Schools31 ElementarySchools

12 Middle Schools8 High Schools

1 Alternative

Students48,063 (9/01)

Student Diversity67% African-American

18% White7% Hispanic

5% Asian3% Other

Other StudentInformation

58% Free/Reduced Lunch10% Special Education

4% ESOL

Employees6,800

District Web sitehttp://www.clayton.k12.ga.us

Co-nect Tech: Case Study

Clayton County School District

Clayton County School District, locat-ed right outside of Atlanta, is the sixthlargest school district in Georgia. Thedistrict celebrated the 2003 New Yearwith an unprecedented $8 milliontechnology initiative that included thepurchase and district-wide deploymentof 5,700 Dell™ computer notebooks.

More than 4,000 teachers, specialists,and district staff across 52 schoolsreceived personal notebook computers.The remaining computers were placedon mobile carts for teachers to use intheir classrooms with students. To pro-vide district-wide network access forthenotebook computers, mobile wire-less network hubs were also purchased.

The district, the first in Georgia toprovide instructional technology spe-cialists to every school, is nationallyrecognized for its instructional andteacher-development programs. Staffdevelopment to support the notebookcomputer deployment was an essentialcomponent of the district’s plan to cre-ate high-tech learning environment forstudents.

Jonesboro, GA

The district selected Dell ComputerCorporation as the exclusive provider ofthis initiative, which included the pur-chase of the notebook computers, relatedhardware, student software, and teachertraining. Dell, the leading vendor of com-puters in K–12 education, chose Co-nectthrough a competitive selection process astheir training partner to fulfill Clayton’sRFP requirements.

District-wide Computer Notebook Initiative

“It has been my pleasureworking with [Co-nect], andI would recommend them to

others who might be consider-ing them for professional

learning purposes.”—Dr. Margie Dam

Executive Director of Staff DevelopmentClayton County School District

Staff Development Chal lenges1. To transition teachers

seamlessly from desk-tops to notebook com-puters and to a newversion of MicrosoftOffice

2. To provide classroom technology integrationstrategies for immedi-ate classroom applica-tion

3. To ensure familiarityand comfort withonline training, tools,and resources available24–7 to teachers forcontinuous support

Learn more about

our proven strategies

for supporting student

achievement.

37 Broadway

Arlington, MA 02474

877.726.6328

techinfo@co-nect.net

www.co-nect.net

The Co-nect Solution

The district requested two intensiveface-to-face workshops to prepareteachers to use their notebook com-puter and to accelerate the use of tech-nology in the classroom. In addition,district administrators were committedto providing teachers continuous sup-port through 24-7 access to onlinetraining, tools, and resources that focuson effective integration of technologyinto the teaching and learning process.

In one month, Co-nect provided morethan 200 training sessions to 3,700teachers including:

• A one-hour introductory workshopto transition teachers from desktopto notebook computers, and fromOffice 98 to Office XP

• A two-hour technology integrationworkshop that focused on Web-quests and other strategies to inte-grate the Internet into the learningprocess

• A three-hour intensive workshopfor all building InstructionalTechnology and Media Specialiststo prepare them to provide follow-up support to teachers

Prior to delivering of these workshops,Co-nect met with key district staff toplan them. After the delivery of thefirst few sessions of each workshop,Co-nect met with key district staff todetermine the effectiveness of the ses-sions and to make adjustments as nec-essary.

“I found the people from Co-nect tobe thorough, dedicated professionals.They were well prepared, arrived atsessions well in advance, presentedengaging lessons, and involved theteachers in the learning. When need-ed, they modified the instruction tothe meet the needs of the learners inthe specific schools. The lead trainerscommunicated with me regularly inorder to get feedback and make anynecessary modifications in content orstrategies.” Said Dr. Margie Dam,Executive Director of StaffDevelopment, Clayton County SchoolDistrict.

The district also purchased annualsubscriptions for all teachers to theCo-nect Exchange, a comprehensivesource of training modules supple-mented by curricular examples, tools,and resources. The face-to-face train-ing sessions incorporated use of theExchange to prepare teachers forongoing use of this support tool.

About Co-nectCo-nect is a leading provider of profes-

sional development and technology inte-

gration services that help K–12 districts

accelerate school improvement. Since

1992, we have partnered with more than

145 districts nationwide to help teachers

use technology as a powerful teaching and

learning tool.

The instructor made the process very easy andunderstandable. He showed us lots of things toget started and where I can find help. I can nowuse the laptop!”

—Teacher, J.W. Arnold Elementary School

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