j0433085.jpg LVM Dreams Big--Technology j0433152.jpg

Parents, teachers, administrators, and children working to actively engage an increasingly diverse community of learners through the introduction of interactive teaching tools for all grade and ability levels.

lvm.jpg

Background and School Profile:
While the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) continually works to update technology, interactive white boards have primarily been available to middle and high schools. In general, the district’s funding formula for technology updates takes into consideration socio-economic status, the need for specialized programming (i.e. Read 180), age of current computers, grade levels served (elementary with a lower priority than high school) and requirements of pilot programs. The graph below demonstrates how the funding formula has impacted Elvehjem compared to other schools within the district.

MMSD Elementary School Personal Computer Gigahertz Capacity
3-8-2009 10;38;58 PM
3-8-2009 10;38;58 PM

Historically Elvehjem has not qualified for added support of programs like Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) or Title I. However, we’ve seen the level of free and reduced lunch children rise by 7% in two school years alone and MMSD projects a 20% increase in total enrollment over the next five years. Even with these significant changes, we cannot qualify for SAGE funding since the state no longer accepts SAGE applications.
For the long-term, we are working with the district to develop a multi-year technology plan that will improve computers in every classroom. For the 2009/2010 school year, the district and our committee have identified three areas for improvement that would have immediate impact and greatly expand access to updated technology to every child and teacher within the school.
With the addition of one interactive white board, support for this project will give teachers and over 400 children, of all abilities, access to an extensive online curriculum library for math, science and beyond.


Elvehjem Teacher Survey:
LVM Dreams Big--Technology put together an online teacher survey to gauge current versus desired technological needs and how they would use improved technology. Key findings include (n=21):

· 100% of teachers believe that technology should be a part of education
· 80% use the Internet to find resources to meet diverse needs of students
· 100% consider themselves somewhat or very computer literate
· 55% use the Internet for student research projects
· 67% would use interactive white board technology in a “very integrated” way: daily use for web sites, videos and other Internet sources

Join the team!
We are committed to improving learning experiences at Elvehjem and are working to secure private donations and grants, build private and business partnerships, in addition to hosting family-friendly fundraising events. We’re proud to again work with the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools as our fiscal agent. Through LVM Dreams Big, we have a proven track record of diligence, hard work and follow-through. You can count on our commitment to the children of the district and the responsible stewardship of funds committed to this project.
Thank you for your consideration of this project.

For additional information contact
Kelli Betsinger or Tonya Hamilton-Nesbit
608-226-8669 608-225-3138
jbetsinger@sbcglobal.net TonyaLHN@aol.com


Madison Metro School District