Cleveland County Schools ranks fifth in a national survey among districts of its size for its exceptional use of technology
For the fifth year, the Cleveland County Board of Education has been named among the top 10 winners in the annual Digital School Districts Survey conducted by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Education, the National School Boards Association and Converge Online magazine.
The survey showcases and acknowledges school boards and districts across the nation that are providing a high level of technology use to govern the district, improve operations and communicate with students, parents and the community.
Winning school boards and districts were placed in three categories based on enrollment. Those districts that demonstrated the most comprehensive use of digital standards were chosen as the top 10-ranking districts. Cleveland County Schools placed fifth in the category for districts with more than 15,000 students. In previous surveys, the Cleveland County Board and district ranked seventh and eighth.
CCS Instructional Technology Director Cheryl Lutz cited several factors in Cleveland County’s improved ranking for 2009 including the use of more information-sharing resources with the community:
- The board began using the online school board program, BoardDocs that provides for the posting of agendas, meeting schedules, board minutes, policies and announcements at all times on the school district website. BoardDocs also allows a visual presence at meetings with agendas, attachments, presentations and voting results visible to the public.
- The public may follow board of education meetings on Twitter.
- The board’s strategic plan encourages teachers to create web pages to communicate with parents and students.
- The administration encourages schools to improve and update their websites to enhance communication and customer service with the quarterly competition, Sites to See.
All U.S. public school districts were invited to participate in the study which examines and documents school boards online presence, technology applications that allow the public to interact with school board members as well as their access to information such as school board calendars, policies and agendas, and technology advancements in the school board chambers.
Marina Leight, vice president of the Center for Digital Education, said, “With digital education tools rapidly evolving, U.S. schools have shown great diligence in advancing quality education by implementing successful applications in support of 21st century education. We applaud this year’s winners for their creative and innovative accomplishments.”
“While technology’s role to transform learning is critical, its impact as a resource that enhances communications and improves productivity cannot be overlooked,” said NSBA Executive Director, Anne L. Bryant. “These districts are capitalizing on their ability to provide more transparent and efficient services at a time when budgets are tighter than ever .”
2009 Digital School Districts Survey - Top 10 Winners
Large Category - More than 15,000 students:
- 1st Jefferson County Public Schools, Colo.
- 2nd Dysart Unified School District, Ariz. (tie)
- 2nd Prince William County Public Schools, Va. (tie)
- 3rd Clark County School District, Nev. (tie)
- 3rd Forsyth County School District, Ga. (tie)
- 3rd Clayton County Public Schools, Ga. (tie)
- 4th Frederick County Public Schools, Md.
- 5th Cleveland County Schools, NC
- 6th Richmond County School System, Ga.
- 7th Loudon County Public Schools, Va.
- 8th Blue Valley Unified School District 22, Kan. (tie)
- 8th Fayette County Schools, Ga. (tie)
- 9th Allen Independent School District, Texas
- 10th Colorado Springs School District, 11, Colo. (tie)
- 10th Denton Independent School District, Texas (tie)
View the full list of winners at http://www.centerdigitaled.com/ and http://www.convergemag.com, or www.nsba.org/tln. |
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