Box Elder School District Digital Teaching and Learning ......technology to personalize learning in...
Transcript of Box Elder School District Digital Teaching and Learning ......technology to personalize learning in...
Box Elder School District Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Program
Qualifying Grant Application FY 2017
Copies of this application and rubric and support materials are on the Utah State Board of Education website at: http://schools.utah.gov/EdTech/
Contact: Sarah Young Rick Gaisford Coordinator Digital Teaching and Learning Education Technology Specialist Utah State Board of Education Utah State Board of Education 250 East 500 South
PO Box 144200 250 East 500 South PO Box 144200
Salt Lake City, UT 84114 - 4200 Salt Lake City, UT 84114 - 4200 Phone: (801) 538-7959 Phone: (801) 538-7798 [email protected] [email protected]
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LEA Overview:
I. LEA’s Results on the Readiness Assessment Required in Section 53A-1-1404
Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must include a self-assessment summary report from an Advisory Board Approved Digital Teaching and Learning Readiness Assessment Tool.
● The submitted self-assessment tool needs to demonstrate that all required elements and data points requested by the tool were provided.
Box Elder School District utilized the Future Ready Schools online resources, including the Leadership and
accompanying eight Gear Assessments to help develop our comprehensive plan for increasing student
achievement through transforming instructional pedagogy and practice while simultaneously leveraging
technology to personalize learning in our classrooms. We began the process with our superintendent taking the
Future Ready Pledge. This was the first of many steps taken in an ongoing process of determining how Box
Elder School District should leverage technology to improve student achievement and prepare our students to
fully participate in a technology capable workforce. In addition we desire to provide our students more
opportunities for self-directed, personalized learning experiences where our teachers facilitate active student
learning rather than simply transferring information.
The Box Elder Future Ready Leadership Team consists of fourteen members, including the superintendent, a
school board member, a business leader, the curriculum, CTE, professional development and technology
directors, as well as teachers and administrators (see Future Ready Team Info.docx).This team was established
and began meeting during the summer of 2016 with a specific purpose of providing ongoing leadership to our
district in the area of digital transformation. The team has met five times to date, and is becoming a fundamental
part of our district leadership team. Our Future Ready Leadership Team collaboratively completed the
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leadership survey and we had 77 stakeholders provide additional feedback on the 8 gear surveys (see Future
Ready Leadership Survey.pdf & individual Gear Survey Reports). While the response rate is lower than we
would like, we believe it was high enough to offer baseline formative data that can be used to measure progress
against the Future Ready survey indicators as we move forward with our efforts. It is our intention to complete
the Future Ready Assessment on an annual basis to inform the development and implementation of our district
digital learning plan. In many ways, the results of our Future Ready surveys support initiatives we have been
working to implement for a number of years. Specifically, the survey indicates Box Elder School District has
been planning to make gains in the areas of assessment data (summative and formative), providing more
blended learning opportunities, and identified a need to increase the level of technology support. The survey
also indicates that we have increased network infrastructure and data security policies by maximizing our
available budgets in addition to adding resources through grants whenever possible (i.e. E-Rate, eMints, &
various grants through the STEM Action Center). The entire Box Elder Digital Learning Readiness Report and
Gear Survey results are included as links with this grant application.
II. Inventory of the LEA's Current Technology Resources, Including Software, and a Description of How an LEA Will Integrate Those Resources into the LEA's Implementation of the Three Year Proposed Program
Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must include a school summary report from the Utah School Technology Inventory Tool.
Part A. Inventory of LEA’s Current Technology Resources, Including Software
Box Elder School District Technology Resources --
Utah School Technology Inventory Results for Box Elder District (Appendix A)
Network Infrastructure
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● 10GB Capable Network. 82% of wired network less than 1 year old. Upgrade facilitated by E-Rate
Funding.
● .8 Wireless Access Points per classroom. 91% of existing wireless infrastructure is more than 3 years
old. The district utilizes an infrastructure fee on on wireless device purchases to provide ongoing
Wireless Access Point acquisition.
● An Identity Services Engine is being installed to support a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative
for Fall of 2016.
● We are installing a VoIP system capable of running a phone support help desk. This is being done using
district financial resources.
Device Access
● Teachers have access to Windows OS based desktops connected to Smart Board/Projection Technology
and document cameras
● Students have access to learning devices at a ratio of .47 of a device per student, or roughly 2 students
per device. Access is provided in shared hard wired Windows OS desktop labs and mobile chromebook
carts. A classroom set can presently be moved to most every classroom and provide access for the
students in that classroom.
● Harris Intermediate school will begin a 1:1 deployment for 7th graders in January 2017. The 1:1
deployment for 7th graders at Harris also provides a 1:1 student to device ratio in the school for 6th
graders, although students will not be given an assigned device.
● A district wide BYOD initiative will begin in November 2016. This will reduce the student to device
ratio.
Software
Delivery of Curriculum
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● Aleks - Adaptive Math & ConnectEd Language Arts (McGraw-Hill Online Curriculum)
● Digits (Pearson Online Curriculum)
● IXL (Online Adaptive Learning)
● Classworks - Targeted online learning activities and assessments for Core Content
● Imagine Learning
● Scholastic Math Inventory
● Activinspire/Smart Notebook (Smart Board Interactive Lessons)
● Microsoft PowerPoint/Google Slides (Presentations)
● Utah Compose (Writing Practice and Formative Assessment)
● YouTube (Instructional Videos)
● Read Naturally Live
● Mobe Max
● Google Education Apps
Support of Instruction
● Aspire
● Pinnacle Gradebook
● Microsoft Office Suite
● Edivate
● Google Apps
Management of the Learning Environment
● Canvas
● Google Classroom
● UETN
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Part B. Description of How the LEA Will Integrate Existing Resources into the Proposed Three Year Digital Teaching and Learning Program
Network Infrastructure
● With recent infrastructure upgrades the additional access points necessary to reach the objectives of the
grant, can be added to the network without further wired network upgrades.
● Deployment of the VoIP Phone System will allow the district to leverage current support staff to support
more devices on the network in a more timely and efficient manner.
● The district plans to apply for remaining E-Rate funding to assist with replacement of the majority of
access points that will begin reaching end of life dates within the next two years.
Access to Devices
● Through both the 1:1 initiative at Harris Intermediate School provided by eMints Grant funding, and the
BYOD program, students will continue to see an increase in opportunities to access devices in the
classroom without additional investment by the district.
● Other secondary schools have invested heavily in district owned devices. Participating schools have
sufficient mobile chromebook carts to provide access to students who cannot provide their own devices.
Software
● District 8th & 9th Math and ELA curriculum is 100% digital.
● Other than the data management software and LMS software included as priorities of this grant
application, teachers have access to the other necessary support software to accomplish the objectives of
the grant.
See Appendix A for detailed Utah School Technology Inventory information
We found the School Technology information to be helpful in strategic planning and we will definitely
participate in future inventory efforts with UETN as requested.
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LEA Capacity and Goals
III. Statement of Purpose that Describes the Learning Objectives, Goals, Measurable Outcomes, and Metrics of Success an LEA Will Accomplish by Implementing the Program
Select One of the Following Outcomes:
Required Plan Elements:
● An LEA level outcome (long-term, intermediate, and direct outcomes) that are measurable, quantitative, and directly related to student learning outcomes.
● Plan must identify specific and actionable root causes of performance challenge(s) with clear solutions for the long term outcomes. Plan must describe the rationale (including supporting data) for identifying each root cause.
● Plan must provide evidence that the vision, goals, and strategies for digital teaching and learning are integrated as core components of the LEA’s strategic plans and other high-level guiding frameworks.
Box Elder School District has the mission statement of “Learning is Everything!” This mission guides all that
we do, especially our goal setting process and allocation of resources. One of our vision statements is “All
students acquire the knowledge and skills to successfully pursue additional training, education, and
employment” (see District Vision_Mission_Committments.pdf). In this effort we aim to focus the funding from
the Digital Teaching & Learning grant to support the initiatives we have started as a result of years of
examining our student achievement data through systematic needs assessments, including a community wide
“What Counts” process that was conducted by our School Board on April 25, 2012. The results of our Future
Ready Survey reports support the data we obtained through prior systematic needs assessments.
While we have been able to obtain and allocate significant resources to expanding our infrastructure (see robust
infrastructure section) including 10 gig connections and 100% wireless access in all of our secondary schools
we will need to add additional wireless access points to support full 1:1 use in our classroom settings. In
addition, even with the inclusion of a part time Ed Tech employee in March of 2014, and the BESD Board of
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Education adding additional staffing to the technology office in the FY17 Maintenance and Operation Budget,
we continue to be unable to provide adequate technical support to our educators and learners to fully implement
our vision of a technical transformation in the learning environment. Additionally, providing our staff with
differentiated professional learning experiences that strengthen their abilities to incorporate digital tools into a
quality learning environment are of high priority as determined by our systematic needs assessments and Future
Ready data. Finally, we see that our educators and leaders are in need of software that can support the
development, delivery, and analysis of CFA’s (common formative assessments) or benchmark assessments as
developed by our professional learning communities or district curriculum specialists as well as a platform for
delivering their curriculum content in a digital setting to allow for a more personalized learning experience that
is available anytime and facilitates timely and precise feedback.
Box Elder School District will use the Digital Teaching & Learning funding to improve SAGE scores for the
8th and 9th grade students in both English Language Arts and Science by at least 5% by the spring of 2019
reporting period. These grades and subjects have been selected as a result of a number of variables identified
in our needs assessments (see Board Priority Goals September 2016 document).
1. 8-9 grade Box Elder District 2016 ELA SAGE results are 3.2% below the state average. Eighth grade
ELA SAGE scores are 4.9% below the state average. In 2015 the Box Elder 8-9 grade ELA SAGE
results were 1.4% above the state average.
2. In 2015, the secondary ELA teachers adopted a fully digital curriculum with implementation in the
2015-2016 school year.
3. Box Elder School District was awarded an eMints grant providing 1:1 devices in the seventh grade at
Harris Intermediate School with implementation beginning with the 2016/2017 school year. This reflects
our commitment to the incorporation of digital resources to improving the learning and teaching in Box
Elder School District.
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4. Beginning with the 2016/2017 school year, Box Elder School District has initiated a comprehensive
professional learning experience with every 6-8 grade science teacher in preparation for the
implementation of the newly adopted SEEd standards. This professional learning experience is being
made possible by a STEM Action Center grant that is providing access to the Edivate platform and
swivel cameras.
5. Box Elder School District is scheduled to adopt new science curriculum during the 2017/2018 school
year. This aligns with the updated standards and professional learning plan identified in our strategic
plan and provides the opportunity to develop a digital curriculum platform to support a more
personalized learning experience for our students as well as anytime anywhere learning.
6. Both middle schools, through their community councils, have been acquiring large numbers of digital
devices for the last three years, enabling them to utilize digital curriculum resources and provide access
to their students of the Digits, fully online math curriculum which was adopted for grades 7-8 in August
of 2012, and the ConnectEd fully digital language arts curriculum which was adopted in 2015.
In order to achieve the stated objective of increasing grades 8-9 ELA and Science SAGE results by at least 5%
by the reporting year of 2019 we will do the following with the funding provided by the Digital Teaching &
Learning Grant.
1. Purchase additional access points to provide full wireless coverage in all 8-9 grade Language Arts and
Science classrooms so our students can fully utilize the additional digital resources being made available
to them. In addition we will use these funds to purchase an additional set of Chromebooks for each of
our middle schools.
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2. Hire additional educational technology personnel (FTE) to support increased student/teacher use of
technology in 8-9 grade Language Arts and Science classrooms and improved instructional strategies
and practices.
3. Acquire software that can support the online delivery of common formative and benchmark assessments
as well as provide a “data dashboard” that will support analysis of the assessment results to inform
instruction and support the work of our professional learning communities.
Required elements of our data dashboard/assessment software:
a. supports collaboration of data reports and assessments between teachers
b. allows teacher/team created test items
c. facilitates early warning system related to student academic deficiencies
d. allows for screener and diagnostic assessments
e. students/parents can access the system online
f. meets the accessibility guidelines of the Rehabilitation Act
g. provides instant feedback to the students
h. assessments can be delivered and scored digitally
i. supports immediate student feedback on formative assessments - to direct student learning
j. contains a test item bank that considers depth of knowledge
k. preference given to a system that has adaptive technology
4. Acquire learning management software that will support the development and delivery of curriculum in
a manner that supports a more personalized learning experience for our students in an anywhere anytime
environment. This software will aid with our incorporation of technology and transitioning our
instructional practices to support increased use of digital curriculum and devices.
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5. Develop and deliver differentiated professional learning experiences that strengthen our teacher’s
abilities to incorporate digital tools into a quality learning environment and leverage technology to
obtain higher levels of student engagement and achievement.
Long-term & Intermediate Outcomes
Improve ELA & SAGE scores by at least 5% by the 2019 reporting period.
Category 2016 2017 2018 2019
ELA 40.1%* 41.1% 42.1% 45.1%
Science 53.2%* 54.2% 55.2% 58.2%
* Baseline data
Direct Outcomes – Stages of Implementation
Activity Tool Completion Date Responsible Person
Measure the effects of implementation activities
Future Ready Leadership & Gear Surveys
August 31, 2017 August 31, 2018 August 31, 2019
Future Ready Leadership Team
Purchase & install necessary wireless access points (i.e. all 8-9 grade ELA & Science classrooms)
N/A Completed by June 1, 2017
Director of Technology
Purchase & deliver 1 set of Chromebooks for each selected school
N/A Completed by August 31, 2017
Principals Director of Technology
Hire additional Educational Technology support staff to support digital teaching and learning in grades 8-9 ELA and Math classrooms.
N/A August 31, 2017 Director of Technology Director of Curriculum School Principals
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Complete an RFP and purchase software that can accommodate a teacher data dashboard including the delivery of online CFA & benchmark assessments to support data informed instruction.
Currently unknown
January 31, 2017 Director of Curriculum Director of Technology Business Administrator
Complete the installation and integration of the data dashboard/assessment software.
N/A February 28, 2017 Director of Technology
Provide professional learning experiences for educators so they can develop competencies with the data dashboard/assessment software.
Edivate Face to Face Consultants UETN
April 1, 2017 – August 31 2017 Additional PL throughout the 17-18 school year.
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment
Using Canvas, educators will access differentiated professional learning courses to personalize their learning.
Canvas August , 2017-2019 Director of Professional Learning/Assessment Director of Curriculum
Purchase a learning management software for the delivery of teacher created/OER curriculum that can be accessed by students in a personalized learning and anytime anywhere environment.
Canvas January 31, 2017 Director of Curriculum Director of Secondary Curriculum Director of Technology Business Administrator
Complete the installation and integration of the data into Canvas.
N/A February 28, 2017 Director of Technology
Provide professional learning experiences for educators so they can develop competencies with Canvas.
Face to Face UENT Trainers
April 1, 2017 – August 31 2017 Additional PL throughout the 17-18 school year.
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment
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Monitor usage and implementation of purchased software by students and staff.
LearnPlatform August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Future Ready Leadership Team Principals Ed Tech Coach
Provide ongoing professional learning and monitor implementation of the data dashboard/assessment and learning management software.
Edivate Canvas Consultants
August 2017 – indefinitely
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment Principals Ed Tech Coach
Root Causes
While it is challenging to identify cause and effect relationships in the field of education, because of the large
number of variables, lack of control groups, and implementation issues with research/evidence based
instructional programs Box Elder School District has identified, through systematic review and analysis of
achievement data, areas of concern and/or barriers to achievement. We have also identified research/evidence
based practices that are highly correlated, if not causal, to high levels of student achievement. These include the
positive effects of highly skilled teachers, high levels of meaningful parental involvement, and the use of
formative data to inform instruction at the classroom level. Six years ago, the Box Elder Board of Education
formally adopted the practice of professional learning communities, allocating time (weekly) for every teacher
to meet as a member of a professional learning community because of the positive impact the PLC practices
have on student achievement. We have found that the teacher teams that are most effective with the practices of
professional learning communities also have the highest rates of student achievement. One of the challenges our
professional learning communities face is timely access to formative student achievement data that provides for
easy analysis that guides timely instructional decisions. One way to assist with this challenge is to leverage the
power of technology to develop, deliver, and analyze CFA and/or benchmark assessments in a digital
environment. By supporting this need, we can increase student achievement. Another component of the PLC is
the delivery of a guaranteed and viable curriculum. Without access to high quality and engaging curriculum
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teachers struggle to meet the needs of their students. In addition, students that have access to curriculum and
instruction in a personalized format are able to increase the rate and depth of learning by accessing personally
relevant learning opportunities. The Future Ready data reinforces the need for Box Elder School District to
implement a learning management system before we can move forward in our efforts to increase the value of
digital learning for our students and teachers.
IV. Implementation Process Structured to Yield an LEA’s School Level Outcomes Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must clearly identify specific activities (and related deliverables) it will undertake to meet the required strategies to meet the outcome measures aligned to the SAGE and/or measure achievement of the goals.
● Plan must include the integration of effective strategies (e.g. prioritized, sequenced, evidence-based, best-practice oriented, outcome-focused, ambitious and achievable).
● Plan must include a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy that will ensure that all stakeholders understand the plan and their roles in ensuring its success.
● Plan must include a comprehensive communications plan for ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders at multiple points along the implementation path.
Box Elder School District is excited for the opportunity to utilize the Digital Teaching and Learning funds to
increase student achievement through transforming instructional pedagogy and practice while simultaneously
leveraging technology to personalize learning and improve feedback in classrooms. We recognize that
technology does not replace effective instructional practices but can enhance those practices when appropriate
applications and devices are used with fidelity. Box Elder School District implemented a standards
(competency) based reporting system six years ago in grades K-7 and have been increasing competency based
practices in grades 8 & 9 over that same time. We have identified our essential learning standards for every
course, developed formative assessments in our core contents, and incorporated structured intervention periods
in all of our secondary schools. This is in addition to the incorporation of professional learning communities in
all of our schools, with weekly dedicated time allocated for their purpose. We believe the Utah Effective
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Teaching Standards identify and help educators improve their ability to meet the needs of all students, using
research/evidence based strategies. In direct relation to our initiative are the following standards.
Utah Effective Teaching Standards (aligned with our digital transformation))
1.1 Creates developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences based on individual student’s interests, and needs.
Allows students different ways to demonstrate learning sensitive to multiple experiences and diversity while holding high expectations for all.
3.1 Develops learning experiences that engage and support students as self-directed learners who internalize classroom routines, expectations, and procedures.
5.1 Uses data sources to assess the effectiveness of instruction and to make adjustments in planning and instruction.
5.2 Collects student progress and provides descriptive feedback to student, parent/guardian, and other appropriate stakeholders in a variety of ways.
6.2 Integrates cross-content skills into instruction to purposefully engage learners in applying content knowledge.
7.2 Provides multiple opportunities for students to develop higher-order and meta-cognitive skills.
7.4 Use a variety of available and appropriate technology and/or resources to support learning.
7.5 Develops learners’ abilities to find and use information to solve real-world problems.
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Year 1 – Launch Year
Action Steps Tool Completion Date Responsible Person
Purchase & install necessary wireless access points (i.e. all 8-9 grade ELA & Science classrooms)
N/A June 1, 2017 Director of Technology
Purchase & deliver 1 set of Chromebooks to each participating school
N/A August 31, 2017 Principals Director of Technology
Hire additional technical support staff to support digital teaching and learning in grades 8-9 ELA and Science classrooms.
N/A August 31, 2017 Director of Technology Director of Curriculum
Complete an RFP and purchase software that can accommodate a teacher data dashboard including the delivery of online CFA & benchmark assessments to support data informed instruction.
Currently unknown
January 31, 2017 Director of Curriculum Business Administrator Director of Technology
Public announcement of grant award and associated plan
Social Media Edulink Newspaper Website Newsletters
January 1, 2017 – earlier if the information is available
Superintendent Future Ready Leadership Team
Complete the installation and integration of the data dashboard/assessment software.
N/A February 28, 2017 Director of Technology
Provide professional learning experiences for educators so they can develop competencies with the data dashboard/assessment software.
Edivate Face to Face Consultants UETN Trainers
April 1, 2017 – August 31 2017
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment
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Complete the purchase of Canvas software for the delivery of teacher created/OER curriculum that can be accessed by students in a personalized learning and anytime anywhere environment.
Canvas January 31, 2017 Director of Curriculum Director of Secondary Curriculum Director of Technology Business Administrator
Implementation progress information shared with stakeholders.
Social Media Edulink Newspaper Website Newsletters
December 1, 2016 – August 30, 2017
Superintendent School principals
Complete the installation and integration of the learning management software.
N/A February 28, 2017 Director of Technology
Provide professional learning experiences for educators so they can develop competencies with the data learning management software.
Edivate Face to Face Consultants
April 1, 2017 – August 31 2017
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment
Monitor implementation and usage of learning management and data dashboard software by students and staff.
LearnPlatform April 1, 2018 – June 1, 2018
Future Ready Leadership Team
8-9 grade ELA & Science teachers begin transitioning their curriculum to the learning management system in preparation for delivery of their courses in a digital platform. Selected teachers fully develop their courses, including interventions and extensions.
Canvas April 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018
Director of Secondary Education Director of Curriculum
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Provide Digital Teaching and Learning Grant implementation data to USBE
June, 201 Curriculum Director Technology Director Business Administrator
Measure the effects of implementation activities
Future Ready Leadership & Gear Surveys
August 31, 2018
Future Ready Leadership Team Principals Ed Tech Coach
Implementation progress information shared with stakeholders.
Social Media Edulink Newspaper Website Newsletters
August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Superintendent School principals
Year 2 – Initial Implementation Year
Continue professional learning experiences for educators so they can increase competencies with the data dashboard/assessment software.
Edivate Face to Face Consultants
August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment Principals Ed Tech Coach
Monitor usage of purchased software by students and staff.
Provided by USBE - LearnPlatform
August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Future Ready Leadership Team Principals Ed Tech Coach
Continue professional learning and monitor implementation of Canvas
Edivate Canvas UETN
August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment
All 8-9 grade ELA and Science teachers will provide CFAs to their students using the data dashboard/assessment software application and use the dashboard to make timely
TBD August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Teachers PLC Team Leaders Principals Superintendent
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instructional decisions, including the delivery of targeted interventions as part of the PLC process.
Selected 8-9 grade ELA & Science teachers will deliver their curriculum and instruction using Canvas. This delivery will allow for student personalization, including access to timely and targeted interventions.
TBD August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Director of Secondary Education Director of Curriculum Principals Teachers PLC Team Leaders
Student achievement data will be reviewed and analyzed for implementation effects and possible modifications to the implementation strategies.
SAGE: Interim Summative
June 2018 Superintendent Director of Assessment Director of Secondary Curriculum Director of Curriculum Principals
8-9 grade ELA & Science teachers complete transitioning their curriculum to the learning management system for delivery of their courses in a digital platform.
Canvas April 1, 2018 – August 31, 2018
Director of Secondary Education Director of Curriculum
Provide Digital Teaching and Learning Grant implementation data to USBE
N/A June, 2018 Curriculum Director Technology Director Business Administrator
Measure the effects of implementation activities and make adjustments as necessary.
Future Ready Leadership & Gear Surveys
August 31, 2018
Future Ready Leadership Team School Principals Ed Tech Coach
Implementation progress information shared with stakeholders.
Social Media Edulink Newspaper Website
August 31, 2017 – June 1, 2018
Superintendent School principals Future Ready Leadership Team
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Newsletters School Principals
Year 3 – Full Implementation Year
Continue professional learning experiences for educators so they can increase competencies with the data dashboard/assessment software
Edivate Face to Face Consultants UENT Trainers LEA Trainers
August 31, 2018 – June 1, 2019
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment Principals Ed Tech Coach
Monitor usage of purchased software by students and staff.
LearnPlatform August 31, 2018 – June 1, 2019
Future Ready Leadership Team Principals Ed Tech Coach
Continue professional learning and monitor implementation of Canvas.
Edivate Canvas UETN
August 31, 2018 – June 1, 2019
Director of Professional Learning/Assessment
All 8-9 grade ELA and Science teachers will provide CFAs to their students using the data dashboard/assessment software application and use the dashboard to make timely instructional decisions, including the delivery of targeted interventions as part of the PLC process.
TBD August 31, 2018 – June 1, 2019
PLC Team Leaders Teachers Principals Superintendent
All 8-9 grade ELA & Science teachers will deliver their curriculum and instruction using
TBD August 31, 2018 – June 1, 2019
Director of Secondary Education Director of Curriculum
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Canvas. This delivery will allow for student personalization, including access to timely and targeted interventions.
Principals Teachers
Student achievement data will be reviewed and analyzed for implementation effects and possible modifications to the implementation strategies.
SAGE: Interim Summative
June 2019 Superintendent Director of Assessment Director of Secondary Curriculum Director of Curriculum Principals
Implementation progress information gathered, monitored, and shared with stakeholders.
Social Media Edulink Newspaper Website Newsletters
August 31, 2018 – June 1, 2019
Superintendent School Principals Future Ready Leadership Team Ed Tech Coach
Provide Digital Teaching and Learning Grant implementation data to USBE
June, 2019 Curriculum Director Technology Director Business Administrator
Measure the effects of implementation activities and make adjustments as necessary.
Future Ready Leadership & Gear Surveys
August 31, 2019
Future Ready Leadership Team School Principals
Communications Plan
Box Elder School District believes that effective stakeholder engagement increases the quality and probability
of successful implementation of the comprehensive strategic plan. Evidence of this belief can be seen in the
“What Counts” community outreach process conducted by our school board in April of 2012, the establishment
of a “Key Communicators” group by our superintendent where he has identified key people in each of our
communities that he communicates with regarding a variety of issues and takes feedback from them regarding
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their experiences and understandings of various education (district & state) policies and practices. We also
utilize community surveys for help in making a variety of decisions including the district calendar and
development of our mission & vision statement. In addition, we have been able to engage a significant number
of stakeholders in the Future Ready tools, including business representation on our Future Ready Leadership
Team. This plan has been developed by our entire Future Ready Leadership Team, which includes teachers,
building administrators, media specialists, and our Edtech specialist. Wide participation in developing this plan
has been instrumental to stakeholder understanding and buy-in. During the review of the annual Ready
Leadership Surveys, all stakeholders will be invited to attend the meeting and given the opportunity to provide
input if they desire.
Not identified in the implementation timeline, because it is not related to this funding mechanism, is our district
overall strategic plan of “growing” the use of a data dashboard, learning management system, and full wireless
saturation in all of our classrooms. We will focus on moving forward with this model in our grades 10-12
classrooms to leverage the experiences of our 8-9 grade students, expanding to the content area of mathematics,
CTE, and eventually all courses. Once that is in place we will move into our elementary schools, beginning with
6th grade. Currently our 7th grade students/teachers are involved in an eMints 1:1 grant, we believe that by
selecting the 8th and 9th grade levels for this initiative we are leveraging the growth in digital teaching and
learning that is being experienced by our current 7th grade students and teachers. Our plan includes the use of
career and technical education, future E-Rate, Trust LANDS, Maintenance & Operation, Title I, Title II,
Accelerated Learning, and Enhancement for At-Risk Students, future grants, and all other possible funding
sources. We believe that by “braiding” funding mechanism we can achieve the objective of increasing student
achievement through transforming instructional pedagogy and practice while simultaneously leveraging
technology to personalize learning in our classrooms for all students.
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Digital Curriculum - Instructional Tools
V. Description of High Quality Digital Instructional Materials with a Three Year Plan for How an LEA will ensure that Schools Use Software Programs With Fidelity Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must articulate alignment of new high quality digital instructional materials to address student performance targets articulated in plan goals.
● Plan must articulate how data will be used to inform instruction. ● Plan must address LEA-procured digital content purchased by topic, enabling teachers to customize content from
multiple sources and create curriculum tailored to their standards. ● Plan must identify a comprehensive set actions to meet fidelity requirements and have a clear, comprehensive
and realistic plan for mitigating the challenges. Funds from the Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Program will be used to purchase and implement two
digital instructional programs; a data dashboard and a learning management system (Canvas). Below is a
description of how each will fulfill the requirements of the grant and ensure the successful achievement of our
learning goals, which are: improve SAGE scores for the 8th and 9th grade students in both ELA and Science
by at least 5% by the spring of 2019 reporting period.
Data “Dashboard”
Our district has a strong, but growing, culture of professional learning communities. As our teams have become
more adept at the use of this powerful tool, they have indicated a weakness associated with usable data. It is our
intent to generate a good deal more learning information through the use of a powerful learning management
system (see below), but data, in and of itself, has little value if it cannot be collected and quantified into useful
datasets.
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A data software tool (dashboard) will be purchased that meets our need of providing our instructional teams
data that provides information that can be easily analyzed. This software must support collaboration of data
reports and assessments between teachers, allow teacher/team created test items, facilitate early warning system
related to student academic deficiencies, allow for screener and diagnostic assessments, provide immediate
feedback, give students/parents access to the system online, provide assessments that can be delivered and
scored digitally, support immediate student feedback on formative assessments to direct student learning,
support and integrate with assistive technology, meet the accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act and contain a test item bank that considers depth of knowledge. Preference will be given to a
system that has adaptive technology.
Disaggregation of data will give our teachers the ability to “drill down” to the root causes of learning failures
and enable them to make appropriate and timely instructional decisions. This will allow for the true
personalization of learning for our students. It is our intent to identify, purchase, and have this software in place
by January 31, 2017 (see Section IV).
Learning Management System
We have already identified Instructure’s Canvas as our preferred learning management system. We have been
using Canvas, on a limited basis, for two years. This experience has given us confidence it will meet our needs.
(Note: Instructure has provided extensive information to support our local experience (see Canvas
Documentation.docx). Like the data dashboard, though, this software will need to be more than a simple
repository of lessons and assessments. One of the reasons we have identified Canvas as our preferred learning
management system is the softwares strength in the area of accessibility. In addition to meeting the accessibility
guidelines of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Canvas is certified by WebAIM and has established the
Access Technology Higher Education Network (ATHEN), which is an accessibility users group of higher
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education professionals that works on enhancing access to quality learning experiences for all students through
the use of technology (see page 53 of the Canvas Documentation.docx).
Our professional learning community teams will first have to complete the process we have begun of
identifying their guaranteed and viable curriculum and associated learning targets. As this process progresses,
the lessons and common formative assessments that are then created, and housed, in Canvas will provide
effective lessons, including interventions and extensions as necessary. A district-created template in Canvas
will guide the thought process and creation of lessons and assessments.
Additionally, it is our primary intent to use Canvas to allow for the personalization of learning. Driven by data,
this personalization will include the remediation and extension of student learning thus enhancing the level of
personalization for students. The delivery of course content through Canvas supports online learning
opportunities so our students can access the curriculum and instructional resources anytime/anywhere.
Finally, as our 8th and 9th grade students progress through their learning, Canvas will be a rich source of data,
that when imported into a data dashboard, will be available to guide adjustments and enhancements at the hands
of our teacher teams. Initial professional development for our English Language Arts and Science teachers will
begin April 1, 2017 (see Section IV of this grant and Instructure’s suggestions).
The use of our data dashboard and our learning management system will be monitored by being part of Utah's
LearnPlatform Pilot. After meeting with the software representative during Boot Camp, we have conceptualized
how this can be an effective tool, though we will need additional guidance. Section IV provides a timeline of
our use of the implementation data obtained through LearnPlatform. As indicated in that section, we realize that
monitoring implementation, analyzing the data, and responding appropriately to ensure continued improvement
of teacher practice and the resulting student achievement is an ongoing process. Providing high quality
professional learning experiences for our teachers is a precursor to successful change. Section VII details our
plans in that regard. The Future Ready Leadership Team will work with building administrators, the PLC Team
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Leaders, and the Educational Technology Specialist in an ongoing basis (see section IV) to ensure the fidelity
requirements and student achievement goals are met. After providing quality professional learning experiences
to our teachers, we will support implementation through the use of in class coaching through the educational
technology specialist and PLC Team Leaders. Section IV also details the value we place in making our
implementation goals, actions steps, and results transparent to all of our stakeholders as an important part of
experiencing a successful change.
VI. Detailed Three Year Plan for Student Engagement in Personalized Learning Including a Three Year Plan for Digital Citizenship Curricula and Implementation Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must articulate how students will have consistent opportunities to participate in digital learning activities that integrate critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills.
● Plan must articulate how students will have consistent opportunities to use digital tools to select personalized learning paths based on their learning needs specific to measurable student targets.
● Plan must articulate a comprehensive plan for teaching digital citizenship.
Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences as well as address the
diverse needs of all students. At the most basic level, digital tools can be used to help students find, understand,
and use information. When combined with student-driven learning experiences that are fueled by essential
questions and offer flexible learning paths, use of digital tools can break learning barriers that exist in our
classrooms. Box Elder School District will provide the use of digital tools to facilitate personalized online
experiences for students.
Using our District Timeline in section four, selected teachers will use Canvas to create, deliver, and manage
their courses. Using Canvas allows teachers to be able to create assessments/quizzes to monitor student
learning and be able to intervene with student learning. Based on the data from assessments and quizzes,
teachers create interventions based on student need, to personalize their learning.
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Teachers will use the data dashboard/assessment software to create Common Formative Assessments which
students can take digitally and receive instant feedback. Teachers will bring this data to their Professional
Learning Community (PLC) meetings and review the data together with their grade-level or department.
Teachers will analyze the data and make necessary changes to their instruction to meet individual student needs.
These intervention and enrichment lessons will be placed in Canvas as learning activities to ensure that
students are learning the concepts being presented and taught and accessed in a timely manner.
Dashboard software is a tool that teachers can use to aggregate multiple data sources, such as end-of-level state
wide testing. Access for ELLS, CFA’s, Benchmark, and DIBELS, can all be populated onto a teacher’s
dashboard. The teacher will have this data at their fingertips to be able to analyze and use to plan instruction.
The software will also facilitate an “early warning” system to help teachers and parents identify academic
deficiencies, prescribe an intervention, and deliver the most appropriate intervention.
Navigating cyberbullying, privacy, safety, and other digital dilemmas are real challenges that students in our
district may face. Box Elder School District will continue to use NetSafe technology to help schools build a
positive school culture that supports the safe and responsible use of technology.
NetSafe training materials comply with the E-Rate educational requirements of CIPA. The curriculum educates
students about appropriate online behavior, including cyberbullying and how to respond and interact with
individuals on social networking sites. Box Elder School District also utilizes NetSafe curriculum to educate
parents/guardians on digital citizenship in a number of ways, including annual parent seminars, back-to-school
events, and school to home communications (newsletters, Edulink, and PeachJar).
The curriculum includes comprehensive, grade-level, resources to students, including engaging presentations
and videos, as well as professional development for teachers and materials for family education.
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Personalized Professional Learning
VII. Professional Learning
Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must focus on curriculum planning and student-learning activities integrated with digital technology tools and resources.
● Plan must focus on content-specific strategies for integrating digital technology into the curriculum for all subject areas addressed in the goals and objectives.
Box Elder School District will continue to provide leadership training to our building administrators and district
administrators including evaluating and coaching their teachers and teams. Box Elder contracts with Observer
Tab, which is an independent company that is dedicated to provide each administrator individual, onsite, real
time coaching. Moving forward, this coaching will include an enhanced focus on the ISTE standards for
administrators including visionary leadership, digital age learning culture, and excellence in professional
practice. We will also participate fully in professional learning opportunities provided by UETN and the USBE
that relate to our goal of transforming instructional pedagogy and practice while leveraging technology to
personalize learning, which will ensure we meet our goal of increasing ELA and Science SAGE scores in eighth
and ninth grades by 5% or more by the target date..
In addition to this coaching, each school will implement an Ed Tech Coach that will be onsite to provide
ongoing mentoring and coaching to classroom teachers and administrators. The Ed Tech Coach will provide
specific instruction on how to effectively use technology in their classroom to better meet the needs of student
learning. The coach will be delivering professional learning in a variety of formats such as:
1. Face To Face
2. Modeling for teachers on how to implement digital technology into the curriculum.
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3. Our LMS (Canvas) to deliver teacher modules that demonstrate effective teaching strategies that support
personalized professional learning opportunities for our teachers and administrators.
4. Team teaching to provide needed support in delivering instruction and implementing technology into
their curriculum.
Teachers will use Edivate (obtained through a STEM Action Center grant) to observe quality examples of
effective teaching in order to learn new strategies for integrating technology to support personalized learning
and receiving immediate feedback to increase student achievement. Teachers will also use Edivate to upload
their own teaching to view and reflect on their practice in order to set goals for improvement. These video
recordings allow for self-reflection as well as enhanced opportunities for receiving feedback on their practices
from their colleagues, administrator, and Ed Tech Coach. The purpose of the professional learning experiences
are to ensure that our classrooms are not only technology rich, but facilitate and inspire student learning,
creativity, and support digital age work.
Box Elder school district has weekly, dedicated time allocated for Professional Learning Communities where
teachers analyze student data and make plans to enrich and intervene with student learning. Using the data
obtained through the data dashboard/assessment software the PLC teams will be able to be more responsive in
their Tier I instructional practices as well as providing targeted interventions/extensions as necessary. Teachers
will then use Canvas to deliver personalized learning activities for students to complete, based on their
individual needs and in an anytime/anywhere environment. Teachers will participate in ongoing training with
UETN to increase their professional skill set on how to effectively use technology to increase individual student
achievement. This training includes the Ed Tech Endorsement program available through UETN which will be
required for the Ed Tech Coaches and highly recommended for our administrators and teachers.
Section III and IV provide detailed information regarding our plan to provide professional learning
opportunities on content-specific strategies that are aligned with the Utah Educator Effectiveness Standards for
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integrating digital technology as well as our professional learning plan timeline, objectives, and responsible
party for meeting the identified targets.
By participating in ongoing professional learning, focused on the Utah Educator Effectiveness and ISTE
standards, as well as technology specific learning experiences related to the digital learning tools being provided
by this grant and other funding sources we believe we will transform instructional pedagogy and practice while
leveraging technology to personalize learning, which will help us meet the goal of increasing ELA and Science
SAGE scores in eighth and ninth grades by 5% or more by the target date.
Year One
Activity Timeline Responsible Party
Edivate Training March - April 2017 School Improvement Network, Director of Professional Development, Principal, Teachers
Provide Face to Face training on the Data Dashboard/Assessment Software and Canvas.
April - May 2017 Dashboard/Assessment Software and Canvas vendors Director of Professional Development Principal
Provide Face to Face training on Teaching Digital Citizenship - UETN
April 2017 Director of Professional Development, Principal, Classroom Teachers
Send a team of teachers/principals and representatives of the Future Ready Leadership Team to the Instructurcon
July 2017 Director of Professional Development Teacher Principal
Face to Face training on how to use Canvas to access differentiated professional learning courses to facilitate their learning of Canvas and Data Dashboard/Assessment Software.
August 2017 Dashboard/Assessment Software vendor and Canvas vendors Director of Professional Development Principal
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Provide ongoing professional learning and monitor implementation of the data dashboard/assessment and learning management software on a regular basis.
August 2017- May 2018 Director of Professional Development Principal
Year 2
Activity Timeline Responsible Party
Provide Face to Face training to new teachers with the Data/Dashboard/Assessment Software and Canvas
September 2017 Director of Professional Development Principal
Continue professional learning and monitoring implementation of Canvas and the Data/Dashboard
September 2017-May 2018 Director of Professional Development Principal
Send team of teachers/principals and representatives of the Future Ready Leadership Team to the Instructurcon
July- 2018 Director of Professional Development Principal
Year 3
Activity Timeline Responsible Party
Provide Face to Face training to new teachers with the Data/Dashboard/Assessment Software and Canvas
August 2018 Director of Professional Development Principal
Continue professional learning and monitoring implementation of Canvas and the Data/Dashboard
August 2018-May 2019 Director of Professional Development Principal
Send team of teachers/principals and representatives of the Future
July- 2019 Director of Professional Development
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Ready Leadership Team to the Instructurcon
Principal
Assessment - Measurable Outcomes VIII. Three Year Plan for how an LEA will Monitor Student and Teacher Usage of the Program Technology
Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must include a process for a team of stakeholders that includes LEA leadership and representatives of other groups such as, school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and/or community members to develop continuous improvement plans for digital learning initiatives aligned to the LEA’s improvement plan.
● Plan must address strategies for process improvement for digital learning that are continuously improved based on results of the ongoing data collection (e.g., based on findings professional development is adjusted; schedules are changed; content access protocols are improved; policies are updated; etc.).
● Plan must include multiple and varied sources of data (e.g., student performance data, classroom observation data, web analytics, participation tracking, survey data, etc.) that are being used to continuously improve the implementation and impact of digital teaching and learning.
The Box Elder School District Future Ready Leadership team will have primary responsibility to ensure the
appropriate usage of program technology. The Leadership team membership includes district administration, a
school board member, and teachers. The chairperson of the team is the district Director of Curriculum. The
elements of the grant that will require their attention include additional wireless access, additional technical
staffing, a data dashboard, a learning management system, and appropriate professional development.
The goal of improving SAGE scores for the 8th and 9th grade students in both ELA and Science by at least 5%
by the spring of 2019 reporting period will be the team’s primary focal point. Their guiding document will be
the implementation plan (see Section IV). At each deadline, the Team will evaluate the district’s progress and
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make any needed changes to the plan. This evaluation will be assisted by data collected by LearnPlatform,
Canvas, the data dashboard, and reports provided by the Information Technology and Curriculum departments.
The district’s teacher effectiveness tools will also be a source of information, particularly as relating to effective
teaching strategies. This process is currently being supplemented with the assistance of the STEM Action
Center’s Professional Learning grant and our use of Edivate software. As we become proficient with the use of
these tools, they will also provide information about our progress toward our learning goals.
Supplementary data that will be considered by the team will include surveys of students, teachers and parents,
input from School Community Councils, and anecdotal reports from teachers. This information will give the
team a sense of the value of the program technology on the actual instructional landscape and its users.
Of particular interest will be evidence of teacher team and student usage of Canvas and the data dashboard. The
Leadership team will establish a minimum usage standard for each (usage fidelity). Data provided by
LearnPlatform will be reviewed and, if needed, changes in the usage targets made. Adjustments or addition of
professional development will be key to the successful application of this software. Use of LearnPlatform will
assist with establishing and maintaining an auditable edtech product inventory. Housing all edtech products,
inclusive of status information, grading, pricing, contract terms, compliance requirements, LEA-defined pre-
screened criteria for purchase/adoption, etc. will create a single repository of all product information that is
easily accessible, transparent and reportable. With greater use of LearnPlatform, we will define a scalable,
sharable process for our staff to catalogue all products, manage and document their life cycles, report on
utilization and impact results and share those metrics with other districts, the state and stakeholders involved in
the digital teaching and learning work.
Student achievement as measured by common formative assessments will serve as the data used to ensure the
district is meeting its learning goals. . This rich and relevant data will quickly identify progress. Canvas and the
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data dashboard will be the source of this information. Hence, the importance of these tools being used with
fidelity is critical.
Robust Technical Infrastructure
IX. Three Year Plan for Infrastructure Acquisition and Process for Procurement and Distribution of the Goods and Services an LEA Intends to Use as Part of an LEA's Implementation of the Program Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must address scaling current network and Internet connection bandwidth to support all LEA access needs without performance degradation even during times of maximum use.
● Plan must report site specific validate-able enrollment, both fulltime and part time, and NSLP income eligibility data to USBE as per E-Rate Eligible Items
● Acknowledge inventory tracking requirements for at least five years. ● Plan must address actions to scale to meet the goal to ensure wireless access is available and reliable in all
instructional spaces and indoor/outdoor common areas. Our LEA student enrollment is 11,555 , and our NSLP (free and reduced lunch) student percentage for the LEA
is 39% (using October 1, 2016 count).
Box Elder District has applied for and received over $600,000 in Category 2 E-Rate funding which has been
utilized to implement wired network infrastructure upgrades. Rodney Cook, District Business Administrator,
has handled E-Rate applications for the district. It is estimated that there may be as much as $800,000 in
additional Category 2 E-Rate funding that is available and will be accessed through an additional E-Rate
application. The district intends to apply for these funds.
With the recent upgrades, Box Elder School District now has 10GB connectivity. Our own internal wide area
network is also 10GB capable. This is sufficient to support high density wireless access deployment needed to
meet the objectives of the grant. We will continue to utilize the services of UETN to maintain our high speed
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connectivity and telecommunications contracts going forward. 10GB is ample room for bandwidth needs for the
foreseeable future.
We still have some hardware appliances that will need to be upgraded to support 10GB connectivity. Namely
our firewall and iboss filtering appliance. Purchases of hardware upgrades will be made through state contracted
vendors utilizing local district funds. The following table reflects the E-Rate funding acquired for the target
schools as well as remaining available funding that can still be obtained in the 2017 application. See E-Rate
2015-2016, BESD BEMS CAT2.pdf, and BESD BRMS CAT2.pdf for more information.
The majority of our classroom wireless infrastructure will reach end of life within two years. E-Rate funding
will be the source for replacement funding of the wireless infrastructure. The district will need to purchase
additional access points for Language Arts and Science classrooms to support the objectives of the grant.
A purchasing process is already in place whereby all technology purchases are approved, ordered and delivered
through the technology office. One of the primary purposes of this workflow is to so that appropriate tracking
and inventory is accomplished. Tracking has been implemented for all E-Rate equipment and those tracking
procedures can easily be expanded to include all network equipment. Box Elder District acknowledges the need
to continue our inventory practices and is committed to do so for a minimum of 5 years. Box Elder District will
continue to participate in the statewide inventory process going forward.
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Use of LearnPlatform will assist with establishing and maintaining an auditable edtech product inventory during
the course of this five year plan. Housing all edtech products, inclusive of status information, grading, pricing,
contract terms, compliance requirements, LEA-defined pre-screened criteria for purchase/adoption, etc. will
create a single repository of all product information that is easily accessible, transparent and reportable.
LearnPlatform will provide reporting on utilization and outcomes real-time and over time during the course of
this plan.
X. Technical Support for Implementation and Maintenance of the Program Required Plan Elements:
● Plan must address scale up of technical support to be available so that business and instructional operations are minimally impacted.
● Plan must address the presence or building of a well-defined technical support procedure. ● Plan must include process to Inventory and track portable and fixed technology assets is catalogued and LEA
continues to participate in statewide inventory surveys. With plans to install high density wireless in the schools targeted by the grant, there will be a need for
additional wireless network support personnel, as well as end user support personnel. It is our plan to budget
money from the grant to add the needed support.
Box Elder District already has a well defined technical support process with all personnel having access to an
online help desk system with field technicians assigned to receive, process and work on trouble tickets with well
established priorities. In addition, each school has a Building Level Technician (BLT). BLTs are teachers that
are paid a stipend to assist with technology issues. Going forward we will need to consider whether or not to
extend the help desk system to the student level. Another consideration may be the implementation of a help
line using VoIP technology that would leverage our existing support staff and allow them to be out in the
schools actively working and still be able to receive trouble calls.
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Purchase and implementation of a Learning Management System will help remove the burden from teachers
that would be created by a BYOD environment that allows for a wider variety of devices to be utilized in each
classroom.
Box Elder District has established some basic expectations for software purchases that gives preference to
software vendors that support integrations with the district student information system. This takes
administrative tasks, such as rostering, out of the hands of teachers.
Initiatives involving major deployment of technology to the student level is accompanied with professional
development for teachers.
Student devices are all given asset tags associated with the serial number and or service tag of each device, and
are tracked by the district office. As Harris Intermediate proceeds with the 1:1 deployment, this tracking will
need to be extended to also include the student to whom a particular device is assigned. This will create
accountability with students for care of the device.
Data and Privacy
XI. Proposed Security Policies, Including Security Audits, Student Data Privacy, and Remediation of Identified Lapses
Part A. LEA Security Policies Part B. LEA Security Audit Plan Part C. LEA Student Data Privacy Policies and Procedures Part D. LEA Remediation Plan of Identified Lapses
Required Plan Elements:
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● Plan must include attached or linked policies in adherence with Utah code for the above required policies and have been communicated (e.g. public forums, parent information nights, media sent home with students, faculty memos, etc.) with all stakeholder groups.
● Plan must include LEA and school digital technology policies that incorporate “Responsible Use” guidelines that encourage proactive, positive behavior with digital technologies and have a systematic process for consistent or continual policy updates.
● Plan must include evidence that the LEA and school leaders and the local school board to have worked with a variety of stakeholder groups to create and adopt policy regarding the role of digital technology in a student-centered learning environment and have a systematic process in place to continuously advocate for this policy with relevant stakeholder groups.
Part A. LEA Security Policies
Box Elder School District strictly adheres to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This law
has resulted in a number of district policies that protect student data. Our district policies are communicated to
parents and students via our website, student handbooks, and for our faculty through annual required training.
Students and parents are also required to annually review our policies and sign an agreement contract before a
student has access to the district’s network. UETN is also an important partner in maintaining data integrity and
security. Box Elder School District’s Information Technology Department supports the district’s privacy
policies with extensive helps found on their blog, housed at http://www.besd.net/District/policies.php.
Part B. LEA Security Audit Plan
The District’s Information Technology Department maintains an aggressive, consistent, and effective review of
the procedures and policies that protect the privacy of students, parents, and faculty. Our school board reviews
and updates our district’s policies on a rolling 5-year plan, including those associated with data security. That
said, the writing of this grant has highlighted the dispersed nature of our policies, especially related to digital
data security. Our district leadership has already been tasked to review current policies and consolidate them
into a single policy to directly address this deficiency. The district is working with UEN to schedule a systems
security audit in January of 2017.
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Part C. LEA Student Data Privacy Policies and Procedures
The Box Elder School District has a robust set of district policies that ensure the privacy of our students. Listed
below are the number and titles of the most relevant policies. The complete text of the policies can be found on
our district website: http://www.besd.net/District/policies.php.
1100 Policy Development/Adoption/Dissemination
2145 Restrictions on Internet Access
3085 Computers and Network Resources Employee Acceptable Use Policy
4177 Computer Use – Students
4185 Use of Video Digital Media Materials
5140 Student and Family Privacy Act
5210 Protection of Students Against Exploitation
5305 Student Use of Electronic Devices
5306 Children’s Internet Protection Act
6000 Public Records: Access and Management
Part D. LEA Remediation Plan of Identified Lapses
Each of our district policies indicate the action that must be taken if there are any identified lapses. District and
school leadership is vigilant in identifying and remediating any issues. As the elements of this grant are
implemented, an additional layer of oversight will be found with the Future Ready Leadership Team, especially
regarding the usage of data derived from Canvas, our learning management system, and our data dashboard.
Security Training
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All staff take online training at the beginning of each school year. Among other topics, the following are all
reviewed:
1. Password handling and security
2. Email Security and Phishing Prevention
3. Phone Phishing Security
4. Safe Internet Browsing
5. Mobile Device Security
6. Data Security and Breach Prevention
Students are given instruction on these same topics. For detailed descriptions see section VI. Efforts are made to
train our parents/guardians on these topics at back-to-school nights and annual “parent nights” that are held at
the district level.
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Budget and Resources Required Plan Elements:
● Plan includes costs identified by the LEA that are realistic. ● Plan includes clearly identified resources it will deploy to ensure the plan’s success. ● Plan must address sustainability beyond the grant period. ● Plan must include how the LEA will continue to use effective strategies.
XII. Budget
The LEA's overall three year financial plan, including use of additional LEA non-grant funds, to be utilized to adequately fund the LEA plan.
Part A. Disclosure of LEA’s Current Technology Expenditures The LEA may provide their own template, or utilize Budget Form (Attachment A) to document their current expenditures.
Part 3: BUDGET Applicant: Box Elder School District
Description Current Technology Budget July 1, 2016- June 30, 2017
A. (100) Salaries $721,797 B. (200) Employee Benefits $301,048
C. (300) Purchased Professional & Technical Services 0
D. (400) Purchased Property Service $91,040
E. (500) Other Purchased Service $28,073
F. (580) Travel $39,250
G. (600) Supplies & Materials $350,990
H. (800) Other (Exclude Audit Costs)
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I. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (Lines A through H) $1,532,198
J. (800) Other (Audit Costs)
K. Indirect Cost
L. Property (includes equipment) $378,892
M. TOTAL (Lines I through L) $1,911,090 The Table above reflects the 2016-17 anticipated budget for all technology expenses in Box Elder School District.
As mentioned above the district, with the help of E-Rate made a substantial ($600,000 in FY16) investment in
infrastructure over last year. In 2017 we increased our technology staff by 1.5 FTE to try to help with the ever
growing demands of technology.
Part B. Budget for Grant Funding Year 1 – 3
The budget associated with our application can be found in the shared folder, see Budget Detail.xlsx.
In addition to completing the Budget Form, provide a narrative description of the budget. The narrative clearly
describes the proposed expenditures for each of the three years of the proposed project.
The budget provides for the outline of the proposal through hardware, software, and professional development.
Below is listed the budget description by major category:
100 Salary includes all teacher training for the use of Canvas and the selected data dashboard/assessment
software. This includes the cost of 2 days of training for participating teachers (40) at a cost of $100 per day
($8,000). It also includes 3 after school training sessions for the 40 teachers at $30 per session ($2,400).
Included in the first year is an estimate of 30 days of pay for selected trainer(s) who will be responsible for
teacher development and support in using the programs to improve teaching methods and monitor student
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information ($8,750). The calculation for future years is 1 FTE ($48,000) for program management and support
and .75 FTE ($32,588) for technology support.
200 Benefits includes the benefits for the training and trainers. This is just retirement and social security costs
for salary and extra pay for teachers (31.34%). No health insurance benefits have been included at this time
because it is believed extra teacher time will be paid. If a full time individual is hired this may need to be
modified.
300 Purchased Services include the cost of software vendor expertise to setup software and train teachers and
trainers on the use. This would also include some estimated ongoing consulting costs for both the data
management software and Canvas curriculum management software. Trainer on Dashboard, 5 days at $1,500 a
day. An additional estimate of 4 days consulting at $2,000 per day will be used for startup. After the first year
the training has been reduced to 2 days at $1,500 and 3 days consulting at $2,000 for year two and three.
400 Purchase Property Services no budget
500 Other Purchased Service no budget
580 Travel is the calculation of sending a core group of teachers to the Canvas Instructure Conference for
training. 10 teachers in the first year at a cost of $11,000 and 4 teachers for the remaining two years at a cost of
$4,400.
600 Supplies includes the purchase of the software which licenses are maintained on a yearly renewal. In
addition we have budgeted a small amount (<$2,000) to each year for other miscellaneous supplies. This
includes Canvas, 1700 licenses, at $4 per license. Dashboard Assessment Software, 6100 licenses at $3.50.
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Gradecam, 6100 at $1.00 per license. Inspect, 6100 at $1.50 per license each year. The above figures are
estimates from one vendor and may change after the Request for Proposal (RFP) is complete.
800 Audit Costs No costs
700 Property/Equipment includes the cost of high density saturation of the wireless network such that all
students in 8th and 9th grade Science and Language arts are able to access the network and internet with their
own or school devices. This includes the cost of 48 wireless access points with installation. The estimated cost
for each access point being $1,750 ($84,000). The $1,750 per access point includes the cost of each access
point, wiring, labor and additional needed electrical capacity. It also includes the cost of four switches that will
be required to bring this area of the buildings up to needed level of saturation at a cost of $4,797 each.
Part C. Possible Increase in Funding (10% Increase Plan)
Each LEA may be eligible for additional funds as they become available. This section is to provide a
supplemental narrative and itemized budget that would detail how the LEA would spend funds if the budget
was increased by 10%. (Note: Each LEA that has an approved plan will have the opportunity to submit a
finalized budget once the final allocations are determined in December 2016. This section will be used to
support your finalized budget submission.)
It has been determined that if there was a 10% increase in funding the greatest area of need would be in
hardware technology support. This amount would be put towards the salary of a support technician and would
account for about one quarter of the salary and benefits ($15,500). We would also review the possibility of
additional professional development as we are not sure what the results of the current training schedule would
be. (Approximately an extra $6,500 for the first year and $2,500 for subsequent years.)
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Part D. Projection for Future Support Costs
The program has been built to be sustainable with the level of funding projections provided in the software and
support areas. Refreshing hardware, including access points, switches, computer devices, etc. is always a budget
and planning concern. It is estimated that the cost of access points would need to included in the cost starting no
later than the fifth year. To allow for ongoing budget management the cost could be included as a per year cost
on a five year schedule (total equipment being $129,188). This would be an estimated $25,837 for access
points, switches, and a chromebook refresh yearly over five years. That would be replacing one fifth of the units
yearly.
Part E. Sustainability
The district could utilize the savings of the Classworks software fee combined with a student fee yet to be
levied ($10 per student) to secure funds to pay for ongoing software costs and training. The cost of professional
development for teachers could possibly be secured through district and federal Title II teacher development
funds. The capital costs of the equipment could possibly be secured through E-Rate or other grants. We also
anticipate some savings may come from reduced textbook adoption costs.
Securing funds for future growth or to scale up the program could possibly come from the same sources, private
grants or district allocation of resource if it was determined the program was successful and sustainable. Other
funds may be secured through cost savings from not buying textbooks, lower printing costs, and reduce
professional development costs.
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Using the LEARN tool, we will evaluate the use and impacts of all of our current educational software. We
anticipate that the Classworks software we have contracted with for nearly the last 10 years is no longer being
used in an efficient enough manner to justify the $52,198 renewal cost. If the data supports our belief, we will
utilize those funds to scale our initiative to other contents and grade levels.
Box Elder District’s overall strategic plan includes “growing” the use of a data dashboard, learning management
system, and full wireless saturation in all of our classrooms. We will focus on moving forward with this model
in our grades 10-12 classrooms to leverage the experiences of our 8-9 grade students, expanding to the content
area of mathematics, CTE, and eventually all courses. Once that is in place we will move downward into our
elementary schools, beginning with 6th grade. Currently our 7th grade students/teachers are involved in an
eMints 1:1 grant, we believe that by selecting the 8th and 9th grade levels for this initiative we are leveraging
the growth in digital teaching and learning that is being experienced by our current 7th grade students and
teachers. Our plan includes the use of career and technical education, future E-Rate, Trust LANDS,
Maintenance & Operation, Title I, Title II, Accelerated Learning, and Enhancement for At-Risk Students, future
grants, and all other possible funding sources. We believe that by “braiding” funding mechanism we can
achieve the objective of increasing student achievement through transforming instructional pedagogy and
practice while simultaneously leveraging technology to personalize learning in our classrooms for all students.
See sections III & IV regarding how Box Elder School District will continue to use effective strategies to ensure
high levels of student achievement.
The budget associated with our application can be found in the shared folder, see Budget Detail.xlsx.
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STATEMENT OF ASSURANCES
Should an award of funds from the Digital Teaching and Learning Program be made to the applicant in support of the activities proposed in this application, the authorized signature on the cover page of this application certifies to the USBE that the authorized official will:
1. Upon request, provide the Utah State Board of Education with access to records and other sources of information that may be necessary to determine compliance with appropriate federal and state laws and regulations.
2. Conduct educational activities funded by this project in compliance with the following federal laws:
a. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
b. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
c. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
d. Age Discrimination Act of 1975
e. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
f. Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994
3. Use grant funds to supplement and not supplant existing funds from all sources.
4. Take into account, during the development of programming, the need for greater access to and participation in the targeted disciplines by students from historically underrepresented and underserved groups.
5. Submit, in accordance with stated guidelines and deadlines, all program and evaluation reports required by the Utah State Board of Education.
6. The applicant will retain records of the program for five years and will allow access to those records for purposes of review and audit.
This form is a required element of the grant application. Justification for each of the categories shall be included in the budget narrative portion of the application. Modifications to the grant must be reflected over the three years of the grant and included as part of the annual reporting. For reporting, it must include an itemized breakdown of these budget categories and a budget narrative explaining how you calculated each line item and the actual total project cost share.
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Appendix A
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