Running head: SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN ANALYSIS 1

School Strategic Plan and Technology Plan Analysis

Shannon Herndon
Kennesaw State University








Running head: SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN ANALYSIS 2

Harrison High Schools mission statement is Helping Our Youth Achieve by Providing
Real-world Instruction through Diverse Education, which stands for HOYA PRIDE. Harrisons
school performance goal is to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements and accomplishments
of students. At Harrison High School, student accomplishments are acknowledged through
various means. Students are recognized on the school counseling STAR board, the school
website, on Hoya Vision and the daily announcements, at pep rallies, in the Parent Teacher
Student Association blast, on marquee at school entrance, flyers are distributed throughout
community announcing scholarship winners, banners for students with a grade point average of
3.0 or higher, and each teacher chooses students to be included on the department Student of the
Month bulletin board on each hallway.
The student performance goal states that students will raise scores in the exceeds
category on the Georgia High School Graduation Test. The School Strategic Plan committee
wants students to show a two percent increase each year in the exceeds category. In order to
promote the two percent increase, an argumentative essay was assigned in all classes throughout
the school, including electives. Every teacher must implement the argumentative essay activity
and upload the grade into the Pinnacle grade system.
Technology is not addressed in Harrison High Schools current School Strategic Plan,
which is unfortunate because students could benefit from research, practice and collaboration on
different ways to write argumentative essays. Technology is not currently addressed in Harrison
High Schools School Strategic Plan; however, all teachers are required to incorporate
technology into lessons on a daily basis. Confusion and apathy are common place due to the
mixed messages directed to the staff. At Harrison High School, standardized tests and
Running head: SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN ANALYSIS 3

stakeholder, parent and student, surveys guide the majority creation of the goals for the School
Strategic Plan.
The current treatment of instructional technology-related issues in the School Strategic
Plan is null and void. It is a shame that technology is not even mentioned in the School Strategic
Plan for Harrison High School. With all of the technology resources available to teachers, this is
a missed opportunity to employ innovative and effective research-based technologies to improve
comprehension for the students at Harrison High School. In the twenty first century, instructional
technology should always be included in any educational goals for every level of education. In
the future, the teachers at Harrison High School will need to demand that instructional
technology issues are discussed in any future School Strategic Plans.
The Harrison High School administration and staff have not created a technology plan.
As mentioned above, Harrison High Schools lack of technology planning needs to be addressed
immediately. On the other hand, the Cobb County School District technology plan is
comprehensive and takes into account all possible stakeholders. The mission, vision, current
realities, and action plan address the technology needs for the students of Cobb County. However,
most teachers are not aware that a district technology plan has been created. The districts
technology plan stresses the necessity for teachers to implement research-based instructional
technologies to create higher-order thinking activities for student advancement. The technology
plan discusses the need for all students to obtain, exhibit, and employ technological skills
throughout their educational experience in the Cobb County School district. Parents technology
literacy is addressed in the districts technology plan, too; stating that all stakeholders must be
included to truly expand students educational opportunities through the use of technology.

Running head: SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN ANALYSIS 4

References

Cobb County School District Three Year Technology Plan. (2011, December 12). Cobb County
School District. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from
http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice/instructionaltechnology/TechPlan/2012_2015_CC
SD_District_Technology_Plan.pdf
School Strategic Plan. (n.d.). Harrison High School. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from
www.harrisonhigh.org/_pdf/strategicplanupdatesp2012