NSBA Announces Emerging Education Technology Leaders as “20 to Watch”

Alexandria, VA – November 8, 2006 – The National School Boards Association has announced the 20 most outstanding emerging leaders in education technology to coincide with the 20th anniversary of NSBA’s T+L conference being held in Dallas, November 8-10. A nationwide search was conducted and a call for nominations issued to identify the top 20. Among those considered were classroom, building and district leaders, as well as those individuals making exceptional contributions in state departments of education.

“Throughout the history of education technology innovation, the real successes have been led by educators with the vision, passion, and human spirit to embrace new tools and explore how these tools could become critical components in helping to transform teaching and learning,” said Ann Flynn, director of education technology for NSBA. “We hope this program will encourage educators to reflect on the hard work and commitment of their colleagues.”

A number of the “20 to Watch” leaders will be conducting press interviews during the NSBA T+L conference on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 11 am. The interviews will be held in room A-301 in the Dallas Convention Center.

The “20 to Watch” are:

Deborah Cline-Eck, Director of Technology, Upper Merion Area (PA) School District
Cline-Eck has been instrumental in leading her school district in the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning, including leading a team that instituted 10 Classrooms for the Future, which included laptops for each student, Smart Boards, data projectors, and other technology to encourage full engagement of every member of the class.

Joseph Crawford, Technology Integration Specialist, Cobb County (GA) School District
Crawford convinces others of the importance of instructional technology and maintains a high level of knowledge of emerging technologies through classes, conference attendance, and research. He has become an expert on wireless technologies by attending classes to prepare for wireless certification.

Dorothy Crenshaw, Chief Information Officer, Indianapolis (IN) Public Schools
Crenshaw has been appointed by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to participate in the state's technology committee. She is committed to ensuring that urban students are able to compete in a global society, and demonstrates this through her efforts to get cable companies to install high-speed cable modems in the homes of urban students.

Patti Dean, Instructional Technology Director, Cheney (WA) Public Schools
Dean has been instrumental in helping her school district to receive several grants: one from Intel and Microsoft that lead to a professional development program for teachers; another from Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) which partners teachers-in-training with classroom teachers to integrate teaching and technology; and a Partners in Learning grant which enables teachers to use math and language arts technologies to aid struggling students.

Bruce Dixon, President and Founder, Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation
Dixon, a former school principal, is a tireless champion for school improvement through the use of one-to-one computing. He created the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation in order to make one-to-one computing a reality for every American child.

Heidi Driscoll, School Principal, Taunton (MA) Public Schools
Driscoll developed and facilitated an intensive one-year course to develop district technology leaders to use web-based classrooms for professional development and classroom teaching. She is currently training elementary students to be the junior webmasters of their school Web sites and training teachers to use data to drive instruction.

Derek Edens, Coordinator of Technology and Assessment, David Douglas (OR) School District
Edens has designed, developed, and implemented a school district web portal for teachers to map curriculum to the state learning standards. He has ensured that web-based mapping makes classroom curriculum a living, breathing document based on the changing realities of the classroom.

Bradley Gray, Chief Information Officer, Gallatin (KY) County Schools
Gray has transitioned the district from failing to meet state standards and requirements in technology to an efficient system that provides students, teachers, administrators, and parents a full range of functioning technology. His positive attitude and view that his "ultimate customers" are the students of the district, has helped to raise test scores by drastically increasing the availability of technology.

Jeff Gregory, Science Teacher, Spring Valley High School, Richland (SC) School District
Gregory is the co-developer of ITEC, the district's demonstration project for one-to-one computing in high school. Volunteering to start a new program is evidence of his curiosity and dedication to improving learning through technology.

Janet Herdman, Director of IT Services, North Kansas City (MO) School District
Herdman has been a pioneer in the infusion of computer technology, and was instrumental in the district's selection as a NSBA Salute District in 1999. Because of her efforts, the district is expanding to use wireless networks in classrooms with wireless labs and other unique forms of instruction.

Jill Hobson, Director of Educational Technology, Forsyth (GA) County Schools
Hobson is responsible for bringing high quality, relevant online instructional material to raise the bar for student engagement to the district. Under her leadership, the district has created a blended approach to online learning that reaches across all grade levels and has resulted in reducing (and in some cases eliminating) the need for textbooks.

Jennette M. Kane, Technology Integration Supervisor, Orange City (OH) Schools
Kane designed a database and worked to make data available for administrators’ handheld computers and provided training for use of this tool. She is currently working with a middle school class to help them create Podcasts that will help blind students receive further benefit from their classroom experiences.

Quinn Kellis, Director of Accountability and Technology, Deer Valley (AZ) Unified School District
Kellis is bringing technology to the district in all forms, including online professional development opportunities for administrators and teachers, even as he continues to pursue his own education. He is not just providing the technology, he is teaching educators how to access it and use it successfully.

Scott Kuffel, Superintendent, Geneseo (IL) Community Unit School District #228
Kuffel strives to improve access to vital information in his district, specifically through the use of electronic board agenda preparation. His curiosity and understanding of this technology has led to his participation in feedback sessions with the product’s creator that have improved the product for all of its users.

Eric Langhorst, Teacher, South Valley (MO) Junior High School/Park University
Langhorst uses audio Podcast technology to host “studycasts” for his students to help them prepare for tests. Additionally, he uses blogging to engage and invigorate learning for students, teachers, and parents in his community. His commitment to technology is evident in the workshops he hosts for teachers in the district on Podcasting, blogging, online assessment, e-mail and other applications they can use in their classrooms.

Chris Lehmann, Principal, The Science Leadership Academy (PA)
Lehmann, a long-time leader in educational technology, was tapped to lead the new Science Leadership Academy, a high school in Philadelphia, due to his charisma and seemingly endless energy. His methods include requiring students to digitally submit assignments, such as a science research journal and movie trailers for Shakespearean plays.

Marty Park, Director of Technology, Clark County (KY) Board of Education
Park encouraged the school board in his district to hire three technical resource teachers who are assigned to each of the schools in the district and educate both the teachers and students in technology. He consistently ensures that the technology is aligned with the curriculum.

Kari Stubbs, Senior Project Coordinator, ALTEC (KS)
Stubbs manages the more than $7 million Technology Rich Classrooms project, which has impacted teaching and learning in 168 classrooms. While pursuing her doctorate, Kari evaluated new and emerging technologies and defined what she anticipates to be common educational technologies for K-12 in two, five, and 10 years.

Thomas Tan, Coordinator Information Technology & Research, Ontario-Montclair (CA) School District
Tan is an inspirational leader who looks at the bigger picture, viewing technology from all facets of education -- administrators, teachers, students, and parents. He ensures that the school district invests in practical technology that makes the system more efficient and helps school and district personnel work smarter.

Jennifer Ziolko, Assistive Technology Specialist, West Linn/Wilsonville (OR) School District
Ziolko has worked to implement and support the use of technology throughout the district's special education classrooms and is on the forefront of bringing technology to students with disabilities. She is relentless in her quest to match educational needs with technological opportunities.

Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association is a not-for-profit federation of state associations of school boards representing 95,000 local school board members throughout the United States. Its mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education through local school board leadership. NSBA represents the school board perspective in working with federal government agencies and national organizations that impact education, and provides vital information and services to state associations of school boards throughout the nation.