Fermilab LInC Online

LInC Staff Development Plan
Taylor Elementary School

The vision for Taylor School is to develop, in all students, the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes that will enable them to lead productive, fulfilling lives in a complex, changing society.

The community vision focuses on using modern technology including telecommunications and electronic access to information which will enhance the learning process throughout the community.

To reach this vision, Taylor School is committed to involving the total community in creating and implementing an educational program which will enable each student to develop his or her potential to the fullest extent possible. To achieve this, the school will utilize the resources of the school, local community and City of Chicago as well as the integration of modern technology. It will evolve continuously as new and/or revised needs become apparent and additional resources are available.

In line with these directives, the Taylor community will create an effective learning environment which draws on the student's intrinsic motivation in order to create life long learners. Taylor students will be empowered to be creative, independent thinkers, equipped with the skills and understandings that will enable them to become productive and contributing citizens.

Taylor currently has a variety of computer hardware and software. Macintosh labs are being refurbished with Compaq computers. Eventually all labs will be Compaq as well as each classroom in grades three though eight having eight computers each. All of these computers will be connected to the T1 line currently scheduled to be completed in June. Seventy-five percent of the teachers use computers both in the classroom and at home. Taylor began staff development for teachers using computers in 1984. One of the most valuable parts of the staff development has been the principal's encouragement that teachers take computers home over vacations and during the summer. It gave those teachers time for exploration.

This summer groups which contain faculty, anciliary staff, office staff, parents and community people will be offered an eight day class in the use of the internet. These classes will be basic and include browser functions and searching. Funds will be provided by a grant from Chicago Systemic Initiative.

During the next school year, workshops will be offered in Claris HomePage and PageMill. Reference materials and software will be provided by Eisenhower Math and Science funds. The computer lab teachers will act as resource people for teachers showing interest in making their own web page for their classroom. Since students will be exposed to making web pages, it is assumed that most upper grade teachers will be composing their own pages with the support of the lab teachers.

Needs assessments will be completed by each teacher in the spring to determine the preferences for the next year's staff development activities in technology and engaged learning. A process assessment is done each spring to determine needs in math, science, and technology staff development for the Chicago Systemic Initiative in cooperation with the National Science Foundation. An assessment is also completed in connection with the program in order to determine how the staff uses technology and community resources. Quantative improvement on this on-going assessment will be used to assess the effectiveness of the staff development program for the year.


Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office and Friends of Fermilab, and funded by United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National Science Foundation.

Author(s): Sandra Baker (Guishikawa@aol.com), Winnie Ligda (WLigda@aol.com), Lynn Singleton (Taysch311@aol.com), Susan Stomp (SLStomp@aol.com)
School: Taylor Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois
Created: March 1, 1999 - Updated: April 25, 1999
URL: /lincon/w99/projects/chicago/staffdev.html