Running Head: SHARED VISION & RATIONALE 1

Shared Vision and Rationale

Trent Stapleton

ITEC 7410 – Instructional Technology Leadership

Summer 2018

Mr. Chet Fuller

Vision Statement

Elkins Pointe Middle School (EPMS) “will provide individualized support” for all

of their students. Supported by Fulton County School’s Personalized Learning Initiative,

EPMS will prepare their students “to become well-rounded, successful leaders” through

effective technology integration, meaningful project-based learning (PBL) opportunities,

and by providing authentic learning experiences for all students. EPMS will effectively

collect and analyze student data through digital platforms to ensure students are receiving

direct instruction when they are ready to succeed. Additionally, EPMS will improve

student literacy skills through effective data collection and analysis, and by personalizing

student learning experiences.

Rationale

The school vision was created by members of the major stakeholders at EPMS.

Administrators, teachers and parents developed the school vision to reflect the current

areas of focus at EPMS. Specifically, the school vision describes the major initiatives

currently in place at EPMS. The technology integration (1:1) program, the district’s

personalized learning initiative, the emphasis on PBL activities, and effective collection

and use of data to drive instruction are emphasized in the current school vision. All

members of the administration and teaching staff were surveyed to develop the school

vision.

Fulton County School District began their personalized learning initiative in 2015

(Personalized Learning, 2015). Schools were required to fulfill several requirements to

show their preparedness for the program, and shortly thereafter would be provided

technology for their students. The program asked schools to prepare for device
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deployment by making sure they had support staff, teachers and staff were provided

minimal training, and the school needed to provide a technology integration plan to

demonstrate their understanding of the support of the technology integration. In 2017,

EPMS completed the required steps and received their devices. Each student at EPMS

received a Dell laptop for use at school and at home. In order for the shared vision to

support technology integration, it was clear that the devices could not be limited to

assessment and review. But, as research indicates, if students were to see true growth,

they would need opportunities to design and create using technology (Doran and Herold,

2016). Providing design opportunities for students using technology connected directly

with personalizing learning and developing effective PBL activities.

Albert Einstein said “Learning is experience. Everything else is just information”.

The goal of an effective PBL activity is to provide an authentic learning experience for

the students. This means that the students will be taken the information, which is now

provided them at their fingertips, and finding effective ways of using that information to

come to their own conclusions. PBL transforms passive learning into an engaging

learning experience. Students can take these authentic experiences, ones in which they

have developed 21st century skills, and apply these experiences to much more than a

single assessment. Edutopia describes these 21st century skills as “teamwork, problem

solving, research gathering, time management, information synthesizing and utilizing

high tech tools” (Edutopia, 2007). These are the skills that companies expect from their

new hires (LinkedIn, 2016).

To achieve literacy growth, EPMS utilizes a variety of digital tools to measure

achievement and set learning goals for all students. This is extremely important for
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EPMS, as over half of the student population is made up of students with English as a

Second Language. The instructional language barrier is evident at EPMS, but through

effective integration of technology, teachers are able to work with students using

translation tools and immersive readers and writing support. The district also provides

EPMS teachers with the digital literacy tool iReady, which provides teachers and students

with effective literacy data and provides goal oriented instruction.

Students at EPMS are provided with several opportunities to gain experience in

areas outside of the traditional classroom. The school vision supports the goals of

preparing students to become effective and productive members of society. The

technology integration and personalized learning at EPMS make sure that all students can

be successful and demonstrate effective growth.

Diversity Considerations

Located in north Fulton County, in Roswell, Georgia, Elkins Pointe serves just

over 1,100 students, 43% white, 38% Hispanic, and 12% African American

(Schooldigger, 2017). According to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, 47%

of students at EPMS qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL), 12% of the students are

identified as Students with Disabilities (SWD), and 14% of students are English

Language Learners (ELL)(Governors Office, 2018). Elkins Pointe Middle School,

compared to other schools in the area (Roswell and Milton High Schools) provides

effective instruction for an abnormally diverse student body.

One of the biggest decisions with regards to EPMS technology integration

initiative, the administration was asked to choose their device to issue to each student.

The decision to go with the Dell laptop is directly tied to the lack of internet in the homes
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of students at EPMS. Using survey data prior to receiving their devices, EPMS

administration found that nearly 300 of the 1100 students did not have a reliable source

of internet at home. The administration went with the Dell laptop to allow students to use

their devices without an internet connect (whereas, a Chromebook requires Wi-Fi

connections). The administration also provides parent training nights. Parents are

provided instruction on effective technology use, how to keep their student safe and

secure while using their device, and how to maintain the device to ensure it is in he best

possible condition for improving learning and study habits.

Because of the districts 1:1 device program, every student at EPMS is provided a

device. Each student is provided one Dell laptop for the school year. Students are asked

to bring their devices home and to school each day. How the device is used during the

school day depends heavily on each individual teacher. The school vision is designed to

make sure that teachers are providing rich learning experiences that are supported

through effective technology use.

Elkins Pointe provides “club” learning experiences that provide students

additional opportunities to develop their 21st century skills. The computer programming

teacher runs a “Girls who code” club throughout the year, including the summer. There

are animation clubs, video production clubs, crafting clubs, etc. that all cater to the needs

and desires of the students. Around the building, students of diverse backgrounds are

given equal opportunities.

To achieve these goals of preparing 21st century students for leadership roles,

teachers at Elkins Pointe must work to provide authentic learning opportunities for all

students, regardless of race, Socioeconomic status, or gender. Elkins Pointe provides an

inclusive learning experience for all of the students, and the 1:1 device initiative from the

district provides a device for every student. The shared vision for the stakeholders at

Elkins Pointe provides teachers with a path to developing blended learning experiences

that focus on building the necessary skills to prepare our students to become future

leaders.

Stakeholder Roles

As the school vision reflects heavily on the technology integration and

personalized learning initiatives, the school vision team relies on the ISTE standards to

prepare the various stakeholders to be effective and active members in the development

of the school.

 Students: The vision for Elkins Pointe Middle School asks students to

become self-learners and to develop the skills necessary to become life-

long learners. ISTE defines technology integration into 7 different

categories: Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen, Knowledge Constructor,

Innovative Designer, Computational Thinker, Creative Communicator,

and Global Collaborator. Integrating technology, encouraging PBL, and

providing a diverse library of available learning experiences, EPMS will

help students achieve in the seven categories.

 Educators: The ISTE standards for educators requires teachers to focus

on effective integration of technology and consistent professional

development. As teachers focus on effectively integrating technology, they

will provide authentic learning experiences for their students. As stated in

the EPMS vision, the school will focus on providing learning experiences

for the students, and will provide instruction for students when they need

it and how they need it.

 Administration: As an administrative team, the EPMS leadership relies

heavily on the ISTE standards to ensure the school is achieving at a high

level. Specifically, the administration is currently focusing on the

Visionary Leadership and Systemic Improvement standards. The

administration must work as the change leaders in the school and must

maintain their path unwavering in their leadership. The changes that have

occurred at Elkins Pointe in the last several years are directly correlated to

an administrative team that is succinct in their vision and is capable of

sharing and leading in an effective manner.

 Instructional Coach: The ISTE standards for instructional coaches are

very similar to the standards for educators and administrators. The

instructional coach at EPMS helps the administration to plan and lead

effective professional development opportunities for the teachers.

Working together, the instructional coach can help administration to stay

focused on technology integration and not technology use. I think it is

important for the instructional coach to remind administration that

education is a long term process. The administration wants immediate

results, the educators want more support, and the instructional coach can
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help achieve the school vision by providing these things for both the

administration and educator teams.

 Parents: While ISTE does not provide specific standards for parents, the

ISTE standards can be an excellent guide for parents looking to support

their students. The Elkins Pointe parent liaison works to provide

instructional workshops for parents that need additional guidance around

the 21st century classroom. Considered the “Final Frontier” of technology

integration, parent involvement is arguably the most important factor in

how a student develops the skills needed for effective technology

integration in an academic setting (Ertmer, 2014.)

The impact of the shared vision depends on the participation of these

stakeholders. As students are provided personalized learning experiences, they require

support and guidance and several areas. The administrative teams need to support the

learning taking place in the classrooms. Teachers are responsible to their students and to

the administration to provide effective personalized learning experiences. As each group

fulfills their requirements (ISTE standards), students will be provided with opportunities

to increase their critical thinking abilities, build their teamwork and communication

skills, and increase literacy by effectively using technology in the classroom.

References

Doran, L., and Herold, B. (2016, May 17). 1-to-1 Laptop Initiative Boost Student Scores.

Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/05/18/1-to-1-laptop-

initiatives-boost-student-scores-study.html

Edutopia. (2007, October 19). Why is Project-Based Learning Important? Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance

Elkins Pointe Middle School Vision Statement. (2015). Mission and Vision. Retrieved

from http://school.fultonschools.org/ms/elkinspointe/Pages/MissionVision.aspx

Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagological beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for

technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development.

Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peggy_Ertmer/publication/317953623_Teac

her_pedagogical_beliefs_The_final_frontier_in_our_quest_for_technology_integr

ation/links/0912f5122773d44ff2000000/Teacher-pedagogical-beliefs-The-final-

frontier-in-our-quest-for-technology-integration.pdf

Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. (2018). Elkins Pointe Middle School.

Retrieved from https://schoolgrades.georgia.gov/elkins-pointe-middle-school

ISTE Standards. (2017). Retrieved June 26, 2018, from http://www.iste.org/standards

LinkedIn Skills survey. (2016, June 24). The Skills It Takes To Get Hired At Google,

Facebook, Amazon, and More. Retrieved from

https://www.fastcompany.com/3061237/the-skills-it-takes-to-get-hired-at-google-

facebook-amazon-and-more

Personalized Learning. (2015). Personalized Learning. Retrieved from

http://www.fultonschools.org/en/divisions/acd/personalizedlearning

Schooldigger. (2018). Elkins Pointe Middle School. Retrieved from

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/GA/schools/0228002492/school.aspx
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Appendix

Shared Vision Interview Questions