eTech Ohio: Woodridge Local School District

Woodridge Local School District

District Information
Why did the district create such a program to utilize students as technology support staff?
What technology support do students provide to the district? (e.g. software, hardware, website creation or maintenance, etc.)
How long has the project been in effect?
Did another district's student tech program influence the way you modeled your program? If so, which district.
What resources or policies were necessary to start up and maintain the program? (i.e. funding, human resources, board approval, ect.)
What are the goals of the program?
How much did it cost to create the program? Please itemize costs and expenditures in an Appendix.
How much does it cost annually to maintain the program? Please itemize costs and expenditures in an Appendix.
How many students have participated in the program to date?
How many students are participating in the program this school year?
Do students work during or outside school hours? Please detail.
Are students paid for their work? If so, how much per hour and how are they funded? If students are not paid, do they receive credit as a course?
What grade level(s) are students who participate in the program?
Is your student technical program integrated with your district curriculum? How?
How have you solved logistical problems (matching student/teacher schedules, transportation between buildings, etc) so that students can do work where it is needed?
How and by whom are students trained to be able to support district technology?
What training and reference materials are provided to the student participants?
How many technical support staff (non-student) are employed by the district? Describe the role of each.
What lessons has the district learned during the program? Include strengths, weaknesses and obstacles encountered.
What process and instruments are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program?
How is cost-effectiveness of the program determined? What information has been gathered to date showing the cost-effectiveness of the program? Include samples.
Why does your district believe that it is has a model for other districts to implement?
Describe the type of product(s) you anticipate creating to communicate to all districts your program? (e.g. website, CD Rom, video, etc.)

District Information Top

District name:	Woodridge Local School District
District IRN:	49973
Contact Person:	Mr. Wes Lacy
Contact Person Title:	Director of Technology
Contact Person Address:	4411 Quick Road Peninsula, OH 44264
Contact Person Phone:	330.928.9074 Ext: 107
Contact Person Fax:	330.928.1542
Contact Person email:	wlacy@woodridge.summit.k12.oh.us
Requested Funding Amount:	$10,000.00
District Size:	6,000 or More Students
Grades Involved:	10 11 12
Project Artifact:	PDF
Dates of Presentation:
Presentation One:
Location: Woodridge High School Date: 4/4/2002
Presentation Two:
Location: Woodridge High School Date: 4/22/2002

Why did the district create such a program to utilize students as technology support staff? Top

Seven years ago, the surrounding school districts collaborated to write a Federal Challenge Grant. The emphasis was to develop "New Work" for students. The intent was to change not only instructional methods but also the philosophy that supports them. The focus was the appropriate integration of technology into the instructional process. One of the major outcomes of the five-year grant has been our Technical Work Experience program for students. The program fit the grant goals perfectly. Students learned utilizing a hands-on environment. Districts liked the program not only because of its educational benefits but also because of technical support the program offered the district.

What technology support do students provide to the district? (e.g. software, hardware, website creation or maintenance, etc.) Top

Students provide a wide range of technical support for the K-12 staff and Board Office. The technical support each student provides is dependent on his/her knowledge base, maturity, and age. The first activity new TWE students participate in is a complete inventory of all district technology. This offers an opportunity to provide them with an orientation to all the technology that the district has. They visit, touch and describe every piece of equipment the district owns. After students have completed TWE summer training, teachers request students to assist them with technology tasks such as staff inservice sessions, presentations at meetings, ACT training classes, etc. When staff experience problems with equipment, they email repair requests to the Director of Technology. In response, the Director of Technology schedules a team of student TWEs to go into district buildings to diagnose the problems and fix them. TWEs are encouraged to research solutions to technology problems on the web. Examples of problems TWEs fix include; repairing Windows corruptions, fixing software conflicts, reinstalling the Novell client, correcting computer identification, correcting context, reinstalling network/local printers, replacing cartridges, fixing internal loose connections, cleaning shudders from floppy drives, installing software for staff, helping teachers understand how to avoid a problem he/she is having, and dropping a clean image onto a computer's hard drive. TWE students make visits around the district to move equipment in and out of rooms for summer cleaning, update virus dats, update clients, and update information on telephone LCDs. TWE students create and maintain our district website.

How long has the project been in effect? Top

The TWE program has been active for six years.

Did another district's student tech program influence the way you modeled your program? If so, which district. Top

During the five years of our ESC grant, the Tech coordinators talked regularly. The discussions provided insights and ideas our district tried. During OSN conferences, RTB meetings, and regional OSN meetings we have learned much from discussions we had with school districts around Ohio regarding their student tech programs. We give credit to the dozens of districts' whose ideas have helped shape our program. The TWE programs of Hudson, Tallmadge and Stow High Schools have had the greatest influence on our program

What resources or policies were necessary to start up and maintain the program? (i.e. funding, human resources, board approval, ect.) Top

The ESC's Challenge Grant provided funding to hire a small group of students and a district TWE coordinator. The grant provided the consortium of districts with a consortium TWE coordinator. The consortium coordinator provided the student training for four years. During the last eighteen months, we have collaborated with a smaller group of area schools to continue the program. Our vocational compact director facilitates our quarterly meetings. The new group shares the cost of and organizes summer student training. Each district pays their own TWE coordinator and student wages. Each district is free to develop their own student program to meet their needs. Our Board of Education established the student wage schedule. Among the forms that are used in the program are an AUP, emergency medical form, program application form, teacher evaluation form, letter to parents describing the program, letter to parents describing the training, and student time sheets. We have placed the forms on Woodridge School District website:
http://scs.summit.k12.oh.us/woodridge.

What are the goals of the program? Top

To create a local self-sustaining program (known as Technical Work Experience), staffed by high school students and managed by a staff coordinator, resulting in accessible and affordable support for students, teachers, schools, parents and community.
To create training opportunities for TWE students that increases their knowledge of technology and their vision of the role of a technology service provider.
To enhance technical education, career awareness, and new work experiences for students.

How much did it cost to create the program? Please itemize costs and expenditures in an Appendix. Top

This field appears as an appendix in the PDF

How much does it cost annually to maintain the program? Please itemize costs and expenditures in an Appendix. Top

This field appears as an appendix in the PDF

How many students have participated in the program to date? Top

The district program began in a conservative manner six years ago with two students. This year we accepted three new students. We have had a total of fifteen students enter the program in six years

How many students are participating in the program this school year? Top

There are six students in the program this year. There are three juniors and three seniors.

Do students work during or outside school hours? Please detail. Top

Students work when they are available. TWE students and their coordinator work with guidance staff on student schedules so study halls are either the first period or last period in the school day. Students usually work either before school or after school and use their study halls to increase the length of the work sessions. Students have varying time constraints. We work with each student's schedule individually. Athletes work before school during their sport season. Students on post secondary option work on days when they are not at the University. We try to schedule large equipment installations during. Students typically work six to eight hours on installation days and two hours on school days. Students do not normally work during the school. The exception occurs when a TWE is in a class where a staff member experiences a technology problem. Staff members know they can ask for help.

Are students paid for their work? If so, how much per hour and how are they funded? If students are not paid, do they receive credit as a course? Top

TWE is a credit course. Students do not get paid for attending TWE meetings or training. Students are paid when they work for the district. They are paid according to their experience (i.e. the first year they earn $6/hr., second year they earn $6.50/hr., alumni earn $7.00/hr.).

What grade level(s) are students who participate in the program? Top

Students apply to enter the program at the end of their sophomore year. Each applicant is interviewed twice. Each of their teachers is asked to complete an evaluation form. Students are not chosen based on technical knowledge. They are selected based on interest in the program and attitude. They complete six weeks of orientation prior to the end of their sophomore year. Each new TWE student completes one week of intense summer training. They stay in the TWE program till graduation. Alumni work when they have a skill or resources that no one else has. For instance, a guidance counselor had 500 files on dozens of Mac disks that she needed converted to Office 2000 format. A recent TWE graduate converted the files burning the Mac Works files and the Office 2000 files on a hybrid CD.

Is your student technical program integrated with your district curriculum? How? Top

The TWE program is a non-traditional class designed to supplement our district curriculum. The program was designed to offer students opportunities they would not otherwise have. The program has content and goals, and provides course credit. However, it delivers the content through hands on work at the point of a real-time need for the skills. What students learn is often extemporaneous.

How have you solved logistical problems (matching student/teacher schedules, transportation between buildings, etc) so that students can do work where it is needed? Top

Since our TWE program consists of juniors and seniors, some have the ability to drive to a work sight if needed. I meet with the TWE students as a group at least once a week. During the meetings we establish work schedules for the next week. Scheduling work is complicated by student schedules (i.e. heavy course load schedules, athletics, other extra curricular activities, jobs, university classes, periods of heavy homework/tests, proficiency testing in district buildings, etc.). By scheduling the work as a group for the week, students can match when they are available to work, know what work needs to be done and can block out the time on their calendars. The process provides students with some ownership and responsibility in making the schedule.
The program design sets the student work sessions as opportunities for hands on training. As a result, a the TWE coordinator usually accompanies the students to their worksite. This helps with the transportation problem since the TWE coordinator is usually there to provide the just in time training. If the students know how to complete the tasks in the scheduled session, experienced students are sent to job sites without a technician. Experienced students are usually the older students who can drive. Since they work in pairs, usually one can drive. Some student schedules can be adjusted to provide a first or last period study hall. Those students are able to get to classrooms to help staff before they leave for the day. Work done between first and last period is usually done on campus to avoid students traveling during the school day.

How and by whom are students trained to be able to support district technology? Top

We have three levels of training. All students new to the program are required to attend a week of basic training. The training is organized in collaboration with surrounding districts through the Six District Educational Compact. Technology Coordinators from the districts supervise the week and provide some of the training. Our first day is held in a local vendor's shop (Custom Computer). The vendor explains what goes into building a computer, what the function of each part is, how the parts are assembled, and how to install the operating system and related drivers. Student teams are provided with a workbench, the parts, the tools, the software and asked to build their own computer. The second day starts at the same vendor site. They spend the morning discussing what could go wrong with the computers they just built. The vendor "breaks" the machines and asks the student to "repair" them. The afternoon of the second day students move a few hundred feet down the road into a building owned by one of the school districts (Stow). Another vendor (AC Lasertech) sets up a display of peripheral equipment. The vendor spends the afternoon explaining what the interiors of various printers are like, what can go wrong, and how to maintain printers. The third day is spent in at Hudson High School. Husdon School district tech staff provide Macintosh training. Students do not build computers during the Macintosh training, but otherwise repeat the content from the first two days. The students visit another Compact high school on Thursday. During the fourth day, tech coordinators help students understand network concepts. They tour a network, learn the vocabulary and see the parts that comprise it. They discuss some of the major topics involved. Last year, students reported to Kent State University for the fifthe day of training. A Kent State technician trained students on the use of desktop video conferencing (i.e. how to install hardware, how to install software, how to configure for connections, how to use reflectors, etc.). During the week, Stow's Tech Coordinator leads the students in a discussion on what it means to be a service provider (i.e. proper behavior, how to treat "customers", how to diagnose problems, how to determine whether they should fix the problem or return their diagnosis to a district technician, etc.). At the end of the week,

What training and reference materials are provided to the student participants? Top

During the basic training week, students are required to take notes and are provided with reference materials by each of the "trainers'. (Example: Last year during the printer training, the vendor gave each TWE a gauge. The paper gauge contained laser printer output from printers that had problems. Students were told if they match the print out from one of their malfunctioning printers to one of the print patterns on the gauge, the gauge would tell them exactly where the problem existed in the printer.) We don't purchase reference materials. Each time students learn a new task, they are asked to write a description of the process in their words. The written work is "graded" to make sure it is correct. The student's collection of descriptions becomes their reference manual. When students do particularly good work in writing a description, we save it for future student use. Students are gaining expertise on how to use manufactures' websites to diagnose and fix problems. When students find problem fixes on the web, they are asked to share them with the other TWEs.

How many technical support staff (non-student) are employed by the district? Describe the role of each. Top

The Director of Technology is the only "fix it" person employed by the district. As is with many districts, he/she is responsible for all purchases, budgets, maintenance, deployment, staff development, TWE, grants, phones, voicemail, and anything else related to the WAN. Because of ERATE rules and the cost of technicians, we decided to sign a maintenance agreement with a local company to provide technical assistance with our WAN rather than hire a technician. The agreement provides on-sight network help for emergencies and a help desk. We have eight servers, 400+ PCs, 100+ printers and a five building WAN. The TWE program is a big help. Without the TWE program I would never be able to leave the district to attend conferences or training opportunities.

What lessons has the district learned during the program? Include strengths, weaknesses and obstacles encountered. Top

Constantly evaluate your program. Listen to ideas that others have. Be willing to make adjustments to the program each year if the changes improve the program for the students and the district. The program should be there for both. The programs in our area that have failed, were programs started solely to cut district costs. Maintain student interest and program structure. It is crucial to have regularly scheduled mandatory group meetings. Have a purpose for the meetings. Students need to see themselves as part of a group, part of an important program. Our Board of Education invites the students and their parents to a regular Board meeting each year to recognize them and thank them. Think through the who and how how many will be in the student group. Some districts in our area started their programs with too many students. Decide how many students are manageable (we started with two and will reach seven next year). We determined early that older students got more out of the program and put more into the program. It is also better if your students are not all from one grade level. Spreading the students among grade levels helps with the flow and continuity of the program and provides mentor/mentee opportunities. Don't open up the program to just any students. The interview process is crucial. We decided to treat the situation as if students were interviewing for a job. It provides students with a learning situation. It not only helps select the correct students; it sets the tone and understanding for the program. Some districts want technically knowledgeable students. We want students who are interested and who have good attitudes. We can teach them the skills. Students learn things that could lead to trouble if they can't be trusted. We developed a TWE application, an interview process and a teacher evaluation tool. All three are used to select students for the program. This information is constantly being updated on the district website http://scs.summit.k12.oh.us/woodridge. We don't pay students for attending training. We want students who enter the program because they want to learn. We pay them above the minimum wage as a reward for that. Try to build collaboration with surrounding districts.

What process and instruments are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program? Top

Students evaluate the summer training twice. They evaluate it at the end of the training week and once again near the end of their first year. The Compact Coordinator provides evaluation forms. The Tech Coordinators evaluate the training at the end of each summer. We also meet with the business partners to discuss and evaluate the training. Woodridge offers the program as a credit-earning course. The other Compact schools do not offer TWE as a course. We maintain student grades through the two-year program. Student progress is discussed at weekly TWE meetings. TWE coordinators meet quarterly with the Compact Coordinator. The meetings provide four opportunities a year for program evaluation discussions. On student timesheets, students are required to summarize what they did during the work-session. This offers everyone that handles the timesheet a quick way to evaluate the program. When students are on the job without a technician, they are asked to email a summary of what they did to the Director of Technology before leaving the job. The level of support the program receives from parents, staff, administration, and Board Members is also noted as a measure of the program's value and success. There is additional indirect data that can be used to evaluate the program. We had difficulty getting young women to apply for the program. A concerted effort is made each year to encouraged women to enter the program. Student career pathways are used as indication of program success. All TWE students have demonstrated an increased interest in technical careers upon graduation.

How is cost-effectiveness of the program determined? What information has been gathered to date showing the cost-effectiveness of the program? Include samples. Top

This field appears as an appendix in the PDF

Why does your district believe that it is has a model for other districts to implement? Top

We don't think that any district should adopt any other district's program in its entirety. Districts wanting to implement a student technical program should look at several successful programs and their goals. The implementing district should decide what their goals are and then borrow the pieces from each program that meet their goals. For example, considering the financial constraints that districts work within, we think our summer training model is very cost effective. Whatever design a district chooses, start small and work up. Don't promise Administration or Board members miracles out of the box. The program's effectiveness will be very noticeable if you give it time, listen to others who have lessons learned, and continually evaluate the program for parts that could be improved. Start the program for student benefit first.

Describe the type of product(s) you anticipate creating to communicate to all districts your program? (e.g. website, CD Rom, video, etc.) Top

Our TWE students have started discussing this. They want to build a webpage on our site. They will develop a historical record of the program development, interview previous TWE students, will record samples of the types of things they do and make a pictorial record of summer training. They will provide a "help desk" of sorts. We will place a TWE mailbox on the website for FAQ.

Search

Hall Pass Login

Woodridge Local School District

Quick Links

Core Services

Related Links