Beyond the EU: DORA and NIS 2 Directive's Global Impact
Crawdad
1. Carol Swain
Rebecca Pintuff
Jared Brush
NCLIFELINES: Mentoring
through Social Networking
This proposal is for a technology grant
to be used to implement a mentoring
program at Crawdad High School in
Alamance County, NC
2. Executive Summary
The Crawdad High School Library Media
Center, located in Alamance County, NC,
proposes to purchase four hundred tablets,
Google Nexus 7, to provide the student body
with access to programs for online mentoring to
provide support for enhancing student
performance on end-of-course assessments,
exploring career and vocational skills,
developing social skills for transitioning into
higher education or the workplace.
3. Project Description
• Crawdad High School is in danger of being identified as low
performing.
• We are submitting a proposal to create a mentoring program using
social networking that will focus on assisting students with creating
career goals and obtaining job skills.
• The proposed program, LIFELINE Mentoring, will use the existing
Student Services Team to identify at-risk students and match them
with two mentors, one in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and an
online mentor through the Future for Kids.org program.
• Students will be issued a laptop for use in classes and as a means
for communicating with these online mentors while completing the
career exploration activities of the F4K.org’s Career Cruising
services.
• The LIFELINE program will be an innovative use of technology to
promote learning and mentoring by using social media to introduce
students to successful adults who can serve as role models.
• The successful implementation of this program will need the
participation of all students and staff, as well as support from
community and business leaders.
4. Rationale
• Crawdad High School is a small rural school with a student
body of 400 students and a staff of 36 teachers, one media
coordinator, school psychologist, guidance counselor and two
administrators, as well as a representative from the district
juvenile court system.
• The student body has a 3% minority population, a 60% pass
rate for end-of-course standardized state tests, a high drop-
out rate (37% compared to a state average of 77.9%) and a
high teen pregnancy rate.
• Although the school has not been designated as low-
performing, it has all the earmarks of a school in decline.
• Other factors that impact the overall low educational
performance of students at the school are high rates of
generational poverty, a majority of parents who have not
earned a high school diploma and even fewer who have any
college experience.
• Community support for education is minimal.
5. Partners
• There are partnerships in place in response to the need for
improvement.
• Communities in Schools has started a Big Brother/Big Sister
program to mentor students on the importance of completing
their high school education and perhaps continuing to post-
secondary education.
• The school has established a Student Services Team to
identify at-risk students and enroll them in the program.
• In addition to the mentoring program, the school is also utilizing
its Workforce Development program to provide students with
job-training skills which can be used to help them find
employment after graduation.
• The LIFELINE Mentoring program will use the curriculum of the
Career Technical Education program as outlined in the
Standard Course of Study and Common Core Essential
Standards.
6. Evidence
Funds from the Awards for Excellence Grant and other
matching funds will be used to:
• implement the school-wide program by purchasing tablets
for students and staff.
• provide teachers with professional development on the
incorporation of technology in instructional delivery.
• maintain the hardware and software of the system.
Since the primary software for the program is free to all
schools in North Carolina who maintain a vocational
education curriculum, the cost of sustaining the program
after the grant has ended will be covered by local funds
and other grant programs.
7. Anticipated Difficulties
• Training needed for students and staff
• The development of community partnerships
• Adjusting the curriculum to provide more vocational and technical
education courses
• Addressing issues related to the cultural changes needed to
effectively implement the program
Resolving the Issues
• Provide professional staff development on (1) understanding effects of poverty, (2)
incorporating Career & Tech Readiness skills in the regular curriculum, (3) role of
mentoring/educating the whole child--Comer Model from Yale would be excellent
for this, (4) incorporating technology in everyday instruction.
• Establish policies regarding the use and care of the technology and share the
information with the staff and students.
• Build strong community partnerships with local churches, civic and business
organizations--approach community leaders such as town council members,
Better Business Bureau, Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, etc.
8. Outcomes
A successful implementation of the LIFELINE
Mentoring program will be measured by:
• a decrease in the drop-out rate by 2% by the end
of the 2013-2014 school year.
• an increase in end-of-course test performance
from 60% to 65%.
• an overall increase in the daily attendance rate
by 10%.
• an increase in the use of technology by
classroom teachers for instruction as
documented by lesson plans.
9. Evaluation of Results
• To monitor the outcomes of the program, the Student
Services Team will develop a plan of routine evaluation and
data collection.
• The team will collect data on daily student attendance; they
will also collect benchmark test data from mid-term
administrations and from the end of the year administration.
• Particular emphasis will be placed on growth in the VoCATS
testing for Career and Technical Education.
• Also results from student credential programs will be collected
and monitored.
• A school climate survey will be given at the beginning of the
year to students, parents, community leaders and staff
members and again at the mid-year and end of the year.
Results will be analyzed for growth in perceptions of effective
teaching, and overall use of technology for learning.
10. Results Dissemination
• Results from the data collection process will be shared with the
School Improvement Team before a presentation to the full staff
during staff meetings throughout the year.
• A summary of the results will then be shared with community leaders
and the general public.
• Local news media
• School publications such as newsletters
• Direct mailings
• Presentations at Parent, Teacher, Student organization meetings
• Electronic bulletin/display marques on the school campus and at the
central office of the school district
• School website
• Public Education Government Access channel.
11. Budget
• The total proposed budget for the implementation of the
LIFELINE Mentoring Program is $165,660.
• This total includes the 150,000 from the AWARDS FOR
EXCELLENCE.
• Additional grants will come from the Intel Community
Giving Grants and the Foundation for Rural Education
Grants.
• Funds from local businesses.
• Additional funds from the LEA budget for 2012-2013
school year will be used for incidental expenditures.
