Taney, Rebecca

Education 214
Monday October 24, 2016
Midterm Part II-B: CCSD Administrator Interview
I picked to interview at Hyde Park MS because it is the school that I had the privilege of
conducting my College of Southern Nevada Education Observation with last spring. After
emailing the schools principle, Ms. Belknap, I arranged to meet with her for an interview about
the school and its technology aspirations. My interview took place in her office where upon
entrance I took the time to reintroduce myself and thank her for her taking the time to meet with
me. Before we began, she offered me a bottle of water or a cup of tea, which I learned was her
favorite drink, that I politely declined. I then gained her permission to record her on my tablet;
apologizing for my inadequate knowledge of how to work my new computer. She laughed and
told me that it was no problem then we both settled back in our chairs and I began asking her the
questions from our Midterm assignment.
The first subject we discussed during the interview was the schools technology plan.
During the first week of every school year, the schools technology committee meets to design
the schools initial technology plan. Ms. Belknap explained to me that this school year has been
primarily dedicated to obtaining and distributing new MacBooks to all English as a Second
Language (ESL) classes and building a second computer lab. In addition, the schools
technology committee has made a focused effort to provide at least one set of computers to every
classroom. The number of computers granted depends on the current demand of each classroom,
which type of classes need the computers, and how many computers are available at the time.
At the beginning of every month, the committee meets in order to review request from
teachers for more computers, new apps and software programs, and additional hardware and
accessories. When teachers want to request new or additional hardware or software resources,

Taney, Rebecca
Education 214
Monday October 24, 2016
Midterm Part II-B: CCSD Administrator Interview
they usually fill out a written request with either their department head or the Title I office, who
will then take the request to the committee, who purchases the requested items. If teachers need
help with troubleshooting problems the can instantly email the tech department and request for a
technician to be sent to the classroom to fix the issue. Minor problems are usually cleared up in a
matter of hours, while more complex issues may take anywhere from a couple of days to a week
or two.
Next, we talked about Hyde Parks initiatives to help students learn using technology.
The school uses technology in every classroom by providing applications tailored to the specific
needs of each subject. During the year, students have access to a multitude of programs and apps
that they can use at school and at home. The school offers a tablet check out program for
students where they can sign up, check out, and take home a tablet for a period of time. The goal
of this program is to give students opportunities to work with technology at the leisure. She also
told me how Hyde Park MS host workshop nights and weekends for parents to learn more about
how to use computers and their applications.
Ms. Belknap went on to talk about what type of opportunities the school provides to
teachers so that they may become more familiar and comfortable with using technology. She told
me how the school sets aside days, the week before and after the school year, where teachers can
attend professional development courses. These courses aim to provide teachers with the
opportunity to familiarize themselves with new programs and applications. Along with,
providing technicians to help walk struggling teachers through working with difficult software or
hardware.

Taney, Rebecca
Education 214
Monday October 24, 2016
Midterm Part II-B: CCSD Administrator Interview
Finally, I asked Ms. Belknap about what challenges Hyde Park MS faces and if she feels
that a digital divide exist amongst the school district. She responded by saying that a digital
divide does exists in the school system. That this divide fuels one of the major problems that
Hyde Park MS combats in order to provide students with equal opportunities to technology in
education. She feels that the school district has a difficult time distributing money and resources
to all the schools under its care. She believes that the only way to fix the divide is to continue to
provide as much access to computer hardware and software as possible. That incrementally the
school district will be able to slowly overcome the lack of equal opportunity granted to poorer
and more rural areas. She ended our interview by stating that we, as educators, must continue to
do our best to advocate for more technology in education so that teachers and students may have
more tools for learning.

Taney, Rebecca
Education 214
Monday October 24, 2016
Midterm Part II-B: CCSD Administrator Interview
My Three Interview Questions

1. What are the most common software programs, asked for by teachers, for use in
classroom education?

Ms. Belknap remarked that the types of software programs asked for depends on what
subject the teacher teaches. Some of the more common programs include:
o Google Classroom, which many teachers use to post additional PowerPoints,
lecture notes, and supplementary materials.
o Star Reading, which is used in all English classes to promote and keep track
of students reading and writing skills.
o Math applications in the form of games and practice programs.
o Geographic programs, like Google Earth, or programs dedicated to mapping.
o And a new 3D printer for the Art classes.

2. What type of software programs do you as an administrator use frequently?

Infinite/Campus Portal is the main program the school uses for keeping track of
grades, attendance, course assignments, etc.

Ms. Belknap also commented on the frequent use of MS word and Excel.

Taney, Rebecca
Education 214
Monday October 24, 2016
Midterm Part II-B: CCSD Administrator Interview

3. What steps did you take to become a CCSD administrator? What education is required to
become an administrator?

Ms. Belknap described how she was first a teacher in both elementary and secondary
education for nearly a decade. During her time as an educator, she continued her
personal education in order to obtain a Master Degree in Education Administration at
the University of Las Vegas.

After that, she put her name into a pool of entry level administrators and was hired as
the Dean of Education at the Secondary level. A few years later, she transferred
positions to the Assistant Principle at Hyde Park MS.

After several years as the Assistant Principle, the position at Hyde Park MS for
principle opened up so she put her name into a new pool of administrators who want
to take the responsibility of being a school principal.

In order to do so, Ms. Belknap explained that she had to go through several Board of
Education interviews and exams to be able to even enter her name into the principal
pool. After being granted entrance, she then had to go through even more state
certified interviews before she finally got notice that she was picked for the position.

She has now been the Principal of Hyde Park MS for the past five years and insist
that she still enjoys every moment of it.