2021-2027 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

2021-2027 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

School Board Members:

Mr. Cody McElroy

Chairperson

Dr. Wes Campbell

Vice-Chairperson

Mrs. Carol Caruso

Member

Mrs. Cheryl Redman

Member

Mr. Mark Sturgill

Member

Superintendent of Schools:

Dr. Gina Wohlford

Comprehensive Plan Committee Members:

Dr. Gina Wohlford, Superintendent

Mr. Brad Hart, Administrator

Dr. Scott Addison, Administrator

 Carol Caruso, School Board Member

Cheryl Redman, School Board Member

Fred Ramey, City Manager

Dr. Andy Cox, Higher Education (UVA Wise)

Melissa McKinney, Higher Education (MECC)

Stephanie Cassell, Teacher

Vanessa Cyphers, Teacher

Diane Brooks, Teacher

Rikki Hull, Teacher

Virginia Roberts, Federal Programs

Sundy Adams, Special Education Coordinator

Gracie Lane, Student

Lucas Addison, Student

Laura Campbell, Parent

Becke Elkins, Parent

Ernie Ward, Community Member

Lisa Robinette, Community Member

Comprehensive Plan:  2021-2027

Norton City Schools Mission Statement 

Norton City Schools will provide a safe learning environment where each student is engaged and instruction is personalized and differentiated. Delivery of instruction to each student will be adjusted as a result of formal and informal assessments by knowledgeable teachers who provide engaging instruction and relevant curricula. Administrators, teachers, and staff will build strong personal relationships with each student in order to develop appropriate individualized goals for academic growth.  All stakeholders will work together to nurture each student’s social, physical and intellectual growth, to empower each student with the skills to become a responsible citizen, a lifelong learner, and a leader in the global community.

Committed to Excellence – One Student at a Time…The Raider Way

Norton City Schools Vision Statement 

Norton City Schools will be a safe environment where students with diverse needs and backgrounds receive a world class education that prepares them for a career or college. By being Committed to Excellence on a daily basis, we will empower all students to be productive citizens who can solve problems on a local and global level.  We will inspire all students to be creative, teach them to think critically, enable them to work well as an individual or on a team, and expose them to 21st Century innovations, as we prepare them to have a significant impact on the world.

Providing a World Class Education for World Changing Students

Equity Statement

Norton City Schools strives to educate every child for lifelong success as we provide a safe and productive learning environment. We will strive to establish and support an inclusive climate because we believe diversity enriches the educational experience for students and faculty alike. We maintain our commitment to nondiscrimination and equality in all our programs, services, and activities. We are committed to fostering and celebrating compassion, kindness, and respect for diversity and individuality in all our school community.  Tolerance and empathy are qualities we strive to instill in our students, families, and community.

Norton City Schools strives to uphold diversity in our schools, community, and society. We believe in the importance of creating a school environment that develops opportunities for authentic connections, learning opportunities, trusted relationships, and success for all individuals. We believe in developing partnerships with families, stakeholders, and community supporters to ensure individual student success.  Equity means that resources, experiences, and education will be provided by Norton City Schools to all students based on the needs of the student. 

We commit to working with our City Leadership to do all we can to support and care for every student in Norton City Schools.  

Norton City Schools Statement of Beliefs 

We believe:

Norton City Schools are special.

Opportunities to learn in a high quality and safe environment should always be our top priority.

Relationships are built on mutual respect between students and staff. These relationships lead to a family atmosphere that is connected to the success of our schools. 

Tomorrow’s leaders should leave our schools as critical thinkers who are prepared to solve local, national, and global problems in college and/or a career.

Our policies and procedures are in place to help ensure that our students and staff meet their individualized high expectations.

Not many things are as important as hiring and retaining high quality employees who are accountable for providing an aligned curriculum in a creatively effective manner.

Communication should be regular and relevant between stakeholders in order to encourage parental engagement and community support which are critical elements of successful schools.

Innovatively researched based instructional strategies should be used in every classroom.

Teaching occurs outside the classroom as well, so we should offer an array of extension services in addition to extracurricular and co-curricular opportunities.

Yearly, we should set individualized and high expectations for all students because all students can learn.

Introduction

The Standards of Quality for Public Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia state that “each local school board shall adopt a division-wide comprehensive, unified, long-range plan based on data collection, an analysis of the data, and how the data will be utilized to improve classroom instruction and student achievement. Each local school board shall review the plan biennially and adopt any necessary revisions.” 

The 2021-2027 Comprehensive Plan was developed by a committee, composed of various stakeholders. Stakeholders included teachers, administrators, two school board members, the City Manager, higher education faculty from Mountain Empire Community College and The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, parents, students and community members.  Committee and Advisory meetings are held in the fall of each school year. During the development of the plan, input was received from the Superintendent Advisory groups, composed of parents, teachers, students, and support staff. A draft of the plan was presented to the Norton City School Board for their review in September, 2021.  The final draft was presented to the board in October,  2021. The final plan was approved by the Norton City School Board in November, 2021  following a public hearing in October, 2021 before the regular school board meeting. In October, 2021, committee notes were shared and reviewed at the regular school board meeting.

The Comprehensive Plan is divided into five areas that were identified by the committee as the main areas of focus. Each area has various goal statements and strategies to meet the stated goals. The five areas are listed as follows and have now been aligned with other required Division plans:

• Vision, Mission, Equity Statement, Beliefs (Purpose and Direction): The vision, mission and belief statements will exemplify the goals and provide the mantra for all that we do within the division.

• Promote Student Activities and Programs that Promote Personal Development (Resource and Support Systems): The division will offer student activities/programs in grades K-12 that will promote valuable skills such as responsibility, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and leadership to live healthy, well-rounded lives.  The 5C’s will be incorporated into all aspects of instruction: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, citizenship, creative thinking. 

  • Supporting Social Emotional Learning will be an evolving process for NCS administration, teachers and staff.  To guide the professional development for becoming a Trauma Informed School Division, NCS will partner with United Way of Southwest Virginia.

•  Encourage Stakeholder Engagement (Governance and Leadership):  The division will seek to enhance the two-way flow of communication with all parents and stakeholder and will seek to build partnerships with business, public and private non-profit organizations, and universities and colleges. 

• Demonstrate Fiscal Responsibility (Resource and Support Systems)

The division will maintain fiscal accountability and stability of resources that establish, support, and sustain a quality educational program and staff while maintaining a balanced budget.

• Improve Student Achievement (Teaching and Assessing for Learning) Achievement, Data, Staff Development:  The division will continue to expand curriculum offerings, particularly STEM education initiatives, that are rigorous and prepare students to compete and excel in postsecondary education and/or in the global workplace, use data to help evaluate instructional practices and make appropriate modifications, more effectively utilize technological tools to gather periodic student achievement progress, and develop long-range professional development plans that are aligned with the division mission and beliefs. NCS will evaluate the effectiveness of the Regional VII Virtual Academy for servicing our virtual learners from year to year and work closely with the Program Director to solve issues and for continued support of our students in the programs of the Academy.
   

The goals of the School Division are distributed annually by the Superintendent. Those goals become the basis for planning and action. Objectives are monitored and outcomes analyzed before being reported to the board.

Standards of Quality 

The Standards of Quality requires that each plan address certain long-range topics in addition to the most current goals of the school division. The required topics are a plan for regional services, enrollment forecast, a technology plan, and a needs assessment. 

Regional Services

Due to the size of our school division, Norton City Schools engages in partnerships with other school divisions in order to provide certain services that would otherwise be expensive due to the small student population requiring these services. Services provided by Wise County include a tuition paying agreement that allows J.I. Burton students to attend the Wise County Career & Technical Center. Norton City also participates in a partnership with Wise and Dickenson County for visual services as well as a cost-sharing agreement for students to attend the Regional Learning Academy. Norton City also contracts with Ballad Health Regional Rehabilitation Center to provide occupational, physical, and speech therapy. In addition, Mountain Empire Hearing provides hearing services to our students as part of an agreement that also includes Wise, Dickenson, and Lee County schools. Norton City also participates in the MECC Dual Enrollment Academy, Elite Learning, A. Linwood Holton Governor’s School and Virtual Virginia, all of which provide distance learning courses to students at J.I. Burton. Norton City Schools currently has a partnership with Region VII Virtual Academy to service our full time virtual learners. Norton City School also works collaboratively with the University of Virginia at Wise.

Enrollment Forecast

Enrollment forecast information is calculated using information provided by the Virginia Department of Education and the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center. The table predicts that student enrollment decrease will be moderate during the current Comprehensive Plan.

The enrollment total for 2018-19 was 791. Enrollment total for 2019-20 was 775. In 2020-21, the final enrollment was 813. As of August 26, 2021, the current enrollment for 2021-22 is 803. 

Technology Plan Updated 8/2021

The Technology Plan for Norton City Schools is a comprehensive document with goals and objectives that have been included in the Comprehensive Plan. Please see attachment A.

Annual Evaluation and Review of Plan (Needs Assessment)

    The areas identified in this document will not be the only areas receiving attention during the timeframe of this plan. Other planning documents, including the division Technology Plan, Gifted Education Plan, Capital Improvement Plan, Individual School Improvement Plans, and the Local Consolidated Plan will be updated annually and used in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan to develop annual School Board goals and objectives. Due to the changing needs of our students, teachers, and community, the Comprehensive Plan may be modified periodically to adjust to these changes. The superintendent will evaluate the status of goals and actions included in the plan and report biennially these findings to the School Board. 

When applicable, both individual school and division improvement plans will implement the Comprehensive Plan goals and actions. As part of the annual School Improvement Plan, accountability reports are provided to the School Board by both principals and the superintendent; the progress of these goals will be reviewed in detail by the School Board. Discussions by the School Board that focus on the progress of Comprehensive Plan goals will help ensure that these goals remain a priority and accountability for goal implementation is assessed annually by the School Board.

Division Goals 2021-2027

Updated with 2021-22 Goals

Updated 8/27/2021

Final 10/18/21

Vision: Norton City Schools will be a safe environment where students with diverse needs and backgrounds receive a world class education that prepares them for a career or college. By being Committed to Excellence on a daily basis, we will empower all students to be productive citizens who can solve problems on a local and global level.  We will inspire all students to be creative, teach them to think critically, enable them to work well as an individual or on a team, and expose them to 21st Century innovations, as we prepare them to have a significant impact on the world.

Providing a World Class Education for World Changing Students

Mission: Norton City Schools will provide a safe learning environment where each student is engaged and instruction is personalized and differentiated. Delivery of instruction to each student will be adjusted as a result of formal and informal assessments by knowledgeable teachers who provide engaging instruction and relevant curricula. Administrators, teachers, and staff will build strong personal relationships with each student in order to develop appropriate individualized goals for academic growth.  All stakeholders will work together to nurture each student’s social, physical and intellectual growth, to empower each student with the skills to become a responsible citizen, a lifelong learner, and a leader in the global community.

Committed to Excellence – One Student at a Time…The Raider Way

Equity Statement:

Norton City Schools strives to maintain educational equity by ensuring that every student has access to the appropriate resources they need at the right time in their education, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, nationality/immigration status, disability, family background, or family income. We will strive to establish and support an inclusive climate because we believe diversity enriches the educational experience for students and faculty alike.

Equity: Resources, experiences, and education will be provided by NCS to all students based on the needs of the student.

Equality: All NCS students will have access to the same resources in the educational setting.

Norton City Schools strives to maintain educating every child for lifelong success as we provide a safe and productive learning environment. We continue to maintain our commitment to nondiscrimination and equality in all our programs, services, and activities. We are committed to fostering and celebrating compassion, kindness, and respect for diversity and individuality in all our staff and students. Tolerance and empathy are qualities we strive to instill in our students, families, and community.

Norton City Schools strives to uphold diversity in our schools, community, and society. We believe in the importance of creating a school environment that develops opportunities for authentic connections, learning opportunities, trusted relationships, and success for all individuals. We believe in developing partnerships with families, stakeholders, and community supporters to ensure individual student success.

We commit to working with our City Leadership to do all we can to support and care for every student in Norton City Schools. 

Vision – Mission (Purpose and Direction)

· Communicate our Vision and Mission to our school, community, and stakeholders.

· Monitor the 2021-22  Reopening Plan for NCS in the second year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

· Involve community stakeholders in school activities that will help to encourage students to become responsible citizens, develop leadership skills, and gain knowledge of the world in which they live.

· Utilize the Comprehensive Plan that will be completed, with committee input, by November 1, 2021.

· Determine strategies for implementing “Time 4  Innovation” for incorporating Project Based Learning into all content areas of the curriculum with a focus on the Profile of Graduate 5C’s-Critical thinking skills, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Citizenship while being faced with mitigation strategies for in-person learning.

· Partner with the Region VII Virtual Academy for virtual learning opportunities for students meeting the eligibility requirements established by NCS and the Academy.  

Encourage Stakeholder Engagement (Governance and Leadership)

· Continue to use all media sources to share information about the Division.

· Frequently update webpage for community and stakeholders of Norton City Schools.

· Update the parent list-serve and utilize School Messenger on a regular basis.

· Improve communication between all staff and stakeholders of Norton City Schools using surveys, zoom meetings, face-to-face meetings and school-wide events utilizing the phased mitigation strategies at the time.

· Identify and engage community members to advise and support our schools.

Improve Student Achievement (Teaching and Assessing for Learning)

· Our schools will continue to evaluate the learning of students using benchmark data, growth assessments required by VDOE for grades 3-8, and SOL’s as deemed necessary for student growth.  

· Educational and instructional funds will be aligned with School Improvement Plans and accreditation initiatives as well as focusing on technology needs of our students.

· Provide professional development to address technology needs, instructional methods, leadership skills, and appropriate techniques for social and emotional support within the Division. 

 · Continue to develop mentor programs for non-tenured teachers.  Seek resources and support systems for all teachers during the school year 2021-22.

· Improve opportunities and expand the curriculum by being creative with scheduling 

· Utilize the Comprehensive Instructional Program division-wide.

· Revise/Develop a technology plan that includes programs/software for virtual/remote learning, Chromebook devices for students as necessary, hotspot accessibility, and other means of internet availability for students.

· Enhance classroom instruction through the use of technology by providing hardware, software, and professional development opportunities.

Demonstrate Fiscal Responsibility (Resources and Support Systems)

· Demonstrate use of E-rate reimbursements.

· Utilize grant opportunities to enhance educational and safety initiatives. (CARES/ESSER funding)

· Review the textbook adoption cycle and fund the textbook account accordingly.

· Utilize the financial processes that have been formalized to improve efficiency and accountability.

· Utilization of the accounting software, RDA systems, Inc. to full capabilities. 

Promote Student Activities and Programs that Promote Personal Development (Resources and Support Systems)

· Utilize programs to meet the middle school experience for our students. Rapha Foundation Grant - Finance/Management program for Middle School, Claude Moore Grant CTE Program.

· Provide resources to ensure our Pre-K program grows effectively with the Virginia Preschool Initiative. CLASS observations will be utilized to determine Professional Development needs.

· Provide opportunities to ensure students receive a diploma with meeting scheduling needs and Region VII Virtual Academy- Edgenuity Program course offerings.

· Expand course offerings through partnerships with local colleges, SVETN, and The Linwood Holton Governor’s School.

· Continue participation in the AIMS Scholar Program and our National Honors Society.

· Continue to increase the awareness of the post-secondary educational and occupational opportunities including increasing Career and Technical Education opportunities.

· Collaborate/partner with organizations to develop initiatives and career awareness opportunities for our students.

· Apply Safe Schools professional development for all faculty and staff.

· Seek and provide Professional Development for our faculty and staff utilizing webinars, google meet and zoom opportunities. 

Use Data to Improve Learning (Using Results for Continuous Improvement)

· Discuss data at Leadership, Faculty, Grade Level, and Department Meetings.

· Use School Quality Profiles, Comprehensive Instructional Program, Virginia Department of Education and other resources to obtain data.

· Encourage attendance for professional development for using data to improve instruction and student achievement.

UPDATED 7/21/18

REVISED 10/3/18

Revised 10/14/20

Updated 8/27/2021

Final 10/18/21

School Improvement Plans:

John I. Burton

Norton Elementary and Middle School 

Norton Elementary and Middle School

School Improvement Plan

2021-22

Vision-Mission- Beliefs 

Vision and Mission Statements

• Our vision is to provide a safe, caring, and stimulating environment to cultivate productive and responsible life-long learners, in partnership with parents and community members.  

• Mission: Norton Elementary and Middle School recognizes that each child is an individual who can succeed with the support of their family, school and community. We strive to promote a safe and caring atmosphere that creates and enhances challenging learning programs to foster the development of social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth of all its members.  

• School Motto: The RIGHT Things, The RIGHT Way, The RAIDER Way. 

PURPOSE AND DIRECTION

Promote character education on a monthly and weekly basis.

Promote a sense of personal responsibility by educating and practicing social distancing, good hand hygiene, and an awareness of potential hazards to our health.

Continue to promote a trauma informed school.

Enhance the access to current academic curriculum by tailoring a hybrid approach to curriculum delivery. 

Strategies

• Teachers will post the motto in the classroom. Teachers will encourage the students to discuss what The RAIDER Way means to them as students at NEMS.

• The RAIDER acronym will be used for character education. Our staff and administration will use the character traits as the educational piece of their discipline plan. 

• Share our “word of the month” and “focus of the week” on the announcements and in our newsletter. 

  • Teachers are challenged to discuss each of these with their students in their lessons. 

• Teachers will receive web-based and in-person training that will encourage them to create an environment with clear behavior expectations, open communication, and a sensitivity to the feelings and emotions of their students. 

• Weekly education and reminders concerning safety and hand hygiene. We will encourage students to see these practices as responsible behavior. 

Encourage Stakeholder Engagement

GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP

Opening multiple avenues of communication with parents and key stakeholders by utilizing Social Media, Teacher Webpages and other teacher messaging systems, School Messaging systems, letters, and personal conversations.

Strategies

• Teachers will maintain classroom communication with students using Google Sites and Google Classroom.

• Teachers will be encouraged to use REMIND, GOOGLE CLASSROOM, or other APPS to communicate with families and students.

• Parent Portal will be updated as a tool to keep parents informed of academic progress. 

• Excessive student absences will be communicated to parents via phone calls, parent letters, and meetings. This will be a key piece of meeting this SOA. 

Improve Student Achievement 

TEACHING AND ASSESSING FOR LEARNING

MATH

70% of all students, grades 3-7, will obtain a passing score on the math SOL for the 2021-22 school year.  

Strategies

• Provide additional support programs to students who attended virtually last year. 

  • Remediation and Title 1 support for learners who are struggling due to the gap in instruction due to virtual learning. 

• Professional Development:  Continue to educate all Math teachers on CIP standards, CIP benchmarks, VDOE growth assessments and available resources. 

• Core teachers and Special Education teachers will partner to continue to make students with disabilities a priority for the 2021-22 school year. 

  • Middle school schedules have been arranged to allow for collaboration and remediation. 

• Teachers will work with administration and truancy officer to ensure that students are present for instruction. This will be a key piece of meeting the Math and Attendance SOA’s. 

READING/ELA

75% of all students, grades 3-7, will obtain a passing score on the Reading SOL for the 2021-22 school year. 

Strategies

• The Title I program will identify students, grades Pre-k - 5th, and offer services to teachers and students in areas identified.

• Provide additional support programs to students who attended virtually last year. 

  • Remediation and Title 1 support for learners who are struggling due to the gap in instruction due to virtual learning. 

  • Additional Title 1 aides have been provided in 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th grades. 

• Professional Development: 

  • Continue to educate all Reading teachers on CIP standards, benchmarks, and available resources. CIP will provide this web-based PD. 

• Reading schedules will be monitored throughout the year and revised to increase time in reading blocks in primary grades.

• Middle school teachers will remediate students based on formative assessment data.

• Core teachers and Special Education teachers will partner to make students with disabilities a priority for the 2021-22 school year. 

  • Middle school schedules have been arranged to allow for collaboration and remediation. 

• Teachers will work with the administration and truancy officer to ensure that students are present for instruction. This will be a key piece of meeting the Reading and Attendance SOA’s. 

Demonstrate Fiscal Responsibility

RESOURCES AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Maintain school-level financial reports and utilize new procedures for district-level financial record keeping.

Collaborate with the Director of Technology to utilize grant funding for classroom technology and subscriptions. 

Strategies

• School bookkeeper will meet with the Principal on a monthly basis.

• Look for additional grant opportunities at the school level and the classroom level.

• The Director of Technology will work with school leaders to address classroom needs. 

 Promote Student Activities and Programs that Promote Personal Development

RESOURCES AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS 

Expand our Greenhouse Committee partnership to increase the use of the greenhouse as an instructional resource. (post-COVID)

Provide opportunities for family members to interact with students in a safe environment and under proper supervision.  (post-COVID)

      Provide resources to ensure our Pre-K programs grow effectively.

      Partner with community-based groups to provide childcare support for parents. 

Strategies

• Grandparents’ Day Lunch (SRO present in Café) - post-COVID.

  • Virtual options will be explored.

  • Grandparents’ Day is to be implemented when restrictions are lifted.

• Greenhouse Projects- post-COVID

  • Encourage families to work with children in individual classrooms to create outdoor gardens and other projects.

• Continue the Annual Farmer’s Market Kid’s Day for our school community.

• Continue to communicate the value and importance of our pre-k program to key stakeholders. 

  • Explore grant opportunities to fund pre-k faculty and supplies.

  • Participate in VPI to continue to receive state aid. 

Promote student projects, activities, and programs that promote personal development and demonstrate authentic learning.

Strategies

• Appalachian Heritage Days- post-COVID or virtual event

• Mock Election- virtual election

• School Play

• Perfect Attendance and Honor Roll Recognitions every nine weeks.

• Morning Mile Program- implemented in PE classes

• National Junior Honor Society (expand to 6th and 7th grade)- virtual if necessary. 

Look for opportunities to enhance Pre-k and kindergarten instruction and ensure sustainability for current programs implemented in the 2021-22 school year.

Strategies

• Recruitment of 4-year-old children- Registration and “Fun Night” during the Spring semester. Virtual if necessary. 

• Encourage new student and parent visits to our current programs.

• Continue to support our Kindergarten program with assistance from paraprofessionals and Title 1 teachers. 

Continue to demonstrate the need for an SRO and sustain that position beyond 2021-22.

Strategies

• Exploration of grants published by the DOJ. 

• Explore community and corporate partnerships. 

• Communicate the need for a full-time SRO and educate the citizens of their opportunities/responsibilities to assist.  

Use Data to Improve Learning

USING RESULTS FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

• Analyze SOL data from 2020-21 to guide instruction for the 2021-22 school year. Teachers will plan instruction based on formative assessment and a growth mindset. 

• Effectively utilize the resources of the Region 7 Comprehensive Instructional Program for all SOL-tested subjects and use the 9-week benchmark assessments for formative assessment.

• Utilize Afterschool Math and Reading Academies using data from SOL’s, benchmark testing, and other assessments in grades 3-7 to promote growth in core areas.

Strategies

• Classroom and benchmark assessments will be analyzed to form instruction for remediation and enrichment in Math and Reading. 

• Grade level/departmental meetings and on a monthly basis.

• Regular faculty meetings.

• Continuing Professional Development: Assessment for Learning strategies will be utilized to form instruction and provide remediation to enhance student learning in all subjects. 

• Implement Professional Development that examines data for the subjects of Reading and Math with leadership from the Reading and Math departments.

Attachment A:  Technology Plan

Norton City Schools Technology Plan 2021-2027 - Revised 8/27/21- Final 10/18/21

Mission Statement

The mission of Norton City Schools is to ensure that all students are technologically literate in a manner that will support their future as lifelong learners and as productive citizens.

Norton City Schools will continue to improve access to technology for all students, staff, and members of the community. As we continue to strive for excellence, we will monitor the ever-changing face of education and technology and continually assess the needs of Norton City Schools.

Norton City Schools acknowledge the role of technology in society and the learning environment by incorporating technology into all aspects of the educational process using the following strategies:

• Enhancement of communication between parents, students, colleagues, and the community.

• Making instructional technology available to all students and teachers.

• Make available an option for virtual programs utilizing the Region VII Virtual Academy. 

• Stimulate individualized learning, group activities, and cooperative activities.

• Improving the administration of schools by providing access to information required for decisions concerning instruction and administration.

• Acquire specialized technologies to meet the needs of special needs students.

• Allowing students to assume a greater responsibility for their learning, which will allow them to experiment, explore, and expand their educational horizons.

• Create a learning environment where active participation is encouraged through the use of technology.

• Fully support technology by providing on-going teacher training and professional development.

• Technology training will be made available to the community.

• Online access to enrollment, forms and payments.

Philosophy

Education is at the heart of economic growth and democratic citizenship. To assure success in global competition, educational systems are undergoing a profound transformation. The new educational delivery systems are based on a society of lifelong learners who collaborate on common interests, share resources, and provide mutual support. Local communities, utilization of new partnerships, educational technologies and the nation’s emerging information infrastructure are helping to transform teaching and learning from preschool programs to worker retraining. Students of all ages will be connected to a vast array of educational opportunities.

We believe that:

• Everyone should use technology ethically.

• Technology is ever changing and requires the continuous updating of skills.

• The technology plan should be flexible and changeable.

• Technology application needs to be designed to meet the goals of instructional programs.

• Emerging instructional applications require continuous staff development to assure effective curriculum integration.

• Effective leadership requires the use of technology.

• Technology motivates students to become active, problem-solving learners.

• Technology provides access to a world of information and ideas.

• Technology is essential for organizing and managing information to assist in problem-solving.

• Technology in schools needs to extend to the home and community, providing the tools for learning and creativity.

Action Items Based on Needs Assessment

ENVIRONMENT

 Goal:  To provide all students a safe, flexible, and effective learning environment.

Objectives:

1. Provide high-quality professional development to assist educators to create, maintain, and enhance a variety of instructional methods.

2. Broaden curricula to include virtual learning environments, face to face, and blended instructional opportunities.

3. Provide necessary infrastructure to support one to one initiative, virtual learning, and other learning environments.

4. Educate users on acceptable and Internet safety practices.

Strategies:

1. Ensure all stakeholders are aware of distance learning opportunities, especially dual enrollment courses offered through partnerships with our local colleges, Elite Learning, and the Linwood Holton Governor’s School.

2. Promote professional development that is appropriate to enhance a teacher’s use of readily available technology.

3. Continuously monitor our networks (LAN and Wireless) to ensure it is capable of handling the increased use of technology.

4. Evaluate emerging technologies and implement them when appropriate.

5. Utilize master teachers to aid their colleagues in proper incorporation of technology.

6. Maintain a list of useful websites and resources that teachers can reference.

7. Educate parents and community members of the potential dangers of the Internet and provide them with information that will aid them in keeping their children/grandchildren or loved ones safe.

Needs Assessment:

1. The bandwidth available at John I. Burton and Norton Elementary & Middle School must be upgraded to adequately support the increasing demands on Internet connectivity. An upgrade was completed in July 2020.  This is constantly being re-evaluated as needs arise and new devices are added.

2. There are discrepancies throughout the Norton City School division regarding the proper use of technology to enhance classroom instruction.

3. The chrome book initiative is needed, as funding allows, for grades 3-12 for access to testing of SOLS. Chromebooks are in every 1st-12th grade classroom.  These devices are upgraded as the need arises.

ENGAGEMENT

Goal:  Engage students with technologies that meet their individual educational needs and promote our curricular content.

Objectives:

1. Improve collaboration among educators, content experts, and students to promote individualized, effective use of technology.

2. Make technologies that engage students more available to teachers.

3. Ensure all students have equal access to engaging technologies to individualize learning and provide equitable opportunities.

4. Educate students on appropriate use of technologies by implementing Internet safety programs in schools.

5. Provide appropriate adaptive technologies when applicable.

6. Offer students opportunities to apply technology effectively to gain knowledge, develop skills, and create and distribute artifacts that provide assessment for learning.

Strategies:

1. Partner with local colleges and universities, including the Center for Teaching Excellence, to provide workshops and classes concerning technology integration.

2. Provide teachers with various outlets to provide an understanding of how other teachers around our region and the state are empowering students through the use of technology.

3. Empower special needs students by utilizing appropriate assistive technologies.

4. Formulate lists of best practices using technology to share among division employees.

5. Evaluate hand-held devices and incorporate where appropriate.

6. Educate students to safely exist in a technological world.

7. Increase the number of mobile labs across the division.

Needs Assessment:

1. Address teacher weaknesses in utilizing classroom technologies.

2. Increase hand-held technologies to engage students where appropriate.

3. Ensure that each child has equal opportunity to a technology-enhanced learning environment at school and home.

4. Address appropriate use of social media and other forms of technology. 

5. Training for staff for a virtual learning environment

APPLICATION

Goal:  Empower students by providing opportunities for them to apply effective technologies to gain understanding, knowledge, and encourage them to be independent thinkers.

Objectives:

1. Provide and support professional development to teachers so that they may effectively facilitate a classroom in which students are encouraged to use technology to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems where applicable.

2. Educate students on the purposeful use of technology to solve real world issues.

3. Enhance traditional assessments with technology-based assessments.

4. Create opportunities to showcase student work to generate interest and promote participation in school projects.

Strategies:

1. Increase technology literacy with a technology curriculum at the elementary school level.

2. Evaluate the current literacy levels of all teachers, students, and administrators and provide professional development and instruction where needed.

3. Incorporate assessment programs such as Interactive Achievement with classroom response systems using technology-based assessments.

4. Ensure students and teachers are aware of emerging technologies.

5. Promote project-based learning utilizing technology.

Needs Assessment:

1. Students need to become independent problem solvers, using technology when appropriate.

2. Provide students with more technological based assessments.

3. Prepare students for a technology rich workforce.

4. Assist teachers in overcoming their technology shortfalls.

5. Increase the amount of technology tools available throughout the school division.

6. Prepare teachers and students to adapt to technologies that do not yet exist.

7. Prepare students and teachers for virtual and remote learning.

TOOLS

Goal:  Provide students and teachers with authentic and appropriate technology tools to promote the development of students in order to gain knowledge and extend the capability of applying technology to solve problems and demonstrate understanding.

Objectives:

1. Utilize mobile devices when appropriate to allow all students the opportunity to solve problems utilizing technology.

2. Support teachers with information, resources, and professional development that allows them to facilitate the students’ use of technologies to utilize technology to purposefully solve problems, communicate, and expand their knowledge.

3. Explore the use of formative technology-based assessments that further the growth in content knowledge and skill development.

Strategies:

1. Provide students with mobile devices, laptops, and response systems where appropriate to promote the use of technologies to solve problems.

2. Identify areas within the curriculum where technology is not currently utilized and implement it where appropriate.

3. Offer professional development to ensure the technology skills of our teachers meets their needs and allows them to effectively incorporate it into instruction.

4. Develop a systematic replacement plan for older, out of date computers and other technology-based equipment.

5. Complete the network refresh project for John I. Burton and Norton Elementary and Middle school to meet the infrastructure needs at both schools.

Needs Assessment:

1. Develop knowledge among teachers and students that allow them to choose appropriate tools for solving problems.

2. Foster professional development to ensure teachers gain the technology skills needed to promote effective use of technology tools by their students for classroom and remote learning.

3. Increase the number of mobile computer labs, hand-held devices, and response systems to ensure they are readily available to the classroom.

IMPROVING RESULTS

Goal: Utilize technology to support data-driven decision making to improve teaching and learning across the school division.

Objectives:

1. Use available data to determine if current supports (financial, technical, pedagogical supports, etc.) are sufficient.

2. Assist teachers in disaggregation, interpreting, and use of data to plan for improvement and differentiation of instruction.

3. Utilize technology to prepare students for upcoming assessments that will measure higher-order thinking skills and promote project-based learning.

4. Ensure all staff are proficient in the use of appropriate software for data management and reporting.

5. Provide additional training for all staff to utilize the existing student information system.

6. Utilize our notification system, web pages, social media, etc. to improve communication among all stakeholders.

7. Overcome technology staffing issues by implementing support contracts when necessary to provide network stability and efficiency.

Strategies:

1. Examine budgets to request additions where needed to ensure efficient operation.

2. Train teachers to utilize the Comprehensive Instructional Program (CIP) with Interactive achievement benchmarks and SOL assessment data to determine the educational needs of students.

3. Locate assessments that utilize technology-enhanced methods of answering questions instead of multiple choice answers.

4. Utilize student response systems for immediate feedback to students.

5. Communicate with all stakeholders through web pages, notification systems, social media, etc.

6. Train all staff in using appropriate technology programs to manage and report information.

7. Identify critical network components and implement maintenance contracts where necessary to ensure network downtime is kept to a minimum.

Needs Assessment:

1. Reduce technology failures to ensure connectivity is available when needed.

2. Provide useful data and train teachers to disaggregate such data.

3. Online assessments are needed across the school division to provide teachers with up-to-date data.

4. Improve communication among all stakeholders.

5. Provide students with immediate feedback when capable.

6. Provide training in Google Classroom and other virtual learning platforms yearly.

7. Develop a plan for updating the webpage design and keeping current website information updated.

TECHNOLOGY PLAN EVALUATION

Annually, the leadership team and the technology manager/department will review the plan to ensure that progress is being made to attain all goals. When necessary, goals, objectives, etc. will be updated to ensure that the plan is progressive and that it remains a working document.

TECHNOLOGY POLICIES

Book                                           Policy Manual

Section                                       Section I - Instruction

Title                                            ACCEPTABLE COMPUTER SYSTEM USE 

Code     IIBEA/GAB

Status                                         Active

Adopted                                      January 14, 1997

Last Revised                                July 15, 2019

Prior Revised Dates                      12/14/2009; 11/08/2010; 4/11/2019; 7/15/2019;         7/15/2021

ACCEPTABLE COMPUTER SYSTEM USE

The School Board provides a computer system, including the internet, to promote educational excellence by facilitating resource sharing, innovation and communication.  The term computer system includes, but is not limited to, hardware, software, data, communication lines and devices, terminals, display devices, printers, CD, DVD and other media devices, tape or flash drives, storage devices, servers, mainframe and personal computers, tablets, laptops, telephones, cameras, projectors, multimedia devices, workstations, the internet and other electronic services and internal or external networks. This includes any device that may be connected to or used to connect to the school division’s network or electronically stored division material.

          All use of the division’s computer system must be (1) in support of education and/or research, or (2) for legitimate school business. Use of the computer system is a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use may result in cancellation of those privileges, disciplinary action, and/or legal action. Any communication or material generated using the computer system, including electronic mail, social media posts, instant or text messages, tweets, and other files, including communications and materials deleted from a user’s account, may be monitored, read, and/or archived by division staff.

This policy applies to all users of the division’s computer system. By using or accessing the computer system, the user agrees to abide by this policy and the Technology Use Guidelines established by the superintendent.

The superintendent is responsible for establishing Technology Use Guidelines, containing the appropriate uses, ethics and protocols for use of the computer system. The superintendent is also responsible for reviewing and updating, as necessary, the Guidelines at least every two years. It is the user’s responsibility to know and follow this policy and the Technology Use Guidelines.

The Guidelines include:

1. a prohibition against use by division employees and students of the division’s computer equipment and communications services for sending, receiving, viewing or downloading illegal material via the internet;

2. provisions, including the selection and operation of a technology protection measure for the division’s computers having internet access to filter or block Internet access through such computers, that seek to prevent access to:

1. child pornography as set out in Va. Code § 18.2-374.1:1 or as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2256;

2. obscenity as defined by Va. Code § 18.2-372 or 18 U.S.C. § 1460; and

3. material that the school division deems to be harmful to juveniles as defined in Va. Code § 18.2-390, material that is harmful to minors as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 254(h)(7)(G), and material that is otherwise inappropriate for minors;

3. provisions establishing that the technology protection measure is enforced during any use of the division’s computers;

4. provisions establishing that all usage of the computer system may be monitored;

5. provisions designed to educate students and employees about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with students and other individuals on social networking websites, blogs, in chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response;

6. provisions designed to prevent unauthorized online access by minors, including “hacking” and other unlawful online activities.;

7. provisions requiring every user to protect the security of information necessary to access the computer system, such as usernames and passwords, and prohibiting the sharing of passwords;

8. provisions prohibiting the unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of photographs and/or personal information of or regarding minors; and

9. a component of internet safety for students that is integrated in the division’s instructional program.

Use of the school division’s computer system shall be consistent with the educational or instructional mission or administrative function of the division as well as the varied instructional needs, learning styles, abilities and developmental levels of students.

The division’s computer system is not a public forum.

Users of the division’s computer system have no expectation of privacy for use of the division’s resources or electronic devices including non-division owned devices while connected to division networks or computer resources.

Software and/or services may not be installed or downloaded on the division’s computer system without the prior approval of the superintendent or superintendent’s designee.

The failure of any user to follow the terms of this policy or the Technology Use Guidelines may result in loss of computer system privileges, disciplinary action, and/or appropriate legal action.

The School Board is not responsible for any information that may be lost, damaged or unavailable when using the computer system or for any information retrieved via the Internet.  Furthermore, the School Board is not responsible for any unauthorized charges or fees resulting from access to the computer system.

The School Board reviews and amends, if necessary, this policy every two years. _______________________________________________________________

  Legal Refs:   18 U.S.C. §§ 1460, 2256.

  47 U.S.C. § 254.

  Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§ 18.2-372, 18.2-374.1:1,    18.2-390, 22.1-70.2, and 22.1-78.

Cross Refs.:  EGAA                     Reproduction and Use of Copyrighted Materials

                   GBA/JHFA               Prohibition Against Harassment and Retaliation

     GCPD                     Professional Staff Discipline

     GCQB                     Staff Research and Publishing

     JFC                        Student Conduct

©VSBA  NORTON CITY SCHOOLS