TEA

In 2016, Mike Morath, Commissioner of Education and Governor Greg Abbott established the Texas Classroom Connectivity Initiative to assist school districts and charter schools in improving connectivity in Texas public schools. This includes increasing access to broadband networking and expanding the use of Wi-Fi in classrooms across the state.   One of the early goals of the initiative is the passage of legislation setting up a state matching fund to assist districts and charter schools seeking E-rate funding for fiber special construction costs.  The TEA submitted to the 85th Texas Legislature an exceptional item that, if passed, will appropriate those funds in accordance with E-rate rules.  Additionally, the initiative seeks to assist districts and charter schools in driving down the costs of internet bandwidth, as well as maximizing E-rate funding for both E-rate Category 1 and Category 2 services.    

The Texas Classroom Connectivity – Bandwidth Update Survey consists of the linked Excel spreadsheet with a few targeted questions related to fiber and Wi-Fi at your campuses.  This information will assist the TEA in understanding the changes that have occurred within your district/charter school since the completion of the 2015 Public School Network Capabilities Study.   We ask that the person most knowledgeable about the network capabilities of the district/charter school complete this voluntary survey.  If you are not the person who can answer the survey questions, please forward to the appropriate person.  If you need assistance, please contact your Education Service Center (ESC) or the TEA Classroom Connectivity team.

• Click here to download the Texas Classroom Connectivity – Bandwidth Update Survey

Please email your completed survey spreadsheet to classroomconnectivity@tea.texas.gov.  The survey response is due back by March 10, 2017.  The results of the survey are a critical tool for the TEA to share key technology-related data with state decision makers.  If you have any questions about this survey, please contact the Classroom Connectivity team at classroomconnectivity@tea.texas.gov or 512-475-4270.

For educators anticipating a restart of the STaR Chart system for the 2016–2017 school year, please note that the legacy system has been permanently closed. Districts that wish to provide a district-level report on technology implementation may use the online survey. Participation in the survey is voluntary and only needs to be completed once per district. The representative selected to complete the survey should confer with other stakeholders before completing the survey to ensure accurate reporting.

Since measurements of technology implementation are important, districts might consider using other survey tools or developing local measurements. Information gathered through other survey tools or local measurements does not need to be reported back to TEA.

Statewide technology implementation information gathered during the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 school years—through STaR Chart, the 2015–2016 online survey, and other survey tools—will be published in the 2016 Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology. For further information, contact starchart@tea.texas.gov.

We have received numerous requests to make the Texas Teacher STaR Chart available in an editable version. Districts wishing to use questions from the Texas Teacher STaR Chart to create local forms may download a Word document here. As a reminder, technology implementation information gathered through third party survey tools or local measurements does not need to be reported back to TEA.

From the Texas Education Agency

On April 15, 2016 TEA announced the partnership with the non-profit EducationSuperHighway to launch the Classroom Connectivity Initiative.  The Classroom Connectivity Initiative is focused on achieving three goals: 

   -  Increase the number of campuses that meet minimum bandwidth targets (100 kbps / student)
   -  Increase the number of campuses where WiFi is accessible in all classrooms
   -  Drive the cost of broadband down (to under $3 / Mbps)

As you begin the 2016-2017 school year, I’d like to provide an update on the Classroom Connectivity Initiative.   The EducationSuperHighway team has been working hard and has engaged 19 Education Service Centers and launched broadband upgrade projects with 30 school districts. In addition to supporting districts and charters, EducationSuperHighway is educating providers about the recent E-rate rule changes to ensure they can provide the best possible service and pricing for our schools.

The EducationSuperHighway team is available to support broadband upgrade projects throughout Texas at no cost to the district.  I encourage you to attend one of the upcoming informational webinars to find out the steps you can take to ensure your broadband network supports future bandwidth demands.  The one-hour webinar will explain how you can take advantage of upgrade resources available to schools across the state.

You can register by selecting one of the links below:

• Tuesday, September 13^th at 11am – register here
• Wednesday, September 14^th at 1pm – register here
• Monday, September 19^th at 2pm – register here
• Tuesday, September 20^th at 3pm – register here

It is clear that digital learning is taking root in even the most rural and remote schools across the state and that we must continue to prepare our school networks to support teachers and students in their use of technology in the classroom.

Claim your spot in the Classroom Connectivity Initiative and join the ranks of school districts and charters in Texas upgrading their networks to support growing bandwidth demands. Sign up for a webinar or pass this invite along to the appropriate contact in your district.

For questions or additional information, contact Natalia Marcantonio, Outreach Coordinator at EducationSuperHighway, at natalia@educationsuperhighway.org, or Texas Education Agency staff at ClassroomConnectivity@tea.texas.gov

Sincerely,

Mike Morath
Commissioner of Education