Sun Associates provides professional development activities that will strengthen the ability of school and district leaders to develop, support, and disseminate effective technology-enriched practices. We realize that an effective technology lighthouse project is more than just a good "idea" for one teacher. Rather, implementing these ideas requires considerable support in planning, curriculum mapping, assessment, and dissemination. In other similar projects, we have provided support to districts which includes (but is not limited to) mentoring, technology-infused curriculum development, making and supporting change.

Examples of Previous Work:

New Teacher, Technology Mentor Teacher Program — designed and facilitated the technical support and professional development activities for the MA Department of Education’s 2000/2001teacher mentor grant recipients. Worked with over 70 teacher mentors from across MA in the development of technology-enriched units of practice, professional development plans, and project assessment instruments.

Teacher-in-Residence Mentoring Program — development and implementation of an intensive teacher mentoring program for three independent schools in St. Thomas, USVI. This project brings an experienced technology-using teacher from Sun Associates into the three project schools for an extended modeling and mentoring experience.

A Sun Associates evaluation will highlight your project’s impact on teaching and learning based on your district's curriculum guidelines and the state's learning standards. Applied methodologies include focus group interviews, classroom observations, surveys, and artifact analysis.

Examples of Previous Work:

New Hampshire Department of Education's Preparing New Teachers II Grant - program evaluators for New Hampshire's $2.1 million U.S. Department of Education "PT3" grant. Work involves a range of formative and summative evaluation efforts for the life of the three-year project.

Development of a National Network of State Systemic Initiatives — program evaluators for a national NSF-funded project which brings together SSIs from around the U.S. for the development and dissemination of a catalog of effective system reform practices and a practice profiling tool.

Sun Associates facilitates professional development that assists districts in implementing best practices and programs. All of our work is built around proven and exemplary practice that is accumulated through our experience with schools both within MA and across the nation. We have considerable expertise in organizing district-wide technology professional development efforts that employ an institute model with year-long follow up. We also develop shorter, more topical, sessions that target the particular needs of various teacher groups (grade levels, teams, subject area departments, etc.).

Examples of Previous Work:

Integrating Technology into the Curriculum Professional Development Series —This institute for Mercer County (WV) Public Schools fulfills the core professional development requirements for the district’s 2001/2002 TLCF grant and will train 70 teacher and administrative leaders in the development of technology-enriched units of practice.

USVI Summer Technology Institute - a summer institute for teams of K-12 teachers from the US Virgin Islands (produced in partnership with Learning Innovations, SEIR*TEC, and the USVI Department of Education). The thrust of this intensive institute was to provide teachers with a quick infusion of basic skills in the use of specific classroom technologies; and to assist these teachers in starting to develop curriculum units which make use of their newly-acquired skills. A 125-page resource guidebook with step-by-step instructions in using specific technologies was created for Institute participants.

A Sun Associates evaluation will highlight your project’s impact on teaching and learning based on your district's curriculum guidelines and the state's learning standards. Expert program evaluation is a clear requirement in the MA DoE’s RFP, and Sun Associates has considerable experience developing formative and summative evaluations for similar projects in MA and nationwide.

Examples of Previous Work:

Evaluation of Cambridge (MA) Public Schools Technology Staff Development — program evaluation of Cambridge’s "Design Team" model for technology staff development. Research involved on-line surveys, focus groups, observations, individual interviews, and a detailed analysis of curriculum products developed by the approximately 125 staff participants

Sun Associates can create and implement a support plan for adult mentors that includes orientation, training in mentor skills, and ongoing support for mentors and mentees. Sun Associates will work with your district to ensure that the teachers and administrators involved in the Students as Technology Leaders program operate an educationally effective program that truly supports student learning and that goes beyond the development of vocational skills.

Examples of Previous Work:

Teacher-in-Residence Mentoring Program — development and implementation of an intensive teacher mentoring program for three independent schools in St. Thomas, USVI. This project brings an experienced technology-using teacher from Sun Associates into the three project schools for an extended modeling and mentoring experience.

Sun Associates works with schools, districts, and other educational organizations to provide program evaluation services. While fulfilling the need for summative evaluation reports, and the dissemination of those reports, we also carefully monitor projects so as to provide the formative feedback necessary for on-going project improvement. A strong evaluation component to your TLCF proposal will demonstrate your commitment to program beyond its initial funding period.

Examples of Previous Work:

Evaluation of Lexington (MA) Public Schools Years Two, Three, and Four Technology Plan Implementation — evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the unique train-the-trainers approach that this district is taking for developing basic technology skills in all of its elementary and middle school teachers. The evaluation process involves developing indicators of success and rubrics that the district will use in its evaluation and on-going technology planning efforts.

Evaluation of 3 Years of TLCF-Funded Projects in USVI Schools — a comprehensive evaluation of the process, impacts, and outcomes of three years of TLCF-funded projects for 20 schools in the US Virgin Islands. This evaluation serves a strong formative need in that it is targeted at helping the funded schools share those best practices developed during the course of their funded work.