Technology Plan 2009-2010
Introduction
Our Lady of the Hamptons Regional Catholic is a unique community of students, teachers and parents. The school, located at 160 North Main Street, Southampton, New York, is a fully accredited elementary school for young people grades Kindergarten through Eighth grade and, as such, is a part of the New York State Education Department and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. A fully licensed pre-school program for three and four year-olds operates at St. Rosalie’s Parish Center in Hampton Bays. Our Lady of the Hamptons is attended and supported by three parishes: Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Southampton), Our Lady of Poland (Southampton), and St. Rosalie’s (Hamptons Bays). The union of these three parishes was established in 1982 and named Our Lady of the Hamptons.
The school is administered by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, and staffed by a fully accredited faculty of religious and lay teachers. Our Lady of the Hamptons Regional Catholic School has been designated as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. Further accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools was granted in November 2001, following a two-year self-study and formal visitation by the Commission on Elementary Schools.
The Current Situation Our Lady of the Hamptons works on one main server, located in the computer lab of the building. This Windows Server 2003 was installed in September 2006. At that time, we had also upgraded all student computers to flat-panel LCD screens and upgraded all units to Windows 2000 Professional; this was in improvement on the Windows 98 software they had been previously using. We have an Ethernet network connecting the library, office, and the classroom teacher computers, as well as the lab computer to our Pentium class server. Optimum Online has provided us with two cable modems for internet access and the computer lab network. Computer Lab:
The computer lab consists of 20 student computers. Eighteen run on the Windows 2000 Professional operating system. Two additional units were added in October 2007 which run on the Windows XP operating system. There is an LCD projector used for lessons, class Power Point presentation, and demonstrations.
Students and teachers have access to a laser printer. There is also access to NOVEL (New York State Online Virtual Electronic Library) and CultureGrams Online databases. Classrooms: Each classroom is equipped with a wall-mounted television that is connected to a VCR and a DVD player. Each teacher has his or her own Pentium IV class computer at their desk which can be connected to the television for student viewing for classroom demonstrations.
The computers are networked for Internet connections and print sharing. Each of our homeroom classrooms from grades 1-8, the Science Lab, and the Conference Room have wall-mounted Smartboards which are connected to the classroom computers. There is an additional portable Smartboard, meaning that it can be brought into any room to use for interactive classroom lessons and presentations.
Offices and Library: Our Administration Office is fully computerized. All of our bookkeeping, budget, financial statements, tuition, billing, and student records are on the computer. The library is fully automated through use of the Follett circulation system. All book records and student accounts are on the computer and the students are able to access the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog). Students have access to four computers for research in the library through internet searches, databases and word processing programs.
Critical Concerns The primary obstacle that stands in the way of our school reaching its fullest potential in technology education is the lack of financial resources to implement our goals. We have invested some money in upgrading our systems the past couple years, however, we are trying to catch up on the training for our teachers.
The eighth grade classroom has had a wall-mounted Smartboard installed and the teacher was sent for training. Additionally, a representative from Tequipment came to our school to give a training session on the use of the device and the software. Furthermore, four teachers attended a BOCES workshop on Smartboards for further training.
Plan Implementation Timeline The goal of the Our Lady of the Hamptons Technology Plan over the next three to five years is a comprehensive program in which technology will be further incorporated into daily classroom activity, from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. By the end of this five-year period, the school will have Smartboards for most classrooms, and the ability to go completely wireless.
We have recently replaced the teacher computers with Pentium IV processors with CD/RW capabilities and flat screen monitors. The eighth grade classroom has a Pentium IV with Windows XP and CD/DVD-RW capability, hooked directly up to a wall-mounted Smartboard, which is routinely used as an enrichment tool for classroom lessons. Student computers have also been replaced, and feature Pentium IV processors and either Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP operating systems.
All student computers have flat screen panels. A wireless access point is also available in the seventh grade classroom and an additional is set up downstairs as well.
Within the next two years, we envision moving the school’s computer lab downstairs to be next door to the library thus creating a media center. This will enhance the library and computer program and allow easier access to teaching the upper grades effective researching strategies which will be helpful in their high school and college experiences.
It is also our hope to acquire at least one cart of wireless laptop computers for student use within the next two to three years. This cart would have to be safeguarded during the day to prevent theft but could be used for further student research and projects. We are exploring ways in which this can be financed; most notably, we are searching for grants we can write to fulfill these needs.
