7/30/2019 Pesce SMS New Staff Orientation Program Proposal

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Jean PesceEDET 650, Fall 2013Internship Proposal Schofield Middle School New Staff Orientation Program

August 27, 2013After working on various projects in educational technology, many interesting

applications have come to mind for my teaching environment. Using the skills I havelearned, I plan to create an orientation program for new teachers as we have had alarge turn-over in the past three years. The Aiken County Public School District providesa general orientation and a district-assigned mentor for new employees but this lacksthe detailed information and relationship necessary for operating efficiently within eachschool. After experiencing the situation first-hand, sympathetic colleagues offer helpfultidbits to these rookies who may very well be seasoned professionals but thatinformation is: not comprehensive; not able to be easily referenced; and not alwaysavailable in a timely manner. An orientation program that is available on the schoolwebsite for new staff members would address these issues at the convenience of theviewer.

My vision for the Orientation Program is a centralized repository for resourcesand historical background of Schofield Middle School. Access would be available for allstaff but particularly useful to newcomers. An audio-video walk through of the schoolbuilding and grounds would be accompanied with historical information and friendlysuggested. Explanations and diagrams of how common areas like the Library/MediaCenter are organized and the procedures for use by individual teachers or classeswould be invaluable for long-range lesson plans. Although education is going digital,many schools like ours still operate in paper which is why providing videodemonstrations on the use of all current copy machines and where the needed suppliesare stored is a compassionate gesture to include. Sure to be appreciated are electronicdocuments of the complicated scheduling and limited availability at various times and tospecific populations of electronic equipment contained in three rooms, and on six ormore carts. Since the technology has arrived at various times and rates, the mostdifficult part of this task will be consolidating all the information for the first time forteachers although this is surely available through some records in the school.

Besides the physical operations at Schofield, basic information would be usefulto a new teacher. For instance, they will be required to follow all policies and proceduresin place. These documents are provided naturally through the school and district but areusually not consolidated in one source which is always accessible for reference.Therefore, either an electronic collection of copied documents or a list linked to theoriginals would be a convenient tool to use in school or from elsewhere. Otherinformation that would be useful would be informal backgrounds on personnel and thelocal community for coordinating teaching or just social connections.

The technology in my school is directed under several staff members. This

includes Mike House, Technology Specialist for my school, and Terri Booth, Lead Web

Administrator for the district. In my building, Steve Smith is the Media Specialist and

Tray Nelson, the webmaster. These are the experts who could oversee my work on the

Schofield Middle School New Staff Orientation Program as I perfect my skills in

educational technology.