In order to ensure success with a school district technology plan, community support is essential. The needs of all students -- both traditional and nontraditional -- must be addressed. Plan to meet with such groups as adult literacy providers, adult education program coordinators, local public library personnel, establish their needs, as well as consider possible models for collaborative work. Consider whether district facilities are used to their fullest extent. Also refer to census data for demographic information.

Items to potentially include are:

• Goals for community involvement are clear. Descriptive information such as specific county and town/city census data are included.

• Explanation of how community involvement supports the Local Education Improvement Plan.

• Plans to promote community involvement projects which include funding sources like grants and private funds. Indicate collaboration with adult literacy providers in your area. Describe the participation of adult literacy programs relative to technology needs within your area.

• Data is collected annually by the NHDOE Office of Educational Technology. You should retain copies of all surveys submitted and refer to that data when completing this section. The following items are some of the components you want to be looking at:

  • Listing of Adult Literacy Programs in the area
  • Listing of collaborative projects

Tip:  The use of automated email notification systems can help gather feedback from the community and engender more support and interest. Create a space on website where parents can submit their email address to the district distribution list. Use this list to send quick messages for emergency weather closings and other events.

Budget and Evaluation are separate sections of the technology plan. When formulating your action steps for Community Involvement, you should be thinking about:

• costs
• your local budget
• methods of evaluation.

 

E-RATE:

• The plan must include an assessment of the telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services that will be needed to improve education or library services;
• The plan must have a professional development strategy to ensure that staff know how to use these new technologies to improve education or library services;

View NH Tech Plan Examples

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