RUNNING HEAD: TECHNOLOGY PLAN: KIMBERLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary School

Whitney R. Langley
University of West Georgia
Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

Abstract
The technological gaps that existed at Kimberly Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia

were determined after data was designed, collected, and analyzed in a previous needs assessment

assignment. Because of a wealth of financial resources, Kimberly staff and students have

abundant access to technology including devices and internet capability, however, it was

determined that Kimberly still needs differentiated professional development for teachers to

properly incorporate technology into practice, and student access to technology outside of the

school setting. The purpose of this paper is to develop a realistic technology plan that will lead to

beneficial results for Kimberly Elementary School.

Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

General Information: Kimberly Elementary School

Lucas Oliver Kimberly Elementary School is a Title 1 public school located in southwest

Atlanta, Georgia. Kimberly Elementary is rated as the second highest school in the Atlanta

Public Schools System for transient students as children move in and out of the community

regularly. Serving grades pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, Kimberly currently houses 342

students. 100% of students qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch. 99% of the students

are African American and 1% are Hispanic.

Kimberly operates under the direction of the principal, Joseph Salley, and two assistant

principals. The school has 26 homeroom teachers, 10 instructional paraprofessionals, 3 EIP

teachers, and 4 specials teachers. There is also a high turnover rate of teachers as the average

years of teaching at Kimberly is 1.5 years. Due to these conditions, Kimberly was designated as

a turnaround school gaining this status because of its consistently poor performance on

standardized tests.

The mission statement for Kimberly Elementary School reads as follows: “Provide all

students with a quality education through innovative, intellectual choices and enriched learning

experiences that foster high academic success, creativity, and college and career readiness

exploration (About Us, n.d.).”

Stakeholders

The stakeholders are critical to the success of the school and important to ensuring that

the implementation of the school’s technology plan will be successful. Along with myself, the

media specialist will be imperative to the success of implementation because she stays abreast of

current trends in instructional technology and sets the schedule to redeliver training tools to
Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

students. This is her second year at Kimberly Elementary School, but she has plans to return next

year.

Another group of stakeholders will include the GO team, a group comprised of school,

community, and administration members who make budgeting decisions for the school. There

are currently ten members of the GO team who would also be responsible for the budgeting and

implementation of this technology plan because their term ends at the close of the 2020-2021

school year. They will do a good job overseeing this plan because the roles these members

applied to be in their positions and love Kimberly Elementary School. The community members

who are a part of the GO team will inform the community at large about the goals being

proposed in this technology plan and detail how it will benefit the students and parents. The only

teachers that will be considered as key stakeholders for the implementation of the technology

plan will be those representatives on the GO team because of the teacher turnover rate.

Current Status of School Technology

Because L.O. Kimberly is a Title 1 turnaround school, there is an abundance of support

available to students. Each classroom is equipped with 4 desktop computers, a printer, an

interactive Smartboard, and an Elmo document camera for teachers to use. In pre-k and

kindergarten, there are 2 IPad carts for the classes to share equally amongst four classrooms.

Grades 3-5 have a 1:1 ratio of laptops because each teacher has their Chromebook cart in the

classrooms. Each student in Atlanta Public Schools has a MyBackPack account where they can

access instructional materials, e-books from the library, and a plethora of internet software to aid

their learning. Wi-Fi and internet access is available to all students while they are in school.

Several networks exist so that staff and students are always able to access the internet.
Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

This year, Kimberly has a new media specialists who introduced students to Google

Classroom to use in their specials classes (Spanish, PE, art, and music). The media center has 9

desktop computer for students to take Accelerated Reader tests online and an interactive

smartboard. It is also equipped with a green screen for students to broadcast the news and

announcements for Kimberly Elementary. There is an IT support person present at the school 2

days a week to replace toner and broken equipment. The school has purchased all teachers

subscriptions to ixl.com and brainpop.com to support students in science and social studies.

Technology Vision

Though Kimberly Elementary School does not have a technology vision, they have

expectations that align with Superintendent Meria Carstarphen’s 2015 three year technology plan

for the district. The plan outlines seven goals including:

1. Technology Infused Instruction Facilitating Engaged Learning

2. Flexible Academic Options
3. Consistent and Reliable Service and Support
4. Data Integrity with Asset Management
5. Technological Efficiencies Among Administration and Staff
6. Integration through Professional Development
7. Increase Collaboration with Parents and Community (Carstarphen, M., 2015).

Needs Discovered

After the disaggregation of stakeholder interviews and surveys, two priority needs were

discovered at Kimberly Elementary School, the teachers needed to develop technological

efficiencies, and students needed access to the internet and technologies outside of the school

setting. Because of a high teacher turnover rate and the lack of comradery amongst staff,

technology is not always integrated into lessons daily. This serves as a disadvantage to the

students because of the little exposure to instructional technology.

Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

The second need that this technology plan focuses on the community access to

technology. The students who do receive effective technology infused lessons do not have access

to computers outside of the school setting. This too serves as a disadvantage to students as there

is little coherence between the quality of learning at school and the homework that is given to

reinforce the skills.

Proposed Technology Goals

Based on the priority needs, the proposed technology goals will benefit students, staff,

and the school at large. The proposed timeline for the acquisition and implementation of these

goals is two years (2019-2021 school years).

Goals for Student Access to Technology

1. By May, 2021, students will acquire basic technology skills including, but not limited to,

keyboarding, demonstrating the ability to complete research projects, creating

presentations using teacher selected interfaces, and the ability to navigate web pages.

This goal will be achieved as a result of the differentiated professional development courses

that Kimberly teachers will participate in. Stakeholders will ensure the effectiveness of the plan

by monitoring the computer usage of students per teacher. This goal can also be monitored by

having students display their digital projects in the hallways instead of on the teachers’ monthly

bulletin boards.

2. By May 2021, each household will have access to a computer and basic internet

connections with speeds of 10 Mbps or higher.

Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

This is a high difficulty goal because of the socioeconomic status of the community. The

students have no control over the transient nature of their families so this goal is more catered to

students that have been students at Kimberly for at least one full school year. This goal will be

achieved with the help of the student’s family.

Goals for Teacher Access to Technology

1. By September 2019, each teacher implement at least three skills acquired in target

professional learning programs that supported all levels of technology integration.

According to the needs assessment, teachers at Kimberly had varying levels of

technology integration because they had different levels of skill. These targeted PL sessions will

increase the rigor of instruction for all teachers as they receive support through modeling and

questioning. The school year begins in August so this timeline assumes that one PL will occur

per month that focuses on technology, and that teachers will begin using that knowledge in the

classroom setting by September.

2. By December 2019, teachers will ensure that the parents of each student in his/her

classroom are knowledgeable about affordable internet service options that are available

in the area.

To transform the learning relationships between school and home, communication about

technological innovations is necessary. There is very little parent involvement at Kimberly which

serves as a disadvantage to students because parents rarely know what is going on. It is the role

of the teacher to make sure that these lines of communication stay open to benefit students and

the Kimberly culture.

Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

Goals for School Access to Technology

1. By July 2019, the administrative team will reserve one technology professional learning

session per month for differentiated development of the Kimberly Teachers.

In the needs assessment, teachers shared their beliefs on why technology was not always

included in their learning blocks. Along with the discomfort of use, teachers shared that they did

not have time to attend professional development sessions offered by the district. Before the start

of the academic year, the principal and assistant principal will send out a calendar to staff

members of the days that will be set aside for technology development. The initial PLs will be

led by coaches and the media specialists, while the following sessions will be differentiated and

teacher-led.

2. By December 2019, the GO team will apply for to become a partner school with

PowerMyLearning Inc., a nonprofit organization that triangulates learning relationships

between students, teachers, and families.

Because of the high transition rate of the teachers and the community, Kimberly lacks

stability and continually struggles to evolve. Partnering with an outside agent will promote

consistency because the agency will continue to work even if staff members change. This

organization provides technology to students, development for staff, and trainings for parents as

well which will help Kimberly students become lifelong learners.

Proposed Plan Duration

The proposed plan will last two academic years ending in May 2021, though the planning

will begin as early as July 2019. There is no equipment to purchase because Kimberly

Elementary School has a wealth of technologies available at the school already. Atlanta Public

Schools is now a charter district which allows principals to allocate their budgets in house under
Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

the leadership of the bookkeeper. In order to achieve goals, funds will be required to partner with

PowerMyLearning Inc. A price quote for the school is unavailable without submitting a quote

from the administrative team detailing the expected number of teachers and students who will

receive services in the upcoming school year. A small group price is available for $975 annually

which includes licensing for up to five teachers.

Currently, Tuesdays and Wednesdays of each week are reserved for faculty meetings and

collegial planning. Therefore, no additional salary is needed to pay teachers to attend the

differentiated professional learning sessions. Teachers who volunteer to lead a session will be

given a free meal to one of the restaurants that Kimberly partners with as an added incentive to

share.

The GO team votes on the next academic year’s budget in March and again in June. In

March, they consider the positions that are needed full time or can be lessened to part time

positions to increase the allocation of funds. Once decided, they looks at the technology

interfaces and possible programs that the school will have to pay for in June. Partnering to

triangulate the learning with PowerMyLearning Inc. will be added to this ballot for approval.

Internet Safety

As schools become more reliant on technology, there is an increased focus on internet

safety and security. The Accountability and Information Technology Department for Atlanta

Public Schools is “constantly monitoring risk, evaluating solutions and working to improve the

security posture of the district (Accountability Department, n.d.).” They send frequent emails,

monitor risks, and teach students about being safe with their information of the internet. This is

shown through the annual Atlanta Public Schools Cyber Security poster contest where students

display rules about cyber bullying and keeping personal information private.
Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

Once this technology plan is in place, students will be taught a unit on digital citizenship

during the first week of school. These lessons are provided free through Nearpod.com and

address topics such as digital citizenship, media literacy, and tech applications. Nearpod is a self-

paced interface that will send a report of completion to the media specialist.

Proposed Process to Monitor and Evaluate

Specific Solutions Strategy to Monitor Justification of Strategy

Increase access to technology
outside of the school setting
The media specialist will
monitor the number of
teachers who give homework
assignments on Google
Classroom.
Though 100% of students may not
have technology because of the
transient nature and economic
status of the community, teachers
should still assign work to
students who have access as to not
limit their growth.

Develop technological
efficiencies amongst staff
through monthly training
Survey teachers at the end of
professional learning sessions
to gauge teacher perception
of usefulness.
Teachers are more attentive and
implement skills that they deem as
relevant and useful in classrooms.
Gathering feedback from teachers
will increase the relevance of
professional learning sessions.
Technology Plan: Kimberly Elementary

References
Carstarphen, M., (2015). Three Year Technology Plan. Accessed from
https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/cms/lib/GA01000924/Centricity/Domain/15/APS%2
0Technology%20Plan%202015-2018_Final1.pdf on March 18, 2019.
Accountability Department, (n.d.). Cyber Security, Accessed from
https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/Page/48841 on March 18, 2019.
Kimberly Elementary School: About Us. (n.d.). retrieved from
https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/page/3009 on March 20, 2019.
Power My Learning Inc. (n.d.). Accessed from https://powermylearning.org/ on March 23, 2019.