The document presents a proposed 4-year plan called Inspired Writing to implement laptop use for writing instruction across grades 5 through 9 in the school district. It outlines goals of improving students' writing skills, becoming better citizen writers, and exploring writing processes and genres with technology. The plan's first phase would provide classroom sets of netbooks for all 5th grade classes and expand writing workshop approaches for a total cost of $500,000, impacting over 3,000 students over 4 years.

1. Inspired Learning ET-IL Plan Presentation LPS Board of Education April 9, 2009

2. Agenda 1. ET-IL Plan 2. Where we have been 3. A new vision 4. Where we can go 5. How we can get there

4. Fiber-optic network (2002 Bond) LPS Technology Innovation Grant (2006) ($1,000,000 from BOE) Wireless Network (2007) Powering Up Writing in 5 th Grade (2008) ($225,000 from CDE) 9 th Grade Professional Development (2009) ($93,942 from CDE) 2. Where we have been

5. “ The English class I once knew involved my handwriting out things at 25 wpm into a lined and bound composition notebook. [The teachers] would grade them, theirs the only eyes to search the words we had written. With laptops, it’s like taking the leap from unheard of to notability . It’s the ability to finally expand on your boundaries and do something different.” Stephanie, 2009. 9 th grade student blog comment, LPS

6. “ I think having a laptop computer helps the students write better because when kids write with paper and pen, they really don't like writing because it makes their hands get tired. Students, with a happy heart, write more, and get excited. Mixing [my teacher’s] teaching of writing and the computers, kids get really excited to write. Even right now, I don't want to stop writing. My hands get all itchy to type.” Narah, 2009. 5 th grade student blog comment, LPS

7. Vision and Mission Inspired Learning Communication Productivity Information Citizenship Through an elegant synthesis of humanity and technology, we will inspire a command of information, masterful communication, creative productivity and ethical citizenship in every learner. 3. A new vision

8. “ This is a call to action: A call to help our students compose often, compose well and through these composings, become the citizen writers of our country, the citizen writers of our world, and the writers of our future.” Yancey, K. B., 2009. Writing in the 21 st Century , National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL.

9. “ Five years after the initial implementation of the laptop program, students’ writing scores on Maine’s statewide test had significantly improved. Furthermore, students scored better the more extensively they used their laptops in developing and producing their writing. And finally, the evidence indicated that using their laptops in this fashion helped them to become better writers in general, not just better writers using laptops.” Silvernail, D. L. & Gritter, A. K., 2007. Maine’s middle school laptop program: Creating better writers. University of Southern Maine, Gorham, ME.

12. Phase I 5. How we can get there 4-year student impact: 13,088 5. How we can get there Total Classrooms Students Teachers Powering Up Writing $252,155 37 981 37 Writing Exploration $118,534 52 967 15 World Class Writing $129,311 60 1,324 21 Total $500,000 149 3,272 73 PD Stipends $49,900

13. “ Through writing, we are.” -Kathleen Yancey, NCTE Past-President Inspired Learning