School board members brought up to speed on technology, improvement

It was class time for members of the McCook Public Schools board of education, as, during a nearly three-hour session Tuesday evening, they learned about a new student information system, planned technology upgrades and the district's school improvement action plan.

Melissa Shields, a technology representative for Computer Information Concepts of Greeley, Colo., told board members about "Infinite Campus," a computer system that gives parents and students access to student records and grades, building schedules and school announcements.

To communicate with parents, teachers using Infinite Classroom are able to make available details of their grade books and assignments. The site indicates attendance records, tardy/absent trends and behavior concerns. It can include links to reference Web sites to help students complete tasks, and e-mail links to teachers.

Shields said disseminating information to parents involves them in the learning process, and requires that teachers take the time to keep information current.

Kim Korgan, secretary in the McCook schools' activities department, said the majority of McCook's fourth through 12th teachers use electronic grade books, and do keep current with information they can now provide to parents.

Shields said, "It's a matter of habit for teachers. Parents drive the need. They desire valuable, current information."

Korgan said that teachers are excited about having more opportunities to share information with parents. "They're thrilled," she said.

Shields recommends short informational workshops for parents at the beginning of each school year, perhaps at building open houses, to acquaint them with the capabilities of Infinite Classroom.

Infinite Classroom is also valuable for school administration, Shields said, helping to track demographics and record assessment standards information.

The server/data base can be located on site, or at the IC head office in Minnesota. All information is backed up every night, Shields said.

Shields said technical support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and inquiries are answered on a high-, medium- and low-priority basis within two to six hours. She said, however, the average response time, regardless of priority rating, is 58 minutes.

Shields said Grand Island and Holdrege schools have used Infinite Classroom since August 2005, and North Platte, Ogallala, Lincoln and Millard are installing it now.

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McCook's technology director, Dan Shiers, explained to educators the upgrades planned this summer in the distance learning capabilities of the Southwest Distance Learning Consortium, of which McCook is a member.

Shiers said the consortium has received a $500,000 RUS (Rural Utilities System) grant to convert distance learning from jpeg technology (which limits transmission and reception of a signal to one site within the school) to internet protocol (which will allow access into any classroom with an ???ethernet??? connection).

"We'll be able to run data, video and voice on the same system," Shiers said, with high-speed internet access and real-time transmission.

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Several members of the schools' Curriculum Coordinating Council -- Carol Huff, Karen Miller, Bev Klein, Cindy Wilcox, Cindy Monnahan and Mary Jane Mires -- explained the "school improvement" process ongoing since the early 1990s.

Mires said the school started with an "A+" model that evaluated curriculum but had no formal organization. She said the process within the school was formalized in about 2002, through the efforts of Superintendent Dr. Don Marchant and Carol Huff, and with the creation of the schools' "Curriculum Coordinating Council," which now is the umbrella over all the schools' improvement efforts.

Mires told educators, "We've always had good teachers, with lots of successes. We feel now there is more professionalism. We know the direction we're going."

Huff said the emphasis of education has shifted from teaching to improved learning and learning opportunities for all students, the success of which is indicated by, among other things, test scores and reports of adequate yearly progress.

Huff said, "Schools are being held accountable for the high performance of all students, regardless of need, so that no one falls through the cracks. We must provide opportunities for every student."

Huff said Pres. Bush wants "everyone proficient" by 2014.

McCook's school improvement plan is based on this mission -- to equip all students to succeed in a complex global society -- and these beliefs, adopted in April 2002:

* Students, school, home and community share the responsibility of education.

* All students can learn.

* Learning is a lifelong process.

* High expectations promote success and challenge all students.

* Everyone is entitled to a safe and caring school environment.

* Learning opportunities exist beyond the classroom environment.

* Learning is promoted by the respect of self and others.

Huff, Monnahan, Klein and Miller each explained data being collected and analyzed on learning and learning opportunities within McCook's school system; in-service and state training for staff members; and activities and interventions implemented to meet educational goals.

Huff and Miller, who were available for the demonstration of the "Infinite Classroom" student information system, were impressed with the system's abilities to record data and help disseminate it to parents.