Goal: Improve student achievement by enhancing school, home and community connections.
To reach this goal we will:
•publish a student produced, mesterly newsletter, both online and in print
•establish a listserv for parents that includes notices, surveys, and discussion groups
•inform parents and the community about magnet programs, progress and events from multiple access points such as GageNet, our District hosted (LAUSDNet) web site and local cable access
•use web publishing features of EasyGrade Pro to post student grades and attendance information which parents and students will be able to access via GageNet and our District hosted site with a unique and secure password

Goal: All staff and students will be proficient users of the latest technology appropriate for accomplishing academic tasks.
To reach this goal we will:
•implement regular staff development and in-service training
•incorporate increased technology proficiency into instructional planning
•ensure that the magnet staff uses technology in an exemplary manner
•administer regular needs assessments
•showcase student achievement across at school, district, county and statewide events

Strategies
Staff Development
Staff development is offered for all Gage Middle School Magnet staff to increase proficiency with curriculum planning, collaboration and technology integration. A variety of facilitators from District, Local District, school and vendor sources will engage staff in meaningful and relevant professional growth opportunities.
Components of ongoing staff development include:
•Critical Friends groups
•Department meetings
•Interdisciplinary teaming
•Technological literacy featuring:
•basic and advanced features of operating systems
•using GageNet computers on a network and competency working in our shared computing environment
•productivity applications (word processing, databases, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, web publishing, e-mail, instant messaging, image creating and processing, presentation software and others)
•District provided training such as UPDATE (Uniting Professional Development And Technology for Education) and state provided training through CTAP (California Technology Assistance Program)
For effective staff development, needs assessment surveys will be administered regularly to ensure that a high degree of proficiency is maintained in:
•advanced internet research skills
•competence with instructional network capabilities
•high level awareness of instructional uses for productivity software
•using the internet as an instructional tool

Accountability
The Gage Middle School Math, Science and Technology Magnet embraces the information age and will strive to host a ‘virtual campus’, a valuable and active resource that opens our school to the world community. A virtual campus is an essential component of accountability as it bridges the school and the local community with easily accessed, up-to-date information about all school business and affairs. The design of the virtual campus will facilitate straightforward communication capabilities to which all virtual campus users and visitors have immediate access. Some capabilities that will be available are online comments and feedback forms, e-mail accounts with web mail access and instant messaging, all of which enable communication and collaboration.
How this will be accomplished:
•hire the services of a certified web designer who can create a secure, accessable and stable site that will meet current needs and be expandable to anticipate future needs
•train all staff to manage an area of the virtual campus
•inform school of virtual campus and its services
•community outreach to demonstrate virtual campus and educate on its accessiblity and resources.

Infrastructure
The Magnet school relies on GageNet and Gage Middle School staff as the primary source of support for our instructional network and other services. The Magnet School is housed in the East Building of the Gage campus which along with the rest of the school is undergoing a major instructional network upgrade as part of Year 6 of E-rate funding. This will improve the capacity and performance of our network, including an additional drop in every classroom for teacher use. This project will leave room for at least a 50% expansion of current network capacity. The Magnet School segment of our instructional network, GageNet, will continue to be developed and maintained at the local level by the Gage Middle School Technology Resource Teacher. In addition to GageNet, the Magnet program uses Gage Middle School services such as:
•school library services
•SIS
•Health Office
•Building cleaning and maintenance/Plant Manager
•Cafeteria/Food Service
•Title I photocopying services
The magnet program can potentially use Gage Middle School’s video production facility, which currently is a facility in name only. Most equipment is obsolete and has been salvaged. The studio, control room and editing room are at the time of this writing a storage room/technician work area, counseling office and MDF/router/server/surveillance system room respectively.

Evaluations and Recommendations
The Gage Middle School Math, Science and Technology Magnet is the first substantial group of GageNet users to use the new deployment of OS X server and client operating systems. The ideal technology integration solution is a 1:1 computer/student ratio. Use of wireless networking, laptop computers and presentation devices makes every classroom a computer lab. This will insure equity of technology access to all students and uniform implementation of strategies to meet academic goals.
Ongoing financial and technical support is critical to ensure that our students and staff benefit from the investment in technology and training. Resources must be allocated for regular software updates, hardware upgrades and contracted engineering hours. As the technology proficiency level of students and staff increases, so will the level of sophistication required to administer the instructional network and online resources. Increased proficiency will lead to a demand to initiate more technologically advanced technology integration projects such as digital image processing, digital video editing, multimedia presentations, interactive databases and an enhanced online presence, in the form of a virtual campus, for the magnet program.
Items which should be strongly considered for purchase and upgrade over the next three years include:
•expansion of instructional network and services with additional servers and updated network hardware
•data storage solutions (external devices such as portable firewire/USB hard drives, which are also used for computer updating and maintenance)
•laser printers: long term, solid investments
•digital video editing equipment: this is mainly an investment in editing software and increased storage capacity which can easily be deployed with existing equipment
•digital video cameras
•tripods
•sound board for editing and multimedia presentations
•equalizer for audio editing and processing
•streaming video/audio server
•update of video production room with production equipment
•computer to TV capabilities: hardware to record and broadcast digitally edited video to videocassette
•deployment of regular OSX maintenance and updates
•large venue sound and LCD projection system

Personnel
Magnet school coordinator: Currently half-time, this position will become full time when student enrollment reaches 200. The coordinator is responsible of the implementation of the action plan in addition to administrative duties pertinent to the instructional and physical operation of the magnet program.
Magnet school counselor:Currently half-time, this positions will also become a full time position when the Magnet program extends to seventh grade.
Administrative secretary:
Teachers: Sixth and Seventh grade core, Technology Elective (Exploring Technology).

District and Local District Support
Magnet Office/Office of Student Integration
ITD - Instructional Technology Division: Higher level support for instructional network infrastructure and hardware.
Contractors/Vendors

Administrative Application of Technology
All staff, including administrators, will learn to be effective users of technology for increased productivity and communication within the school and between home and school. Staff will communicate with parents in the traditional manners and through e-mail, the web sites, and voice mail, including information on student progress and homework.

Technology Integration Implementation

Next Steps: Timeline Indicators of Success
Student technology benchmarks by subject area will be adopted into curricula and will identify curriculum connections. By spring 2005, completed student technology benchmarks will be documented with sample cross curricular connections and adopted across grade levels. In addition:
•Core lessons will be developed and adopted which integrate appropriate technology skills, to be implemented by all magnet school teachers by the 2004-2005 school year. Lesson plans will be adopted as possible essential curriculum by appropriate subject areas for piloting in the electronic learning environment.
•Core lessons which integrate appropriate research skills 2003-2004 school year will be identified and developed. •Grade level teams provide evidence of collaboration with librarian to ensure that all students learn and use Big6 problem-solving model
•Pilot and share model technology-enhanced lessons 2003-2004 school year Lessons taught by designated teachers and shared with colleagues at professional development release time
•Revise school plan July 2004
• Online and traditional notification of updated school plan to school and community
Fully implement teaching of technology enhanced lessons Fall 2003-ongoing Discussion and reflection of lessons in Critical Friends groups
Review and purchase necessary software and online resources Annually Software and online resources available for use
Create a list of online resources with curriculum connections Ongoing Online publication and electronic distribution of online resources to all staff
Use technology to communicate with parents about school and curriculum Ongoing Use of interactive technologies such as online progress reports, e-mail, web mail and instant messaging