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1998

E-rate Update - PDE Notifies Schools of Tech Plan Documentation
Message Posted January 29, 1998

As you know, the Department of Education has secured technology plan approval on behalf of every public school and A.V.T.S. in the state. And as we indicated in a prior message, we would be sending you information listing a series of documents that you should keep on file for the purpose of this approval.

Today PDE mailed a letter to every public school district and A.V.T.S. explaining in detail that for the purposes of E-rate, they have an approved technology plan and may indicate so on their E-rate application forms. The letter and attachments were mailed with the Technology Literacy Challenge Grant Applications and should be kept on file as explained below. Please be sure that the individual in your district that is responsible for securing E-rate discounts is aware that the letter was mailed and that they are the intended recipient.

Below is the text of the cover letter and two attached letters.

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January 29, 1998

Dear Public School Official:

As you know, in order for schools and libraries to participate in the Universal Service Discount Program for Schools and Libraries, commonly referred to as E-rate, they must have a technology plan approved by the state department of education. Realizing that this requirement was duplicative of the efforts already undertaken by schools in PA, the Pennsylvania Department of Education submitted a letter to the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) outlining the numerous technology planning activities undertaken by PA's public schools at the local, regional, and state levels through the Link-to-Learn initiative and the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. The letter requested that because of these plans and activities, each of Pennsylvania' public school districts, and area vocational technical schools should be considered as having approved technology plans for the purpose of the Universal Service Fund.

We recently received notification from the SLC that our request has been approved and that we are able to notify each school district and A.V.T.S. that for purposes of the E-rate program, they have an approved technology plan. Therefore, all of PA's public schools, although they may have not submitted a formal plan to PDE for approval, may indicate on FCC Forms 470 and 471 that they have approved technology plans. This should allow all school districts to file the necessary application forms in a timely manner without having the burden of cutting and pasting existing documentation into one single technology plan that would then have to be submitted to and approved by the Department of Education.

In the event that a service provider or the SLC requests to see a copy of your approved technology plan, you must have the following documentation on file, preferably with file copies of your E-rate applications and contracts:

Application forms, plans, and information submitted for application for each of the two Link-to-Learn Grants;
Basic Education survey and documentation submitted to the Link-to-Learn Technology Assessment;
Any local technology plans;
Any technology plan submitted for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund;
A copy of this letter, including the two attached letters (from the Department to the SLC, and from the SLC's reply to the Department).
The Department of Education may, in future years, require the submission of a formal, detailed technology plan. Recognizing the importance of planning in technology, the Department plans to do a consolidated technology plan which would consolidate all federal technology plan requirements (E-rate, Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, Educate America Act) so that once submitted, a school would be eligible for all grants without the need to submit additional documentation. More information will be provided regarding this initiative in future months.

We are glad we were able to provide this service to you to facilitate your E-rate application efforts. If you have any question concerning this letter, please feel free to contact me or Julie Tritt in the Office of Educational Technology at (717) 787-5820.

Sincerely,
John P. Bailey
Director
Office of Educational Technology

 

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December 12, 1997

Dr. Tom Carroll
Director of Technology Assessments and Planning
Schools and Libraries Corporation
2300 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Dear Dr. Carroll:

It was a pleasure speaking with you on Wednesday, December 3 and again on Wednesday, December 10 in Whippany, NJ, regarding the possibility of the Pennsylvania State Department of Education submitting a technology plan on behalf of our public schools and libraries. Per your request, I am following up that conversation with this letter outlining the planning efforts to date which include planning activities undertaken with our statewide strategy Link-to-Learn, the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, and state aided libraries.

Link-to-Learn: Pennsylvania's Statewide Strategy and Plan
In 1996 Governor Ridge proposed and the General Assembly approved, a three year, $127 million state funded educational technology initiative called Link-to-Learn. This statewide strategy for technology is the first ever for Pennsylvania's public and nonpublic schools, area vocational technical schools, libraries, intermediate units, and institutions of higher education. Therefore, representatives from schools, libraries, intermediate units, and institutions of higher education were placed into four planning projects:

The Technology Assessment Project conducted a detailed inventory of technology resources in more than 10,000 institutions including schools and libraries. Also included in this effort was the inventory of existing infrastructure which provides a baseline upon which the impact of Link-to-Learn and the Universal Service Fund can be measured. These inventories can be queried using a GIS system which will soon be accessible through the web (Attachment A). Part of this project involved a technology survey of every public school district which measured not just the number of computers but also the technology was being used by students, teachers, and administrators (Attachment B). how

The Professional Development Project was created to ensure Pennsylvania's teachers were trained to use technology tools effectively with the curriculum. To date, the team has created a web page, available to anyone in the state and country with web access, with over 2,000 separate pages and 700 illustrations featuring case studies, tutorials, lesson plans, and other resources for teachers at all levels in how to integrate the technology with the curriculum. Recognizing that not every teacher has access to the Internet, portions of the web site were copied onto 30,000 CD-ROMs which were then distributed to nonpublic schools and every school district.

The Technology Testbed Project was a competitive grant which funded 14 projects exploring how to best conduct community-based networking and use technology to improve education. Examples of funded testbeds include a project investigating different technologies, such as satellite and cable, that can be connected to the Internet, and a project researching the impact technology has on education.

The Shared Vision and Action Plan Project worked with the information generated from the other planning projects as well as the input from hundreds of educators to generate regional visions and plans for community-based networking.

At the same time these planning projects were underway, Link-to-Learn distributed $33.3 million in funds through a formula to every public school district with poorer school districts receiving a greater portion of the funds. In order to receive funds, every school district submitted an application which required them to:

Describe how the technology would be used to achieve an educational goal

How professional development would be provided for teachers

How the technology would be shared with the community

How would the project's impact would be assessed

Submit a completed technology survey which measured not only the type of technologies available but also how they were being used by students, teachers, and administrators.

Every one of Pennsylvania's school districts (501) submitted an application and was approved. In the second year of Link-to-Learn (1997-98), $36.3 million was distributed to school districts and area vocational technical schools with the same requirements. Attached you find a sample application (Attachment C).

Technology Literacy Challenge Fund
The Pennsylvania Department of Education was one of the first states to be approved for Technology Literacy Challenge Funding. Please refer to the attached 10 point state plan (Attachment D) the Department of Education received approval for which outlines our strategy for providing:

Quality technology resources

Installing various linages necessary to acquire connectivity

Integrating technology into the curriculum in order to improve student learning and achievement

Providing teachers and library media personnel with training or access to training

Providing administrative and technical support and services that improve student learning through enriched technology-enhanced resources, including library media resources

Promoting in individual schools the sharing, distribution, and application of educational technologies with demonstrated effectiveness

Assisting schools in promoting parent involvement

Assisting the community in providing literacy related services

Establishing partnerships with private or public educational providers or other entities to service the needs of children in poverty

Assurances that financial assistance provided under the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund would supplement, not supplant, State and local funds.

A competitive grant was used to distribute Pennsylvania's $8.6 million allocation. In order for a public school, vocational technical school, or Intermediate Unit to apply for funds, it was required that the entity have an approved technology plan based on the fourteen point criteria outlined in the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund legislation (Attachment E).

Libraries
Public library systems and district library centers in Pennsylvania are required by regulation to submit long range plans, which include plans for the use of technology in the library. These plans are approved by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries under the Pennsylvania Department of Education in order for a library to receive state aid. In addition all public libraries submit an annual report to the Office of Commonwealth Libraries which includes details about technology expenditures and services (Attachment F). Included are the amount of funds spent on:

Computer application software for public use

Electronic information services such as on-line databases and databases available through CD-ROM

Computer related equipment and software - administrative and automation

Maintenance on this equipment and software

Telephone and other telecommunication changes

In addition, the annual report collects information regarding:

The status of automation in acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, online public access catalogs, and serials management

Number of reference questions answered by online database searches

Number of public use computers (including those used in the central library, branches, and bookmobiles)

Internet access and if that access if offered to the staff and/or public

Computer application software packages available to the public

Computer files used to manage the collection

Fees paid to bibliographic utilities, networks, and consortia

Every library submitted these plans and have been approved.

Based on these various planning activities undertaken at the local, regional, and state levels, we request that all of Pennsylvania's public school districts, Intermediate Units, area vocational technical schools, and public and state aided libraries be considered as having approved technology plans for purpose of the Universal Service Fund. Additional information about Link-to-Learn and the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund can be found on the Department's Homepage at www.cas.psu.edu/pde.html under "Issues and Initatives." If you have any questions or need additional information, please call me or Julie Tritt at (717) 787-5820.

Sincerely,

John P. Bailey
Director
Office of Educational Technology

cc: Eugene W. Hickok, Secretary of Education
Debra Kriete, Schools and Libraries Corporation
Julie Tritt, E-rate Policy Specialist

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January 8, 1998

John P. Bailey
Director
Office of Educational Technology
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of Education
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333

Dear John:

Thank you for the December 12, 1997 information you provided on public schools and library technology planning in Pennsylvania.

The Schools and Libraries Corporation issues its Technology Plan policies and procedures this week (a copy is enclosed along with questions and answers about Technology Plan approval).

Based on the SLC policies and procedures and a review of the information you provided, I conclude that plans developed by school districts in response to the requirements of Pennsylvania's Link-To-Learn initiative, and plans developed by school districts receiving funding under Pennsylvania's Technology Literacy Challenge Fund initiative will be approved for participation in the Universal Service Fund. Of course, Pennsylvania's own Technology Literacy Challenge plan, and the plans developed by the three districts in your state with Technology Innovation Challenge Grants, are also approved plans.

You may notify each school district with a Link-to-Learn plan, or a Technology Literacy Challenge plan, that their plans are approved.

With regard to libraries, however, the information provided about the annual reports to the office Commonwealth libraries does not appear to be sufficient to meet the Technology Plan approval criteria. These inventories would meet the third and fourth criteria, but more informationwould have to be provided to meet the other three criteria. Perhaps there are other library planning initiatives in the state that will meet these criteria.

Thank you for your leadership and strong commitment to the use of information technology for school improvement.

Sincerely,

Tom Carroll
Director
Technology Planning and Evaluation

c: Eugene W. Hickok, Secretary of Education
Debra Kriete, Schools and Libraries Corporation
Julie Tritt, E-rate Policy Specialist

encl.: Technology Plan, Policy and Procedures
Technology Plan, Questions and Answers

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