Bristol Warren Regional School District initiated the implementation of a district wide technology system necessary to improve teaching and learning in 1997. This initiative also supports professional development, changes school culture and addresses individual student needs. The district technology plan includes the systematic purchase of hardware and software. Ongoing professional development is provided for our staff. The district attempts to adequately budget for the resources necessary to sustain district technology initiatives. Kickemuit Middle School, through an extensive renovation project, has become our first state of the art technology enhanced learning environment.

Bristol Warren Regional School District is implementing a wide area network that will provide the district with technology systems necessary to achieve the reforms listed above. We began this effort in the summer of 1997 and plan to have the system fully operational by fall 1999. Implementing the district wide area network has required wiring each building, installing hardware such as NT servers, purchasing district software and creating a district frame relay cloud with T1 Internet access.

To ensure the success of our technology implementation, we have planned a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers. This professional development is a combination of state and local efforts. Bristol Warren Regional School District provides workshops for all teachers. These workshop focus on specific technology skills as well as curriculum integration.

Fifty teachers in Bristol Warren have benefited from the RI Foundation Teachers in Technology Initiative (RITTI). These teachers have received a laptop computer and two weeks of technology training. Upon returning to the district, a number of them with the proper district support, have significantly improved the technology integration in their classroom and professional endeavors. An additional thirty-two teachers will participate in the RITTI program this summer.

The Kickemuit Middle School renovation provided the opportunity to integrate technology into all aspects of the middle school. The school has an extensive network with multiple high speed Internet connections in every classroom. The multimedia library is automated and includes numerous student workstations. Every teacher has a desktop workstation with projection capabilities. The school also includes three computer labs - a teaching lab, a sending lab and a writing lab.

Professional development at Kickemuit is provided using various training models. Every teacher attended a basic training workshop prior to implementation in 1998. One of the most successful models presently used is "just-in-time" training sessions. The school technology facilitator is responsible for providing ongoing technology curriculum integration training opportunities and workshops. Team planning periods focus on specific training and curriculum needs. Site-based workshops focus on identified technology needs of the school. Support is also provided electronically through e-mail, listservs and web pages.

Using Kickemuit Middle School as a model for educational technology, Bristol Warren Regional School District's goal is to expand technology in all schools throughout the district. We look forward to improving student learning through increased technology integration district-wide.