"I cannot imagine working without my Palm Pilot. It's absolutely essential to my work," says School Principal Dale Cox.
When Taylor Junior High School in Mesa, Arizona experienced two bomb scares last year, Cox was ready to quickly release students to the worried parents picking them up. "I could verify the parents' names, phone numbers, and even notify the students' teachers with my Palm," he says. The tiny handheld computer holds the entire student database, which includes all student records and contact information.
If a student is caught wandering the hallway between classes and gives a false name, the hallway monitor can immediately check it on his handheld.
And every nurse in Mesa Public Schools carries a Palm with complete student health records in case of a medical emergency.
Mesa Administrators Bank on Handhelds
The leadership of Arizona's largest school district of 72,000 students uses handheld computers for security, scheduling meetings, evaluating teachers, and downloading district policies and forms, says Janine Muto, director of instructional technology. The 20-person technology department trains every administrator one-on-one. But she notes, "The district did not buy the handhelds for the administrators. They either use their travel money to purchase them or attend a Leadership Institute for Technology where the Palm m505 is given as an incentive."
Four years ago, Muto began helping Mesa administrators use the handheld in their daily work. "We used a grassroots approach, and, after working with the handhelds for a while, the superintendents would tell their principals, 'You need to buy a Palm.' Little by little, those who were not using a Palm were beginning to look a little strange."
Those like Cox use their handheld for a number of tasks. He can download teacher evaluation forms from the district's website, record his observations, and note when he observes each of his staff. He also finds the handheld useful for jotting down people's ideas for various meetings throughout the year. He says he simply drags their ideas to the appropriate meeting folder so he can add it to the agenda.
Gathering and Using Data to Make Decisions
Infusing technology into educational administration is a priority in Arizona. The state aims to train 1,800 superintendents and principals to effectively use technology to increase student achievement, says Peggy Kinder, director of WestEd's Distance Learning Resource Network and Regional Technology in Education Arizona State Coordinator. So far, 700 administrators have participated in the Leadership Institute for Technology sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and operated by the Arizona K-12 Center. Two three-day institutes are scheduled through the 2002-03 school year.
Superintendents and principals from both public and private Arizona schools develop their technology skills to gather and analyze student achievement data, present data, and make instructional decisions based on the analysis. A major outcome of the Institute is for each participant to develop a purposeful school improvement plan.
Using a data-driven decision making (DDM) process in school improvement is a cornerstone of the leadership strand of the institutes, says Huck Fitterer, senior project director of the WestEd's Comprehensive School Assistance Program and a lecturer at the Institute. "We look at the variables that school leadership really has control to change, such as student achievement and attendance, and then aggregate and disaggregate the data. For example, if there is low student achievement in reading, we look at how to conduct a more in-depth analysis, and then make a decision for a specific reading program," he explains.
In the technology strand of the Institutes, administrators use technology to improve their productivity, analyze data, and make presentations. Muto, who coordinates this strand of the Institute, says the administrators learn to use Excel, Word, PowerPoint, documents to go, and other productivity software. They use an Excel template to analyze SAT 9 test scores, then create charts and graphs using pivot tables to link data and presentation software to display it to their local school boards.
Infusing Enthusiasm into School Improvement
The enthusiasm of the administrators at the Institute is contagious, says Muto. "They are so ecstatic talking about school improvement, what the stats means. And on the technology side, they're actually using data analysis to create visual presentations."
Participants leave the two Institutes with a School Data Profile, a School Accountability Plan, and a "Purposeful School Improvement Plan," Fitterer says. Building on knowledge of best practice models of classroom integration of educational technology, effective software curriculum models, and systemic change processes, participants leave armed to implement action planning for school improvement to improve their students' academic achievement.
But the Leadership Institutes for Technology has sparked a desire in school administrators to extend their skills in using technology effectively. Muto says there is a widespread desire for a third Institute to teach advanced Palm and PowerPoint training. "They really want to go another step," she says. For now, Institutes are scheduled through June 2003 with a "Gates Fellows" forum to be held at the Arizona School Administrators conference. Institute participants, or "Gates Fellows," will become mentors for future Institute participants.
For more information on Mesa Public Schools, contact Muto at jmuto@mpsaz.org or 480.472.0007. For information about the Leadership Institutes for Technology, see http://azk12.nau.edu/lit.
