3J. List of clear goals, measurable objectives, annual benchmarks and an implementation plan to use technology to improve two-way communication between home and school.

Start with a narration here that describes how current communication between school and home is handled. Then describe where you would like to be. Then write goals and objectives that support your statements.

• What technologies are available to facilitate home/school communication?

• What technology access do parents have at home? What technologies do parents prefer for home/school communication?

• What e-rate eligible technologies could be used to foster home/school communication?

After reviewing parent data, create clear goals, measurable objectives, annual benchmarks, and an implementation plan to use technology to improve two-way communication betwee

Need some specific information here on how individual sites currently communicate with parents using technology -- email? voice mail? Teacher web pages? Electronic newsletters??? Etc.

Dixie Goals

Goal 3j- All teachers will make use of technology tools to enhance and improve communication between home and school using voice mail, email and web-based services that have been adapted for bilingual needsn home and school.

Dixie Elementary School District

All teachers communicate with parents by email. The district holds a standard that all teachers will have active web sites.  At Milller Creek, teachers use TeacherWeb to create classroom web pages.  Content includes course outlines, homework assignments, quiz alerts, and links to web sites that support current classroom work.  Teacher web sites at Dixie Elementary are hosted on the district web server, while Mary Silveira teachers have created classroom web pages with "dotmac" accounts.  Vallecito teachers have not yet been trained in creation of web sites for classroom use.  The web sites for the lower grades at Dixie and Mary Silveira include parent information, homework assignments, class newsletters, and many photo albums of student activities.  Teachers have done an excellent job of keeping content current.  In a survey  of teacher web sites, content included photos of Halloween festivities that had just taken place in the past 24 hours. [AB]

Note: the implementaton plan should include mention of web site training for teachers at Vallecito.  [AB]

Teachers at some sites have access to “Dot-Mac” accounts to create classroom web pages

using iWeb. Students can follow links to topic areas, access class assignment information and

download teacher files. Parents use the web sites to stay on top of grade-level curriculum, access enrichment/practice activities, and send email to teachers.

Currently, teacher web sites lack uniformity in presentation and materials. Do we need to make this a goal?

The district currently uses Aries for attendance and Data Director for test data. Numerous

studies have validated that active parental interest and participation in their child’s education is

the single most important determinant of a student’s achievement. It is not a student’s ethnicity,

gender, or even economic status that will influence academic achievement. It is the active interest

and involvement of the parents and guardians in their child’s schoolwork and activities on a daily

basis that will ultimately underwrite student progress.

Principals at each site publish a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter to parents online. All principals have parent email lists and communicate with the parent community. Friday Folder information can be sent home electronically. A complete calendar of district-wide events is available on the district web site. District-wide flyers and school

flyers for upcoming events are also available as downloads on the district web site.

Need more specific examples from each site and the district level.