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Berrien Springs Public
Schools
Technology Plan
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Begins: July 2008
Completes: June 2011
Berrien Springs
Public Schools
District 11240
One Sylvester Ave.
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
269-471-2891
A member of Berrien County Intermediate
School District
Contact:
Brandon W. Waggoner,
Director of Technology
One Sylvester Ave.
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
Phone: 269-471-2891
Fax: 269-471-2590
E-mail: brandon.waggoner@homeoftheshamrocks.org
This plan can be
found online at http://www.homeoftheshamrocks.org/techplan.htm
District Mission
The
Berrien Springs Public Schools will provide community-centered education driven
by student needs to prepare individuals in learning for life in a changing
world.
Introduction
Berrien Springs Public School District
is located in the beautiful fruit country of Southwest Michigan along the banks
of the Saint Joseph River. It is located just miles from two of the
larger population areas in Berrien County, Niles
and Saint Joseph/Benton Harbor. The
school district is also home to Andrews
University, a Seventh-Day
Adventist institution. Andrews University
attracts people from around the world.
Because of this, many nationalities and languages can be found at
Berrien Springs Public Schools.
Along with many different
nationalities, 47.7% of the district’s approximately 1800 students are
considered minority. This diversity creates
unique experiences for all students to learn about different cultures other
than their own. Of the nearly 1800
students in Berrien Springs Public Schools, 46.6% are considered to be in the
category of low socio-economic status, and 12.3% are in special education
programs. Berrien
Springs Public Schools has five schools (lower elementary, upper elementary,
middle school, high school, and alternative education) all in a single campus
location. As well, Berrien Springs
Public Schools has approximately 110 teachers serving the district. With all of the wonderful qualities of
Berrien Springs Public Schools, the district has become a magnet for over 300
schools of choice students.
Vision
We
believe technology is a tool that enriches the learning environment, increases
employee efficiency, prepares our students for the future, and facilitates
communication between members of our learning community.
Goals
The
technology goals of Berrien Springs Public Schools are specifically created to
prepare individuals for “learning for life in a changing world.” Berrien Springs Public Schools Strategic Plan
2001-2006 includes nine strategies to improve the district during this time
period, the following are strategies directly addressed by this technology
plan:
1.
Enhance
the curriculum
2.
Develop
additional options for students and community beyond the regular K-12
curriculum.
3.
Create
a systematic process and plan for staff development.
4.
Maintain
and continue to upgrade quality facilities.
5.
Align
Human Resources within District as Needed to Support Vision and Plan
6.
Involve
and Support Parents as Key Partners in the Education Process.
7.
Develop
a Comprehensive Mentoring Program and Network.
8.
Formalize
community partnerships that benefit students, schools, and community.
9.
Promote
the community and schools to showcase accomplishments and benefits.
The
primary focus of this technology plan is to integrate technology into the
curriculum and to directly address the students’ needs for 21st
Century skills through curriculum, infrastructure, and professional development
for teachers. Following are the goals of
this technology plan in order of priority:
Goals
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- Increase student achievement through the
use of data analysis tools on the classroom, building, and district
level.
- Increase teacher technology proficiency
with a technology professional development program.
- Increase the accessibility to computers
either through the increase of classroom computers or mobile labs.
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- Showcase students’ accomplishments in
technology in the public eye.
- Upgrade the telephone/PBX system to improve
communications between buildings.
- Institute an obsolescence plan for
technology equipment in the district.
- Upgrade the connection to the Internet in
order to improve the online experience and to take advantage of the
online video revolution.
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Curriculum
Berrien
Springs Public Schools believes that it is important to have both integration
strategies as well as specific standards and benchmarks in order to help our
students not only learn 21st Century skills, but also become better
students through the use of technology.
It is also the belief of Berrien Springs Public Schools that teaching
technology is not reserved to computer lab instructors, but rather to the entire
Berrien Springs Public Schools staff.
Instruction of technology must also take place directly as a result of
using the technology for the instruction of other curricular areas such as
math, English, social studies, and science.
A new technology curriculum will be introduced that will be K-12 and
involve all classes throughout the district. The curriculum was created using
State of Michigan
and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards. The full curriculum can be found in
Appendix A.
Following
the mission of Berrien Springs Public Schools, the purpose of improving
students’ 21st Century skills is to prepare the students for life
following the K-12 experience. By using
technology in the classroom, students will not only improve upon the quality of
their educational experience, but they will also receive these 21st
century skills. Students will continue
to be given opportunities beyond the classroom in the form of online learning
provided by Michigan
Virtual High
School, the Shamrock Learning System (a Moodle
site) located on the Home Of The Shamrocks website, and distance learning
experiences coordinated by REMC XI. As
well, our teachers will be given opportunities to learn integration methods
that use the Internet as a way of communicating with classrooms around the
world.
Curriculum
Implementation Timeline
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Objective
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Begin
Date
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Completion
Date
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Responsible
Party
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Identify
needed resources to update capabilities based on current and emerging
technology
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July
2008
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June
2011
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Technology
Director and Technology Planning Committee
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Procure
needed equipment and resources
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July
2008
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June
2011
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Technology
Director, Curriculum Director, Superintendent, Principals
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Train
teachers to integrate curriculum into the classroom
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July
2008
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June
2011
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Technology
Director
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Communication
Technology Plan
Dissemination
This
technology plan will be distributed through the school district website located
at http://www.homeoftheshamrocks.org
as well as through a public board of education meeting at which this plan will
be discussed, voted upon, and approved.
As well, Berrien Springs Public Schools uses email as an effective tool
for communication. Currently, all staff
members have email accounts and a large portion of communication takes place
through email. This technology plan will
be disseminated to the staff through an email attachment.
Communication and
Parental Involvement
Parents
are always encouraged to use email as a form of communication with our teachers
and administrators. Parents are able to
locate all teacher email accounts on the Home of the Shamrocks website located
at http://www.homeoftheshamrocks.org. Included in the goals of this technology plan
is the purchase and implementation of a teacher, student, and parent web portal
system that will facilitate communication.
As well, parents will be involved in the planning and implementation
process through the curriculum council.
Collaboration
Currently,
Berrien Springs Public Schools has an Adult Education and English as a Second
Language program. These existing
programs currently use Successmaker and NovaNET by Pearson Education and are
provided at our Middle School. These
programs allow Berrien Springs Public Schools to have a greater impact on the
community as a whole including those who have moved to this school district
from other countries.
Berrien
Springs Public Schools has been fortunate to receive some support from
Whirlpool Corporation in the form of donations and consultation.
Berrien
Springs Public Schools will continue to seek out and collaborate with colleges
and universities in research and other endeavors. Some of the universities that the district
has collaborated with in the last three years include Andrews University,
Michigan State University, Western Michigan University,
and the University
of Phoenix.
Professional
Development
In years past, many
districts have simply placed technology into the classroom without giving
consideration to the fact that teachers need to be taught how to effectively
integrate the technology into the classroom.
Because of this, Berrien Springs Public Schools finds that technology
professional development is an integral part of an overall technology plan.
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Action
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Responsible Party
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Date
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In-house Technology
Courses Created/Reviewed
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Technology Director
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Summer 2008
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Technology Courses
Scheduled for year
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Technology Director
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Summer 2008
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Staff begin taking
advantage of professional development opportunities
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Technology Director
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November 2008
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Berrien Springs Public
Schools offers technology classes after school for staff
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Technology Director
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November 2008
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Technology Professional
Development program evaluated and revised
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Technology Director
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Late Spring 2009
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Technology Professional
Development program evaluated and revised
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Technology Director
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Late Spring 2010
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The Berrien Springs Public
Schools Professional Development Teacher Standards will be directly correlated
to the grade level curriculum based on the ISTE standards for students in the
next three years.
Teachers will have
available numerous options for professional development. These experiences will include on-site
training, off-site training in the form of classes, online courses (some being
through Michigan Learnport), and conferences.
Hardware
Currently Berrien Springs Public Schools has
approximately 600 computers. The
majority of the computers are personal computers (PCs) with the Microsoft
Windows operating systems. There still
remain several Apple Computers in the range of 10-15. Approximately 120 of the PCs are laptop
computers purchased through the Freedom to Learn initiative. The majority of the computers reside in
computer labs. Computers at the moment
are replaced as they age and cease working.
Currently the district uses 5 servers that act mainly as file servers in
addition to a web server and a Food Services server.
- Increase the accessibility to computers
either through the increase of classroom computers or mobile labs.
Infrastructure
The Berrien Springs Public Schools network is
comprised almost solely of 3Com networking equipment with the exception of Mars
Elementary which has Netgear brand equipment.
Currently, the majority of the networking equipment in the High School,
Middle School and Sylvester Elementary are 10/100 Megabit hubs with the
exception of the “core” of the network.
The “core” of the network has 10/100 Megabit switches with Gigabit fiber
optic cards to connect to the other buildings.
This “core” creates our Wide Area Network over fiber optic cables that
connects all five buildings together.
Most cabling at this point is category 5e cable. The connection to the Internet is currently comprised
of 2 T-1’s running through a load-balanced Cisco router to Berrien County
Intermediate School
District.
The district is currently being protected by a firewall.
In July 2008, Berrien Springs Public Schools will be
switching their connection to the Internet by load balancing 2 connections from
separate ISPs in order to provide redundancy.
As well, Berrien Springs Public Schools has experienced an exponential
growth in the use of online providers for curriculum and content. These multiple online endeavors have caused
congestion in our Internet connection.
The upgrade will greatly improve our current capabilities.
Since technology will be used to improve student
achievement, some equipment will need to be added and maintained. Following are some of the goals relating to
infrastructure and improving our system for student and teacher access.
- Institute an obsolescence plan for
technology equipment in the district.
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- Upgrade the telephone/PBX system to improve
communications between buildings.
- Upgrade the connection to the Internet in
order to improve the online experience and to take advantage of the
online video revolution.
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In order to maintain our equipment, one of the goals
is to institute a technology equipment obsolescence plan. The plan calls for computer technology to be
replaced every 5 years. Ideally,
one-fifth of the computer technology would be replaced every year. Preferably, the technology will be replaced
by building. Including Alternative
Education, Berrien Springs Public Schools has 5 school buildings allowing for 1
building per year to get replacements.
Support
Currently, technology support is carried out by the
Technology Director, a part-time desktop technician, and student
technicians. Most support is addressed
the day following the report unless there are an exceptional number of work
orders. Technology problems are reported
through email or phone message to the Technology Director. The reporting process and support
priorities are included in Appendix B.
Student Online
Protection
With
access to computers and people all over the world also comes the availability of
material that may not be considered to be of educational value in the context
of the school setting. On a global network it is impossible to control all
materials and an industrious user may discover information that is
controversial, inappropriate or illegal.
However, Berrien Springs Public Schools will make all prudent efforts to
block inappropriate content in accordance with state and federal law such as
the Children Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
In order to be in compliance, the district will use OpenDNS, an online
content filtering system. As well, the
district blocks content locally considered inappropriate through a firewall and
a proxy server running SquidGuard and DansGuardian. The Berrien Springs
Public School
District firmly believes that the valuable
information and interaction available on this worldwide network far outweighs
the possibility that users may procure material that is not consistent with the
educational goals of the District.
Budget and
Timeline
The Budget and Timeline created here reflects the
priorities and the funding realities of Berrien Springs Public Schools by
placing the higher priority goals and the lower cost goals toward the beginning
of the technology plan period. By doing
this, it is hoped that the higher priority goals (those of the greatest need)
will be completed while keeping in mind the current budget status, which is
healthy but very trim. Grants will be
sought for most of the lower priority projects in order to avoid drawing monies
from the general fund.
2008-2009
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Action
Item
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Goal
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Expected
Completion
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Approximate
Cost
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Data Analysis tool
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1
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September 2008
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$3,500
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Purchase one Curriculum Performance System (CPS)
in Sylvester Elementary for common assessments as a pilot
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1
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September 2008
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$2500
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Teacher Training for Data Analysis Tool
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1
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October 2008
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$0-Train the Trainer picked up by BCISD
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MACUL Conference
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2
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March 2009
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$2500-out of Title IID
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Internet Connection Upgrade
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7
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July 2008
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$3000
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KRESA SIS and Financial Accounting
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1
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July 2008
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$34,000
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KRESA Training
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1,2
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July 2008
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$0-included in price
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Pinnacle Gradebook
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1
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July 2008
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$17,600-purchase
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Pinnacle Gradebook Training
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1,2
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August 2008
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$8,500
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Technology Director Salary
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N/A
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N/A
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$43,700
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Desktop Support Technician
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N/A
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N/A
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$9,700
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Capital
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N/A
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N/A
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$10,500
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Supplies
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N/A
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N/A
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$16,000
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TOTAL
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$154,000
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2009-2010
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Action
Item
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Goal
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Expected
Completion
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Approximate
Cost
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Data Analysis tool
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1
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September 2009
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$3,500
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Curriculum Performance Systems
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2
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September 2009
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$5000
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MACUL Conference
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2
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March 2010
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$2500-out of Title IID
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Internet Connection
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7
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July 2009
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$3000
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KRESA SIS and Financial Accounting
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1
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July 2009
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$34,000
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KRESA Training
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1,2
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July 2009
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$0-included in price
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Pinnacle Gradebook-Maintenance
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1
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July 2009
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$4,000
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One Mobile Lab or
Classroom Computers
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3
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September 2009
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$35,000
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Technology Director Salary
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N/A
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N/A
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$43,700
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Desktop Support Technician
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N/A
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N/A
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$9,700
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Capital
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N/A
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N/A
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$10,500
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Supplies
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N/A
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N/A
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$16,000
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TOTAL
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$169,000
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2010-2011
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Action
Item
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Goal
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Expected
Completion
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Approximate
Cost
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Data Analysis tool
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1
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September 2010
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$3,500
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Curriculum Performance Systems
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2
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September 2010
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$5000
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MACUL Conference
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2
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March 2011
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$2500-out of Title IID
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Internet Connection
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7
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July 2010
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$3000
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KRESA SIS and Financial Accounting
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1
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July 2010
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$34,000
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KRESA Training
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1,2
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July 2010
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$0-included in price
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Pinnacle Gradebook-Maintenance
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1
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July 2010
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$4,000
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One Mobile Lab or
Classroom Computers
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3
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September 2009
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$35,000
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Technology Director Salary
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N/A
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N/A
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$43,700
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Desktop Support Technician
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N/A
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N/A
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$9,700
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Capital
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N/A
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N/A
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$10,500
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Supplies
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N/A
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N/A
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$16,000
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TOTAL
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$169,000
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Funding
Alternative Sources of Funding will be sought out by
the administration of Berrien Springs Public Schools. In the past, special federal, state, and
private bonds and grants have been sought and obtained. This tradition will continue in order to go
above and beyond the normal fiscal means of Berrien Springs Public
Schools.
Monitoring and Evaluation
In order to ensure that progress is being made and
goals completed, Berrien Springs Public Schools will be monitoring and
evaluating the technology plan on a yearly basis. The technology director will be responsible
for this process. For benchmarks, please
see the budget and timeline above.
At least one technology planning will take place per
year in order to determine if adequate progress is being made on the
goals. The guideline will be the budget
and timeline above. Each goal will be
examined for the year to determine three issues: Goal Completion, Goal Obstacles, Obstacle
Resolution. If a goal is not completed,
it will be attempted the next year using strategies determined in the Obstacle
Resolution section.
Monitoring
and Evaluation Schedule
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School Year
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Month
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Procedures
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2008-2009
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February
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Determine progress of first year’s goals and
recommend changes.
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2009-2010
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September
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Determine completion of first year’s goals and
recommend changes.
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2009-2010
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February
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Determine progress of second year’s goals and
recommend changes.
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2010-2011
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September
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Determine completion of second year’s goals and
recommend changes.
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2010-2011
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February
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Determine completion of third year’s goals and
evaluate overall success of technology plan.
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2010-2011
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March
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Determine which uncompleted goals should be
carried over to the next technology plan.
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Appendix B: Support
Support
Procedures:
Once
an employee encounters a problem with a piece of technology, the employee will
complete the following procedure to try to rectify the situation:
1.
Easy Fixes (try these before anything else)
Check that power
switches are on including the surge suppressor
Disconnect and
reconnect plugs and cables
Reboot the computer
Turn computer or
peripheral off for ten seconds and then back on
Run scandisk (Windows
98)
Run Anti-Virus program
2.
Gather information
Has this function ever
worked?
What has changed
between the last time the system worked normally and the time the problem
appeared?
When does the problem
occur (start up, operating, shut down)?
What makes the problem
occur?
Can the problem be
produced consistently?
Keep notes during the
troubleshooting process. This is very
important to technical support so as to eliminate duplication and isolate the
problem further.
After making a change
that is not successful, be sure to undo those changes before trying any other
strategies.
3.
Verify the problem.
Attempt to recreate
the problem. If the problem does not
recur, then the problem may be solved.
4. Contact building or district expert or
technology contact person. The contact
or expert will ascertain the problem and try to remedy it.
Repair
Procedures:
In
order to properly track repairs on specific machines, it is important to
maintain a database of repairs for each school.
District Technology
Director contacted by mail or phone.
Building or district
contact person reviews request and ascertains if the repair is a simple repair
able to completed in-house or if it needs to be sent to the district service
professional.
Service personnel
contacted for repair.
Building or district
contact person follows-up to confirm repair has taken place.
Technology
Support Priorities
Internet Connection
General Network
Problems
Office Machines
Classroom Lab Machines
Teacher Machines
Public Access Lab
Machines
Individual Classroom
Student Machines
District Web Pages
Teacher Web Pages
Appendix C: Employee Acceptable Use Policy
BERRIEN
SPRINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Internet/Network
Acceptable Use Policy
(Administrative Procedure)
Please read this document carefully before signing.
Operation of the network
relies upon the proper conduct of the end users who must adhere to strict
guidelines. These guidelines are
provided here so that you are aware of the responsibilities you are about to
acquire. In general this requires
efficient, ethical, appropriate and legal utilization of the network
resource. If a Berrien Springs
Public School
District user violates any of these provisions,
he or she will be subject to a full range of sanctions available to school
officials, including suspension or denial of future Internet access privileges,
disciplinary action, and possible referral to law enforcement authorities. Users may also be subject to civil sanctions
for violation of this policy.
The signature on the
Acceptable Use Policy is legally binding and indicates the party who signed has
read the terms and conditions carefully, understand their significance and
meaning and agree to abide by its terms.
Internet/Network- Terms and Conditions
1)
Acceptable
Use - The use of the Internet and school network must be in support of
education and research and consistent with the educational objectives of the Berrien Springs Public
School District. Use of other organization’s network or
computing resources must comply with the rules appropriate for that
network. Use of the Internet or school
equipment in violation of any US or state law is strictly prohibited. The following prohibitions apply to all
users:
No user shall:
A.
Access,
transmit, or retransmit material which promotes violence or advocates
destruction of property including, but not limited to, access to information
concerning the manufacture of destructive devices such as explosives,
fireworks, smoke bombs, incendiary devices or the like;
B.
Access,
transmit, or retransmit any information containing pornographic or other sexually
explicit material (pornographic means pictures or writings that are intended to
stimulate erotic feelings by the description or portrayal of sexual activity or
the nude human form);
C.
Access,
transmit, or retransmit material which advocates or promotes violence or hatred
against particular individuals or groups of individuals or advocates or
promotes the superiority of one racial, ethnic or religious group over another;
D.
Harass,
intimidate, threaten, or abuse any person or entity, by any means, including the
use of vulgar, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, sexually harassing,
or otherwise objectionable content.
E.
Access,
transmit, or retransmit material which violates state or federal law;
F.
Vandalize or
attempt to vandalize networks, hardware or software through alterations,
damage, denial of service, port scanning, etc.
G.
Use or
possess “bootleg software” (“bootleg software” means any software which has
been downloaded or is otherwise in the user’s possession without the
appropriate and lawful registration of the software including the payment of
any fees owing to the owner of the software);
H.
Transmit
credit card information or other personal information from an access point from
within the school district;
I.
Attempt to
hide the origin of network communications through anonymous or pseudonymous
connections.
J.
Attempt to
circumvent content filters that prevent access to inappropriate content. (e.g.
online proxies)
K.
Commit or
attempt to commit any willful act involving the use of the network which
disrupts the operation of the network within the school district or any network
connected to the Internet including the use or attempted use or possession of
computer viruses.
L.
Download
and/or install any programs including, but not limited to, games or instant
messaging programs except for specific files essential to educational
instruction.
M.
Download
copyrighted files including, but not limited to, audio (such as MP3) or video
(such as AVI or MPG) except for specific files essential to educational
instruction.
2)
Web Page Guidelines—In
order to protect the students of our district, please follow the following
guidelines:
A.
Students (no special permission needed)
1.
Original
text, text articles, graphics, or audio clips may be published and accompanied
by a first name & last initial only
2.
Photo or
video clip may be published but no names may be attached
B.
Students
(special permission required)
1.
Original
text, text articles, graphics, or audio clips may be published with both first
& last name
2.
Elementary
students - photo or video clip may be published with first name & last
initial
3.
Middle &
high school students - photo or video clip may be published with first name
& last name
C.
A student's
phone number, street address or box number, names of other family members, or
other personally identifiable information shall NOT be published at all
D.
Adults
1.
Requests to
not have personal photos & information published will always be respected
2.
Reasonable
effort should be made to notify individuals of an intent to publish their
names, photos, or other information prior to doing so
E.
Copyright
laws shall be followed when publishing any material on the web (note that
legally licensed clip art disks for desktop publishing are not automatically
legal for publication on the world wide web)
3) Network Etiquette - You are expected to abide
by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette. These include (but are not limited to) the
following:
a) Be
polite. Do not get abusive in your
messages to others.
b) Use
appropriate language. Do not swear, use
vulgarities or any other inappropriate language. Illegal activities are strictly forbidden.
c) Do
not reveal your personal address or phone numbers to students or colleagues.
d) Note
that electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private. People who operate the system do have access
to all mail. Messages relating to or in
support of illegal activities may be reported to the authorities.
e) Do
not use the network in such a way that you would disrupt the use of the network
by other users.
f) All
communications and information accessible via the network should be assumed to
be property of Berrien Springs Public Schools.
4) The Berrien
Springs Public
School District makes no
warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is
providing. Berrien Springs
Public School
District will not be responsible for any damages
you suffer. This includes loss of data
resulting from delays, nondeliveries, mis-deliveries, service interruptions, or
hardware/software failures.
5) Security
- Security on any computer system is a high priority. If you feel you can identify a security
problem, you must notify a system administrator.
Do
not demonstrate the problem to other users.
Attempts to log on to the Internet as a system administrator, or any
access level other than granted, will result in possible loss of access
privileges, disciplinary action, and possible referral to appropriate law
enforcement authorities. Any user
identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer
systems may be denied access to the Network.
Students
and staff are responsible for the security of username and password for
district network accounts. Do not tell
anyone your password as it may be used maliciously. The holder of a district account may be held
responsible for any violations caused by anyone logging in on that account.
Consequences
Any
of the following consequences may be imposed for violations of this policy:
·
Warnings,
revocation, suspension or loss of access privileges;
·
Criminal
prosecution;
·
Referral
to appropriate law enforcement authorities;
·
Disciplinary
action;
·
When
the district incurs a cost due to student or employee negligence or
irresponsibility, the employee is responsible for reimbursing the
district.
I understand
and will abide by the above Acceptable Use Policy. I further understand that any violation of
the Policy may result in my access privileges being revoked, disciplinary
action, and/or appropriate legal action.
I further understand that, in order to ensure enforcement of this
Policy, the Berrien Springs Public Schools may access any and all files or
materials which I may have created or accessed using school equipment.
_________________________________
Users Name (Please
print)
_________________________________ ___________________
User Signature Date
Appendix D: Elementary Student Acceptable Use Policy
Berrien
Springs Public Schools believe that all students should have access to technology when they act in a responsible,
efficient, courteous and legal manner. Internet access and other online
services, available to students and teachers offer a multitude of global
resources. Our goal in providing these services is to enhance the educational development of our students.
Acceptable
uses of technology are devoted to activities which support teaching and
learning. The following are our agreements about the use of technology in the schools of Berrien Springs.
Using
the computer correctly and responsibly is very important. I promise to follow these
rules:
- I
promise to use all computer equipment carefully.
- I
promise to use the computer and the internet for school work only.
- I
will use the programs and websites that
my teacher has approved. Students will not be allowed to “surf”
the Internet. All Internet work will be supervised by an instructor.
- I
promise not to share my password.
- I
promise not to damage or tamper with the hardware, software or the network.
- I
promise to not copy someone else’s work unless I have their permission and
the teacher’s permission.
- I
promise to tell my teacher if I read or see something on the computer that
is inappropriate.
- I
promise never to use the computer to be hurtful to others. I will not
view, send or display inappropriate messages or pictures.
- I
promise to print only when my teacher tells me to.
- I
understand that if I break any of my promises, I might not be able to use
the computers.
Consequences
Consequences will be
determined by the principal based on the severity of the offense. Possible consequences include one or a
combination of the following:
- Disciplinary
action (detentions, suspensions, expulsions)
- Revocation
of technology privileges (not allowed to use computers or other equipment)
- Restitution
(pay back money lost due to damage or tampering)
I will sign my name to show that I will follow these rules.
Student
Name (Print) :_____________________________________________________
Student
Signature: ________________________________________________________
Homeroom
Teacher: ________________________________ Date: _________________
Grade:_______
I have read this Acceptable Use Agreement and have discussed
it with my child:
Parent/Guardian
Name (Print): ________________________________________
Parent/Guardian
Signature: __________________________________________
Date:
______________
Appendix E: HS/MS Student Acceptable Use Policy
BERRIEN SPRINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Internet/Network Acceptable Use Policy
(Administrative Procedure)
Please read this document carefully before
signing.
Internet/Network-
Terms and Conditions
Acceptable Use - The
use of the Internet and school network must be in support of education
and research and consistent with the educational objectives of the Berrien Springs Public
School District. The use of Berrien Springs Public Schools
technology is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in a
cancellation of those privileges. The
following prohibitions apply to all users:
Major Offenses
No user shall:
a) Access, transmit, or
retransmit material which promotes violence or advocates destruction of
property including, but not limited to, access to information concerning the
manufacture of destructive devices such as explosives, fireworks, smoke bombs,
incendiary devices or the like;
b) Commit or attempt to
commit any willful act involving the use of the network which disrupts the
operation of the network within the school district or any network connected to
the Internet including the use or attempted use or possession of computer
viruses.
c) Access, transmit, or
retransmit any information containing pornographic or other sexually explicit
material (pornographic means pictures or writings that are intended to
stimulate erotic feelings by the description or portrayal of sexual activity or
the nude human form);
d) Access, transmit, or
retransmit material which advocates or promotes violence or hatred against
particular individuals or groups of individuals or advocates or promotes the superiority
of one racial, ethnic or religious group over another;
e) Harass, intimidate,
threaten, or abuse any person or entity, by any means, including the use of
vulgar, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, sexually harassing, or
otherwise objectionable content.
f) Access, transmit, or
retransmit material which violates state or federal law;
g) Use or possess “bootleg
software” (“bootleg software” means any software which has been downloaded or
is otherwise in the user’s possession without the appropriate and lawful
registration of the software including the payment of any fees owing to the
owner of the software);
h) Attempt to log on to
the Internet as a system administrator, or any access level other than granted
i)
Vandalize networks, hardware or software through alterations, damage,
denial of service, port scanning, etc.
Consequences:
First Occurrence: Three
(3) days suspension/restitution/parent notification/loss of computer privileges
for 90 school days.
Second Occurrence:
Five
(5) days suspension/restitution/parent notification/loss of computer privileges
for 180 school days.
Third Occurrence: Ten (10) days suspension/restitution/parent
notification/loss of computer privileges for remainder of time at Berrien
Springs Public Schools.
Fourth Occurrence:
Recommendation for
expulsion to the Board of Education/restitution
Minor Offenses
No user shall:
a) Use encryption software
from any access point from within the school district;
b) Transmit credit card
information or other personal information from an access point from within the
school district;
c) Transmit e-mail through
an anonymous remailer;
d) Download and/or install
any programs including, but not limited to, games or instant messaging programs
except for specific files essential to educational instruction.
e) Download copyrighted
files including, but not limited to, audio (such as MP3) or video (such as AVI
or MPG) except for specific files essential to educational instruction.
f) Post personal or
private student information on the Network or Internet without consent.
g) Pretend to be other
users on the network.
h) Use vulgarities or
other inappropriate language.
i)
Attempt to vandalize networks, hardware or software through alterations,
damage, denial of service, port scanning, etc.
j)
Attempt to hide the origin of network communications through software or
hardware anonymous or pseudonymous connections.
k) Attempt to subvert
content filters designed prevent access to undesirable content. (i.e. online
proxies)
Consequences:
First
Occurrence: Two (2) detentions/parent
notification
Second
Occurrence: Two (2) days suspension/parent
notification
Third
Occurrence: Five (5) days suspension/parent
notification
4) The Berrien Springs
Public School
District makes no warranties of any kind, whether
expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. Berrien
Springs Public
School District will not
be responsible for any damages you suffer.
This includes loss of data resulting from delays, nondeliveries,
mis-deliveries, service interruptions, or hardware/software failures. All communications and information accessible
via the network should be assumed to be property of Berrien Springs Public
Schools.
Use of any information obtained via the Internet is
at your own risk. The Berrien Springs
Public School
District specifically denies any responsibility
for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services.
In compliance with federal safety laws, Berrien
Springs Public Schools makes every effort to comply with The Children’s
Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and The Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act (FERPA) through the use of posting policies for employees and content
filtering. Berrien Springs currently
implements content filtering in order to protect its students from undesirable
content.
