Action Plan

Roland Ingram
EDLD 5352





Action Plan:

As I mentioned last week, perhaps the biggest problem our district faces right now in terms of an implementation plan, is the fact that the one we currently have is an old plan. It has not been revamped in almost two years. After discovering this, I asked my principal why this was. His response can be summarized here by simply saying – money. The district was no longer receiving money from the government for staying current with its technology plan and its implementation, so they no longer were actively engaged “on paper” in doing so. That is not to say they are not moving forward, they are. It’s just that they are doing so “off the books” so to speak. This brings up the glaring questions of assessment, reliability, and appropriate change though. So, for the district’s part, I think the action plan is a simple one – create one! Reassess the needs of your stakeholders, the policies and procedures that are in place, and make the necessary changes. Now, moving on to the “old” plan - some of the perceived needs that I think are still appropriate that were mentioned are: 1.additional instructional technology; 2.course specific software; 3.additional support for automating administrative functions; and 4.continued professional development. The following are plans to address and assess the aforementioned needs at the campus level.

Need #1 – Additional Instructional Technology
Step 1 – A committee needs to be created in order to focus on this need. Committee members should include grade level leaders, principals, and the campus technician.
Step 2 – An assessment of the campus’s existing instructional technology should be made. What do we have? Is it being used effectively? What do we have that is not being used? What do we need?
Step 3 – The campus’s budget should be analyzed to determine how much money is available to provide new technology if it is deemed necessary.
Step 4 – It should be determined what professional development, if any, will be necessary once the new instructional technology is acquired.
Step 5 – It should be determined by the committee who will be in charge of training teachers in the use of the new technology.
Step 6 – A method for determining the effectiveness of the new technology should be developed along with goals in terms of ways to measure that effectiveness.
Step 7 – All information gathered in steps 1-6 should be presented to the SBDM for consideration.
Step 8 – Based on the SBDM’s suggestion, and the campuses input, the principal whould make a determination about the most appropriate way to procede.

Need #2 – Course Specific Software
Step 1 – A committee needs to be created in order to focus on this need. Committee members should include grade level leaders, principals, and the campus technician.
Step 2 – An assessment of the campus’s existing course specific software should be made. What do we have? Is it being used effectively? What do we have that is not being used? What do we need?
Step 3 – The campus’s budget should be analyzed to determine how much money is available to provide course specific software if it is deemed necessary.
Step 4 – It should be determined what professional development, if any, will be necessary once the new course specific software is acquired.
Step 5 – It should be determined by the committee who will be in charge of training teachers in the use of the new software.
Step 6 – A method for determining the effectiveness of the new software should be developed along with goals in terms of ways to measure that effectiveness.
Step 7 – All information gathered in steps 1-6 should be presented to the SBDM for consideration.
Step 8 – Based on the SBDM’s suggestion, and the campuses input, the principal should make a determination about the most appropriate way to proceed.

Need #3 – Additional Support for Automating Administrative Functions
Step 1 – The principal and assistant principal should meet with central office to determine what programs are currently being provided to administrative staff.
Step 2 – If it is determined that there is currently automated administrative functions accessible to administrators that are not being used, then a determination should be made as to why they are not being used. Then, based upon the answer to that question, appropriate measures should be taken to rectify that issue.
Step 3 – It should be discussed among the administrators in the district what administrative functions would best be served by an automated method. A list of these functions should then be submitted to the director of professional development.

Need #4 – Continued Professional Development
Step 1 – The principal should do a careful study of what professional developments were attended by his staff over the course of the last couple of years and further determine whether or not his/her campus benefitted from it.
Step2 – The principal should conduct a survey of his teachers in order to determine the perceived professional development needs of his staff.
Step 3 – The principal should then see if there are any professional development sessions currently available in the district that would meet those needs. If yes, then he/she should provide ample time for his teachers and staff to attend those sessions. If no, then he/she should speak to the director of staff development in order to provide those sessions.
Step 4 – Once the sessions have been completed, the principal should conduct a second survey to determine whether or not the teachers gained the knowledge that they needed and then track the teachers’ implementation of that knowledge over the course of the year.