The Instructional Technology Department in CCSD keeps abreast of developments in educational technology that may benefit teachers and students, enhancing the learning process. Training is designed and delivered to maximize the instructional use of new technologies. Some of the non-traditional and emerging technology tools used during the 2004-05 school year are described below.

Interactive response systems have proliferated in classrooms across the District this year.  This technology consists of classroom sets of remote control devices resembling television remotes.  Teachers quiz students on concepts being taught. Their answers are beamed to the teacher’s computer and can be displayed on a screen or whiteboard when an LCD projector is attached . The teacher can see instantly whether all students have responded, and how many correct answers are displayed.  Easy to understand graphs of the data are instantly available.  Students don’t know the identity of responders, but the teacher does, allowing her to move on to the next topic or reteach all or only a portion of the class.

Use of interactive whiteboards has increased in classrooms this year.  Some schools have found funding to place them in every classroom. This is another technology that requires the use of an LCD projector. While these whiteboards have been around several years, there is a new level of instructional software integrated into the boards that makes them uniquely suited for K-12 classrooms.

Educational web logs (blogs) have become commonplace as a communication tool for teacher-student and teacher-parent communication.   Web space for blogs allows the posting of information with a built-in response capability.  Teachers can screen responses before they are posted, ensuring that posts are appropriate for the educational environment. Plans are in place to develop a district standard blog space in Picasso, the District curriculum portal.

Creativity abounds in the district in the many ways students, teachers, and administrators use digital video.  Students make educational movie shorts working in collaborative teams or alone to demonstrate their learning.  Video editing software is widely used by students to create movies with impact. Video clips of model teaching practices are available online and some teachers use digital videos and still images to demonstrate concepts.  Miss class?  Click on a video clip and view the lab demonstration before beginning a make-up.

Technology Services
Supporting the District's Education and Administrative Environments

The 2004-2005 school year was an exciting and challenging one for the Technology Services Division. Under the direction of new Chief Information Officer Kimberly Quinn, the emphasis on curriculum and instruction as well as planning for SPLOST equipment refreshment have been top priorities. Since the demise of the Power To Learn initiative, Technology Services has retrained its attention on providing the best resources to help students learn. The focus has shifted from providing only hardware and software to providing educational tools and resources that meet instructional goals at various grade levels and content areas. A refresh cycle for computers, printers, servers, infrastructure and data center equipment is being designed and implemented.

To support the District's educational and administrative environment, L3/Titan Corporation employs a staff of 100 permanent employees supported by additional surge staff as needed. The Field Services Organization is comprised of 60 technical professionals who work directly to support the local schools and administrative sites. An additional 15 software engineers in the Application Services Organization support the enterprise applications for Human Resources, Payroll and Student Information System, and 14 network and system engineers in the Network Services Organization support the enterprise communications servers and network throughout the District. The remaining staff reports to the Program Management Office, providing program level oversight, project management, quality assurance, and contract deliverables.

Through continued staff training, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) initiatives, technology will become more integrated into the classroom, creating the opportunities and experiences that will generate excitement and more learning opportunities for our students. CCSD and L3/Titan continue their partnership to make this educational environment a reality.

Financial Services
Effective Management of Taxpayer Dollars

The Financial Services division is responsible for managing $1 billion in revenue received by the Cobb County School District annually. Departments include: Procurement, Field Services, Disbursements, Accounting, Financial Technology, Budget, and Internal Audit.

These departments perform tasks such as ensuring that the District's 13,800-plus employees are paid each month, that the five-year $697 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) sales is accounted for properly, and that the $751 million general fund budget is expended and budgeted accurately.

Financial Services prides itself on managing taxpayer dollars in the most effective and efficient manner possible and has received substantial acclaim for its efforts, including:

• Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2004. The School District has received this award for the past 22 years for excellence in the preparation and issuance of the school system comprehensive annual financial reports.

• Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the 2004 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The School District was the first in Georgia to receive this award in FY1979-80, and has continued the trend for 25 consecutive years. Only five other school districts in Georgia have been recognized with this award.

• Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO), for the FY2005 Comprehensive Budget Report. The Cobb County School District was the first in Georgia to receive the GFOA honor in FY1988-89, and has continued the honor for the past 15 years. Only two other school districts in Georgia have been recognized with this award. Cobb is the only district in Georgia to win the ASBO Meritorious Budget Award.

Special Student Services
Assisting Students With Special Needs

The Special Student Services division strives to meet the unique educational needs of students who may require specialized programs and services in order to learn, to succeed, and to grow educationally in a safe and productive school environment.

The department of Special Education provided services to 13,612 students during the 2004-05 school year through a variety of educational delivery models ranging from regular class placements to full-day programs in highly specialized environments.

These unique programs and services are developed for each special student and outlined in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) — a plan devised jointly by parents, teachers, administrators and, when appropriate, the students themselves. Some of the components of the Special Student Services division include

• The H.A.V.E.N. Academy - One of the 24 programs of the Georgia Psychoeducational Network, the academy serves severely emotionally and behaviorally disordered (SEBD) students and is a part of the special education services provided by the Cobb, Douglas and Marietta school systems. Services include behavior management strategies, individual and group counseling, and interagency coordination.

• Psychological Services - Cobb County has a school psychologist assigned to every school. The goal of Psychological Services is to provide comprehensive psychological services to all students. Services might include the following:

- Consultation with parents
- Consultation with teachers
- Psychoeducational assessments of students
- Academic or behavioral screening assessments of students
- Student and family counseling
- Teacher training
- Evidence-based classroom strategies to improve student achievement

• School Social Workers - Every school in Cobb County is served by one of 25 school social workers, who assist both the at-risk and mainstream population to achieve maximum academic success. Services include:

- Provide counseling and crisis intervention to students and families
- Assist parents and school staff in better understanding students' social and emotional needs
- Assist families with basic needs such as referrals for eyeglasses, health, dental care, food and clothing
- Serve as a liaison between student/family and community resources
- Facilitate groups with students dealing with such issues as grief and loss, peer pressure, alcohol and drugs, problematic behavior
- Initiate student/parent conferences and make home visits to assess environmental factors impacting students' achievement
- Encourage and monitor regular attendance and punctuality of students

• The Prevention Intervention Center - The Prevention Intervention Center, Federal Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program (Title IV), was awarded a National Program of Excellence award in 2002 by the National Association of Student Assistance Programs. The following services and programs are available to all Cobb County Schools:
- Crisis response to schools when deaths, natural disasters, or accidents occur.
- Prevention programs designed to address high-risk behaviors and encourage healthy life-style decisions.
- Research-based Drug and Violence Prevention Curriculum
- Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation — Teaching students how to resolve conflicts without the use of violence.
- Confidential consultation with specialists trained in drug use prevention and intervention for students exhibiting high-risk behaviors for drug use and suicide.

• School Health Program - Comprehensive nursing services are provided to both special needs and mainstream students in all schools. Services include:
-  Assistance with administration of medication and provision of skilled nursing procedures
- First aid for injuries
- Identification and management of students with suspected or actual communicable diseases. Prevention of transmission of communicable diseases through communication, education, and exclusion.
- Collaboration with parents, teachers, administrators and health care professionals to develop a plan of care for students with chronic illnesses.
- Participation in health screenings, including: hearing, vision, scoliosis and B/P
- Assessment and referral of students to appropriate personnel/agencies as necessary.