Eastern+Lebanon+County+SD+Team+1

Hello from Team 1 at ELCO! Our team is called J-KATS and is made up of the following people:
 * J**udy Uhrich, Elementary TLC (Technology and Learning Coordinator)
 * K**im Sandoe, Art teacher
 * A**my Zelinski, 4th grade teacher
 * T**ara Perlaki, 4th grade teacher
 * S**ue Gingrich, 3rd grade teacher

The Eastern Lebanon County School District (ELCO) resides in a rural community servicing approximately 2500 students in grades K-12. New to the district this year are two K-2 centers and a new Intermediate school for grades 3-5. For the PLP initiative, our school district will have teachers from the Intermediate school participate.

Over the past several years, grades 3-5 have had access to wireless labs for classroom projects, a cluster of three-to-four computers in each classroom and teacher laptops with a projector for incorporating websites in large group instruction. Last year several teachers at this level took advantage of an internal wiki and blog server to begin using web 2.0 tools for collaborative classroom projects with their students.

**Abstract**
//This year we moved grades 3, 4, and 5 from 4 elementary K-5 schools into one Intermediate School where grade levels teach students in a team format instead of conventional classrooms.// Teachers continued to try to communicate with parents via the standard Friday hard copy newsletter. This was not working. Our action project addressed this situation. Our goal was to discover/create a method for communication that was immediate, flexible, easily accessed by all concerned, and one that would also save time and resources.

**Problem, Issue, or Possibility**
Even before we moved into our new school, the amount of information shared between home and the classroom was increasing rapidly. Not only was the amount of information increasing, but after information was shared, it was changing just as quickly and sometimes changing numerous times before events would occur. This resulted in many half sheets of paper being sent home at the last minute or changing a weekly newsletter at the last minute and ultimately more and more instances of inaccurate communication. After moving into the new 3, 4, 5 Intermediate School another issue with communication arose. Grade leves are now teaching in teams of four rather then as individual classrooms. Weekly newsletters previously used with individual classrooms were not working with the team approach. Some other form of communication is needed.

**Objectives and Assessment**
Expected Outcomes: We want to improve team communications and save time for those sharing information and those accessing information. This action plan will result in an online form of communication that will eliminate the need for weekly or monthly hard copy newsletters and other paper copies of most communicated information. By presenting important information in a central location for each team, in such a way that is easy for all staff to access and update, and for most parents to access 24/7, we hope to accomplish the following: ~manage information more effectively and efficiently ~improve communication between home and school ~provide convenient 24/7 access for parents ~provide consistent and immediate communication for parents ~save ink and paper ~save time for all school personnel involved with disseminating information

We have already received positive feedback from the ten parents involved with the pilot of the Communication WIKI. After the Communication WIKI has been rolled out and used school wide, we plan to send out a survey to collect further comments and feedback.

**Implementation Plan**
Our team wiki includes a detailed timeline of events as we worked on this action plan. Login username: wikiguest Login password: elco

**Evaluation and Results**
Lessons learned and takeaways...
 * Finding a solution to a huge problem can be very exciting!
 * Trusting team members enough to be honest for the good of the cause can take time.
 * Hearing others' ideas can be motivating.
 * Switching gears from "my classroom" to "our team" can be a huge leap!
 * Even though a change is needed, change may not be easy for even those who want it the most.
 * So many many baby steps are needed to get others to do something differently.

Where we are...
 * At the end of this month we will be presenting the IS Communication WIKI, that we have been piloting with one grade level for the last 2 months, to the PTO.
 * Before the end of the school year, grades 3 and 5 staff will be introduced to the WIKI and shown how to add information and how it works.
 * All parents of students who will be at the IS next year will be given information about this new method of communication by July 1.
 * Hands on demonstration for all parties concerned is being planned for the start of next school year.

**Artifacts and Documentation**
Here are the three wikis that encompass all resources for our Action Plan process. Login username is wikiguest and password is elco.

Our team wiki: https://web.elcosd.org/groups/plpjkats/wiki/f6e02/ACTION_PLAN__RESEARCH.html //~ this wiki is where all of our resources and notes and ideas were shared// //~ you can also find our teaser Rap Video and text in this location!//

Our IS Communication wiki: http://www.elcosd.org/groups/iscommunication/ //~ this is the actual wiki being used at this time by the pilot group of 4th grade parents, 4th grade staff, and all specialists// //~ this is also the actual wiki that will be used next year// //~ currently this wiki is still a work in progress and only being used by the pilot groups//

Our Evaluation wiki: http://www.elcosd.org/groups/pilotiscommunication/ //~ this is the wiki where the pilot parents shared input and feedback while using the communication wiki above// //~ comments by our team were usually entered by me after consulting the entire group//