The Future of Education at Greene-Hills School

1. The Future of Education at Greene-Hills School Patricia Sanzone Post University

2. About Greene-Hills • Greene-Hills School, formerly known as Greene-Hills Elementary School, is located in the Forestville section of Bristol, Connecticut. • The school currently offers services for students in preschool through eighth grade with a population of approximately 900 students. • The student/teacher ratio of 16:1 is higher than the Connecticut average of 13:1. • Minority enrollment is 40% of the student body (majority Hispanic), which is less than the state average of 41%. • The school’s diversity score of 0.58 is more than the state average of 0.40. • Greene-Hills School operates within the Bristol School District. (Public School Review, 2015)

3. Technology at Greene-Hills • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) The BYOD program was started at both Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central High Schools in 2014. It will eventually be expanded to the middle schools across the district (Solek, 2014). As of now, the BYOD technology has not been introduced to Greene-Hills middle schoolers. Rolling out a BYOD program takes considerable forethought and planning as districts need robust wireless networks and filters, and to train teachers and prepare students and parents (Horizon, 2015, 37) BYOD provides students with the opportunity to connect their learning in the classroom with their personal lives. • Adaptive Learning Technologies Adaptive learning technology helps teachers adapt by providing instant data on what area a child is weak in. Studies have been showing that adaptive learning technology can help students achieve comparable results in less time, raise their scores, and improve retention (Hicks, April 12, 2015).

4. Overview of Scenarios • Scenarios Scenarios describe, in story or outline form, the future development of a trend, a strategy, or a wild-card event. Typically, several scenarios will be developed (World Future Society). Scenarios should range from a future that is very desirable, a future that is not necessarily ideal, all the way down to a future that would be catastrophic. (Mietzner, D., Reger, G., 2005)

5. Overview of Scanning • Scanning Scanning requires a futurist to observe the world around them. Current newspapers, magazines, web sites, and other media are utilized to look for signs of change that are likely to impact the future of the organization. Scanning focuses mainly on changes that occur through time rather than events that occur very quickly.

6. Educational Technology Trends • Technology is a trend that has made tremendous gains in education. For Greene-Hills School to enjoy the full benefits of what technology has to offer, administrators and educators must be aware that technology is constantly changing. Users of technology must be willing to adjust to these changes and must have a technology plan that reflects change. • To continue technology projectssuccessful implementation, new policies need to be made, more money needs to be spent on upgrading software and updating hardware, more appropriate help needs to be provided to both teachers and students, and more investment needs to be put into sustaining and improving sufficient technical support (Lim, Zhao, Tondeur, Chai, Tsai, 2013).

7. Economic and Public Policy Trends • Title 1 is a government service that provides additional funding to schools who have a very high rate of lower economic status families. Title 1 was redefined with the passing of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). • NCLB has provided a huge swing in the future of education for Greene-Hills School. By receiving Title 1 status, the school has obtained substantially more funding. One result of these funds is the school being able to hire instructional support staff to provide additional services to all students who are reading below grade level.

8. Demographic Trends • A very prevalent demographic trend that effects the future of education at Greene-Hills School is an increase in immigration to the district. Language barriers and cultural misunderstandings with new immigrants can be a cause of poor parent/teacher communication within the school system. As this trend evolves, more of the school’s time and resources will need to be allotted to ELL students. • Another trend that has emerged over the last thirty years and continues to impact the future of education is the dynamics of the home. In 2012 it was reported that a third of households with children are headed by a single parent, and a tenth of two-parent households have only one biological parent. The family support system might be lacking or varied for students and there might not always be a consistent contact between school and home.

9. Historical Event • In the Fall of 2014, the city of Bristol made the decision to add full-day kindergarten to its educational program. As Greene-Hills just recently entered its second year of full-day services, it is still premature to determine the impact that the program has had. • Data from the first year of full-day services in Bristol is currently being gathered.

10. By the Year 2020 Greene-Hills School will: • Be technology rich with digital devices available for all students • Have teachers who are trained in and use adaptive learning technologies in their classrooms • Consist of a diverse demographic makeup • Have strong connections between the school and the home • Experience academic gains as a result of implementing full-day kindergarten

11. Plan for Change Greene-Hills School must: • Incorporate various ways of communicating with its families • Allocate funds for replacing outdated software and hardware equipment • Provide teachers with opportunities to be trained on using digital resources • Offer training for effectively servicing English Language Learners • Have a budget plan in place for the increase of teachers that will be needed as the population of the city rises • Budget for additional support staff such as ELL teachers, literacy and math specialists and paraprofessionals that will be needed for servicing a growing student population.

12. Call to Action To being this plan, Greene-Hills School should: • Establish an open line of communication between the school and the home with services such as phone calls, emails, texts, social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter) and paper notices. • Translate announcement into student’s native language • Provide its teachers with training on using technology in the classroom Example: Software classes offered after school or during professional development

13. References (2015). Public School Review: Greene-Hills School. Retrieved from http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/15445 Solek, E. (2014, Fall), Spotlight On Education: Bristol Public Schools (2). Retrieved from http://www.bristol.k12.ct.us/2014-2015/Flyers/1-7/Spot-Ed-Spring-2014.pdf (2015) NMC Horizon Report: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) (37) Hicks, K. (2015, April12) The Benefits of Adaptive Learning Technology. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/how-adaptive-learning-technology-is-being-used-in-online-courses World Future Society: Scenarios. Retrieved from http://www.wfs.org/node/404Mietzner, D., Reger, G. (2005) Int. J. Technology Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 1, No. 2. Retrieved from http://www.lampsacus.com/documents/stragegicforesight.pdf Ping Lim, Cher; Yong Zhao; Tondeur, Jo; Ching Sing Chai; Chin-Chung Tsai (2013, April) Journal of Educational Technology & Society. Vol. 16 Issue 2, p59-68.