A stakeholder committee of more than 120 people, which eventually broke into subgroups, was formed.
“The biggest challenge in setting up a committee is buy-in,” said Cathy Magouyrk, the district’s associate superintendent for student achievement. Magouyrk said parents needed to understand what initiatives were on the table and what they meant, that stakeholders needed to keep track of state education initiatives, and that businesses also should be in the loop, because students graduating from the district’s high schools may immediately or eventually make their way into community businesses.
Committee members used Moodle to connect and collaborate even when meetings weren’t scheduled, and Magouyrk said that a small number of students attended committee meetings and remain involved.
The committee also is working to create and design 21st-century classrooms. All the classrooms will meet minimum requirements to ensure equitable access for students, but will be different depending on the need. The district has plans to open STEM and performing arts high schools, both of which will be designed differently.
“Transparency and communication between all groups is essential,” she said, adding that the technology department can’t operate without the curriculum and instruction department, and the curriculum and instruction department can’t operate without communication with the technology department.
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“The economy is, of course, challenging everything that we’re doing,” Hindmon said. “We have to take into account funding and the budget. We knew we couldn’t achieve everything at one time; we knew we needed to have a plan in place so that when we did find funding, or when people did get grants, that we had the plan ready.”
“We have to plan in advance for what we don’t have, and that’s our budget,” Magouyrk said. “We might not be able to afford it right now, but we know where we’re going.”
Moving forward, the district hopes to give students more access to digital content, as well as open a STEM school. A continued focus will be changing instruction in the classroom, real-time technology integration, and offering ongoing professional development to teachers.
“Budget restraints are usually the limiting factor when it comes to technology,” said Mike Donaldson, the tech coordinator for Cullman City Schools (CCS) in Alabama.
Despite its small size—five schools and 3,000 students–CCS offers wireless facilities with access to laptops for all students. The district’s middle school is in its sixth year of a one-to-one computing initiative, and a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission has helped the district stay on track with many of its technology goals.
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