Key Tasks of Leadership Team Across the Four Phases
Work as a Leadership Team
To set the stage for success, you will create a plan that charts the course to becoming a PowerUp School. To form your team, you can draw upon existing teams in your school. You’ll need to engage people with expertise in technology, leadership, special education, professional development, curriculum, English language learners, and assessment. Guided by the online toolkit, your team will build a supportive environment for teachers to create and sustain PowerUp Classrooms, based on ongoing data collection. Together, you will focus on improving instruction for all students.
Gather and Analyze Data to Guide Decision-Making
PowerUp is a data-driven process. Your school’s data will support and inform all of the decisions your team makes. During every phase, you’ll engage in a systematic process of data gathering and analysis. As you begin PowerUp, you will draw upon data to establish a starting point for your school. You will also use data to help you measure progress along the way. You’ll identify strengths and needs within your school and use this information to help inform your PowerUp Plan.
Form a Vision
Your Leadership Team will develop a shared vision for PowerUp classrooms to be communicated to teachers. A shared vision helps put everyone on the same page, and encourages buy-in from teachers. It reinforces your team’s focus on improving instruction for all students through the use of technology and research-based practices. As you move through the PowerUp process, your shared vision may grow and evolve as new ideas and questions emerge.
Set Goals
Setting the right goals will help you move towards becoming a PowerUp School. The goals will direct your efforts and serve as benchmarks to monitor your progress in improving teaching and learning. Just as your vision will take shape over time, your goals will also change. The online toolkit will help you revise your goals based on changing data and teacher feedback, and move to fully implement technology-supported research-based practices.
Develop a Budget
To create a strong PowerUp Plan, your team will need to identify all available sources of funding. Your team will also need to link your goals, resources, and funds to allocate dollars in a way that takes advantage of your school’s structures and supports. PowerUp tools will help your team review available funds, link to existing initiatives, and strategize to make the most of your technology-related dollars.
Provide Professional Development
Throughout all of the phases of implementation, your team will build on the data you collect and lessons you learn to ensure that your professional development strongly links to standards, curriculum, and your PowerUp goals. You’ll learn more about professional development models that link research-based practices to technology tools.
Provide Access to Technology and Support
For technology implementation to succeed, you’ll need to plan how to provide teachers with strong, reliable technology access and support. Teachers need to know that they have help when technology doesn’t work or they don’t know how to use a tool. PowerUp provides strategies, tips, and resources for creating a robust plan for technology access and support. You’ll address issues of scheduling, logistics, troubleshooting, providing tech support, and empowering your teachers to become tech-savvy educators.
Reflect and Identify Next Steps
As your team completes each phase of implementation, the PowerUp tools will guide your team to reflect on what worked and what can be strengthened as you go forward. You’ll also look to the future, by reviewing your upcoming tasks and setting priorities based on your needs and lessons learned.