What makes up a successful Technology Department in a school district? The answer to that question varies from district to district based on the technology initiatives they have in place and the extent of their budget. However, technology has become an integral part of every successful school district. Not only do we need technology to properly prepare our students for the 21st Century and provide our faculty with proper instructional tools, but most of the internal processes and external dealings between the district and local / state / federal agencies are done electronically these days. Even standardized testing is migrating to online options. At West Jefferson Hills School District, the Technology Department consists of one Technology Director, one PowerSchool / State Reporting Specialist, two Technology Assistants, and a newly-created position of Network Engineer for this school year.
As the Technology Director, I am responsible for administrating the department, overseeing its operations, planning for proper technology integration into instruction, creating and enforcing district technology policies, maintaining infrastructure, budgeting and forecasting, and performing feasibility studies to review new and existing technologies as they pertain to the success of our students and staff.
Recently, the district welcomed a new PowerSchool / State Reporting Specialist, Paul Bruschi. Mr. Bruschi’ s responsibilities include supporting and administrating our student management system( SMS) called PowerSchool. PowerSchool, in addition to recording and analyzing
Organization of a Technology Department
By: Suhail Baloch. Technology Director
L-R: Trudy Codelka, Paul Bruschi, Doug Bricklemyer, Matt Campbell, and Suhail Baloch
achievement, attendance, and demographic information, is an integrated communications portal for a variety of other programs in our district, such as state reporting, food service, busing, and the emergency notification system. Mr. Bruschi is also responsible for complying with state and federal requirements when it comes to report generation, correcting errors, and filing reports ranging from our students and staff to district operations.
We also have two Technology Assistants, Douglas Bricklemyer and Trudy Codelka. Both Mr. Bricklemyer and Ms. Codelka are responsible for troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining technology equipment and software at the end-user level. In addition to these primary responsibilities, they also serve in a broad capacity to assist our staff and students with technology, install desktop-level hardware and software, and provide the Technology Director with information to conduct a successful needs assessment and resource allocation.
Due to the increasing complexities of our systems and technologies and the construction of a new high school, it has become obvious that our Technology Department requires the addition of an onsite Network Engineer. The responsibilities of this position are not only limited to troubleshooting, maintaining, and modifying our network infrastructure and protocols, but also providing expertise in dealing with complex technologies and processes. We are pleased to welcome Matt Campbell to this position. Mr. Campbell will work with, and report directly to, the Technology Director.
A successful Technology Department is one which not only complies with the fiduciary responsibility a district holds to its community, but also has sufficient resources and manpower to effectively implement the district’ s technology initiatives and maintains the technology infrastructure. I would like to thank our Technology Department for effectively working together to achieve these objectives. est Jefferson Hills
WEST JEFFERSON HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
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