1: LEADERSHIP TEAM

GOAL: Dorothy Height will have a clear shared vision with goals for the school, its culture, and teaching and learning. There will be opportunities for ongoing support for the leadership team, including professional conferences, webinars, online communities of practice, etc. There will also be modeling of strong leadership by adopting and utilizing powerful and innovative technology strategies

2. How does the district leadership team support innovation and collaboration?

District leadership communicates with the Principal about any trends and new initiatives, which allows for increased student innovation on campus.  Weekly meetings are held with the district leader to discuss new initiatives and campus goals.   Our district ensures that VILS coaches across our campuses are in contact and are aware of each other’s needs to ensure all campuses are supported. The CMO also meets with VILS coaches to quickly and efficiently resolve any issues that may arise and support coaches and staff in regard to student technology. 

3. What evidence do you have that supports policies for teacher and student device usage?

Every 5th-8th grade student and staff member has access to a VILS device and mobile data. Our 3rd and 4th-grade students also have access to one-to-one Chromebooks, but these devices do not have mobile data. 

Our Student Technology Handbook is available in both English and Spanish. It outlines all policies for technology at Dorothy Height. 

During the beginning of the year, the VILS Coach and DCIs also met with all 5-8 teachers to discuss best practices and expectations around students' VILS devices. Following this meeting, the VILS coach, DCIs, and homeroom teachers met with all 5-8 students to further outline VILS Chromebook policies before distributing the device. These artifacts can be found under the 'Consistent Access' section of the portfolio. 

4. How have you implemented best practices gained from leadership calls, national calls, and IT calls? Can you point to ways in which you've modified your PL and IT practices as a result of reflection and learning from others?

There is a constant collaboration across our network on all things VILS when it comes to the three Crescent City Schools VILS coaches. We have aligned most tech management practices, and we frequently troubleshoot together. We also look outward and gather tips from VILS calls as far as creative documents or management tools.

Part of our goals, as a Leadership Team at DHCS, also includes prioritizing time for the VILS coach to attend ed tech conferences and other training opportunities on new practices/techniques/programs. The National Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) and various virtual professional development opportunities are the key ways in which the VILS coach has pursued this ongoing learning. 

Guiding question: How do the TLC members impact school improvement or student learning? If not, how can you leverage their expertise?

Our TLC uses technology in innovative ways by incorporating VILS devices in their daily lessons. These educators design lessons that incorporate our digital platforms like Google Education Suite, Discovery Ed, Amplify, Eureka, Nearpod, etc. to facilitate learning and 21st-century skills. This group of teachers also pilots new programs and supports their teammates in troubleshooting as they integrate new tech into their classrooms. 

As a VILS Coach, I support these teachers in designing new and engaging tech-based learning opportunities for students. I also give feedback from observations and highlight student success.  

As technology in these teachers' classrooms further enhances student engagement and academic growth, these teachers are then able to share their experiences with their peers and encourage them to try out some best practices for our most high-impact digital learning tools.

Self-Reflection on the Element: (Choose one: Emerging, Aligning, or Optimizing)

• • I believe we are currently in the aligning section. 

Strengths: How did your campus exemplify illustrating this element?

• • Our campus is currently exemplifying this element through our collaboration. When I joined the Height team as the VILS coach at the end of October, our school leader set up biweekly meetings for us and scheduled several meetings for me with the previous DHCS VILS Coach. 

  •  Given my late start with Height, our TLC is still finding its footing. I am currently working with the DCIs to identify the TLC and develop targeting goals for our tech-based initiatives. I believe that following winter break,  this will be our biggest asset as a Leadership Team. 

Next Steps: What could you have done differently to better align with this element?

• I think that beginning the year with a stronger VILS/DCI partnership, as well as scheduling consistent coaching meetings with tech-ready teachers, would be very beneficial in messaging the importance of digital-based solutions and strategies at Height. 

• I also believe that starting the year off with a clearer VILS vision would greatly benefit the program. Given that I joined the team in October, this was difficult to execute this year.