Project 3 Grant Proposal

Cheryl Lee Norfleet

University of West Georgia
MEDT 8462: Leading and Managing IT Programs

Project Director Contact Information

Cheryl Lee Norfleet, Project Director
Media Specialist, Rutland High School
478-779-3043
lee.norfleet@bcsdk12.net
Abstract
Through assessment of Milestone, SAT and ACT scores, math has been identified as an
area of critical need in the Clayton County Public Schools. Due to the face that Algebra serves
as the foundation for other higher levels of mathematics, this proposed project for professional
development would introduce teachers to successful methods for incorporating technology in the
classroom, web-based games and activities for algebra instruction, as well as provide an
opportunity to construct and share technology-rich lesson plans that can immediately be
implemented in the classroom. Integrating technology in the classroom can increase student
engagement and create a more positive attitude towards mathematics, thereby increasing their
interest and improving instruction to help increase student achievement. Providing teachers with
adequate time to develop classroom management strategies as related to technology integration,
attain a personal comfort level with web-based tools, and understanding how to integrate the
tools into lessons helps to eliminate known barriers of technology integration in the classroom.
This proposed professional development would serve the mathematics teachers from three high
schools in the district as well as the districts Digital Learning Specialists which will enable the
entire district to benefit from the program. Instruction will be provided by employees of
Metropolitan Regional Educational Service Agency, as well as teachers who have been identified

as successful integrators of technology in the mathematics classroom. The bulk of this project
will be completed July 17 21, 2017 which is one week prior to Clayton Countys New Teacher
Orientation, and two weeks prior to the countys pre-planning. The project will not be fully
completed until April 21, 2017 when the final session is complete. However, four teachers will
be selected to present their activities and results at the Georgia Educational Technology
Conference (GaETC) in November of 2018.
Demonstrated Need
The schools within Clayton County Public Schools have experienced a recent decline in
the average ACT and SAT mathematics scores which are much lower than national and state
averages (Table 1). The proposed course would target three high schools in the Clayton County
School District: Charles R. Drew High School, Forest Park High School, and North Clayton
High School. Each of these schools has a graduation rate that is significantly lower than the state
and district averages, which may be partially attributed to their high dropout rates (Table 2).
These three particular high schools also have Georgia Milestones scores in Coordinate Algebra
that classify the large majority of their students as Beginning Learners, who do not yet
demonstrate proficiency, or Developing Learners, who demonstrate partial proficiency (Table 3).
Table 1
ACT Mathematics Scores

SAT Mathematics Scores

Averages

National

State

District

State

District

2014-2015

20.8

19.8

17.2

471

415

2013-2014

20.9

20.1

17.4

489

430

2012-2013

20.9

20.6

17.3

486

424

Table 2

Graduation Rate
2013

2014

2015

2015 Dropout Rate

State

71.80%

72.60%

79.00%

3.50%

District

55.80%

60.30%

66.40%

5.30%

Charles R. Drew

50.60%

63.00%

56.80%

8.40%

Forest Park

51.80%

47.90%

59.40%

7.20%

North Clayton

49.60%

48.50%

52.80%

6.90%

Table 3
2014-2015 Georgia Milestones for Coordinate Algebra
# Tested

Beginning

Developing

Proficient

Distinguished

District

4027

45.20%

37.30%

15.60%

1.80%

Charles R. Drew

376

45.50%

39.90%

13.80%

0.80%

Forest Park

427

51.50%

39.60%

8.90%

0.00%

North Clayton

232

58.20%

36.20%

5.20%

0.40%

Inan and Lowther defined teachers readiness to integrate technology as teacher

perception of their capabilities and skills required to integrate technology into their classroom,
and defined teachers beliefs as teachers perception of technologys influence on student
learning and achievement and impact on classroom instruction and learning activities (2009).
They determined through path analysis that both of these directly impact the amount of
technology integration inside the classroom. This professional development will enhance both
teachers readiness and beliefs, thereby encouraging them to integrate technology into the
mathematics classroom.
Integrating technology has been credited with increasing student engagement for longer
periods of time, and providing a means for differentiation and additional support for struggling
learners. Research has shown that instruction with technology integration promotes student

achievement more so than traditional instruction alone (Ke & Grabowski, 2006). Therefore,
promoting technology integration through professional development for teachers will indirectly
improve student achievement in the area of mathematics.
Goals and Objectives
During the initial week of professional development, teachers would be introduced to
successful methods for incorporating technology in the classroom. Rather than assume that
teachers already possess the classroom management skills related to technology integration,
various strategies will be introduced and demonstrated during the initial session. Second,
teachers will be introduced to several websites that provide games and activities for algebra
instruction. These games and activities will be tied directly to the state standards for all six units
of Algebra I. Teachers will be provided with sufficient time so as to ensure they can comfortably
navigate each resource and understand how it can enhance their instruction. At the end of the
initial professional development session, teachers will be provided with the time to construct and
share a technology-rich lesson plan that can immediately be implemented in the classroom.
Teachers will be divided into pairs and allowed to select a specific standard or standards for
which they wish to address in their lesson. Time will be allowed for teachers to share the lesson
they create, highlighting the technology resources they intend to utilize. These lessons can then
be compiled and shared with other teachers in the district with permission of the participants.
Plan of Operations
This professional development program will require 40 hours from every participant.
This will be delivered through five days, 6 hours each, during the summer, followed by two
follow-up sessions, 5 hours each, with the first in September and the second in April.

During the first day of the summer session, teachers will take a survey as a preassessment, followed by an introduction to classroom management strategies for implementing
technology in the classroom. This portion of the professional development will be conducted by
employees of Metropolitan Regional Educational Service Agency (MRESA) who will provide
insight into topics such as establishing classroom norms for handling technology, monitoring
activity in a technology-rich environment, and ways to address distracted students.
The next three days of the session will be spent introducing teachers to six websites that
provide a variety of activities that can be utilized for Algebra I instruction. Teachers will be
required to explore each site for activities related to specific state standards, and allowed to share
what they found in each particular site at the end of the session.
During the final day of the summer session, teachers will be partnered with each other
and asked to develop a technology-rich lesson plan in electronic format that utilizes the tools
used throughout the professional development session, and shared at the end of the day. As a
requirement of the participants, the lesson plans created during the session will be distributed to
all participants. They will also be asked to take the survey related to teacher beliefs and
readiness for comparison to their initial results.
After the 17-18 school year has started and teachers had four to six weeks to utilize the
information acquired in the five-day summer session, they will reconvene to share their
experiences. This will provide them with an opportunity to share their successes related to
classroom practices and student engagement, as well as any areas where they may have found
that they need improvement. During this time, program participants will also work
collaboratively as a group to help each teacher solve any issues that they may have encountered
during implementation.

One final session will be held in April to allow teachers to share their experiences
throughout the year. They will be asked to complete a final survey to assess how their
experience has affected their beliefs and readiness to implement technology in the classroom. At
the final session, four teachers will be selected to attend and present their experience at the
GaETC in November 2018.
Table 4 Schedule for July 17-21, 2017
Time

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

8:00 am

Staff
Meeting

Staff Meeting

Staff
Meeting

Staff
Meeting

Staff
Meeting

Welcome

Review
Day 1

Review
Day 2

Review
Day 3

Review
Day 4

Introduce
Day 2

Introduce
Day 3

Introduce
Day 4

Introduce
Day 5

9:00 am
9:15 am
9:30 am

10:00 am

12:00 pm

Survey to
establish
existing
teacher
beliefs and
readiness
Present
Classroom
Management
Strategies for
Technology
Integration

CoolMath

Lunch

Lunch

Math Nook

Math
Playground

Develop
lesson plan

Lunch

Lunch

1:00 pm

2:30 pm

3:30 pm

Continue
with
Classroom
Management
Strategies for
Technology
Integration

Establish
partners and
algebra unit
of focus for
lesson plan

Lunch
Continue
developing
lesson plan

HippoCampus

Math Game
Time

IXL

Share created
lesson plans
Discuss Next
Follow-up
Session

3:45 pm

4:30 pm

Participant
Sharing Day 1
Highlights

Participant
Sharing
Day 2
Highlights

Participant
Sharing
Day 3
Highlights

Participant
Sharing
Day 4
HIghlights

Survey to
establish
teacher
beliefs and
readiness
post
professional
development

Staff
Meeting

Staff Meeting

Staff
Meeting

Staff
Meeting

Staff
Meeting

Project Evaluation
The external evaluator for this program will be Dr. Adriana DAlba, an Assistant
Professor in the College of Education at the University of West Georgia. She will be responsible
for the data collection and analysis reports. The evaluation will assess the impact of the program
on the participants beliefs and readiness concerning technology integration, as well as their
perceptions about the impact that their program participation had on student achievement.
Immediately following introductions on the first day, teachers will take a survey that will
assess their existing technology beliefs and readiness. This will serve as a baseline for
comparison at the end of the five-day summer session, and again at the end of the program at the
second follow-up session. An additional survey will be conducted at the end of the final session
to also gauge the impact that participants felt their experience had on student achievement.
Partnerships
The target audience for this program is the math teachers at Drew, Forest Park, and North
Clayton high schools, as well as Clayton Countys Digital Learning Specialists. The CoProgram Director from Metro RESA, will recruit and select 16 participants. Clayton County
Public Schools play a critical role by providing access to the District Professional Learning

Center. Dr. DAlba will serve as the program evaluator in addition to her duties and
responsibilities at the University of West Georgia.
Appendix 1 Budget Proposal

Appendix 2
Budget Narrative
Personnel and Fringe Benefits

Lee Norfleet developed the grant proposal and will serve as the Project Director. In this
capacity, Ms. Norfleet will be responsible for overseeing content development prior to the
program, and serving as the lead facilitator during the summer session, two follow-up sessions
with all participants and ensuring the 5 selected participants complete their presentation at the
GaETC. Grant funding for this position will be $6,250 ($5,000 for salary and $1,250 for fringe).
A Metro RESA employee will serve as the co-director for this project. This person will
help the project director coordinate and facilitate all program sessions. They will also be
responsible for recruiting the 16 program participants and coordinating the use of the District
Professional Learning Center with Clayton County Public Schools. Grant funding for this
position will be $3,750 ($3,000 for salary and $750 for fringe).
Two teachers will serve as facilitators for the summer session. These positions will be
filled based on content knowledge and be responsible for developing content delivery with the
Project Director and Co-director. Grant funding for these positions will be $3,000 for salary.
Participant Cost
Each program participant will be awarded a $500 stipend, therefore with 16 participants,
the total stipend is $8,000. All participants will be required to attend all five days of the summer
session and two follow-up sessions. The payment of this stipend will be made at the conclusion
of the second follow-up session in April 2018.
Travel
Four teachers will be selected to present their experience at the GaETC in November
2018, and will be accompanied by the Program Director. Grant funding for conference
registration fees will be $750.

Additonal Costs
Additional grant funding will be needed to provide lunch to all participants and summer
session personnel. Grant funding for these lunches will be $900 (16 participants + 4 personnel X
$9 X 5 days).
Evaluation Costs
Dr. Adrianna DAlba will serve as the external consultant for the program, and lead all
evaluation of the project. She will administer the surveys at the beginning and end of the
summer session, as well as the final survey during the final follow-up session. Grant funding for
evaluation will be $4,000.
Indirect Costs
Indirect costs for this project will require grant funding of $2,132.
Total Budget $28,782
Appendix 3
The summer session and both follow-up sessions will be held at Clayton County Public
Schools District Professional Learning Center. This facility is equipped with the necessary
computers with internet access that is needed for program delivery. They will also provide
janitorial services during the summer session and two follow-up sessions.