The mission of Elmira City School District Technology Services is to provide superior quality service and support to the Elmira City School District and its partners and to implement new ideas, technologies, policies, standards, and practices to improve the classroom experience, administration workflow, and technology infrastructure in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
The Network Operations Center or NOC Room @ EDA is staffed by GST BOCES Computer Services employees dedicated to providing the highest level of customer service under the policies and procedures of the district and at the direction of the district’s Technology Director. Our job is to keep the network and equipment functional, secure, and current using best practices of the management of enterprise networks in educational environments under current budget constraints.
Instructional Technology
The NOC Room team is only one component of the effective use of technology in our classrooms. The district has the support of the Instructional Technology Specialists from the GST BOCES Instructional Support Center. These specialists come into classrooms on a regular basis and provide assistance and direction to integrate technology into curriculum using the supported software and resources that are available.
Technology Support in schools
Technology support in schools is provided by Tech TAs. These people are the front line of support in helping to use and troubleshoot hardware and software issues in the classroom. Although each building utilizes Tech TAs a little differently, in general, most TAs help with printer problems, assist with software installation, provide access to building resources such as digital cameras, scanners, clickers, etc., facilitate Distance Learning sessions, manage labs and laptop carts, coordinate PC and printer replacement with the LANTech team, and manage consumables through the NOC Room such as ink, Promethean pens, and batteries.
As the front line of support, the Tech TA is usually the person who will escalate issues to the Helpdesk and work with the LANTech Team to follow an issue through to resolution. The Technology Director and the LANTech Team use the Tech TAs as a single point of information to distribute information about technology into each of the buildings in our district.
Instructional Technology Plan
All school districts in New York State must complete and submit an Instructional Technology Plan to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) as directed by 100.12 of the Commissioner’s Regulations. The approved Instructional Technology Plan is valid for 3 years.
The Technology Plan requires the following policies:
- Acceptable Use Policy: Adopted in 1999
- Internet Safety/Cyberbullying: Adopted in 2001 with a public forum held on 5/15/2001
- Information Breach Policy
- Parent’s Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security: Adopted in 2015, updated in 2020
- Student Data and Teacher and Principal Data Security and Privacy Policy (per NYS Education Law 2-d): Adopted 4/22/2020
Smart Schools
The Smart Schools Bond Act was passed in the 2014-15 Enacted Budget and approved by the voters in a statewide referendum held during the 2014 General Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. The Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA) authorized the issuance of $2 billion of general obligation bonds to finance improved educational technology and infrastructure to improve learning and opportunity for students throughout the State. The SSBA requires that a Review Board review and approve districts’ Smart Schools Investment Plans before any funds may be made available for the program.
The allocation of funds for the Elmira City School District is $7,090,526.
The Elmira City School District's Smart Schools Investment Plan (SSIP) was approved by the Board of Education on March 2, 2016 after a public hearing and a 30 day public comment period.
The primary goals of the district's use of the Smart Schools Bond Act funds is to reinforce network infrastructure to support 21st century learning and computer based testing. There are also significant upgrades in the security camera and door entrance systems. The full SSIP is available for public review:
Some Smart Schools Investment Plan categories require the Elmira City School District to provide loanable equipment to non-public schools. The district will inform non-public schools the total amount of loanable equipment available and non-public schools should submit their requests for loanable equipment by August 31st of each calendar year.
Questions regarding the Smart Schools Investment Plan should be directed to the Technology Director, Josh Miller.