Nine Virginia Educators Honored
for Technology Leadership

The Virginia Department of Education today honored nine outstanding educators with the Education Technology Leadership Award for their advocacy and use of educational technology in the commonwealth’s public schools. The awards were presented during the department’s December 1-3 Educational Technology Leadership Conference in Roanoke.

“The Education Technology Leadership Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate a shared vision with the school division for the effective use of technology to support teaching, learning, and school administration and management,” said Assistant Superintendent for Technology Lan Neugent.

The Education Technology Leadership Award acknowledges outstanding school division leadership in education technology planning and implementation. Division superintendents in each of the department’s eight study regions select individuals for the award. Recipients are chosen because of their success in helping school divisions improve teaching and learning through the use of instructional media and technology. The 2004 winners are:

• Harvey Almarode, Augusta County public schools, Region Five
  As curriculum supervisor for mathematics and technology for Augusta County, Almarode has been providing technology instruction since the early 1980s. His accomplishments include instituting multimedia presentation centers at each of the middle schools, wireless portable labs, technology instructional strategies targeted to content areas, and a professional development program supporting ethical and legal use of technology resources.

• Dale Baird, Brunswick County public schools, Region Eight
  As Brunswick County’s superintendent for 12 years and an educator for more than three decades, Baird forged partnerships with Old Dominion University for online professional development and with Dell to allow students to build computers for home use. He has worked to provide access to educational applications through a high-speed network and resources allowing the analysis of data for making instructional decisions. His efforts resulted in Brunswick County being cited by the O’Hana Foundation as one of the top three school divisions in the use of technology in Virginia.

• Kathleen Beane, Colonial Beach City public schools, Region Three
  Beane, Colonial Beach’s director of technology and media services, made it possible to conduct online testing in all 10 Standards of Learning subjects at the secondary level. She revamped the school division network and K-12 technology program, coordinated professional development for teachers and administrators, and developed the division’s website and installation of videoconferencing capabilities at the high school.

• Janet Copenhaver, Henry County public schools, Region Six
  As director of technology for Henry County schools, Copenhaver implemented one of Virginia’s first laptop initiatives for 4th- and 8th-graders. She is responsible for setting up a wireless network for her school division, as well as a technology support system of resources for teachers and students. In addition, Copenhaver has been honored with the Smithsonian Laureate Award and the O’Hana Innovative Technology Award.

• Larry Crum and Brian Callahan, WHRO’s Public Telecommunications Center for Hampton Roads, Region Two
  Working as a team, Chief Education Officer Crum and Director of Education Callahan have been instrumental in providing access to technology resources for public and private schools in their region through WHRO’s Public Telecommunications Center for Hampton Roads. These resources range from video conferencing and video-streamed content for training and learning, to building relationships among schools, businesses and communities within the region.

• Nolan Kilgore, Wise County public schools, Region Seven
  A former teacher and principal, Kilgore is currently the assistant superintendent for technology and student services for Wise County. His efforts in the area of technological resources have assisted students in obtaining 21st-century skills and have provided opportunities to support, enhance, and extend teaching and learning opportunities.

• Joseph “Pete” O’Brien, Hanover County public schools, Region One
  As lead teacher for technology integration, O’Brien’s leadership resulted in Hanover County teachers using BlackBoard to deliver instructional content online. He also worked to craft a technology professional development program in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the division’s website.

• Timothy Taylor, Shenandoah County public schools, Region Four
  Taylor, the instructional technology coordinator for Shenandoah County schools, developed an integrated toolkit to assist in teaching 5th-grade mathematics SOL. The kit, which includes software and Internet resources for each SOL component, was such a success that fourth-grade teachers requested he develop a toolkit for their use.

The Virginia Educational Technology Advisory Committee (VETAC), which advises the Virginia Board of Education on educational technology, also presented an award during the Roanoke conference. The 2004 VETAC Leadership Award was also presented to Nolan Kilgore of Wise County public schools for his long time commitment and dedication to educational technology.

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