Communications Committee

RSS TECHNOLOGY PLAN


TECHNOLOGY FOR
THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY:
The School intends to enhance its website content and make it more

Historically, the Rudolf Steiner School, like other Waldorf schools, has been cautious about integrating technology into the curriculum. We encourage families to avoid exposing young children to all forms of media, including television, video-games, and computers. We believe that it is vital for children to first find the world of imagination and analysis within themselves, and we nurture their thinking and feeling lives by weaving the arts into all aspects of the curricu- lum. In light of these realities, we have designed some general guide- lines for introducing technology at what we believe to be appropriate grade levels. The High School embraces technology as a support
for learning, creativity, and research, and the faculty have continued to explore the integration of technology into the curriculum.
In June 2004, The Board of Trustees approved a technology plan, and designated four distinct areas in which to concentrate the technology initiatives over the next 3-5 years:
TECHNOLOGY FOR THE TEACHER:
The School leaves decisions regard- ing technology use as a classroom tool up to the discretion of individual teachers in grades 7-12. In an effort to support faculty who would like to integrate technological tools into their courses, a number of professional development opportunities
are available and are being planned for future academic years:
Tune Days, during which faculty come together for three half-day

sessions, and are brought ‘in tune’ with the School Network, audio/visual equipment, library systems, and administrative applications to be implemented beginning in the 2005-2006 school year.
Widget Wednesdays during which faculty may choose to receive in- depth training in any of the above areas, or in a variety of software including Excel, PowerPoint, Publish- er, and Photoshop.
Symposia & Conferences during which the School can reflect upon and assess its introduction of technology into the curriculum. The School also provides financial and informational support to faculty who wish to attend conferences to enhance their use of technology in the classroom.
TECHNOLOGY FOR THE STUDENT:
The School may, where appropriate, and in partnership with the teacher, integrate technology into the High School curriculum. Key initiatives include strengthening of the infra- structure, the hiring of additional staff, the introduction of a digital film class, and faculty stipends to enhance existing courses.
TECHNOLOGY FOR STAFF/ADMINISTRATORS:
The School is working to improve administrative processes by automat- ing and streamlining back-office
tasks and centralizing data, especial- ly among Admissions, Development, the Registrar, and Finance.

available to the entire Rudolf Steiner School community, including teach- ers, students, parents, and other Waldorf schools. The School will also enrich its online bulletin boards, newsletters, mailing lists, and work
to improve the School’s administra- tion system.
In order to enable this work, the School committed to hiring a new Technology Coordinator, James Hildreth, who is charged with over- seeing these important initiatives. For more information about our technology initiative, email James at jhildreth@steiner.edu. •
SPECIAL THANKS
The technology plan, and the high school initiatives in particular are sponsored in part by the Edward E. Ford Foundation. In addition, “The
Digital Dilemma” was co-spon- sored by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and the Alliance for Childhood. We are also grateful to the following individual Rudolf Steiner
School parents and alumni for their financial support for our new technology initiative: John and Gaily Beinecke, Pierre and Connie Crosby, Arthur and Kathryn Garfunkel, Christo- pher and Nan Huson, Mark and Cindy Ross, David Schnei- der ’84, Mark Sonnino ’78 and Lyn Brillo, and an anonymous family.