One year after the Haines Borough school board committed to $125,000 in high-tech classroom upgrades and $75,000 annually in lease fees, it has eliminated a $72,000 job designed to help teachers incorporate the new devices into instruction.
Some teachers who’ve taken advantage of work by technology integration specialist Sara Hadad said the position was valuable and saved them time.
School board president Anne Marie Palmieri said the district couldn’t support the position because its cost absorbed two years of district money for professional development, under a funding arrangement by former superintendent Ginger Jewell.
The district annually takes in about $40,000 in “Title 2A” funds typically used for teachers’ training, conferences, consultants and professional publications.
“The position was part of Ginger Jewell’s bigger plan for technology and how to implement that. Once she left, we weren’t going in that direction anymore. Now, due to other financial issues, we don’t have general funds in order to pay for it,” Palmieri said.
Integrating technology is still a goal for the district, Palmieri said. “How we implement that goal is a conversation we’re going to have with (incoming superintendent) Tony Habra. It will be more challenging without an integration specialist.”
Third-grade teacher Tracy Wirak said this was her first year using a “Smartboard,” a kind of electronic chalkboard the district has installed in all elementary classrooms. She said Hadad was “super helpful” to her. “There are so many different apps and Smartboard programs. I could spend a lot of time researching them. It’s so much better to have a person who can tell us the cool stuff and what we should be using.”
Wirak said she teaches vocabulary, writing and math on her Smartboard that she describes as a faster overhead projector. Among other things, she called on Hadad to post student-created videos to her classroom website. “Any project I’m working on I’d ask (Hadad) how to incorporate technology. She’s a specialist. It was good to have her be able to come in and walk us through the new technology.”
First-grade teacher Sophia Armstrong said the arrival of Smartboards and iPads into her classroom was “a lot to put on” in one year and that Hadad was a help. “I used her for finding things for me and she fixed a lot of things. Whenever the Smartboard was glitchy I could call her and say ‘What do I do?’ It was nice to go to a person who has time free to help me.”
Because she is a teacher, Hadad also was able to come into her class and lead advanced students in coding, a type of logic lesson. “That was a great extension for them and it freed up time for me to do more work with other students.”
Hadad did a good job at a position that isn’t easy to fill, Armstrong said. “Sometimes technology people aren’t good with people, or with students. Sara was really helpful and good with my kids.”
A 10-year-teacher, Armstrong said technology has the potential to attract students to learning. “Any time you can make (teaching) interactive, that’s totally helpful. They certainly love that.”
Hadad said she was glad to help give teachers some confidence in using new technology. “Some teachers were a little reluctant, but I think having somebody new made them more comfortable. Once they tried me, they said, ‘Oh, I can do this.’”
Hadad said she had no idea the technology job was only going to be for one year.
“(Me and my husband) are just sad. We loved it here and wanted to stay. We came with the intention of making it our home,” Hadad said.