Addressing Information Technology Support at Beacon Charter High School for the Arts Michael Skeldon November 6, 2010

ASBO Budget Analysis  One school district reduces need for complex budget document  General Requirements  No table of contents, cover letter, page numbers  Information in table form, with clearly defined sections  Introductory Section – Narrative/Executive Summary missing  Organizational Section – No link to mission  Financial Section – one prior year of comparative data  Information Section – three years’ prior data and forecasts absent

The Problem  Can Beacon Charter School afford to maintain its itinerant IT support in the current climate of high stakes testing and performance management contracts for charter schools?  Startup small school culture vs. established infrastructure  Adding administrators vs. adding front line personnel

IT Beacon 2005 One 15-unit computer lab 2010 Three computer labs (60 PCs) One 20-unit mobile lab 10 video editing machines LCD projectors in most rooms Interactive whiteboards Documents cameras/scanners Laptops or desktops for all employees

Review of the Literature  Early thoughts (Strudler, ) included the idea that school IT personnel would work themselves out of a job once school staff were trained  Brooks-Young (2006): look at Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of any IT purchase:  Compatibility with existing infrastructure  The need to increase specs to meet current needs  Manufacturer reliability  Sufficiency of warranty  Performance record of equipment  Affordability of purchase

Review of the Literature, cont.  Cuban (in Strudler, 2010): Increases in IT spending do not necessarily show increases in student performance possibly due to lack of connectivity between the technology and instruction  Principals must be “digital leaders”  Young, technology-savvy teachers need support AND advice (Ferriter, 2009)  Schools where principals support tech initiatives had high gains in student achievement (Means, 2010)

Review of the Literature, cont.  Duvall and Wise (2004): Principal should be available to be instructional leader of the school. Schools could replace school secretary with  Operations Officer  Attendance Clerk  Student Specialist  Student Techs integral to IT support (Demski, 2010)

Research Question  How can Beacon Charter High School for the Arts improve the quality and consistency of IT support as it grows more reliant on technology for:  delivery of instruction;  assessment; and  sharing of data with parents and other stakeholders?

Budget Analysis & Recommendations

Consultation  Monique Collins, Beacon’s Certified Business Manager, previously held same position with International Charter School and International Institute  Beacon’s #1 Priority: IT Support  Current model at Beacon ignores “lost costs” of administrative personnel handling IT  International Model:  Share an IT person between two organizations  Person is always available in person and remotely

IT Support

Budget vs. Reality

Budget Analysis

Conclusions & Recommendations  Sharing a dedicated IT professional similar to “International Model”  Two or more schools would share expense  Assuming Beacon has greater needs, Beacon could bear 60% of costs:  $65,000 salary + $16,250 (25%) benefits = $81,250  Beacon’s cost: $48,750  A consolidation in arts programs would save a minimum of $70,000 (including salary and benefits)

Budget Analysis