Texas STaR Chart-Educator Preparation and Development

After viewing my campus' Texas STaR Chart, I determined that the section of Educator Preparation and Development needed the most attention. This section involves providing opportunities for staff development, promoting various learning activities and processes, mentoring others in developing new strategies for new learning environments, and customizing online content in the area of technology. The technology application standards determined by the SBEC are demonstrated.
On my campus, the ratings earned were at the developing stages. Most teachers had professional development in technology according to the content area, but they have not collaborated with experts, peers, parents, business partners, industry, or higher education. The campus provided large group professional development on increasing technology integration, but there wasn't any on-going sessions using multiple models or individually guided activities, inquiry/action research, or involvement in developmental/improvement processes. The teachers on the campus only demonstrated three of the SBEC Technology Applications Standards. Only 9 to 18 hours of staff development were focused on technology. Teachers are only able to adapt technology knowledge gained.
Unfortunately, my campus has only improved by one point in the last three years. In the area of educator capabilities, my campus improved from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009. This sad and very disturbing fact shows that my campus has only been able to demonstrate one more SBEC Technology Applications standard in the previous three years. All other categories remained stagnant. We are falling further and further behind the district, the region, the state, and the nation in terms of average technology integration. If this "trend" continues, my building and the students who attend will lose in the job markets, drop-out rates will increase, and student achievement will drop.
I recommend that we begin immediately training our teachers to use the technology of today. As a building leader, I need to mentor other teachers, model technology integration and use, and invest in trainers to show the teachers how the latest technologies can benefit the students and staff. By doing these things, we can at least begin moving forward a little bit. Without adequate funding, the budget that is already stretched thin will roadblock any progress towards making our campus technologically ready for the future.