Running head: HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT 1

Harrison High School Mission and Vision Statement

Shannon Herndon
Kennesaw State University
Running head: HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT 2

The mission of Carl Harrison High School is to help our youth achieve by providing
real-world instruction through diverse education (Harrison High School Strategic Plan
Committee). The vision for our technology plan incorporates the mission of Harrison High
School by providing a plan for a fully functional 21
st
century learning environment while also
maintaining an emphasis on content and rigor. Simply stated, this means that the technology at
Harrison High School will support the curriculum of each course in a way that enhances student
learning. It is the belief at Harrison High School that teachers must provide ongoing digital
opportunities for students to collaborate, think critically, and use problem solving in order to be
equipped with the skills to be a productive member of todays global society. Our school must
move beyond the belief that technologies function is merely word processing or to serve as an
electronic blackboard and that technology can also serve to further student understanding of
complex concepts (Creighton, 2003, p. 44). In order to accomplish this task, teachers must be
furnished with continuous professional development that works to serve the needs of todays
digital learners. And finally, outside stakeholders and community members must be willing to
provide students with a culminating internship in which students will utilize the skills learned
throughout their high school experience in a real-world situation.
In order to accomplish these goals over the course of the next five years, from July 1,
2013 through June 30, 2018, Harrison High School must complete the following goals specific to
technology:
Student Learning:
The ISTE Technology Standards will be integrated into classroom objectives for all
courses so that technology is effectively implemented in all subject areas.
Running head: HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT 3

Harrison High School will continue to increase student access to mobile devices to use
computers for high level cognitive tasks (simulations and applications) as well as low
level cognitive tasks (drill and practice) (Yau, 2000, p. 66).
Harrison High School will begin to develop a 1:1 Program so that equitable access is
provided for each student.
In order to prepare students for a the digital world beyond school provided sources,
Harrison High School will provide students with the skills necessary to adequately assess
the validity of a source.

Teacher Development:
Because one time trainings of new teachers have proven to be ineffective in the past,
Harrison High School will provide a technology mentor to teachers new to the building to
increase confidence in daily technology use, work through technical dilemmas, and
establish a desire to continue to integrate technology in their own classroom (Zhao &
Bryant, 2006).
Technology professional development will be offered at a minimum of 5 times per year.
A shared network drive will be available for ongoing teacher reference and collaboration.

School Infrastructure:
Harrison High School will hire a full-time in-house instructional technology coordinator
to plan and implement digital professional development throughout the school year for
faculty and staff, as well as technology training and problem for student needs.
Running head: HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT 4

Harrison High School will hire a full-time in-house technology specialist to review
hardware and software, provide technical support for faculty and staff, and coordinate
student device maintenance.
Harrison High School will purchase 21
st
century classroom equipment for each classroom
to include: Promethean Boards, document cameras, student response systems, audio
voice amplification system, and classroom control system.
Harrison High School will provide equipment and training necessary to implement a
STEM research curriculum in order to enhance student learning in math and science to
encourage real-world thinking and problem-solving.
Stakeholder Engagement:
Harrison High School will host an annual open house offering parent training on access
to grading software, teacher blog use, and the use of mobile technology in the classroom.
Because it is the goal of Harrison High School to prepare students for real-world
experiences, it is necessary that community stakeholders provide internship opportunities
for students to use technology in a career setting. Research suggests that internships can
produce substantial, long term improvements to young people's ability to earn money and
make successful transitions into adulthood. Internships introduce students to the habits
and value of compensated work, while making connections between academic learning
and its real world application (National Academy Foundation, 2010).

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Reference

Creighton, T. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, Caifornia, United States of
America: Corwin Press, Inc.
Harrison High School Strategic Plan Committee. (n.d.). Philosophy of harrison high school. Retrieved
March 5, 2013, from Harrison High School:
http://www.harrisonhigh.org/content.php?Page=philosophy
National Academy Foundation. (2010). Education leaders go for the gold in work based learning: new
report on high school internships outlines "gold standards" for maximizing benefits [Press
release]. Retrieved from http://naf.org/press-releases/education-leaders-go-gold-work-based-
learning-new-report-high-school-internships-outl
Yau, R. (2000, December). Technology and Equity. Principal Leadership, pp. 54-55.
Zhao, Y., & Bryant, F. L. (2006). Can teacher technology integration training alone lead to higher levels
of technology integrations? a qualitative look at teachers' technology integration after state
mandated technology training. Electronic journal for the integration of technology in education,
5, 54. Retrieved April 14, 2013, from http://ejite.isu.edu/Volume5/Zhao.pdf