Technology - Unionville-Chadds Ford School District

Technology Information For Successful Learning

Welcome to UCFSD Technology!

This website contains helpful tips and tutorials to support our Staff, Students, and Parents. The Technology Team helps provide the UCF community with easy-to-access information, accelerated learning, and fun opportunities to practice what they learn.

Below are resources and tips to guide you.

2nd through 12th grade Chromebook Repair Tickets

Chromebook hardware breaks, lost/stolen Chromebook/Chromebook charger, or general device issues should be reported as a Chromebook Repair ticket for either a Dell Chromebook (12th, 4th, & 5th grades) or Lenovo Chromebook (2nd-3rd, 6th-8th & 9th-11th grades).

Chromebook software issues should be reported as a Software/Online Systems HelpDesk ticket for the specific program.

Please complete a ticket before dropping off your Chromebook for repair!

2nd through 12th grade Chromebook Forms

PowerSchool Forms detailing Chromebook responsibilities for student and families will be available at the beginning of the school year and must be signed. Chromebook Insurance options will be connected to the Secondary 6th-12th grade student forms in PowerSchool.

Elementary 2nd through 5th grade Chromebook repairs are covered at no cost unless there is extensive damage as outlined in the Electronic Device Contract. This form can be found in PowerSchool for under your student's forms.

Secondary 6th through 12th grade Chromebook repairs can be covered by UCFSD Chromebook Insurance or at cost as outlined in the 2025-2026 Chromebook Guidelines and Contract. This form can be found in PowerSchool for under your student's forms.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN TODAY?

Welcome to our Online Resources for Students and Families. Click on the links below to find helpful guides and videos for UCFSD learning systems.

Student Resources

Parent/Guardian Resources

TIPS AND TOOLS FOR REMOTE LEARNING

Tips and Tools for Teachers

Tips and Links for Students

Tips for Parents/Guardians

Technology Department Resources & Links

Policies and Guidelines

Chromebooks and iPads

Digital Citizenship

Technology Committee

The technology committee meets once a month to review current technology initiatives. An update is provided to the school board of directors once a month during the board work session.

2020

January

January

2019

January

The technology committee gave an update at the January work session. General updates were given on the current report initiatives lead by the technology team. The committee also gave a presentation on the wireless network assessment conducted in conjunction with the Chester County Intermediate Unit. This assessment was a district goal for the 2018-19 school year. Overall the assessment was a positive report, there are a few areas that will need remediation. Highlights and action plans for this assessment are provided below.

January 2019 Technology General Updates

January 2019 Wireless Network Assessment

February

The technology committee gave an update at the February work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives lead by the technology team. No new updates were given during the meeting and all initiatives are on track for on-time completion. Highlights and action plans for this assessment are provided below.

February 2019 General Technology Updates

March

The technology committee gave an update at the March work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives lead by the technology team.

We added the security assessment initiative and Policy 237 re-write to this months dashboard.

The security assessment will review our current internal/external network structure as well as our policies and procedures internally.

Policy 237, students personal electronics policy, is being reviewed as a district for accuracy and to provide necessary consolidation and language updates. Most of this work will come from the policy committee going forward.

The committee also discussed Network Phase 2 for the upcoming 2019-20 school year. The committee received approval to execute the plan that will continue upgrades, efficiencies, reliability, and speed of our network. The project cost will not exceed $100,000. Below is the presentation that was given during the work session.

All initiatives are on track for on-time completion. Highlights and action plans for this assessment are provided below.

March 2019 Technology Committee General Updates
March 2019 Network Phase 2 Presentation

April

The technology committee gave an update at the April work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives lead by the technology team.

This month we closed out the Account Automation project and Network Phase 1 project.

The committee also gave an update on Policy 237 which will be lead by our policy committee. The review of other district Policy 237 was conducted and the proposed Policy 237 was in line with PSBA recommendations and with other surrounding districts. The policy will be up for first reading in May 2019.

All remaining initiatives are on track for on-time completion.

April 2019 Technology Committee General Updates

May

The technology committee gave an update at the May work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives lead by the technology team.

The committee also gave an update on Policy 237 which will be lead by our policy committee. All changes requested from April’s work session were updated to the final proposed policy.

The technology team has initiated both phases of the security assessment project. The project is on task and an update will be given to the board in June.

The committee also presented a proposal to seek services from CDW for the Aruba wireless migration. This migration will consolidate all our wireless controllers into a pair of controllers in our main data center. The current controllers need to be replaced and this solution of consolidation is not only more cost effective but easier to manage. Our elementary to high school fiber project completed in January 2019 afford us this opportunity to consolidate resources. This will be a part of our summer Network Phase 2 project.

The committee presented a proposal to award Toshiba Business Services the lease and printer contract for the next five years. This project included all our building administration and our staff level leaders. The project focused on consolidating our standalone printers and to upgrade our current multi functional device fleet. The district goal is to reduce printing and create more digital content.

From the business office but with technology ties is the introduction of RevTrak Online payment system. The business office presented a solution that ties directly into Powerschool to allow our parents and students the ability to pay online. This solution also supports our school cafe system and eventually our athletics will be using this system to pay athletic fees.

May 2019 General Updates

Aruba Price Savings and Comparison

MFP Cost Comparison

June

The technology committee gave an update at the June work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives lead by the technology team.

A project for Network Phase 2 was added to the general updates top tasks to track for the board this coming school year.

A voting item was presented to seek approval for Tri-M to perform an upgrade of the fiber at CFPMS. The current multi-mode fiber will be upgraded to single mode and properly configured and terminated using industry standards. The connection from the transportation office to CFPMS will also be upgraded to single mode fiber. This is a part of the Network Phase 2 project and will be consist with the work that was performed at UHS.

June 2019 General Updates

August

The technology committee gave an update at the August work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives and a presentation on the 2018-19 school year initiatives that were led by the technology team.

Two board goal initiatives, Printer/Copier Refresh and Network Phase 2 were discussed in the meeting.

The printer/copier refresh project is well on its way to completion. All older copiers were removed and the new copiers were added. A lot of the HP printers were removed from each building. The printer/copier company will provide training to our returning 10-month staff at the end of this month. The project is on track.

The second project, Network Phase 2, saw significant consolidation over the summer. The wireless controllers at each building were decommissioned and services moved centrally in the main data center. General upgrades of all equipment were completed as well. Additional domain services were decommissioned and centralized at our main data center. Our middle school fiber was upgraded to meet industry standards and to continue our internal upgrades to single-mode fiber. Upgrades to all our wireless access points began at our elementary schools with winter on track completion.

Two items were voted on during the board meeting. Social Engineering program through knowbe4 and a security retainer through CDW.

August 2019 General Board Updates

August 2019 Technology Updates

September

The technology committee gave an update at the September work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives.

Two board goal initiatives, Printer/Copier Refresh and Network Phase 2 were discussed in the meeting.

The printer/copier refresh project continues to be on track. The staff was trained at the end of the month and we are well on our way printing, copying, and scanning content. The final pieces of this project will be to finalize all our HP stand-alone printer installs and review the work we did over the summer with all our building principals.

The second project, Network Phase 2, is on track for completion before the summer of 2020. Upgrades of wireless access points at our elementary buildings continued and now over 50% of the work has been completed. We also finalized the last parts of our network consolidation efforts for this school year.

No voting items in September.

September 2019 General Board Updates

October

The technology committee gave an update at the October work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives.

Two board goal initiatives, Printer/Copier Refresh and Network Phase 2 were discussed in the meeting.

The printer/copier refresh project continues to be on track. The final step to complete this board goal is to meet with our building principals. That is scheduled in mid-October.

The second project, Network Phase 2, is on track for completion before the summer of 2020. Upgrades of wireless access points at our elementary buildings continued and now over 80% of the work has been completed.

No voting items in October.

October 2019 General Board Updates

November

The technology committee gave an update at the November work session. General updates were given on the current reported initiatives.

Two board goal initiatives, Printer/Copier Refresh and Network Phase 2 were discussed in the meeting.

The printer/copier refresh project has completed and has entered the maintenance phase. This board goal was marked complete.

The second project, Network Phase 2, is on track for completion before the summer of 2020. Upgrades of wireless access points at our elementary buildings are complete. We will wrap up a couple of core router installs in the coming months to round out that project.

No voting items in November.

November 2019 General Board Updates

2018 Technology Updates

Archives

Canvas

Educational Technology Overview

UCF Mission and Vision

The District's mission statement provides our fundamental purpose - it is what we are truly about as an organization - "To empower each student to succeed in life and contribute to society"

School districts are built upon the promise of potential – the potential of the students, faculty, staff, and community as a whole. Our vision is the picture of the district operating at its best. When the Unionville-Chadds Ford School district is operating at its best, we are all unlocking the potential of our students, faculty, staff and community. Our vision statement simply put is: Unionville-Chadds Ford School District – “Unlocking the Potential in All of Us!”

UCF Educational Technology - Background and Goals

Our instructional technology program exists to support and enable the district's mission and vision by supporting the learning environment within our schools.

Background

We recognize that the rate of change in our world is increasing and that superior skills in the understanding and responsible use of technology are essential to unlocking student potential. Students live in a digital world and their needs have driven our teachers to adopt more and more advanced instructional technology tools in their classrooms. In 2013, UCFSD’s Board called for a comprehensive review of the District’s instructional technology program, resulting in a comprehensive report and recommendations for the future.

Goals

Classroom Learning Environment

Support innovation, exploration, and creativity
Foster high-order thinking and understanding over simple knowledge of facts
Connect to real-world inquiry based-learning, where critical thinking and problem solving are key components of instruction
Drive collaboration

Given the mission, vision, and learning environment goals, instructional technology acts as an enabler. Specific goals for integrating technology include:

Engaging all learners - students, parents, and teachers
Providing access - anytime, anywhere
Building teacher capacity and supporting innovation through continuous learning and professional development
Using social media to support inquiry and collaboration while building digital literacy

PowerSchool

PowerSchool is the UCFSD student information system. Both students and parents/guardians have access into the system via the high school website. Primarily, students will use PowerSchool to check class schedule, grades, and request course placement for the next school year.

Students use their campus login to access PowerSchool and should visit the tech office at their building if they are having difficulties logging in.

Parents may also sign up for an account. Parents can use this account to also see their child's class schedule and grades as well as attendance reports. Parents can also schedule emailed grade notifications with this account.

To sign up for a Parent Account:

Visit: u cfsd.powerschool.com
Click CREATE ACCOUNT
You will need your child's Access ID and Access Password to setup your account. If you do not have these, contact the middle school main office for assistance.

To add a child to your existing Parent Account:

Visit: u cfsd.powerschool.com
Once you are logged in to the Parent Portal, click on "Account Preferences" on the left hand side
Click on the tab named "Students"
Click on the blue button "Add"
Enter your child's name, Access ID, Password, and Relationship to add him/her to your account.

Links to School-based Resources

The goal of the The District Download is to be a helpful resource for all of our end users and a way for us to better connect with our UCF community and your needs, as well as keep you informed of all the "happenings" in the world of technology here at UCF.

In each issue, you can expect to see information on software updates, new and improved hardware, infrastructure upgrades, and a few quick tips. We will keep a running list of past issues on our website as well, so you can always refer back to previous editions.

Click here for the latest issue of
THE DISTRICT DOWNLOAD
UCF Technology Newsletter

Newsletter Archives

Newsletter Archives

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January 2020 - The District Download
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April 2020 - The District Download
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Newsletters - 2019
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February 2019 - The District Download March 2019 - The District Download May 2019 - The District Download November 2019 - The District Download

The UCFSD Technology Department manages all areas of technology related to helpdesk support , purchasing, digital devices, network infrastructure and security. Our Instructional Technology team supports curriculum and instruction, professional development, program development and evaluation, student data and databases. UCFSD employs a full-time staff of professionals to support District-level and building-level technology initiatives.

District Technology Contacts

Justin Webb

Director of Technology

Lisa Dorazio

Supervisor of Information Systems

Matthew Fogleman

Network Technician

Jen Graper

District Applications Specialist

Scott Dixon

Technology Data Assistant

Judy Jones

District Technology Technician

Sapphire Sunyata

Technology Administrative Assistant

District Office Contact Form