NORTH ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS

New Director of Technology and Innovation Starts at North Allegheny

On Jan. 4, Richard Platts began work at North Allegheny School District as Director of Technology and Innovation, a new position created to provide leadership in all areas of technology throughout the District.

Platts will directly oversee the Information Technology Department as it supports both the administrative and infrastructure needs of the District, as well as the teaching and learning environment for students and staff members.

“ Being in the second year of our Focus 2020 technology initiative, we now have more opportunities to further innovate our educational practices and focus on technology integration in the classroom,” says Superintendent Dr. Robert Scherrer.“ We’ re looking forward to having Mr. Platts on board as we continue to create engaging learning environments that leverage technology for all students and teachers.”

Platts began his career in education in 2004 as a teacher in the Upper St. Clair School District, where he was actively involved in the implementation of the District’ s Strategic Plan, technology coaching and administering several school-wide technology systems. He also participated on the Technology Mission Team, Data Analysis and Management Team and Global Education Committee.

In 2013, Platts was appointed as the Director of Technology for the South Park School District, where he was responsible for IT and educational technology infrastructure. In this position, Platts implemented a disaster recovery plan, aided in the planning and deployment of a one-to-one program, adopted and implemented Google Apps for Education, and conducted an evaluation, migration and implementation of a Student Information System, new phone system and Data Warehouse.

Platts has served as a presenter at the Three Rivers Educational Technology Conference and is a member of the International Society for Technology in Education. He has also participated in the Sprout Fund for the Pittsburgh City of Learning and was a Steering Committee Member for the Allegheny County Regional Wide Area Network.

Platts graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts in Germanic and Hispanic languages and literatures, and completed his Master of Arts in teaching in foreign language. He also completed a Master of Public Management in educational technology management from Carnegie Mellon University.

NASH Creative Arts Magazine Wins National Recognition

North Allegheny Senior High School’ s literary and creative arts magazine VARIATIONS recently won Most Outstanding High School Literary-Art Magazine from the American Scholastic Press Association. The honor was only given to 13 schools across the country, and NASH was the only high school

in the state to receive this award. The Association also awarded VARIATIONS a First Place with Special Merit Award.

In addition, the National Council of Teachers of English recognized VARIATIONS with the title Recommended for Highest Award. Again, VARIATIONS was the only high school literary magazine in the state to win this title for 2016.

NAI School Nurse Honored with State Award

Charity Istone, the school nurse at North Allegheny Intermediate High School, is the recipient of the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners’“ 2017 Pennsylvania School Nurse of the Year” award. She will be recognized at the PASNAP conference in April 2017. As Pennsylvania’ s School Nurse of the Year, Istone serves as the state’ s nominee for the National Association of School Nurses“ National School Nurse of the Year” award, which will be announced this summer.

Ingomar Elementary Earns Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certification

North Allegheny School District’ s Ingomar Elementary School has been recognized as a Common Sense Certified

Photos courtesy of Kaitlyn Zurcher

56 North Allegheny