7103SBeer

Performance Improvement Intervention (PII) __Module 1 Assignment-__ Name of Organization: RR School (Special Education) Prek-21 yrs. Summary: Our school houses special needs students and technology is an important aspect of their learning experience. However, the county seems to overlook our school for the latest advancements in educational technology. We currently have 4 whiteboards in the whole school and the need for a portable whiteboard would enhance the learning environment by allowing many students to participate in our directed recs through interactive actions. The special area teachers (art, music and gym-me) put on directed recs which involve ALT-MSA (Maryland Assessment program for students with significant cognitive disabilities) units in junction with academics but have to use primitive rolling boards(Velcro) for participation activities. A portable whiteboard would not only benefit the educational learning experience but it would also contribute to school improvement.

__Module 1 Assignment-__ Ridge Ruxton [] Located in Towson, MD, The Ridge School opened in 1955 with an enrollment of 60 children and the goal was to educate students with intensive special education needs. It was the first school in Baltimore County for children with special needs. In 1979 the Ruxton Center was formed for secondary students with special education needs. In December of 2000, the Ridge School and Ruxton Center combined to what is known as Ridge Ruxton School. Today, the Ridge Ruxton School is intensity V Special Education School servicing 120 students from 3-21 yrs. of age and who have been identified as developmentally delayed, intellectually limited, autistic-like, and/or multi-disabled. //Mission Statement:// Our mission at Ridge Ruxton School is to provide for all students the opportunity to attain personal fulfillment and a strong sense of self-worth. We maintain that all students have the inherent ability to learn and to reach their individual potential. //School Goals;// * To provide diversified educational programs and services to improve achievement and meet the unique learning requirements of each of our students with special education needs * To maintain a safe and orderly learning environment for students with disabilities in educational, vocational, and community settings *To obtain and utilize human and fiscal resources effectively and efficiently for students with disabilities. Influential members of the school in helping with this performance project would be the Principal, Asst. Principal, SIT TEAM (school improvement), PTA, and third party billing members.

Performance Analysis Suzanne Beer A00041300 Suzanne.beer@waldenu.edu Leading and Managing Educational Technology (EDUC - 7103 - 1) Dr. Carla Lane Walden University 6/25/2012

Executive Summary The Ridge Ruxton staff strives to maintain and improve student achievement as measured by Alt-MSA scores, and works together to implement a cohesive school-wide focus on an IEP directed FALS program that includes adapted reading, math and science Essential Curriculum and the proposed MSDE Core Curriculum Standards. Due to the nature and severity of their disabilities, our students with intensive special education needs have difficulty focusing on classroom presentations and require a multi-sensory approach, modification of materials, and access to technology to extend and expand their exposure to content knowledge and skills. Additional technology, such as the proposed Hitachi, students who scored below the Proficient or Advanced level in 2011 on the Alt-MSA assessment and now we will try to increase our Proficient percentage levels. The requested Hitachi™ FX-TRIO-77 Interactive Whiteboard will continue to produce an increase in the achievement of our students as measured by the Alt-MSA assessment and the IEP. This will be accomplished by providing students with increased opportunities for active participation, focus and attention to curriculum materials, as well as facilitating development of critical skills including communication and motor access. When coupled with multi-sensory teaching, the students will have greater access to adapted math, reading, and science as part of the Essential Curriculum and proposed MSDE Core Curriculum. The unique student population at Ridge Ruxton School will significantly benefit from utilization of the Hitachi. Our teaching staff continues to pursue ways to integrate interactive technology throughout the school day and enhance the students’ learning potential and success. It will continue to produce an increase in the achievement of our students as measured by the Alt-MSA assessment and the IEP. This will be accomplished by providing students with increased opportunities for active participation, focus and attention to curriculum materials, as well as facilitating development of critical skills including communication and motor access. When coupled with multi-sensory teaching, the students will have greater access to adapted math, reading, and science as part of the Essential Curriculum and proposed MSDE Core Curriculum.

**Performance Analysis** **Ridge Ruxton School** Name of Organization: RR School (Special Education) Prek-21 yrs. Summary: Our school houses special needs students and technology is an important aspect of their learning experience. However, the county seems to overlook our school for the latest advancements in educational technology. We currently have 4 whiteboards in the whole school and the need for a portable whiteboard would enhance the learning environment by allowing many students to participate in our directed recs through interactive actions. The special area teachers (art, music and gym-me) put on directed recs which involve ALT-MSA (Maryland Assessment program for students with significant cognitive disabilities) units in junction with academics but have to use primitive rolling boards(Velcro) for participation activities. A portable whiteboard would not only benefit the educational learning experience but it would also contribute to school improvement.
 * Problem Summary**

Ridge Ruxton http://schools.bcps.org/schools/ss/ridge_ruxton/ Located in Towson, MD, The Ridge School opened in 1955 with an enrollment of 60 children and the goal was to educate students with intensive special education needs. It was the first school in Baltimore County for children with special needs. In 1979 the Ruxton Center was formed for secondary students with special education needs. In December of 2000, the Ridge School and Ruxton Center combined to what is known as Ridge Ruxton School. Today, the Ridge Ruxton School is intensity V Special Education School servicing 120 students from 3-21 yrs. of age and who have been identified as developmentally delayed, intellectually limited, autistic-like, and/or multi-disabled. Influential members of the school in helping with this performance project would be the Principal, Asst. Principal, SIT TEAM (school improvement), PTA, and third party billing members. Mr. Bennett-Principal Mrs. Mosso- Asst. Principal SIT TEAM Members: Mr. Bennett, Michele Brown, Margie Rawn, Martha Grover PTA members: Sharron Forest, Mary Munoz, Josephine DelPilar, Dona Bush Third Party Billing- Martha Grover
 * Background of Organization**
 * Stakeholders and Decision-Makers**

Ridge Ruxton School was originally two separate schools-Ruxton Center (high school) and Ridge School (elementary school) back in 1979. In 2000, the schools joined together now known as The Ridge Ruxton School. Technology has been overlooked in this school because the emphasis is on teaching students daily life skills. The special area teachers (Art, APE & Music) are in need of a portable whiteboard. There are currently four whiteboards in the school housed permanently in the classrooms/library and cannot be moved which poses a problem when teaching big groups ALT-MSA directed recs. Directed recs. have been put on by the special area teachers for many years now and some activities are limited to the more able students because lack of advanced technology. Many teachers agree that there are other options out there besides our roll away Velcro board that will allow all students to participate no matter what their disability is. The purchase of the requested Hitachi will continue to produce an increase in the achievement of our students as measured by the Alt-MSA assessment and the IEP. This will be accomplished by providing students with increased opportunities for active participation, focus and attention to curriculum materials, as well as facilitating development of critical skills including communication and motor access. When coupled with multi-sensory teaching, the students will have greater access to adapted math, reading, and science as part of the Essential Curriculum and proposed MSDE Core Curriculum. The unique student population at Ridge Ruxton School will significantly benefit from utilization of the Hitachi. Our teaching staff continues to pursue ways to integrate interactive technology throughout the school day and enhance the students’ learning potential and success. It would enable all students to participate in directed rec. activities while learning ALT-MSA units.
 * Performance Gap: Cause Analysis**
 * Actual Current Performance.** There are four permanent whiteboards located within the school building-three in classrooms and one in the library. Special area teachers put on monthly directed recs. for the whole school and have to use primitive methods. We use powerpoint with computer displaying images on big screen and a rolling Velcro board for interactive teaching. This limits the amount of participation and intellectual capability.
 * Desired Performance.** The purchase of a Hitachi FX TRIO 77 Interactive Whiteboard with a Mobile Stand and Wireless Kit would enable all students to participate in directed rec. activities while learning ALT-MSA units.

The actual levels of performance from the students are limited because of multiple disabilities and they lack the way to communicate. Through the use of whiteboards, students are able to respond through touching what is required of them and interacting in the lesson provided. The purchase of the requested Hitachi will continue to produce an increase in the achievement of our students as measured by the Alt-MSA assessment and the IEP. This will be accomplished by providing students with increased opportunities for active participation, focus and attention to curriculum materials, as well as facilitating development of critical skills including communication and motor access. When coupled with multi-sensory teaching, the students will have greater access to adapted math, reading, and science as part of the Essential Curriculum and proposed MSDE Core Curriculum. The unique student population at Ridge Ruxton School will significantly benefit from utilization of the Hitachi. Our teaching staff continues to pursue ways to integrate interactive technology throughout the school day and enhance the students’ learning potential and success. It would enable all students to participate in directed rec. activities while learning ALT-MSA units.
 * Performance Gap.**

School Goals; * To provide diversified educational programs and services to improve achievement and meet the unique learning requirements of each of our students with special education needs * To maintain a safe and orderly learning environment for students with disabilities in educational, vocational, and community settings *To obtain and utilize human and fiscal resources effectively and efficiently for students with disabilities.
 * Organizational History and Background**
 * Goals.**

Mission Statement: Our mission at Ridge Ruxton School is to provide for all students the opportunity to attain personal fulfillment and a strong sense of self-worth. We maintain that all students have the inherent ability to learn and to reach their individual potential.
 * Mission and Vision.** What is the mission of this organization? Describe the Vision of the organization. Most organizations have adopted a mission and vision statement that provides a foundation for the decisions that are made.

The three intervention strategies I am researching are the portable Promethean Board, Hitachi FX-TRIO-77 and the Hitachi-TRIO-88 Whiteboards. All of these pieces of technology would benefit the population (special needs) at our school allowing for interactive participation. The portable Promethean Whiteboard allows for connection to external devices for enhancement which we need for our school-wide presentations. It comes with a Activpen. The Hitachi FX-TRIO-77 allows you to write with your fingers, the optional electric pen or the provided stylus on the board. This feature would be fantastic due to limited mobility and fine motor skills of our students. The IntelliPen automatically converts the freehand objects to smooth objects. You can scroll by motioning with the flat of your hand, or expand the display by motioning with your fingers. The hard and durable surface is low glaze being easy on your eyes. The Hitachi FX-TRIO-88 features: Control using multi-touch hand gestures, Use your finger, stylus, or any object to operate, Electronic-free surface for durability, Multi-input pad allows up to 3 simultaneous users, Optional electronic pen with 3 customizable buttons, 16 Function buttons (14 customizable), 2 Retractable styluses included and StarBoard Software Suite included.
 * Three Intervention Strategies**

A Low end intervention would be the purchase of a Portable Promethean Board $995.00 not including shipping, projector, installation and portable stand A middle end intervention would be the Hitachi™ FX-TRIO-77 Interactive Whiteboard $1769.00 not including shipping. A high end intervention would be the FX-TRIO-88W Starboard Whiteboard with CP-AW251N Projector and AW250WALLARM $4,095 not including shipping, installation and portable stand. I think the school would benefit from the high end intervention but many facts would probably prevent the administration from buying this piece of technology. The main resistance would be financially and the name HITACHI. The Baltimore county public schools have a contract with Promethean and do not allow other name brands to be purchased. However, I am pushing for the middle end intervention by providing facts for the Hitachi 77 that are more beneficial than the original Promethean Board. One of the schools goals is ’to provide diversified educational programs and services to improve achievement and meet the unique learning requirements of each of our students with special education needs’ and in order for the special area teachers to accomplish this, a Hitachi would complete this goal. The needs of our students are ever-so changing to the medical aspect and technology is needed to involve these students in education. The intervention I choose is the Hitachi FX-TRIO 77 which is an interactive whiteboard with multi-touch surface. Students can use their finger or other parts of hand, stylus or electronic pen to mark on the whiteboard and easily navigate through computer applications, websites and multi-media content plus up to three users can operate the board and perform the same task at once. Moreover the hard electronic-free surface of the FX-TRIO makes it almost unbreakable and usable as a dry-wipe whiteboard. I believe this piece of technology would enhance school improvement and student’s interactive capabilities and it would provide for a means of communication while learning different units for ALT-MSA testing. The FX-TRIO 77 is also compatible with a portable stand which is a major factor in consideration in purchasing this piece of equipment. Strengths of the Promethean Board allows for individual learning needs by creating, customizing and integrating text, images, quizzes and tests, web, video and audio content and it inspires students to pay more attention and participate more readily. It also makes it easier to accommodate several different learning styles especially in our school for special needs. The visual learner is able to watch as the teacher manipulates images, shapes, colors, and words, using an Activpen or by using a PC. Another strength is that Promethean is under contract with Baltimore County Public Schools. The biggest weakness is that it is wall mounted and not portable and it requires the use of the Activpen. The Hitachi FX-TRIO-88W Starboard Whiteboard is just a bigger version of the Hitachi 77. It has a bigger screen allowing more visual content to be seen in the gym. It also costs much more than the Hitachi 77 and is not portable. A Project Manager is basically a person who handles, manages and guarantees the timely delivery of the project. In this project, the manager will be responsible for acquiring all data associated for a successful transition in closing the performance gap. Data will include interviews on why the Hitachi would be beneficial to our students, financial questions, and how academically the Hitachi will improve student participation and ALT-MSA scores. Januszewski and Molenda (2008) state that “The planning, monitoring, and controlling functions can be viewed as essential components of management” (p. 181). The project manager will coordinate directly and indirectly with project staff to ensure successful progress and completion of the project. Dr. Rossett says it best, tell “a powerful story” and convince the stakeholders that it is worthwhile to pursue your desired goal (Laureate, 2010). The project manager will present all financial documents to the stakeholders with reasons of importance for this piece of technology and in spite of name difference (Hitachi vs. Promethean) why this technology would improve student performance based on individual learning styles and disabilities. This piece of technology will be used by the special area teachers which they present monthly (to the whole school) directed recs. based on ALT-MSA units/assessments. These directed recs. are based on reading, math, and science requirements for testing and the special area teachers incorporate art, movement and music in their presentations. The special area teachers-if granted the technology-will be responsible for assessing students through activities based on data and understanding of lesson presented. The Hitachi will allow for more involvement during presentation and will also allow students with multiple disabilities to partake in interactive participation. The information presented in these directed recs. will offer classroom teachers insight on how ALT-MSA assessments relate to everyday life skills. Since our school deals mainly with teaching daily life skills and is held responsible through the state of Maryland for ALT-MSA testing, the special area teachers provide lessons that relate to a subject area and the Hitachi would be a wonderful addition to the activities. The librarian, who tests ALT-MSA, will be present during our presentations and will assist in helping teachers carry forth the information presented into the classroom setting for testing purposes.
 * Low end intervention.**
 * Middle end intervention.**
 * High end intervention.**
 * Justification for Intervention Strategy**
 * Justification for Intervention Strategy**
 * Project Manager Responsibilities**

Write an introduction here. Supporting documentation for your budget, including links to Web sites where purchases can be made and the costs of implementation. Describe the formative evaluation plan you will use. Include your formative evaluation instrument in an Appendix. Describe the summative evaluation plans you will use. Include your summative evaluation instrument in an Appendix.
 * The Manager as Change Agent**
 * Financial and Budget Information.** Tentative budget for your intervention strategy, along with supporting documentation; consider technology purchases, personnel training, additional support, and other considerations specific to your proposal.
 * Project Assessment.** Describe how the project objectives will be evaluated.

** References ** Chevalier, R. D. (2007). A manager's guide to improving workplace performance. New York, NY: American Management Association. Hitachi. [] Hitachi's starboard FX-63, FX-77, FX-82W interactive whiteboards. (2006, Systems Contractor News, 13, 84-84. Retrieved from [] Januszeski, A. & Molenda, M. (2008). Educational technology: A definition with commentary. Routledge: New York, NY Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Leading and managing educational technology. Baltimore, MD: Author. Promethean. [] Promethean: Promethean planet hits record heights. (2007, Nov 29). M2 Presswire, pp. 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/444604409?accountid=14872

**Appendices** NOTE that you may not need all of the Appendices listed below. Select the ones that are relevant to your project and include that data to support your work. Letter your appendices in the order they are referenced in your document. Each Appendix will begin on a new page. All of you will include Appendices A through E. Select the other topics and include them as relevant. You will letter the Appendices in the order you mention them in your paper, once you decide which ones you will use.

Appendix A: Formative Evaluation Instrument Appendix B: Summative Evaluation Instrument Appendix C: Interview Questions Appendix D: Interview Transcripts or Summary Appendix E. Budget Appendix ?: Detailed and appropriate technical information for implementing your intervention Appendix ?: Layout sketches, if relevant Appendix ?: Specifications of equipment and purchases Appendix ?: Data charts and graphs, as relevant Appendix ?: Resources that support your proposal

Module 5