The faculty and staff of the Milton Area School District believe that the safe and effective use of technology can have a significant positive impact on the teaching and learning process. Leveraging technology to increase the effectiveness of learning and the efficiency of school operations is a primary focus for our school district as we prepare students for 21st Century success.

Belief Statements:

• We believe that technology will enrich, accelerate, and extend student learning.
• We believe that the use of technology in school will prepare our students to function more effectively in the 21st
century and in an ever-changing global society.
• We believe that students and staff must be skilled users of technology, and that acquiring and maintaining technology
skills is a lifelong process.
• We believe that our teachers and staff must strive to be leaders in educational technology for the benefit of student
learning.
• We believe that students and staff must have ubiquitous access to reliable and appropriate technology resources.
• We believe that providing blended learning experiences for students will help meet the unique needs of diverse
learners while maintaining individual accountability in a challenging and rigorous academic environment.
• We believe that students and staff must understand and apply the ethical guidelines associated with the use of
technology.
• We believe that parents play an integral role in the education of their children, and they must actively partner with
teachers and administrators to connect formal and informal uses of technology.

Vision Statement:

The vision of the Milton Area School District is to innovatively leverage technology to extend and deepen everyone’s learning
and foster the skills to compete globally.

Discussion:

The faculty and administration of Milton Area School District (MASD) recognize that effective educational experiences for
students need to be student-centric, and that deep learning occurs when students make personal connections with
educational activities. To ensure that these personal connections occur, the faculty and administration will provide
opportunities for all students to experience learning through the use of diverse formats of content and varied learning
modalities.

The personalization of learning for each MASD student will be achieved by leveraging technology in innovative ways. The
district will provide all teachers and students with personal computing devices, engaging digital content, and a web-based
learning platform designed to encourage collaboration, appropriate student/teacher interaction, and student independence.
Providing such an environment fosters the ability for students to “own” their education by having a greater degree of control
over the pace and depth of their learning. In addition, this kind of student-centered environment invites active learning and
expands the opportunities for students to demonstrate educational competencies through project-based experiences.
The role of teachers will shift to being a facilitator of learning for students, rather than being the primary source of content
delivery.

Using technology to transform the classroom and the educational experience for students places the teacher in much
more critical role. Teachers will now become architects of learning for each student by providing relevant interdisciplinary
learning opportunities that match the individual learning styles of their students. The creation of active and inquiry-based
learning experiences for students will become the norm for all teachers. Furthermore, each teacher will become highly skilled
at collecting and analyzing student achievement data (both formative and summative) in this innovative digital learning environment, which will be integral to the shaping of future instruction for each student.

MASD Student-Centered Learning Target and Critical Success Factors

Critical Success Factor #1
All teachers and students will have access to computing devices and related resources (e.g. digital
content, learning management system, apps, software, online subscriptions, etc.) that are specific to
online research, collaboration, and the completion of digital assignments and projects.

Critical Success Factor #2
All teachers and administrators will engage in professional development that is specific to the
functional use of the features of computing devices as well as the pedagogical ways in which the
devices may be used to promote academic research, collaboration, and the completion of digital
assignments and projects.

Critical Success Factor #3
All teachers will be provided with an adequate amount of time to prepare student learning
activities/lessons that involve the students’ use of computing devices and related resources for online
research, collaboration, and the completion of digital assignments and projects.

Critical Success Factor #4
Classrooms throughout the school will be physically organized in a manner that accommodates
blended learning and will be equipped with computer accessories and media equipment that supports
a variety of blended learning models.

Critical Success Factor #5
Technical support that is focused on customer service with the intent to meet instructional and
administrative goals will be available to all students and staff.

Critical Success Factor #6
The technology network infrastructure and network-specific technical support will be adequate to
support the district-wide student-centered learning movement.

Critical Success Factor #7
All building-level and central office administrators will develop and implement processes and
procedures that are specific to the effective leadership of blended teaching and learning.

Critical Success Factor #8
The district administrative staff will develop and implement a forward-thinking budget to ensure the
proper implementation and sustainability of the district’s student-centered learning movement.

Critical Success Factor #9
All building-level and central office administrators will create community awareness of the district’s
student-centered learning movement and garner the support needed for the initiative to be successful.