INFORMATIONAL

The Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel approved by
the state Board of Education in January and conveyed through memo
in April (Supts. Memo. No. 2, April 17, 1998) require that
Virginia school divisions incorporate those standards into their
technology plans by December 1998. The divisional technology
plans must include technology standards for instructional
personnel implementation strategies, appropriate timelines and
benchmarks, and a method to assess whether the standards have
been met. The goal of this requirement is to assure that all
instructional personnel meet the standards prior to the 2002-2003
school year. 

In addition, a review of federally funded programs and
recommendations from Virginia's recently completed Integrated
Review by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the
U.S. Department of Education indicate that school division plans
should include several components needed to comply with program
requirements. These components relate to requirements identified
in the legislation for Technology Literacy Challenge Grants,
Goals 2000 Grants, and funding provided through the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Universal Service). 

Listed below are components that should be included in updated
technology plans to meet both state and federal requirements.
Many of these components are already included in current plans,
some are slight modifications of existing items, and others may
need to be added to these updated plans. The plan should include
as a minimum these components: the duration of the plan, a vision
statement, a technology mission statement, how technology will be
used, the current status of technology in the division, a
needs assessment plan, short-and long-term goals/objectives,
the divisional strategic action plan, a comprehensive
educational technology training plan, any collaborative
activities, and an evaluation of plan implementation and
effectiveness.   

Attached to this memo are two documents intended to assist
divisions in updating their technology plans. The first
document, Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel:
Resource and Planning Publication, is a compilation of
resources from several Virginia school divisions and can be
used to assist other divisions in assessing instructors,
determining implementation strategies, conducting
training/staff development, and evaluating achievement of the
standards. The second attachment, Selected Components for
School Division Long-Range Technology Plans,provides more
detailed guidance for information that might be included in
components of the updated plans. The review team looks for
many of these details when making a determination of the
quality of division technology plans.    

We are requesting a copy of your updated technology plan by
December 31, 1998. 

The department will choose a panel to review the plans based
upon the components listed in this memo, and findings
concerning strengths and weakness of each plan will be
provided to division  superintendents. Plans are to be sent to
Lan W. Neugent, Assistant Superintendent for Technology, P.O.
Box 2120, Richmond, Va 23218-2757.

Questions concerning the content of  updated technology plans
and/or the planning process should be directed to Gordon F.
Creasy, Division of Technology, at 804-225-4430.     

PDS/LWN/emt

Attachments:   A hard copy of this memo and its attachments
               will be sent to the superintendent's office.