budget, and grants, if necessary.

Needs Assessment Results

Four areas of concern between current technology implementations and the vision of the
Reynolds fifth-grade team were discovered after the completion of the needs assessment. These
gaps include deficits in content comprehension from student subpopulations, minimal
subscriptions to effective technological tools, teacher technological professional development to
strengthen technological fluency and implementation, and parent training on how to use the
technological tools at home. By meeting online via Google Hangouts, the strategic planning team
decided that the deficits in content comprehension was the most important task to focus on first,
using technological tools and programs to support learning for all students. Then, in this order,
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the strategic planning team will focus on subscribing to online tools, teacher technology training,
and parental support with technology.

With the recent distribution of Chromebooks to every Spring ISD campus, teachers were
given access to one program that was approved by the district. iStation was the only web-based
program that was used to enhance and support students with reading skills and comprehension.
EL (English learning) students and special-education students were the first groups targeted with
this intervention. However, teachers did not receive any training on this program and classes
were only given 20 minutes a week in the computer lab to access iStation. Teachers were also
not trained on how to target student subpopulations and their iStation usage, therefore the
students were not always using the best programs to support their learning. Because of the short
time in the computer lab, teachers also did not have an opportunity to implement other programs
into the classroom. After the Chromebooks were distributed, many teachers did not know how to
look for new programs to assist their students with comprehension. Additionally, no other
programs were provided to support students in other content areas.

To support the identified needs, the strategic planning team will review student
subpopulation comprehension data of all subject areas to determine critical areas. Then, the
principal of Reynolds will provide funds to specific content-based programs that will support
student mastery of content. There will be one program for the following areas: reading,
mathematics, science/social studies, and writing. These programs will be implemented daily
throughout the school year for 36 instructional weeks. Student data will be pulled, reviewed, and
stored in order to maintain accurate records and reflect on the success of the program
implementation. Each fifth-grade teacher will be responsible for pulling the data related to their
specific subject and their students while keeping records of the data to progress monitor students
both in general and special populations. Finally, once a quarter, teachers will meet with fifth-
grade parents to review the tools being used at home and provide a “training session” to parents
so they can use the tools at home.

Hardware and Software

In order to access the programs, the students will be using 2014 Dell Chromebooks that
use Google G Suite for Education and Microsoft as the operating system. These 120
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Chromebooks are currently divided between the six fifth-grade classrooms. The students will
access the Chromebooks using their district generated Google e-mail address and password,
therefore allowing the students to save their information and data to their online profile. The
Chromebooks will be used to access online content-based programs and collaborate with other
students on assignments. The Chromebooks are monitored by both the teachers and district
technology department and are stored in Google Chromebook charging carts in the classroom.
The district provided Chromebooks allow for programs to be installed, such as iStation or other
web-based programs. The Chromebooks utilize the SISD wireless internet network and are not
capable of joining any other network.

The programs that students will access will not require any type of telephone system or
phone services. However, in order to access the programs, all Chromebooks will receive an
Adobe Flash update, Java update, as well as a Google Chrome update. The updates will be
completed by the teachers on a regular basis. Since the programs will mostly be web-based, there
will not be many program downloads to the computers. However, in the event that specific
programs require a download, such as iStation, the teachers will be given administrative rights to
approve any type of program download. The routine maintenance downloads of Adobe, Java,
and Google Chrome will be completed during conference periods or prior to school hours as
necessary. If a program needs to be downloaded, the programs will be downloaded after school
on a Friday afternoon in order to not disrupt instruction. These programs will be used throughout
the academic year and their overall effectiveness will be evaluated at the end of the school year.
Once the strategic plan has been evaluated at the end of one school year and proven to be
successful, this set up will continue for at least two more years.

Staff Development
One of the goals of the strategic plan is to provide staff development to teachers in order
to support them in tracking student progress and growth. The professional development also has
a goal of training teachers how to effectively use technology in the classroom. These trainings
will consist of a one day training every nine weeks to not only assess student growth but to also
train teachers on the types of technology integration in the classroom. These training sessions are
scheduled to begin in October 2018 and run quarterly until May 2019. These staff developments
are important to the strategic planning process because they are part of the goals determined in
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the needs assessment and they allow the teachers to understand the strategic planning process.
The trainings also provide the teachers with the support necessary to successfully implement the
strategic plan and lead it to fruition. Once the plan has been extended, there will be a one-day
refresher course for the team members in August 2019 and then quarterly after that. Dr. Angeles
Perez, the campus principal, will be responsible for leading the student data review trainings.

The strategic planning manager, Sarah Mallette, will be responsible for coordinating the
trainings responsible for teacher technology support. One training day for teacher technology
support will be provided during teacher inservice in August 2018 and every back to school
inservice following. The remaining trainings will be on the development days reserved for
student data meetings. The morning part of the training days will be reserved for student data
reviews while the afternoons will be reserved for technology trainings. As stated previously,
these trainings are scheduled to begin in October 2018 and run quarterly until May 2019. Once
the plan has been extended, there will be a one-day refresher course for the team members in
August 2019 and then quarterly trainings will resume beginning in October.

Facilities
All components of the strategic planning will take place at Reynolds Elementary School
in Houston, Texas. The school is currently ready to undertake any type of technology, with the
facilities being the strongest part of the plan. The facilities are important because if the building
is not prepared to house the large number of Chromebooks in addition to internet bandwidth, the
students will be unable to use the technology to their advantage. The Chromebooks will be
housed in the fifth-grade teachers’ classroom inside of their designated Chrome charging cart.
All trainings will take place in the Reynolds data room. All strategic planning team members,
including many of the stakeholders, can be found at Reynolds Elementary.

Finances
The cost of the technology implementation is estimated to be between $25,000 and
$35,000 with many of the overhang costs covered by the Spring Independent School District.
The finances are important to the strategic planning process because without the finances, the
plan will not be able to continue on. The following budget table shows the expected expenses of
the strategic plan implementation project for the first three years, if continued. If the campus
STRATEGIC PLAN 19

budgets are unable to cover these costs, the strategic planning team has agreed to look into
applying for a grant.

Reynolds Elementary Fifth-Grade Technology Implementation

Financial Plan for 2018-2021
Year One – Year Two – Year Three –
2018- 2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
Equipment

Hardware $3,000 $2,000 $2,000

Software $22,000 $17,000 $15,000

Internet $4,000 $4,000 $4,000

Maintenance $1,000 $2,000 $2,000

Staff

Salaries N/A N/A N/A

Trainings $2,500 $2,500 $2,500

Supplies $1,000 $500 $250

Facilities

Reynolds Elem. $5,000/mo $5,000/mo $5,000/mo

Costs
Maintenance $500/mo $500/mo $500/mo

In-Kind Donations $5,500/mo $5,500/mo $5,500/mo

Totals (excluding in- $33,500 $31,000 $25,750

kind donations)

Budget Justification
Equipment
Hardware – includes purchasing Chromebooks, chargers, and additional items as necessary.

Software – includes the purchasing of licenses for specific online programs.

STRATEGIC PLAN 20

Maintenance – includes the cost of maintenance of all technological tools, hardware, and
software.

Staff
Salaries – Since the team members are all salaried employees for Spring ISD, there will not be
any salary related costs.

Trainings – This will cover the costs of substitute teachers since the six fifth-grade teachers will
miss four full days of instruction due to training.

Supplies – includes staff related costs such as printing documents, binders, or other necessary
supplies for plan implementation.

Facilities – these are considered in-kind donations from Spring ISD.

Reynolds Elem. Costs – includes the costs of electricity, air conditioning, and lights.

Maintenance – includes the cost of general building upkeep in relation to the fifth-grade hallway.

Timeline
The timeline of this project is uncertain depending on the final outcome of the project
implementation. All of these specific events will be completed by the strategic planning team,
with occasional input from the stakeholders. All events labeled with “focus group” or
“stakeholder meetings” will involve the stakeholders in addition to the strategic planning team.
All other events will solely be the strategic planning committee. The timeline below shows the
initial first year timeline with the potential second year timeline included, if renewed by the
school district. The purchasing of online programs is not listed in the timeline due to the fact that
the teachers will be finding new programs to use throughout the year and testing their fidelity.
Therefore, the only events listed in relation to the goals are the quarterly parent meetings to
support their technology fluency and the teacher training/data dig meetings.

Event Date
Initial data gathering – August 2018
focus groups
Data Collections Every two weeks on Fridays
STRATEGIC PLAN 21

Initial Balance Scorecard Meeting August 1, 2018

First questionnaire/focus group August 17, 2018

Balanced Scorecard Meeting September 4, 2018

Questionnaires/Focus Groups September 28, 2018

Balanced Scorecard Meeting October 1, 2018

First SWOT Analysis/SMART goal October 5, 2018

Data dig/Teacher training
Finalize Tech Vision and Mission October 8, 2018

Parent Technology Training October 9, 2018

Collect data for Needs Assessment October 10-30, 2018

Finalize Tech Evaluation findings October 21, 2018

Stakeholder Meeting October 25, 2018

Balanced Scorecard Meeting November 1, 2018

Questionnaires/Focus Groups November 9, 2018

Finalize Action Plan November 25, 2018

Balanced Scorecard Meeting December 3, 2018

Second SWOT Analysis/SMART goal December 14, 2018

Data dig/Teacher training
Parent Technology Training December 17, 2018

Balanced Scorecard Meeting January 8, 2019

(New Year’s Holidays)
Questionnaires/Focus Groups January 18, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting February 1, 2019

STRATEGIC PLAN 22

Stakeholder Meeting February 13, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting March 1, 2019

Third SWOT Analysis/SMART goal March 1, 2019

Data dig/Teacher training
Questionnaires/Focus Groups March 1, 2019

Parent Technology Meeting March 4, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting April 1, 2019

Last six weeks questionnaires due/focus groups April 12, 2019

for students.
Stakeholder Meeting April 24, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting May 1, 2019

Last SWOT Analysis/SMART goal May 10, 2019

Data dig/Teacher training
Parent Technology Training May 14, 2019

Questionnaires due back May 24, 2019

to strategic plan team
Final EOY focus group for students May 31, 2019

Initial data gathering August 2019

– focus groups
Data Collections Every two weeks on Fridays

Initial Balance Scorecard Meeting August 1, 2019

Teacher Inservice Training August 13, 2019

First questionnaire/focus group August 16, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting September 3, 2019

STRATEGIC PLAN 23

Questionnaires/Focus Groups September 27, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting October 1, 2019

First SWOT Analysis/SMART goal October 4, 2019

Data dig/Teacher training
Finalize Tech Vision and Mission October 7, 2019

Parent Technology Meeting October 9, 2019

Collect data for Needs Assessment October 10-30, 2019

Finalize Tech Evaluation findings October 21, 2019

Stakeholder Meeting October 25, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting November 1, 2019

Questionnaires/Focus Groups November 8, 2019

Finalize Action Plan November 25, 2019

Balanced Scorecard Meeting December 2, 2019

Second SWOT Analysis/SMART goal December 13, 2019

Data dig/Teacher training
Balanced Scorecard Meeting January 7, 2020
(New Year’s Holidays)
Questionnaires/Focus Groups January 20, 2020

Parent Technology Training January 22, 2020

Balanced Scorecard Meeting February 3, 2020

Stakeholder Meeting February 13, 2020

Balanced Scorecard Meeting March 2, 2020

Third SWOT Analysis/SMART goal March 2, 2020

Data dig/Teacher training
STRATEGIC PLAN 24

Questionnaires/Focus Groups March 2, 2020

Parent Technology Meeting March 3, 2020

Balanced Scorecard Meeting April 1, 2020

Last six weeks questionnaires due/focus groups April 10, 2020

for students.
Stakeholder Meeting April 24, 2020

Balanced Scorecard Meeting May 1, 2020

Last SWOT Analysis/SMART goal May 8, 2020

Data dig/Teacher training
Parent Technology Meeting May 12, 2020

Questionnaires due back May 25, 2020

to strategic plan team
Final EOY focus group for students May 29, 2020

Evaluation Plan
The Reynolds Elementary Strategic Planning team will be evaluating the plan on a
regular basis to ensure continued success and alignment to the vision statement created. In order
to determine the effectiveness of the plan, the team will be evaluating the student and teacher
data collected in addition to the participants and stakeholders’ thoughts and feedback. This
evaluation plan will determine the effectiveness of the fifth-grade team’s strategic plan from
multiple angles in order to guarantee a successful implementation.

Evaluation Methods
In order to determine how the plan is progressing, the strategic plan team will implement
four evaluation methods. These methods will be used to determine the overall effectiveness of
the plan. Two of the methods will examine the data and evaluate the plans success while the
other two methods will determine how participants feel the plan is progressing. These four
methods directly tie to the action plan because the plan focuses on collecting student and teacher
STRATEGIC PLAN 25

data regularly while including the stakeholders and participants at all phases. In order to fulfill
the action plan, the multiple methods will ensure that the data collected is accurate and effective.
The four evaluation methods include:

 Data Collection: In order to ensure that students are mastering grade level content,
student data will be collected from the online programs bimonthly. The learning
standards, student data, and learning progressions will be analyzed by both the
strategic planning team and the campus administration. This collection of data
will be separate from the collection that teachers generally make during small-
group instruction or remediation. This data collected will be compared to content
covered in the online programs. Additionally, pre and post assessments will be
assigned before each content to determine the impact of technology on each
content area. This will also be analyzed by the team and campus administration.
 Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Key Performance Indicators, or KPI’s, will
allow for us to measure how the plan is meeting the objectives. For this project,
teachers and campus administrators will be asked to write SMART goals.
SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and limited to a time-
frame. Each component of the project will have a SMART goal aligned with it.
These goals will help us to measure the project’s completion in relation to
outcomes and will allow the team to constantly reevaluate the progress and
relevance to the project. The SMART goals will be measured once a grading
period.
 Questionnaire and Feedback Form: A questionnaire and feedback form will be
emailed or mailed out once every six weeks to gain feedback about the project.
Additionally, there will be a few questions to ask stakeholders how they feel
about the project. There will be a maximum of ten questions per survey and a
blank area where stakeholders can write in any additional feedback. These will be
collected, analyzed, and discussed by the strategic planning team.
 Focus Group: The focus group will be used to evaluate the participants successes
in the project and gather their feedback. The focus groups will be reserved for the
students since it will be a little more of a friendly setting. These focus groups will
consist of eight students, four bilingual students and four general education
STRATEGIC PLAN 26

students. The focus groups will take place every six weeks like the questionnaires
and feedback forms for the adults.

Evaluation Questions
The first two methods will not require any type of questioning or explanations. These
methods, data collection and key performance indicators, will be evaluated based on student and
teacher data and the goals created by the strategic planning team. Therefore, the focus groups
and questionnaire methods will require questions to be created. The questionnaire will be created
and monitored using Google Forms including questions like:

 What do you see as the main strengths of the plan?

 What do you believe are the plan’s greatest weaknesses or areas of improvement?
 Have you determined any critical issues that the plan is not addressing
effectively?
 How do you think the plan is doing in relation its effectiveness?
 Have you noticed any positive changes? If so, what?
 How has instruction changed since the implementation of this strategic plan?
 What components of the plan do you think need to be revised?
 Is there anything else you’d like to say about our plan?
The Google Form for this questionnaire can be accessed here.

The focus group will only be available to students. The questions asked in this meeting
will be simple enough for them to understand but will still provide the team with information
regarding the plan’s success. Questions include:

 What do you like about the strategic plan?

 What do you not like about the strategic plan?
 How has the plan helped you with learning?
 Has the technology made learning easier for you? Why or why not?
 How has the technology helped the teacher?
 What do you want the technology to do to help you learn?
 What do you think the plan needs to improve on?
STRATEGIC PLAN 27

 Is there anything that you would like to add about the strategic plan?
 Is there something we can do to help you with technology in the classroom?
These questions are easy enough for the students to understand but also purposeful. These
allow for the students to participate and add their feedback to the data collected.

Timeline
The timeline of this project is uncertain depending on the final outcome of the project
implementation. All of these specific events will be completed by the strategic planning team,
with occasional input from the stakeholders. Sarah Mallette, the strategic planning manager, will
oversee and attend all strategic planning events and meetings. All events labeled with “focus
group” or “stakeholder meetings” will involve the stakeholders in addition to the strategic
planning team. All other events will solely be the strategic planning committee. The timeline
below shows the initial first year timeline with the potential second year timeline included, if
renewed by the school district. The purchasing of online programs is not listed in the timeline
due to the fact that the teachers will be finding new programs to use throughout the year and
testing their fidelity. Therefore, the only events listed in relation to the goals are the quarterly
parent meetings to support their technology fluency and the teacher training/data dig meetings.

Event Date Person Responsible

Initial data gathering – focus August 2018 Strategic Planning Team
groups Stakeholders
Data Collections Every two weeks on Fridays Strategic Planning Team

First questionnaire/focus group August 17, 2018 Strategic Planning Team

Stakeholders
Questionnaires/Focus Groups September 28, 2018 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
SMART goal meeting October 5, 2018 Sarah Mallette
Data dig/Teacher training Principal Dr. Perez
Finalize Tech Vision and Mission October 8, 2018 Strategic Planning Team

Parent Technology Training October 9, 2018 Strategic Planning Team

STRATEGIC PLAN 28

Collect data for Needs Assessment October 10-30, 2018 Sarah Mallette

Finalize Tech Evaluation findings October 21, 2018 Sarah Mallette

Stakeholder Meeting October 25, 2018 Strategic Planning Team

Stakeholders
Questionnaires/Focus Groups November 9, 2018 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
Finalize Action Plan November 25, 2018 Strategic Planning Team

SMART goal meeting December 14, 2018 Principal Dr. Perez

Data dig/Teacher training Sarah Mallette
Parent Technology Training December 17, 2018 Strategic Planning Team

Questionnaires/Focus Groups January 18, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

Stakeholders
Stakeholder Meeting February 13, 2019 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
SMART goal meeting March 1, 2019 Principal Dr. Perez
Data dig/Teacher training Sarah Mallette
Questionnaires/Focus Groups March 1, 2019 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
Parent Technology Meeting March 4, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

Last six weeks questionnaires April 12, 2019 Strategic Planning Team
due/focus groups for students. Stakeholders
Stakeholder Meeting April 24, 2019 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
SMART goal meeting May 10, 2019 Principal Dr. Perez
Data dig/Teacher training Sarah Mallette
Parent Technology Training May 14, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

Questionnaires due back to May 24, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

strategic plan team Stakeholders
STRATEGIC PLAN 29

Final EOY focus group for May 31, 2019 Strategic Planning Team
students Stakeholders
Initial data gathering – focus August 2019 Strategic Planning Team
groups Stakeholders
Data Collections Every two weeks on Fridays Strategic Planning Team

Teacher Inservice Training August 13, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

First questionnaire/focus group August 16, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

Stakeholders
Questionnaires/Focus Groups September 27, 2019 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
SMART goal meeting October 4, 2019 Principal Dr. Perez
Data dig/Teacher training Sarah Mallette
Finalize Tech Vision and Mission October 7, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

Parent Technology Meeting October 9, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

Collect data for Needs Assessment October 10-30, 2019 Sarah Mallette

Finalize Tech Evaluation findings October 21, 2019 Sarah Mallette

Stakeholder Meeting October 25, 2019 Sarah Mallette

Stakeholders
Strategic Planning Team
Questionnaires/Focus Groups November 8, 2019 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
Finalize Action Plan November 25, 2019 Strategic Planning Team

SMART goal meeting December 13, 2019 Principal Dr. Perez

Data dig/Teacher training Sarah Mallette
Questionnaires/Focus Groups January 20, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
Parent Technology Training January 22, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
STRATEGIC PLAN 30

Stakeholder Meeting February 13, 2020 Strategic Planning Team

Stakeholders
SMART goal meeting March 2, 2020 Principal Dr. Perez
Data dig/Teacher training Sarah Mallette
Questionnaires/Focus Groups March 2, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
Parent Technology Meeting March 3, 2020 Strategic Planning Team

Last six weeks questionnaires April 10, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
due/focus groups for students. Stakeholders
Stakeholder Meeting April 24, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
SMART goal meeting May 8, 2020 Principal Dr. Perez
Data dig/Teacher training Sarah Mallette
Parent Technology Meeting May 12, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
Stakeholders
Questionnaires due back to May 25, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
strategic plan team Stakeholders
Final EOY focus group for May 29, 2020 Strategic Planning Team
students Stakeholders