Miguel Quinones
Araceli Hernandez
Jenny Dowdy
Scott Phillips
Socorro ISD Final Report..................................................................................................... 1
Table of Contents.................................................................................................................. 2
Organizational Alignment....................................................................................................... 3
Aligned with top management strategies......................................................................... 3
IT is part of the long-term organizational strategy............................................................ 3
IT executives have decision making roles........................................................................ 4
IT Structure................................................................................................................... 4
Overall organizational learning environment..................................................................... 4
Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 5
Integration Factors................................................................................................................ 6
Data Sharing................................................................................................................. 6
Purchasing..................................................................................................................... 6
Transmit/Process Data:.................................................................................................. 7
Continuous Monitoring.................................................................................................. 7
Online Procurement....................................................................................................... 8
Internet Expertise.......................................................................................................... 9
Online Presence Factors...................................................................................................... 10
Highly Secure Website................................................................................................ 10
Visually Attractive....................................................................................................... 10
Good Navigation......................................................................................................... 10
Personalized Accounts................................................................................................. 11
Website availability...................................................................................................... 11
Operational Efficiency.......................................................................................................... 12
Online Businesses........................................................................................................ 12
Customer Service........................................................................................................ 13
Resolving Customer Requests...................................................................................... 14
Continuous Monitoring................................................................................................ 14
Business Success................................................................................................................. 15
Appendix A: E-government Success Model......................................................................... 18
Appendix B: SISD Organizational Chart.............................................................................. 19
Appendix C: Assorted SISD Comparison Graphs................................................................ 20
The first criteria are whether or not IT strategies and top management are aligned. In 2006 Socorro ISD proposed the “Technology Plan E-Rate for 2007 – 2010”. This initiative called for continued emphasis on the seamless integration of technology for all stakeholders top-to-bottom throughout the organization.
SISD believes that technology is an instructional and productivity tool that must be infused into daily operations and activities. In accordance with this directive, the Technology Committee has established four goals that will guide the District’s future IT evolution. The eventual goal of this initiative is that the District and its stakeholders will enjoy the maximum benefit afforded by technology and innovation.
Is IT part of SISD’s long-term strategy? The numbers tell the tale here. The proposed 2007 bond total was 397 million dollars. $15,000,000 was designated for IT purposes. This included 10,000 computers ($8,000,000), 1,500 interactive white boards ($3,000,000), funds for servers, student laptops, as well as other funding initiatives. What makes these numbers telling is that 3.7 percent of this bond proposal has been reserved for IT. This is three times more than the 1.2 percent of annual budget spending by Fortune 500 firms.
A good indicator of organizational alignment is the power given to the top IT decision makers. As mentioned previously, SISD’s IT department is under the CFO. Furthermore, there is no executive level position dedicated to IT direction and spending. Rather the head of SISD IT is at the director level. An individual at this level is not able to undertaken strategic IT initiatives. Rather these individuals are relegated to implementing what has already been decided by other non-IT focused executives. See Appendix B for Socorro’s current organizational structure.
Total technology expenditures in 2006 were $38,598,363.00. The vital statistics regarding Socorro’s IT infrastructure are as follows:
n Technology Expenditure Per Pupil: $1,006.21
n Number of Campuses with Direct Connection to Internet: 37 (100 percent of all SISD schools)
n Number of Classrooms with Direct Connection to Internet: 2461
n Student/Computer Ratio: 4:1
n Teacher/Computer Ratio: 1:1
In May 2006, SISD developed a road map that would guide the design and implementation of technology in Socorro ISD. The process began one key realization: That stakeholders’ technological proficiencies needed development and improvement. This realization has been the driving force behind efforts to facilitate top-down organizational learning. Results are starting to show in the form of increasing logistics efficiency.
2 out of 5 IT criteria are considered “aligned” with SISD’s overall strategy. With the defeat of the bond issue, there is no funding for long term strategies. SISD has an idea of where they want to go from an IT standpoint. Up until the bond’s defeat, they also had a way of getting there. Unfortunately the district will now have to start over again. Inevitably future bonds will contain fewer funds for IT, thus facilitating less ambitious plans.
Overall it seems that there is a very good intent to make IT a part of the overall deployment of the SISD, however there is no “champion” for IT priorities at the executive level. Instead management will continue to be mid-range focused until money is approved for long-term projects.
The Socorro Independent School District uses IT within all aspects of its district operations. Information acquisition, retrieval, analysis, manipulation, distribution, and storage are just some of the processes used to streamline the daily operations. The
Department of Technology Services has developed and aligned SISD technology plans with the U.S. Dept. of Education Nation Technology Plan and state initiatives, to prepare students by creating a personalized, innovative and technology-rich learning environment.
The Department of Purchasing procures a continuous supply of goods and services, at the best value, in support of SISD and its commitment to provide the best academic environment possible. Through IT services, individual schools are linked to a single network that enables supply ordering to be placed in a timely, expedient manner. Vendors who serve SISD include: Office Depot Online, Corporate Express Online, Grainger Online, and School Specialty Online.
SISD utilizes “e-Services” as its data processing and transmitting system. It develops and provides web services including database-driven web applications and content management systems to reduce overhead. The system also supports and trains campuses and departments, manages technology systems, and performs research and development. The District is able to utilize the system to create custom programs, design intricate web systems and manage geographical information relevant to each school. Each e-Service initiative is future-oriented with a strong emphasis on innovation and cost reduction.
SISD strives to be an innovative school district which takes pride in all aspects of its student education. To maintain a high level of accountability, the District is held responsible for its services at both the state and federal levels. As a Texas school district, SISD is responsible for ensuring acceptable academic ratings for each of its schools under the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) rating system, which is used to rate school districts and evaluate campuses.
At the federal level, SISD is held accountable under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Acts which state that all public school districts, campuses and the state are evaluated yearly for progress. Under the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), the District is held accountable through a published annual report containing performance objectives, violent or criminal incidents, state accountability ratings, student performance, student and staff demographics, class size, and tax and budget information.
To further ensure the success of its schools, the SISD has created a Citizen’s Oversight Committee which reviews all facilities within the District to ensure compliance and acceptable performance at all levels. The Committee involves the public to assure accountability and to ensure the correct use of tax-payers dollars. The Committee also advises the SISD Board of Trustees to ensure a fiscally responsible, timely and educationally and appropriate building program.
Within its IT budget, the SISD utilizes The Department of Computer Services which is responsible for the support, maintenance and development of the infrastructure and related technologies within the District. This service is committed to providing equal access to technology for all students and the integration of technology all areas of curriculum for every school. The Infrastructure Department maintains the metropolitan area network (between campuses and central office), and ensures the Internet access network is fully operational. The System Administration Department is responsible for the system administration of servers, email services, backups, time clocks & storage. The Technical Services Department maintains campus and departments by repairing computers and printers district-wide, maintaining the wireless network, ensuring help desk support, and providing quotes for technology items to all campuses and departments. The Telecommunications/ICS Department is responsible for district phone and intercom systems, IWB, Video distribution to campuses. The Security Department is responsible for the security of the network.
Within the SISD, The Instructional Technology Department is the main IT support department that helps teachers integrate current technologies into their individual curricula. It provides support and education in technology to both teachers and students and ensures every campus has at least one Instructional Technologist (CIT) that works with the students and teachers on a daily basis. Additionally, each high school cluster is assigned an Instructional Technology Trainer to assist the CITs to provide training and integration support for campus teachers.
The Career and Technology Education Department (CATE) provides opportunities for all students through a rigorous Career and Technical education Program that provides quality academic counseling and career guidance programs for all students. This department also provides sustainable partnerships with businesses and industries for current and emerging occupations. These partnerships include: Business Professionals of America; DECA, an Association of Marketing Students; The National Honor Society (NTHS); Future Farmers of America (FFA); Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA); Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).
During the week of November 1st SISD deployed a revamped website. This website was a complete rework of the old in terms of layout and server infrastructure. As of this writing, the website has not undergone the state mandated security audit. This audit is required to be performed before the end of the 2007 – 2008 school year, and it will become public once it has been performed. Until that audit is complete, there is really no way of knowing just how secure the website is.
This is a subjective measurement. An informal vote within the group unanimously concluded that this website certainly looks better than the pervious one. The color schemes are better matched, and there is more use of graphics. There is also a more uniform look within the current site, whereas the old site contained sections featuring a different layout from the main page.
As with security, the jury is still out on this particular item. This website has not yet been tested for compatibility for the Americans With Disabilities Act. There is also no data yet on the website’s compatibility with voice-based web browsers or its compatibility with large text sized browsers.
There are two distinct portals available. One is for parents, and the other is for student. Both can be accessed through the main website at http://www.sisd.net. Users have access to links and downloads involving every aspect of the student’s education and well-being in the SISD. This includes areas such as early childhood programs, emergency information, student transfers, district-wide directory, immunization / health, and registration.
Once again, the issue of the new infrastructure frustrates the group’s ability to gather information on this subject. Previously external uptime monitors had documented an uptime of 91.56 percent. This was derived by examining the aggregate 90-day rolling averages for the site. As of this writing, the new site has not been online long enough to yield a 90-day rolling average. The results of this measure are thus far unknown.
The business unit was reviewed using 5 main categories to determine how the operation efficiency is performing. These five factors include the usage of online tools, systems and capabilities integrated into the web, online businesses, and technology.
The first point that was analyzed is the usage of online business tools on the site. This means measuring what information is required to perform most transactions and what requests and registration are available online. Most of the forms necessary to complete a transaction are on the site right now. However even with this information online, almost all admission applications still need to be submitted and completed at the campus.
The SISD site is divided mainly into the Students, Parents and Staff tabs. You can get into every tab and you are able to review each section. Under students, options include web mail, cafeteria menus, dress codes, calendars, graduation requirements, high school options, and others. Under every specific tab there is further information that enables you to either to download the requirements or contact someone for more information. The same structure is found under the Parents ( e-HAC, emergency information, registration, transformation, transfers, adult classes, etc) and Staff tabs ( my.sisd.net, outlook web access, employee news, employee relations, development, benefits, etc.) The Jobs site is an online tool that can be used to view and apply for jobs.
Most of the drive to develop online tools falls under the internal activities to boost productivity. There are several online tools that are mainly used by the staff in several areas that helps to improve the online businesses and reduce the headcount. As we detect the main objective so far to develop online tools was dedicated mainly to reduce headcount and improve the efficiency internally rather than provide a faster and easy way to perform transactions or tasks with the outside customers. These outside vendors and tools include professional development, management system, automated campus action plan system, service and maintenance management system (SAMMS), my.SISD.net Intranet Portal, Technology Inventory System, e-SMART Elementary Report Card System, On-line Benefits Enrollment System, Technology Inventory System, e-SMART Elementary Report Card System, and an On-line Benefits Enrollment System.
The site contains several links for Customer Service. There is a page for employee relations where you can walk thorough the process of conflict resolution and see how concerns are resolved. There is also a link that guides you to a Grievance page where you can see the same kind of steps to follow and how the concerns are guided to the proper department. We attempted to use this contact link to get some questions answered about this part of the site, however our emails were not answered.
There is also a link to questions and answers that guide you through a very good list of concerns and how they can be resolved. The list of concerns addressed includes items such as student relations, special education, employee benefits, athletic department, instructional technology, jobs, research and evaluation, police services, mission, and adult education.
There was no evidence that submitted issues were either answered or resolved. Information on how they address customer complaints is not posted or available through the site. There are links on the site to answer questions or concerns through e-mail. If the customer does not see an answer to their question, there is a Web mater link that will redirect the task to the proper department.
There is no information related to how the School monitors the improvements that they made year over year. Instead, what we founded related to improvement or result was founded on the schooldatadirect.org site. The school did not show how they are doing in their main core businesses or if they are improving as well as how they are planning to improve to the goals and objectives stated.
There are some links for surveys, however they are located under the CATE link and are password and login protected. Under the surveys categories there is some information about them, but the results are not posted on the site.
Business Success was evaluated using 13 points. These include Taks, SAT, ACT, budget, bond issues, dropout, graduation rates, college placement, number of scholarships, Image, National merit awards, Student/teacher ratio and percentage of schools certified by No Child Left Behind. Much of this information was found on the “Academic Excellence Indicator System”, maintained by The Texas Education Agency. Other sources of information included the No Child Left Behind website, schoolmatters.net, Socorro ISD website and the Schooldatadirect.org database.
In the Taks, Socorro ISD’s pass rate in reading and writing are in line with the state average. However a look at the overall results shows that SISD lags by 8 percent when compared with the overall state TAKS averages..
The average state SAT and ACT scores were 991 and 20.1 respectively. The District results were 876 and 18.7 respectively, while the year before they were 860 and 19.9. This shows a little improvement in the District in the SAT score, but the ACT was left behind. It also points to an inferior performance compared to the state and region average. There was also a 4.3 percent decrease of kids taking either test. This could be the result of the low income background of the community.
The Budget for 2006 was $313,913,371.00 and the total expenditures per student were $9,426.00 very close to the state average of $9,629.00.
With regards to dropout rate and graduation rate, SISD is performing better than the state and region average. Dropout rate is .7% while the state average is 2.6%. The district graduation rate is 81.2% while region wide it is 74.5%. This means that they are doing a better job than most other districts of keeping kids in school.
According to the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), the College ready graduates measure involves the SAT, ACT, Taks scores, RHSP, and DAP programs. As a result, we found that SISD scores are really low (16%) in comparison with the state results (35%).
While researching the district’s image, we found that in a review from the Texas Comptroller of public accounts, Socorro showed a very good performance. This is important to image because this review involved open forums to get the community opinion about the district. However, this information is from 1999. In light of the results of the bond election we think the image of the district in the community has gone down.
The student/teacher ratio is 16.4 to 1 in Socorro District, very close to the state average of 14.7 to 1.
We found that 34 schools meet the adequate yearly progress on the No Child Left Behind imitative. Only one missed it (4 schools were not evaluated primarily because they are new campuses). In addition we found that Socorro ISD was awarded “superior achievement” by the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, meaning that they have a good financial management and reporting system and are being cost effective.
In summary, we gave the business success a value of 5 out of 10.