SOUTH WESTERN SCHOOL DISTRICT

EMORY H. MARKLE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

225 Bowman Road, Hanover, PA 17331
Phone (717) 633-4840, Fax (717) 633-7073, Web www.swsd.k12.pa.us
Mr. Jeffrey Smale - Principal
Mrs.

Lori Billman - Assistant Principal

Mr. Eric Klansek - Assistant Principal

18 August 2016
To Whom It May Concern:
I am pleased to acknowledge Mr. Brent Barge as having successfully and thoroughly completed the stated
requirements and proposed projects for the Instructional Technology Specialist internship program. He
has collaborated with administrators, facilitators, and learners to develop new methods and/or enhance
previous practice. Mr. Barge has served as a seventh grade mathematics teacher during his tenure at
Emory H. Markle Intermediate School within the South Western School District. As one of the building
administrators, I have had the good fortune of interacting with Mr. Barge and observing him within the
classroom and throughout the district. Mr. Barge has displayed professionalism in the fulfillment of his
internship requirements, great strength in his collaboration with others, and admirable efforts to leverage
technology.
During his internship experience, Mr. Barge has worked to further our districts vision towards selfdirected learning and personalization. First, Mr. Barge devoted his time, effort, and knowledge to
enhancing our 1:1 Laptop Implementation Initiative throughout the district and most notably within the
intermediate level. Mr. Barge created a list of tools that can be referenced and used within the 1:1
environment. A noted passion surfaced within the integration of a digital citizenship curriculum. Our
district agreed upon the use of a free and public curriculum published through Common Sense Media.
Mr. Barge was an active member of a building committee that designed a three year phase-in plan for the
curriculum among all learners. Over the course of the year, Mr. Barge refined the resources needed,
designed a building website to host our digital citizenship and literacy needs, worked to gain identity as a
Common Sense Media School certified school, and educated the school community on the value of the
program and resources.
Mr. Barge led professional development sessions on a variety of instructional technology tools. He
researched and designed summer workshops for fellow educators on the use of flipped learning and
blended learning options. Mr. Barge joined efforts with a colleague to introduce and extend usage of
Nearpod as an instructional tool within our building. As interest in the teaching tool grew, Mr. Barge
shared his knowledge of the tool with fellow educators through summer professional development and
worked with South Westerns Director of Data and Instructional Technology to extend our licensing
throughout the building and among district facilitators. Over the last few months, Mr. Barge has been
instrumental in establishing what the role of a district technology coach is, his duties, and the stages of
support.
Finally, Mr. Barge committed himself and expertise to redesigning our learner handbook for the upcoming
school year. This required a transition from a print copy to a digital design. Along with this task, Mr.
Barge accepted responsibility for updating the building/district reference of resources associated with the
Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Mr. Barges latest adventure has led to the review
and reestablishment of live-streamed building announcements. Much behind the scenes planning and
communications have occurred in order for this possibility to become a reality once again.

In summary, I can attest that Mr. Barge has showcased his knowledge of systems, instruction, and the role
of technology integration during his internship experience. We are grateful for his efforts and the
resources he has provided our learners, fellow colleagues, and our district collectively. He displays
professionalism, reliability, and care. Mr. Barge has established himself as a worthy candidate for a
technology coach or related position in the near future.
Respectfully written,

Mrs. Lori A. Billman

Assistant Principal