Technology

Network Cable plant

The mission of Elmira City School District Technology Services is to provide superior quality service and support to the Elmira City School District and its partners and to implement new ideas, technologies, policies, standards, and practices to improve the classroom experience, administration workflow, and technology infrastructure in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

The Network Operations Center or NOC Room @ EDA is staffed by GST BOCES Computer Services employees dedicated to providing the highest level of customer service under the policies and procedures of the district and at the direction of the district’s Technology Director. Our job is to keep the network and equipment functional, secure, and current using best practices of the management of enterprise networks in educational environments under current budget constraints.

 

Prometheon Board

Instructional Technology

The NOC Room team is only one component of the effective use of technology in our classrooms. The district has the support of the Instructional Technology Specialists from the GST BOCES Instructional Support Center. These specialists come into classrooms on a regular basis and provide assistance and direction to integrate technology into curriculum using the supported software and resources that are available.

  

Technology Support in schools

Technology support in schools is provided by Tech TAs. These people are the front line of support in helping to use and troubleshoot hardware and software issues in the classroom. Although each building utilizes Tech TAs a little differently, in general, most TAs help with printer problems, assist with software installation, provide access to building resources such as digital cameras, scanners, clickers, etc., facilitate Distance Learning sessions, manage labs and laptop carts, coordinate PC and printer replacement with the LANTech team, and manage consumables through the NOC Room such as ink, Promethean pens, and batteries.

As the front line of support, the Tech TA is usually the person who will escalate issues to the Helpdesk and work with the LANTech Team to follow an issue through to resolution. The Technology Director and the LANTech Team use the Tech TAs as a single point of information to distribute information about technology into each of the buildings in our district.

Instructional Technology Plan

All school districts in New York State must complete and submit an Instructional Technology Plan to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) as directed by 100.12 of the Commissioner’s Regulations. The approved Instructional Technology Plan is valid for 3 years.

The Technology Plan requires the following policies:

 

Smart Schools

The Smart Schools Bond Act was passed in the 2014-15 Enacted Budget and approved by the voters in a statewide referendum held during the 2014 General Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. The Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA) authorized the issuance of $2 billion of general obligation bonds to finance improved educational technology and infrastructure to improve learning and opportunity for students throughout the State. The SSBA requires that a Review Board review and approve districts’ Smart Schools Investment Plans before any funds may be made available for the program.

The allocation of funds for the Elmira City School District is $7,090,526.

The Elmira City School District's Smart Schools Investment Plan (SSIP) was approved by the Board of Education on March 2, 2016 after a public hearing and a 30 day public comment period.

The primary goals of the district's use of the Smart Schools Bond Act funds is to reinforce network infrastructure to support 21st century learning and computer based testing. There are also significant upgrades in the security camera and door entrance systems. The full SSIP is available for public review:

Some Smart Schools Investment Plan categories require the Elmira City School District to provide loanable equipment to non-public schools.  The district will inform non-public schools the total amount of loanable equipment available and non-public schools should submit their requests for loanable equipment by August 31st of each calendar year.

Questions regarding the Smart Schools Investment Plan should be directed to the Technology Director, Josh Miller.

Student Data Privacy and Security

New York State Education Law Section 2-d requires that all school districts provide an inventory of programs used in the school environment on their websites and make such a document publicly available. Schools must also provide a clear description of the various data elements collected by the programs and applications including student, teacher and administrator Personally Identifiable Information (PII). In addition to the required information, more resources such as legal or regulatory documentation may be added to this public resource further outlining the reasons particular data elements are collected as well as the intended uses. You will find the inventory and a description of the programs currently in use in our schools with links to each company's privacy policies maintained by RIC One below. This public portal will be continuously updated as new security information is received or as new technological applications are integrated into the school environment.

Data Protection Officer

The Data Protection Officer for the district is Jake Sheehan, Director of Administration.  Questions, concerns, or complaints about data security should be directed to [email protected].

Inventory of Applications in Use that are Compliant with NYS Education Law Section 2-D

Click here to view this table in a new window.

Inventory Key

Applications that are purchased through GST BOCES are covered under the GST BOCES Parents' Bill of Rights or Contracts available for review at: http://www.gstboces.org/documents/data-privacy/inventory/index.cfm
After reviewing this resource, if you have any questions, please feel free to email [email protected]

What Is RIC One?

RIC One is a program that consists of 12 Regional Information Centers (RICs) that helps with various services provided to schools. One such service, is the Data Privacy and Security Initiative tool for New York State districts to ensure compliance with Education Law 2-d and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requirements. RIC One serves as an intermediary for Districts by hosting the service and by acquiring the required documentation from the vendors. They also work to support educators in implementing technology-rich learning experiences while ensuring that students’ privacy is not compromised.

Additional Signed Parents' Bill of Rights

Some vendors are given access or store student or teacher/principal data under the requirements of New York State Education Law Section 2-d and the approval of the district but do not fall under the inventory of applications because they are a service provider and not an application.  Those contracts, signed Bill of Rights, and supplemental documentation is provided here:

NWEA Sample
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