Environmental Scan

        Corpus Christi ISD services over 33,000 children in Corpus Christi and is home to 56 schools, ranging from elementary, middle, and high schools. Corpus Christi ISD is the largest school district in our city, all built within 68 miles. Many students in the heart of Corpus Christi attend a CCISD school based on their school zone. Our city by the bay is home to refineries, marine life studies, a Naval Air Station, along with jobs necessary to support a city. According to Corpus Christi Independent School District (2024), over 81% of our students are Hispanic, 72.8% of students are economically disadvantaged, and 65.5% of students are considered at-risk. I work at an elementary campus servicing Pre-K-5th grade students. My campus has over 300 students, majority of students are Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, and at-risk. Thinking of my students, majority of their parents do hold jobs in order to provide for their families; jobs ranging from office secretaries, outdoor maintenance, retail workers, self-owned businesses, etc. There are unemployed parents as well, families relying on each other to help support the children. 

        Although many students at my campus are considered to be economically disadvantaged, many of them have access to a technology device when they are at home. Growing up in a time where technology is essential now, many families must maintain daily access in order to complete work and seek information. Students have told me they have access to cell phones and tablets, rather than an actual computer. The families have access to Wi-Fi and cell phone service, few parents have even shared their phones will not work unless connected to Wi-Fi. However, it would helpful for school staff to share a resource available on the District website, the Local Internet Provider Programs flyer. According to the flyer, families who qualify from an assistance program may sign up for an Internet provider at an affordable price. That way any homework needing to be done can be taken care of at home and parents can use the digital resources available to work with students.

        Students attending Corpus Christi ISD schools have full access to Internet connections. Each school, classroom, staff member, and student had access to technology and the Internet daily. Every teacher has a desktop computer, laptop, SMART board, and iPad checked out to them. On my campus, majority of students were 1:1 device. Our Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students have access to iPads, each class had about 10-15 devices to share. 1st-5th grade students are given Chromebooks, each student has their own device to access in the classroom. Our Chromebooks frequently update and we have learned how to navigate the accessibility tools, a great resource for our bilingual and special needs students. Each time we are utilizing technology, we discuss making ethical choices, along with completing daily lessons on Learning.com to practice digital citizenship. All of our online programs are available on our Clever page, making it easily accessible for even our Kindergarten students to sign on independently. 

        As far as professional development regarding technology, each district professional day offers trainings regarding each program we are expected to use daily. Each campus is also assigned an Instructional Technology Chairperson. As the IT Chairperson of my campus, I attend monthly meetings with the IT specialists and director, learn about new developments towards online programs, technology application TEKS, brainstorm teacher and student use of technology, etc. Basically, we discuss the newest technology trends and how to engage our community in using technology safely and effectively. After every meeting, I take my notes and share my information with my campus, offering help wherever needed. Accepting the position of Library Media Teacher for the upcoming school year, I plan to use my knowledge gained from our district IT/Librarian meetings, current research and technology trends, and information/questions gathered from my campus to guide my work towards helping our campus become more digitally aware and responsible. 

References

Corpus Christi Independent School District. (2024, February). 2022-2023 Annual District Report. 

        Corpus Christi Independent School District. 

        https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:f7a2ecc2-8a42-4485-aa15-f4f9d1d9d1de 

Corpus Christi Independent School District. (n.d.). Local Internet Provider Programs. Retrieved 

        June 9, 2024, from https://core-docs.s3.us-east-

        1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3993/CCISD/3614201/Local_Internet_

        Provider_Programs.pdf