2022-25 Plan
Vision
Our vision as a school community is to inspire students and promote personal success.
District Mission
Our mission is to build on our commitment to academic excellence with a focus on authentic learning experiences, civic responsibility, and innovative programs. We will accomplish this in an environment that fosters meaningful relationships, supports the overall wellness of each student, and promotes continuous improvement in each of the district priority areas: teaching and learning; school environment; service learning and community partnerships; and fiscal capacity and responsibility.
Planning Process
The stakeholder groups that developed the plan were the 2022-25 Technology Committee, which includes teachers represented in all grade levels and disciplines, as well as OT/PT, administrators, parents and students; the Technology Advisory Planning Team, the Special Education team, IT team, the Media Literacy Steering Committee, the Coding Steering Committee, and all teachers.
During fall 2019, the Media Literacy and Coding steering committees were formed in response to the new New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards timeline. The goal was to find areas where these two topics were not covered in K-12. The Technology Committee met to review the questions and reached out to teachers and IT staff to ask for input on the goals.
A subcommittee of instructional technology teachers worked to write the goals, objectives, and outcomes. Some groups met twice a month while others met once a month. The Technology Committee convened three times a year as a whole group in addition to the small group research, feedback gathering and writing.
Technology Committee
The F-M Technology Committee brings together faculty, staff, administrators, students and community members to discuss the impact that instructional technology has on K-12 students within the district.
The Technology Committee is always looking for innovative ways to use technology to support students academically, socially and emotionally. The following subcommittees dive deeper into their respective concepts.
Media Literacy Steering Committee
The purpose of this committee is to collect K-12 media literacy practices at F-M and make recommendations for the integration of media literacy instruction into the district curricula.
Coding Steering Committee
The purpose of this committee is to collect K-12 coding practices at F-M and make recommendations for the integration of coding building on concepts in math and science.
Online Learning
This 2022-25 Technology Plan supports both teachers and students in accessing instructional materials from home if in quarantine or if the school moves to online or blended learning. For hardware, teachers use cameras, microphones and mobile devices to present and collaborate with students from school or a remote location. The district has purchased software to manage devices more efficiently from school and home.
The Technical Integration Specialists and computer lab assistants have taught workshops and in-service classes, in addition to providing tutorials, to raise the proficiency level of students and staff. The Director of Instructional Technology continues to provide virtual parent/guardian workshops on the software students use each day.
Goals and Action Steps
Goal 1
Build a fundamental understanding of the NYS Computer Fluency Standards.
Action Steps
The Technology Committee and district administrators will review the new state Computer Fluency Standards. Administrators and the committee will meet throughout the year to discuss these standards. The department will then take the lead on implications of the new standards and plans for implementing them.
During summer 2022, grade-level representatives will create lessons with the instructional technology staff, which will be presented throughout the 2022-23 school year to be tested and revised.
During the 2023-24 school year, instructional technology staff will analyze the lessons being tested to develop a checklist of content and skills that will be used to evaluate students. Representatives who tested the lessons the prior school year will create professional development opportunities. Some will provide in-service courses for teacher credit and pay.
Goal 2
Align F-M curriculum with the NYS Standards of Media and Digital Literacy
Action Steps
The Director of Instructional Technology will organize a steering committee to review the state Standards of Media and Digital Literacy numbers 1 and 5 and then determine how these support and integrate with media literacy.
The steering committee will use a spreadsheet and the District Curriculum Maps to review the new standards and share them with their departments. The steering committee members will work with their departments/grade levels to evaluate areas of the curriculum in which media literacy is being used and where it is lacking according to the state standards.
Grade-level representatives will meet during the summer to create lessons in the identified gap areas/grade levels. The district will provide in-service book talks for staff to read about media literacy.
Goal 3
Align F-M Curriculum with the NYS Standards of Coding.
Action Steps
The Director of Instructional Technology will organize a Coding Steering Committee to review the state Standards of Coding numbers 2-4, gather research on how a K-12 coding curriculum supports the standards and how other districts teach coding.
The Coding Steering Committee will collaborate with F-M departments and curriculum specialists to determine through the District Curriculum Maps areas in coding standards 2-4 that are currently taught and also those lacking in each grade-level curriculum.
Instructional technology staff and teachers will develop lessons to align to the coding standards.
Goal 4
Update infrastructure to elevate cybersecurity and privacy.
Action Steps
The Director of IT/Support will gather information from stakeholders, buildings, district technology department, vendors, and subject matter experts. He will continue to have regular meetings with district and building administrative leaders, technology staff and computer resource teachers to formulate what the district’s objectives should be around end-goals for the district’s IT needs.
The district technology department will then collaborate with business partners to create a multi-year plan to upgrade the district’s IT infrastructure and create a protective cybersecurity environment for staff and students.
New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards
Five Key Concepts
- Impacts of Computing
- Computational Thinking
- Networks and System Design
- Cybersecurity
- Digital Literacy
Professional Development
Continue to provide strong professional development through collaborative learning communities, in-service, book clubs and department and grade-level meetings.
Research shows that highly skilled and expert teachers are the most important school-based factors contributing to student achievement. Fayetteville-Manlius recognizes the value of ongoing teacher professional development and is committed to continuous training and learning opportunities for all teachers.
Fayetteville-Manlius has historically had a strong commitment to the use of instructional technology to support and advance student learning. Substantial financial resources are dedicated to the purchase of necessary software, hardware, infrastructure and professional learning to achieve stated district strategic plan goals and to support teachers.
Professional development learning in instructional technology is directly connected to the goals and objectives of the Fayetteville-Manlius District Strategic Plan and building-level initiatives. Activities are aligned with the New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards and support a range of student needs and content areas.
To meet the needs of teachers with varying experience levels and a wide range of discipline areas, professional development learning in instructional technology is supported in a myriad of ways and settings: district professional development day opportunities, graduate courses, workshops, curriculum development, conferences, and customized F-M in-service courses.
Teacher surveys are distributed and disaggregated to determine the capacity of teachers to effectively and seamlessly integrate technology in their instruction and to determine specific professional development needs for individual teachers, departments and schools. Additionally, district computer resource (support) staff, administrators and teacher leaders meet regularly with teachers and departments to ascertain needs.
The district examines information from the following sources to analyze the efficacy of professional learning and congruence with instructional technology: New York state assessment data, student formative and summative assessment data, teacher surveys, teacher feedback and administrative input. Plans are continually updated to respond to performance data and to align with contemporary programs and best practices.
Investment Plan
Anticipated Item of Service
Wireless Infrastructure Year 1 – One Building PILOT
If you choose other, please identify
Network and Infrastructure
Estimated Cost
$56,000 first year/$4,500 for licensing
Annual, one-time or both
One-time and annual license
Potential Funding Source
BOCES Project & ERate
Anticipated Item of Service
Wireless Infrastructure Year 2 – Three buildings
If you choose other, please identify
Network and Infrastructure
Estimated Cost
$168,000 first year/$12,000 for licensing
Annual, one-time or both
One-time and annual license
Potential Funding Source
BOCES Project & ERate
Anticipated Item of Service
Wireless Infrastructure Year 3 – Two Buildings
If you choose other, please identify
Network and Infrastructure
Estimated Cost
$160,000 first year/$11,500 for licensing
Annual, one-time or both
One-time and annual license
Potential Funding Source
BOCES Project & ERate
Anticipated Item of Service
Infrastructure: Data Racks, Cabling, Cable Management
If you choose other, please identify
Network and Infrastructure
Estimated Cost
$120,000
Annual, one-time or both
One-time
Potential Funding Source
BOCES Project, ERate, Local Funds
Anticipated Item of Service
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) 24/7 Real-Time Cybersecurity Protection
If you choose other, please identify
instructional and Administrative Software
Estimated Cost
$100,000
Annual, one-time or both
Annual
Potential Funding Source
BOCES COSER
Equitable Access
Fayetteville-Manlius provides equitable access and learning opportunities seven days a week and evenings. Students in grades K-6 bring devices home to be used from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. through a script to lock the device during the evening hours. High school student devices are available for use 24/7. A replacement device plan is in place for short-term and long-term planning that provides a device to be assigned to a student from grades K-12. Every four years, or when students change a building, a new device is provided.
The wireless infrastructure has a three-year replacement plan in place, beginning in summer 2022. Cybersecurity, student privacy and safety are paramount with software and an outsourced contractor accessing alerts for all types of attacks.
The F-M Help Desk provides phone support from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in September and then 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout the year. In the evenings, students, parents, and guardians may email the Help Desk for emergencies. Messages will be responded to within the hour. This support is also available for all staff, especially if a parent or student emails the teacher instead of the Help Desk.
Workshops are provided regularly for parents during lunch and evening hours to accommodate all work and child care situations. They include tutorials on installing the communication apps, navigating their child’s learning management system, and using and troubleshooting the assigned student device.
Students keep their assigned device for the summer and use a self-paced Fayetteville-Manlius created online course that is tailored to each grade level. The course includes practice lessons and activities from all subject areas to provide reinforcement of skills and content. Emails are sent to parents/guardians in June to provide guidance in using the course. Courses are grade-level specific.
Looking Ahead
The use of technology at Fayetteville-Manlius is ubiquitous, providing integrated support systems for all students. Student comfort with technology provides an opportune learning experience. Technology is used in every discipline and job, so preparing students for the future includes the following as reflected in this plan:
- Digital citizenship: keyboarding, cybersecurity awareness, positive digital footprint, copyright, online safety and security (student)
- Consumer of content: media literacy, critical thinking and reading of websites (student)
- Creator of content: videos, podcasts, web sites music (student and teacher)
Rigorous, rich, and innovative learning: project-based opportunities integrating multiple technologies - Community building: online learning communities, mentorships, access to content and peers after school hours and weekends (student)
- Formative and summative assessments: online check in, quick access data by student and class (teacher)
- Self-directed learning: electronic interventions tailored to the student, such as Read & Write and online research products that support text-to-speech, speech-to-text, note taking and vocabulary development; Schoology provides access and opportunities for engagement during and outside of class; 1:1 assigned student devices
- Collaboration: use of experts outside the classroom using Google Meet for face-to-face interviews and Google Docs for collaboration
- Coding: K-12 integrated curriculum using Speros, code.org, Scratch, Edison robots, Nao robots, Vex, LEGO
- Robotics: Middle school and high school teams
- eSports: High school team
- Home/School Connection: Schoology provides communication with individual students and parents as well as a location to find information from each teacher and building in one location in the app or on the web