Technology and Connectivity

Access to technology is essential for the successful roll-out of this plan. The Northport-East Northport UFSD has been committed to ongoing planning and implementation of district technologies to ensure equitable access for staff and students. The team has initiated plans that are mindful of student home access to reliable internet and computers.

1. The Northport-East Northport UFSD has developed a survey for students and staff to gather data and ask teachers and families to identify their level of access to devices and high-speed broadband from their residence. The district will continue to assess the ongoing needs of our families for technology and connectivity (survey, interviews, school outreach, etc.) In the event, students and/or teachers do not have access, the district will take the necessary steps to meet their needs where plausible.
2. Conduct and/or maintain an inventory of equipment and other assets.
1. Identify which students, families, and staff have district assets in their possession.
3. Procure, manage and/or maintain hardware, software, licenses, learning management systems, etc. to support and improve virtual instruction and student engagement.
4. Identify professional learning needs for teachers and continue to support their development of skills and pedagogy in a virtual learning environment.
5. Arrange a “Helpdesk” system for parents/students/teachers to report technical issues that might be experienced during remote learning. Communicate protocols to these stakeholders to inform them in advance of how to gain assistance in such cases.

Northport-East Northport UFSD will provide all students with access to learning materials and resources in multiple formats, wherever possible. Furthermore, the district will support teachers through professional development and coaching on pedagogical methods that enable students to participate in multiple ways, so that they can demonstrate mastery of Learning Standards in remote or blended models through the use of both synchronous ( Google Meet) and asynchronous technologies (i.e. Google Classroom or other LMS). All students in the Northport-East Northport UFSD, K-12, will be provided with a device, (Chromebook), to access the internet. Students who do not have access to the internet will be provided with access through their Chromebook. The district will also schedule opportunities to connect with families to educate them on how to use the technologies and connect to the instructional activities.