Welcome
I would like to give you a warm welcome from the SWEET Program staff. We hope that you will find this web site useful and informative. We will be continuing to add pages to this site throughout the year. As you browse please keep in mind that we would appreciate your input on anything you read or see here. If you have comments or suggestions please email Kristi Jud . Thank you and happy browsing.
Kristi Jud
Program Coordinator
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The SWEET Program Announces . . .
PVUSD's First Annual
Young Authors' Fair
Current SWEET Headlines
SWEET Staff and Teachers
Attend CUE 08
SWEET In The News!
Pajaronian Article
Mid-County Post Article
SWEET Program Receives Accolades from California Department of Education!
View Article
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PVUSD wins a second Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant
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PVUSD was informed that a second round of the federal technology integration grant (EETT - Enhancing Education Through Technology) will be provided to the district and that the application had ranked #1 in the region. The grant has been fully funded at $323,872.00 and will directly affect three schools in the North Zone: Valencia, Bradley and Aptos Junior. These three schools will receive new and upgraded technology for the classrooms, training for the teachers and additional technical and curricular support for their language arts programs. This grant will enable the Technology Services Department to continue its highly successful work with the SWEET program.
More information on SWEET2.0 coming soon!
See the Pajaronian Article
See the Mid-County Post Article
Program Mission Statement
We, as teachers and students of the PVUSD, seek to develop and improve writing as a skill for life long learning through effective teaching and the use of technology.
Program Summary
SWEET - Student Writing Enhanced by Educational Technology.
The program has been designed to provide 2,600 students in five Middle Schools with access to a comprehensive technology-driven Writing program. Our goal is to enhance student achievement in the area of writing and on the California Content Standards Exams. We will also provide their teachers with access to and staff development on a variety of subjects including technology and the teaching of writing.
All components of the SWEET program are highly reliant on scientifically-based research. The research supports the use of recursive writing instruction as embedded in the Step Up to Writing program, the use of peer response groups to enhance editing skills, the use of a variety of publishing methods to stimulate writing motivation, and how the use of technology integrated with the above writing strategies and others enhance the overall process. Research also supports the professional development strategies employed including a training-of-trainers model for long-term sustainability, the use of full-time coaches to provide mentoring, and a staggered series of training designed to integrate technology skills with writing instruction strategies. Enhanced access to technology resources, community involvement, and the evaluation techniques employed are all Key elements of this program. For more information on cited research please visit our Resources page and download a copy of our EETT Grant Proposal.
Nine private schools are situated within the boundaries of PVUSD. Of those nine, six have been identified as serving the same target group as the SWEET program, 6th through 8th graders. All six of those private schools serving the same target population were contacted through email and faxed letters inviting their participation in the planning and implementation of PVUSD’s SWEET program. Of those six, two schools, Monte Vista Christian and Salesian Sisters School have indicated interest in participating in professional development opportunities for their teachers. Please visit our Community Partners page for more information on these schools.
The SWEET program will begin with the purchase of 310 mobile laptop computers and writing software that will provide writing labs on wheels to 44 Language Arts teachers and classrooms at five middle schools. The SWEET Planning Team, comprised of the Integration Coach, Integration Assistants, Consultants, and other PVUSD staff, will design a 4-day training series for teachers at a Summer Planning Workshop to be held at the PVUSD District Offices on July 17th through the 21st. The Team will also develop a series of web pages to assist teachers with the integration of their writing program, and discuss a collaborative forum environment and student e-locker (e-portfolio) provided by Gaggle.com. Following the Retreat, consultants and Team members will continue to develop the web pages, and prepare them for a 2-day training for all teachers to be held on September 6th-7th and 19th-20th. Follow-up 1-day training sessions will occur in November and February. The Grant Coordinator, a full-time Technology Integration Coach and Technology Integration Assistant will rotate among the campuses and classrooms, providing teachers with hands-on mentoring in the use of equipment, software, and enhanced electronic tools developed by the Team.
