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Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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iZone360 Orientation Packet: NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, IZONE OFFICE
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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February 16, 2011
Dear Nancy Scala, It is my privilege to invite CFN 107 to join the inaugural cohort of iZone360 networks. Together we will work on behalf of the larger system to build innovative new school models around the needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students. As you know, over the last four months we have sought out the most forward-thinking, innovative networks and schools to take on this critical challenge. We found tremendous examples of innovative practices already happening in our schools. Your team and your schools demonstrated capacity, commitment, and passion for leading this work, and will, we believe, contribute tremendously to creating the next generation of schools that will prepare our students for college and career in a globally competitive, 21st century world. By its name, iZone360 lays claim to an ambitious vision—wholly transforming schools around the needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students. We aspire to rethink every aspect of school that impacts our kids, and to rigorously align our priorities, practices, and resources around meeting the needs of each student. We will draw on the power of technology and the expertise of partners where appropriate; mostly we will draw on the creativity and commitment that each of us must bring to create a community of schools dedicated to the success of every child. While we are humbled by the aspiration, we are emboldened by the quality and enthusiasm of the networks that comprise this inaugural cohort. CFN 107 will be joined by four other networks that are equally excited and ready to take up this important work:
CFN 101: Bridges For Learning; Network Leaders: Marina Cofield and Megan Roberts CFN 532: CEI-PEA; Network Leader: Alan Cohen CFN 404: Network Leader: Terry Byam CFN 411: The Innovative Schools Network; Network Leader: Emily Sharrock
Today we kick off a three-year commitment to one another to realize this vision. We will collectively define
what it means to build schools around the needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students; set
goals, make commitments, and hold one another accountable to transforming our schools on behalf of the
system and on behalf of our kids. This orientation packet provides a description of the iZone360 inaugural
school community, a description of the design process, and the next steps for schools and networks as we
embark on this journey together. On behalf of the iZone staff, we look forward to the road ahead.
Welcome to iZone360!
Sincerely, Arthur VanderVeen
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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Table of Contents
Sections
Section 1: Introduction to the iZone ..................................................................................................................... 4
Section 2: iZone Design ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Section 3: iZone Accountability ............................................................................................................................ 6
Section 4: Policy Updates ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Section 5: Supports .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Section 6: Operations and Implementation ........................................................................................................ 13
Appendices
Appendix A1: ACTION ITEMS & NEXT STEPS FOR NETWORK LEADERS ................................................................ 16
AppendixA2: ACTION ITEMS & NEXT STEPS FOR PRINCIPALS .............................................................................. 16
Appendix B: Inaugural iZone360 Cohort ............................................................................................................. 17
Appendix C: Contact List for iZone Staff ............................................................................................................. 20
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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Section 1: Introduction to the iZone
What is the iZone? The iZone is a community of educators building schools around the needs, motivations and strengths of individual students. iZone schools achieve this mission through three initiatives:
iZone360: New school models that are working toward organizing all resources (budgets, staff, space, schedules, instruction, technology) around needs, strengths, and motivations of individual students
iLearnNYC: Flexibly meeting the needs of individual students through online and blended learning
InnovateNYC: Piloting, evaluating, and scaling promising innovations that leverage technology to accelerate student learning, e.g. School of One
This orientation packet provides a detailed overview of what it means to belong to the iZone360
community of networks and schools that have committed to this mission.
Setting the Vision The iZone360 community of networks and schools has come together on behalf of the larger system to meet a
common challenge: to develop innovative new strategies that better prepare students for the rigorous demands
of college and careers in the 21st century. iZone360 schools are collaboratively designing, implementing, and
evaluating new school models that organize school resources (budgets, staff, space, schedules, instruction,
technology) around the needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students. iZone networks and schools
align around five key design principles as they design new school models:
Globally Competitive Standards – Student learning outcomes are aligned to rigorous standards and
assessments, such as the Common Core, that define the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that graduates
need to be successful.
Competency-Based Learning and Assessment – Students demonstrate progressive mastery of rigorous
competencies through performance tasks and projects, rather than receiving credit for time spent in the
classroom.
Personalized Learning Plans – Teachers, advisors, students, and parents manage a personalized learning
plan that accounts for each student’s learning pace and preferred learning methods.
Multiple Modes of Learning – Students learn in the ways they learn best – be it independently, one-on-one
with a coach, collaboratively in small task groups, online, and beyond school, in real-world contexts, such as
internships or early-college courses.
New Staff and Student Roles – School staff and teacher teams will adopt new roles as learning coaches,
advisors, content experts, and assessment experts. Students will take on new roles planning and managing
their own learning in a variety of modalities. As a result, schools will have greater flexibility in scheduling
appropriate learning supports according to individual students’ personalized learning plans and staff talent.
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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Section 2: iZone Design
Design and Planning Deliverables, Spring 2011 Each iZone360 network will engage in a structured design process with its schools to design and plan their
evolution toward new school models. This process will be structured around the following four work
products:
STUDENT CENTERED LEARNING INDEX
iZone360 networks and schools will collaboratively develop the Student Centered Learning Index
(SCLI) to define what it means for schools to be designed around the needs, motivations, and
strengths of individual students. By defining innovative practice across a set of key indicators,
iZone360 schools will articulate their vision for using the five design principles to build school
around individual students. This index, developed collaboratively by all iZone360 networks, will
serve as a common measure of innovation for each indicator along a continuum from traditional, to
emerging, to innovative. Once complete, the SCLI will enable schools to self-assess their current
practices against innovative, student-centered practices, and to set goals and monitor progress over
three years as they build toward their vision.
FUTURE STATE DESIGN
Using the SCLI, iZone360 networks and schools will define how schools will look in three years when
they have organized their practice and resources around the needs, motivations, and strengths of
individual students. Working with its model design partner, each network will select key indicators
from each design category of the SCLI and translate the “innovative” descriptors into a future state
design for the network. The design will specify the innovative practices for each selected indicator
that schools will be implementing in three years.
iZone360 networks will work toward a shared future state design for each selected indicator across
all of its lab schools. Where lab schools cannot agree upon a common set of priority indicators, or
the innovative practices they will develop for specific indicators, the network plan will specify the
school-specific alternatives. iZone360 networks should strive to achieve a shared future state design
for the majority of its selected indicators across all of their lab schools.
THREE-YEAR ROADMAP
Having developed its future state design, each iZone360 network will develop a three-year roadmap
describing how it will phase in its innovative practices over three years to realize its future state
vision. The roadmap will specify what practices will be developed and adopted in which grades and
subjects each year to achieve the full future state design over the course of three years.
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As with the future state design, iZone360 networks should work toward a common three-year
roadmap for their lab schools. Developing and adopting new practices together as a community will
enable lab schools to collaboratively problem solve and share lessons learned as they address
common challenges; it will also enable the network to leverage partner resources more effectively.
The network may choose, however, to have individual lab schools pilot innovative practices for
selected indicators on behalf of the larger network, leading to some intentional variation in how
schools phase in specific innovations.
ONE-YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Having developed its three-year roadmap, each iZone360 network will develop a detailed year one
implementation plan outlining how it will execute the practices targeted for the first year.
Implementation plans will identify primary work streams, major deliverables, tasks, task owners,
milestones, and timeline at the network and individual lab school level.
These four documents—the SCLI, future state designs, three-year roadmaps, and year one implementation
plans—are the tools by which each network will design and plan its evolution toward new school models
organized around the needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students.
To initiate this process, the iZone staff will work with the iZone360 networks and model design partners
over the next few weeks to finalize templates for each of the deliverables and develop working processes
for how network schools will develop them.
Affiliate Schools
Through acceptance into iZone360, networks will commit to expanding school participation over three
years to have a majority of their schools engaged in the iZone360 redesign process. Schools that are
actively engaged in the redesign process are known as “lab schools”; schools that are planning to join the
process in the next year take on the role of “affiliate schools.” Representatives from affiliate schools will
participate in their network’s iZone360 activities, including professional development, inter-visitations,
residency days, and regular reviews of progress toward iZone360 goals. iZone staff will work with networks
to select up to five affiliate schools for their first affiliate cohort, which will begin its design and planning
process with the model design partner in fall 2011, preparing for a fall 2012 launch as a lab school.
Section 3: iZone Accountability As has been discussed throughout the recruitment process, iZone networks, schools, partners and staff will
be held accountable to goals in the following categories:
1. Degree to which schools organize around needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students
as measured by iZone Student Centered Learning Index
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2. Fidelity to design and implementation plans
3. Achievement of student outcomes as defined in goals and agreed upon by networks
4. School satisfaction as measured through surveys
The iZone staff will be working with each network over the coming weeks to come to agreement on the
goals, templates and indexes to be used as measures of the indicators above. The process is laid out below.
Formal evaluation points take place in November and March of each year.
1. Each iZone360 network community (network team, schools, partners, and iZone staff) sets three-
year and annual goals for increasing student achievement and adopting innovative practices for
each selected SCLI indicator (February-April, 2011).
2. iZone360 network communities regularly evaluate their progress toward meeting their goals,
sharing evidence of progress, identifying risks, problem solving around challenges, and holding one
another accountable to commitments.
3. Networks evaluate fit with partners at formal evaluation points; continuation of partner contracts
are contingent on fit and performance as indicated by fidelity to partner scope of work and school
satisfaction.
4. Networks evaluate fit and commitment level of schools at formal evaluation points; continuation in
iZone360 is contingent on fit and commitment as indicated by fidelity to implementation plan,
participation in iZone360 activities, and school satisfaction.
5. iZone staff evaluate commitment level of networks at formal evaluation points; continuation in
iZone360 is contingent on fit and commitment as indicated by fidelity to implementation plan,
participation in iZone360 activities, and school satisfaction.
6. Networks evaluate iZone staff (including Innovation Coach) at formal evaluation points;
performance management responses determined as needed.
Evaluation iZone networks and schools are developing and evaluating innovative new school models on behalf of the larger New York City system of schools. In this research and development role, iZone schools carefully design, pilot, and evaluate promising new practices and determine which innovations can and should be scaled. They evaluate what is required for specific innovations to be successful, and measure their impacts on student achievement. They also consider which innovations achieve the most impact, given constraints on time and resources.
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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The iZone Research & Evaluation team works with iZone360 networks and partners to design evaluations to answer these questions. Evaluators will collect and analyze student achievement data from existing assessment programs. Schools will be expected to support other data collection activities, including completing school-wide teacher and student surveys, participating in periodic focus groups, and allowing evaluators to conduct observations. Finally, each iZone360 network will be expected to designate two network schools by July 1st not participating in iZone360 activities to serve as control schools that will also complete the data collection activities.
Section 4: Policy Updates iZone staff are continually driving for policy and regulatory changes that will enable iZone schools to pilot
and scale innovative school models that accelerate student achievement. This includes working with the
Division of Academics, Performance, and Support to ensure that DOE accountability systems support
forward-thinking schools’ development of innovative practice. The iZone is also exploring new competency-
based credit models with the NY State Education Department (NYSED), and discussing more flexible
schedules and teacher roles with the UFT. The iZone staff will continue to keep you informed on a regular
basis of developments in each policy area.
Progress Report - iZone staff are working with the Division of Academics, Performance, and Support
to consider alternative measures of innovative school performance to be piloted for inclusion in
future Progress Reports. These alternatives will be reviewed with you during the design process
(Feb-April 2011).
Quality Review - The iZone staff and DOE Quality Review team will jointly train a cadre of Quality
Reviewers to become familiar with iZone360 goals and practices, including mapping student
centered learning practices to the Quality Review criteria and showcasing how iZone360 schools are
using innovative new practices to meet those criteria. Trained Quality Reviewers will manage iZone
school Quality Reviews in the future whenever possible. The Quality Review team will consider
adopting elements of the Student-Centered Learning Index (SCLI) into future versions of the Quality
Review as iZone360 schools demonstrate the value of the SCLI for organizing schools around the
needs of individual students and demonstrate accelerated student outcomes.
Competency-Based Credit - The iZone policy team is working with the NYCDOE Research and Policy
Support Group to present to NYSED a plan for piloting competency-based high school credit models.
More information will be provided as it is known.
Credit for Online Courses - iZone team and the Research and Policy Support Group have been
supporting NYSED and the Regents in developing new policies allowing schools to grant a unit of
credit to students who successfully complete an online course that the principal and a school-level
curriculum committee have judged to be the equivalent of a unit of study, irrespective of actual
seat time. Details of this developing policy will be made available through the design process.
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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Flexible scheduling and teacher roles - The iZone team is working with the UFT to identify a menu
of supported SBOs that principals and chapter leaders at iZone360 schools may bring to their
teachers for a vote that would facilitate greater flexibility for schools to customize learning for each
of its students. The iZone team will also establish parameters for online instructors with the UFT.
In the coming weeks, iZone staff will develop a strategy for value-add assignments in iZone schools.
The iZone’s plan will support schools in efforts to organize teachers and scheduling around the
needs of individual students. Please send any issues or questions that you would like to flag for the
iZone to nabramson@schools.nyc.gov. We will provide updates during the design process.
ACTION ITEMS/ DELIVERABLES for Principals: The NYSED has requested that schools complete the College and Career Readiness Survey relating to increasing the rigor and flexibility of high school graduation requirements. It is highly recommended that you complete this so as to help foster conditions that support your activities in the iZone (i.e. increased credit flexibility) and contribute to improved student achievement and increased preparedness for college and career. This survey should be completed by February 28, 2011. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LJTTZ6R
Section 5: Supports
iZone Leadership Program The iZone Leadership Program will help iZone360 network and school leaders build the next generation of New York City schools organized around the needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students. iZone staff and the Innovation Unit, an international not-for-profit consulting organization that supports public sector organizations in building capacity for innovation, will facilitate this year-long program to develop leaders’ capacity for fostering an innovative culture in their schools. The program will be organized around the needs of participants, and will be anchored in participants’ actual challenges of practice.
Goals:
Establish a professional learning community for iZone360 network and school leaders, using structured protocols for inquiry, action, and reflection
Provide coaching and consultancy for change management efforts within network and school communities
Enhance network and school leaders’ skills and understanding in implementing iZone principles and develop collaborations across and within networks and schools to facilitate shared problem solving
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Innovation Coaches
Each network will have one funded Innovation Coach. The Innovation Coach will work directly with the
network team and schools as the primary design expert and point person for iZone efforts. The final job
description is available HERE. In the interim, the same member of the iZone360 team that has been
working with networks will continue to provide that support until an Innovation Coach has been identified.
Deliverables/Action Items for Network Leaders:
Please provide a network-based point person for all communication going forward and let Nora Abramson
(nabramson@schools.nyc.gov) know the person’s name and contact information.
Network leaders should also take time throughout February and early March 2011 to assess the needs of
their team in supporting schools with this work. This will help iZone staff to recruit the best candidate for
your team.
Component Partners As iZone360 networks create their future state design, three-year roadmap, and year one implementation
plans, they will likely identify areas where they need additional support beyond that offered by their model
design partner. iZone360 networks will be allocated a budget to engage pre-qualified component partners
in the following areas of school practice:
Stage One Focus:
Curriculum
Assessment and grading
Scheduling and staffing
Direct instructional supports
Personalized Content
Student coaching and advising
Component partners may be individual consultants, technology tool providers, non-profit organizations,
private companies, corporations, or other types of service providers. They must explicitly support the
network or selected schools in achieving their future state design. The iZone staff will review networks’
proposals for alternative component partners, or alternative uses of component partner budgets, as
presented.
Deliverables/Action Items for Network Leaders:
The iZone Office knows that network leaders and principals are aware of change agents in the field who
already work to personalize learning. If there is an individual or organization that offers technical
assistance or services in any of the above categories aligned to the iZone360 mission and would be a
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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good component partner, please let us know. Submitting a name does not guarantee that they will be
approved for iZone funding. In order to submit any suggestions please answer the following questions
no later than Friday, February 28th. You should email these responses to innovation@schools.nyc.gov
with the subject line “Component Partner Suggestion” and indicate which network you are from.
Questions to address in your response:
1. What is the name and contact information for the individual/organization in question?
2. Describe their service or tool, and include which category of component partner they align to (from
list above). Also, explain what is unique about them relative to others in their field.
3. Describe any past interaction you or someone in the network has had with this individual or
organization.
4. Be sure to note any potential Conflict of Interest concerns that might arise in procuring their service
(e.g., have they worked at the DOE in the past year?)
Competency-Based Learning and Assessment A key iZone design principle, competency-based learning and assessment, has tremendous potential for
personalizing learning to the needs, motivations, and strengths of individual students. Building upon
resources and lessons learned from numerous iZone360 schools that are already using competency-based
learning and assessment, the iZone360 staff will work with networks to develop a process where iZone
networks will collaboratively develop, share, and refine competency frameworks and a library of
performance tasks and rubrics to use as they transition to competency-based learning and assessment
models that support this student-centered personalization. This work will help lead the District’s transition
to Common Core State Standards and the new performance-based assessments that will be implemented
statewide by 2014. Instructional support will be provided to align instructional with competencies and
performance –based assessments on both the planning and implementation level. Individual teachers,
department teams and administration will also receive support in using student work and competency data
to reflect on and revise their approach. The iZone team will expand its capacity both internally and through
component partners to support and scale this work. Through the design process the iZone360 staff will
introduce potential partners and work to ensure that schools are developing designs that reflect this
principle.
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iLearnNYC All iZone360 schools are eligible to access iLearnNYC, the DOE’s online learning program, for no cost in the
2011-2012 school year. iLearnNYC gives schools access to a state-of-the-art online learning platform that
supports online and blended learning for teachers and students. With this tool, principals and teachers will
be able to provide access to courses not currently offered in their schools, differentiate instruction by using
existing and developing online resources to supplement face-to-face instruction, and monitor student
progress and achievement. iLearnNYC will provide schools with a way to build on many of the iZone
principles. The iZone Office encourages all schools to consider participation. More information on the
program can be found here on the iLearn website.
While iLearnNYC is just one of many component partners that will be made available to iZone360 schools, it
is moving on an expedited timeframe due to internal procurement deadlines. Please take note of the
following dates, as they are key milestones to ensuring your school will receive access to iLearn, as well as
the technological resources necessary to build and implement your designs:
February 18th – All schools interested in receiving access to iLearn must send an email expressing
that interest to Brendan Lyons at blyons5@schools.nyc.gov and complete an online school readiness
survey (see Deliverables/Action Items for Principals section below).
February 28th – Schools participating in iLearnNYC will have access to a catalog of hundreds of
online courses. To help determine which courses are best for your network and school, iLearnNYC
will send you a Content Selection Planning Guide the week of February 28th. This guide will help
you start to think through what is available and how it aligns with your needs.
March 4th – All schools that wish to receive access to iLearn must formally accept the offer.
March 10th – iZone staff will be sponsoring a vendor showcase on March 10th to give participating
schools an opportunity to meet with content vendors and see demos of their products to learn
more about available content in the iLearn system. More information on this showcase will be
forthcoming.
Early March – Schools select the content they will use with iLearn. More information to come.
Spring - Summer – There will be a number of trainings throughout the spring and summer for this
program.
Note: These are the essential steps for joining iLearnNYC. Please make sure you can fully commit to these requirements in order to ensure full and sustained participation in the program.
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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Section 6: Operations and Implementation
Budget The iZone staff plans to work closely with Networks and schools to ensure that the resources for this project
allow schools to accomplish the stated goals while also recognizing the challenging current budgetary climate.
The iZone360 program is being funded through the Race to the Top grant as well as the 5-Year Capital Plan and
private funds. It is not funded through DOE operating dollars and therefore uses of the funding are restricted to
certain purposes. The iZone Office will be working with your network to introduce component partners in the
coming months but it is important to note that the flexibility of that funding allocation is limited given the
current funding sources. To that end, the component partner budget originally shared may change as the iZone
Office learns more about the needs of networks during the design phase and addresses the reality of budgetary
constraints within the NYCDOE. As iZone360 networks begin the design process, iZone staff will work closely
with each network to understand their needs and make decisions around how networks and schools will want to
use the component partner budget over the coming weeks.
At this time, per session for schools within each network is budgeted at $26,000 per network for FY11 (through
June 2011) and $56,000 per network for FY12 (through June 2012). There is flexibility in moving the funding
forward between fiscal years. Due to the source now funding per session, all per session monies will be posted
and processed centrally.
Equipment and Devices Given the importance of technology to the iZone, the iZone staff has set a goal to reach a 1:1 computer to
student ratio in all iZone360 schools in three years. Schools will receive devices over the next three years
with quantities escalating each year in alignment with the school design. Schools will need to manage daily
technical support, as well as the storage, security, and payment of maintenance contracts of all devices.
Laptops will be purchased for schools based on the operating system they current have in their school. If a
school uses both MACs and PCs, the operating system that comprises the majority of machines and is the
most recently purchased will be used. One of the key reasons for ordering this way is to streamline the
technical support needs within each school. This equipment will be purchased centrally through the DOE to
obtain the best price and final purchase of equipment is subject to funding availability. In year one, the
iZone’s goal is for all schools to receive 100 laptops to initiate their whole school redesign plan. If a school
currently has a one-to-one laptop ratio the school will not receive additional computers unless the existing
computers are more than 2 years old.
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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In addition schools will receive the equipment listed below.
Equipment Quantity
Printers 2
Scanners 2
Laptop Carts 3
School Bandwidth and Wireless Upgrades
School bandwidth and wireless technology upgrades will be provided to all iZone360 schools. All schools
will undergo a School Readiness Audit to determine if bandwidth and/or wireless upgrades are necessary.
Schools receiving upgrades will work with the iZone’s School Readiness team on the scheduling and
timeline for completing their bandwidth and/or wireless upgrades. Currently School Readiness Audits are
scheduled to start in March 2011, and wireless and bandwidth upgrades will begin in early April 2011.
Current iLearnNYC schools may not be eligible for upgrades.
Technical Support
Critical to the effective deployment of technology in iZone360 is providing the necessary support to ensure
teachers and students experience uninterrupted utilization of school laptops and access to content. There
will be central support in the form of a help desk and Central Office iZone Network Technicians assigned to
each borough to support iZone schools. Given the investment that the DOE is making in the infrastructure
upgrades and devices for iZone schools, all schools must have a dedicated technician to oversee all school
devices. The iZone Office recommends that the technician’s role description encompasses the following
tasks:
Liaise with iZone Network Technicians in response to on-site support calls.
Serve as schools’ single point of contact to the DOE help desk, vendors, and iZone Central
staff regarding all technical issues.
Conduct basic troubleshooting to diagnose cause of device or application malfunctions.
Work with school staff and device/application users to devise solutions to device or
application malfunctions.
Ensure device readiness on a day-to-day basis.
Manage the process for resolving all repairs, swap-outs, device inventory etc.
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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Once a school has identified the dedicated technical support resource, training will be provided to school
level staff this summer and throughout the year. More information about the technology supports and
expectations for implementation can be found here on the iZone360 Wiki.
DELIVERABLES/ACTION ITEMS FOR PRINCIPALS:
In order to plan for and procure the necessary devices and technological infrastructure necessary to
support the implementation of school and network designs, the iZone staff will need to work very
closely with each school to survey its current technology inventory and future needs. Budgeting and
procurement deadlines for the DOE require that iZone staff, networks and schools work together to
gather the necessary information by the end of February.
To this end, schools will need to complete a school readiness survey by February 18th. This survey
will request information around your school’s current technology needs and technology-based
initiatives. It will also ask you to make some assumptions about the technology needs you are likely to
have in the future. The survey can be accessed by clicking here:
In addition to this survey, the iZone Staff will need to work with school principals to arrange and on-
site audit of school tech resources and infrastructure later in the month.
To make this technology integration process as seamless to students and staff as possible, iZone
schools must assign a person to be dedicated on-site to manage the technical support processes and
protocols within a school. Schools will need to account for this role within their whole school redesign
plans. Schools who foresee challenges with staffing on-site support are encouraged to discuss their
concerns with iZone staff. This position should be a full time person but if that is not possible there are
other options available to schools including: CUNY Techs, MOUSE Squad, or school aids that have
adequate skill and technical support training.
Please reach out to Ronald Bryant (rbryant2@schools.nyc.gov) with any questions or concerns about
the survey, the tech audit, or resource allocation. Please note that failure to complete the survey and
audit may result in your school’s forfeiture of planned device allocation and tech upgrades.
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APPENDICES
Appendix A:
A1: ACTION ITEMS & NEXT STEPS FOR NETWORK LEADERS
For more information related to the following action steps or other issues, please visit the iZone Resources Wiki.
1. By Friday, February 18th: Identify a network-based point person for all iZone360 communication going
forward. Please send this name to Nora Abramson at nabramson@schools.nyc.gov . Nora will be the
first point of contact for all Network questions and concerns going forward.
2. By Friday, February 28th: Please suggest organizations that can support designs as component partners.
Send suggestions to innovation@schools.nyc.gov with the subject line “Component Partner Suggestion”
and indicate which network you are from. Questions to address in your response:
a. What is the name and contact information for the individual/organization in question?
b. Describe their service or tool, and include which category of component partner they align from
the following five categories: Curriculum and content; Assessment and grading; Instructional Support; Student coaching and advising; Scheduling and staffing. Also explain what is unique about them relative to others in the field.
c. Describe any past interaction you or someone in the network has had with this individual or organization.
d. Be sure to note any potential Conflict of Interest concerns that might arise in procuring their service. (e.g., have they worked at the DOE in the past year?)
A2: ACTION ITEMS & NEXT STEPS FOR PRINCIPALS
1. By Friday, February 18th: Complete a technology needs assessment survey HERE.
2. By February 28th: Complete the NYSED College and Career Readiness Survey related to
increasing the rigor and flexibility of high school graduation requirements HERE.
3. By July 1st: Dedicate a full or part-time on-site technology manager. This position can be filled
by college students and other non-traditional personnel via: CUNY techs, MOUSE Squad, or
school aides that have adequate skill and technical support training. Schools who foresee
challenges with staffing on-site support are encouraged to discuss your concerns with
Innovation Team staff. Please feel free to contact: rbryant2@schools.nyc.gov .
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
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Appendix B: Inaugural iZone360 Cohort List of All Participating Networks and Schools
CFN 101, Bridges for Learning Marina Cofield and Megan Roberts, Network Leaders
Lab
Schools
2011-12
School Name Location Grade Levels
Principal
Global Technology Preparatory Manhattan 6 – 8 Chrystina Russell
I.S. 289 Manhattan 6 – 8 Ellen Foote
M.S. 250 West Side Collaborative
Middle School
Manhattan 6 – 8 Jeanne Rotunda
School of the Future Manhattan 6 – 12 Stacy Paige
Goldstein
Tompkins Square Middle School Manhattan 6 – 8 Sonhando Estwick
Young Women's Leadership School,
Astoria
Queens 6 – 12 Laura A. Mitchell
CFN 107, A Network of Dynamic Learning Communities Nancy Scala, Network Leader
Lab
Schools
2011-12
School Name Location Grade Levels
Principal
Brooklyn High School of the Arts Brooklyn 9 – 12 Margaret Lacey
Berman
El Puente Academy for Peace and
Justice
Brooklyn 9 – 12 Hector Calderon
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
18
Gregorio Luperon High School for
Science and Mathematics
Manhattan 9 – 12 Juan Villar
High School M560 - City As School Manhattan 9 – 12 Alan Cheng
N.Y.C. Lab School for Collaborative
Studies
Manhattan 9 – 12 Brooke Jackson
CFN 404 Terry Byam, Network Leader
Lab
Schools
School Name Location Grade Levels
Principal
Academy of Urban Planning Brooklyn 9 – 12 Monique Darrisaw
Arts & Media Preparatory Academy Brooklyn 9 – 12 Robert Hall
Bushwick School for Social Justice Brooklyn 9 – 12 Mark Rush
Hillside Arts & Letters Academy Brooklyn 9 – 12 Matthew Ritter
Hudson High School of Learning
Technologies
Manhattan 9 – 12 Nancy Amling
CFN 411, The Innovative Schools Network* Emily Sharrock, Network Leader
Lab
Schools*
School Name Location Grade Levels
Principal
Bronx Writing Academy Bronx 6 – 8 Kamar Samuels
I.S. 339 Bronx 6 – 8 Jason Levy
New Design High School Manhattan 9 – 12 Scott Conti
University Heights Secondary Schools Bronx 9 – 12 Hazel Joseph
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
19
Roseboro
Validus Preparatory Academy: An
Expeditionary Learning School
Bronx 9 – 12 Brady Smith
Washington Heights Expeditionary
Learning School
Manhattan 6 – 11 Brett Kimmel
*The network and its lab schools’ participation in 2011-12 is tentative as of 2/16/2011.
CFN 532, CEI-PEA Alan Cohen, Network Leader
Lab
Schools
School Name Location Grade Levels
Principal
Holcombe L. Rucker School of
Community Research
Bronx 9 – 12 Sharif Rucker
J.H.S. 151 Lou Gehrig Bronx 6 – 8 Socorro Rivera
P.S. 089 Bronx K – 8 Ralph Martinez
P.S. 333 Manhattan School for
Children
Manhattan K – 8 Susan Rappaport
Soundview Academy for Culture and
Scholarship
Bronx 6 – 8 William Frackelton
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
20
Appendix C: Contact List for iZone Staff
Last Name First Title Email Address Phone
Administration
VanderVeen Arthur Chief of Innovation Research & Development AVanderVeen@schools.nyc.gov
(212) 374-2446
Gillett Stacey Chief Of Staff SGillett@schools.nyc.gov (212) 374-2448
Kurshan Debra Chief Operating Officer DKurshan@schools.nyc.gov (212) 374-0560
Operations and Technology
Bryant Ronald Director of School Readiness RBryant2@schools.nyc.gov
(212) 374-7843
Feinberg Rachel Director of Operations RFeinberg3@schools.nyc.gov (212) 374-0239
Franklin Daphne Operations Analyst DFranklin@schools.nyc.gov (212) 374-6743
Design and Implementation Support
Warner Cynthia Innovation Design Specialist cwarner3@schools.nyc.gov
(718) 935-2782
Skolnick Jonathan Director of Design JSkolnick@schools.nyc.gov (212) 374-5976
Frumin Kim Director of Organizational Learning & Human Capital KFrummin@schools.nyc.gov
Singh Nina Organizational Learning and Practice Manager Nsingh3@schools.nyc.gov
(718) 935-3581
Abramson Nora Director of Implementation nabramson@schools.nyc.gov
(718) 935-2365
Fischer Troy Director of Product Development TFischer@schools.nyc.gov (718) 935-
Jenkins-Stevens Sally Innovation Manager, Time and Staffing sjenkinsstevens@schools.nyc.gov
(718) 935-2356
Lyons Brendan Director of Implementation, ILearnNYC blyons5@school.nyc.gov
347-620-3022
Evaluation
Ruff, PH.D Ryan Richard
Director of Research & Evaluation RRuff@schools.nyc.gov
(212) 374-5397
Chesal Kara Research Analyst Kchesal@schools.nyc.gov (718) 935-2096
Building schools around the needs, strengths and motivations of individual students
21
Academics and Policy
Hatterer Jane Director of Policy jhatterer@schools.nyc.gov
Azukas Liz Curriculum Director lazukas@schools.nyc.gov
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