Page 3 - TIME Newletter Winter 2017 Edition

Welcome to the Winter 2017 edition of

Technology in Motion

for Education.

State Assessment (FSA) testing window. Kudos to the entire IT team for finishing the
rollout before the deadline.
As the FSA testing window approaches, our technology teams are working with
our schools for computer based test (CBT) spring infrastructure trial testing. This
trial testing only applies to schools on the District’s network and was conducted on
February 3, 2017. More details are provided in District Bulletin #P 17-203 CFO.
During the November elections, the penny sales tax referendum was approved by
taxpayers for 10 years which will raise approximately $100M for classroom technology
and $33M for information technology infrastructure which includes back end
infrastructure, school network routers and switches, school and District servers, school
phone systems and PBX, and wireless infrastructure. IT and ET teams are diligently
working on project plans, and updates will be regularly provided going forward.
Our 5 year technology plan that supports the District’s strategic plan is in final draft and
waiting for approval. Upon approval, we will present it to the School Board in one of
their forthcoming workshops prior to publishing.
The SIS project is progressing on time. The SIS Project Team was heavily engaged in
rolling out master scheduling on the new Focus system which went live successfully on
January 17, 2017. More updates on the project will be provided in the next edition of
TIME.
IT teams were also recently engaged with School Food Services to upgrade
the WebSmartt system. Our users in School Food Services complimented our
infrastructure and database team members for ensuring that the upgrades were done
in a timely manner, and all expectations were met.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and commend our Career and
Choice Options Department on winning the MSAP (Magnet Schools Assistance
Program) grant for $11.6M. IT will be working with them, ET and Curriculum to
implement all aspects of the grant. This grant will help our students achieve the
marketable technological skills needed for college and career readiness. More details
on this grant are provided in this edition of the newsletter.
Please join me in congratulating Natasha Bell-Hayden, Senior Project Manager, in her
new role as Director, Project Management Office (PMO), reporting to me. Natasha has
years of project management experience, certifications, and an exemplary track record
of successful project management at the District.
We wish our students well on their upcoming EOC exams, assessments and for the
rest of the academic year. I hope you enjoy this edition of TIME, and welcome any
feedback from our readers.

Best Regards,

Deepak Agarwal
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