Bryson Atud

EDU 214

10/20/16

Integrating Technology into the Classroom: Administrator Interview

I was very excited and honored to have interviewed one of the Principals here in Las

Vegas. I got the pleasure to interview Principal Sean Davis from Saville Middle School. Upon

meeting with Principal Davis, I asked him three questions before the actual interview: what

inspired him to become an educator, how he became a principal, and what is his greatest

accomplishment. Principal Davis always had a passion for learning and loves to educate others.

He was inspired to become an educator thanks to his teachers from the past that influenced him.

Principal Davis was originally a band director for Cimarron High School, but then moved on to

working in a middle school as a choir instructor. Principal Davis never had any intention at all to

run a school, believing it to be a stressful job. However, the principal at the middle school he

worked for gave him more responsibilities, such as being the Department Coordinator for the

school. The principal encouraged him as well to become a principal, which is where he is now

today. A few of Principal Davis accomplishments included taking the band from the high school

he worked at to Hawaii and help building the music program in the middle school he worked for.

However, one of the biggest accomplishments was when he received the Nevada Ready 21

Grant, which helped Saville Middle School receive new technology. Speaking of the 21 Grant,

Principal Davis just answered my first question from the interview.

The first question of the interview was, does the school and the district have a

technology plan? Who creates the plan and how are they related to each other? What are some of

the items included in the technology plan? Upon receiving the Nevada Ready 21 Grant,
Principal Davis was able to use the funds to purchase new technology for the school, such as the

Chromebook for all students and smart boards for the classroom. Despite this, the school use to

have a yearly tech plan created by the Tech Committee, but the format would change. Until the

21 Grant, the school did not have a formal school tech plan, and he assumes that the district has a

tech plan. Heading onto the next question on how decisions about technology in the school are

made, Principal Davis stated that it really all depends on what the technology is and which area

or department of the school it is being used for. Couple weeks ago in class, we did an assignment

in which we have to write a proposal about purchasing certain technology for our classroom, like

what type of technology we need, why do we need it, and the funds to purchase it. The

assignment was meant to be us in the position of a teacher; however, it doesnt exactly work that

way in Saville. One teacher cant just request for one thing, it has to be an agreement between

the teachers in each department to request for certain items they need for their entire classroom

and must be decided upon from their Department Chair. Funding wise, it is the ultimately the

principals decision to see if they are necessary at the time being. That being said, Principal

Davis also answered my third question about the process of a teacher requesting technology in

their classroom. The only thing a teacher can purchase on their own are smaller items, but all

technologies or larger items must be requested through their Department Chair, who then writes

the proposal to the principal. It would also depend on the funding source as well. If the

department is utilizing the School Generated Funds (SGF), the SGF committee makes the

decision (typically upon the principals suggestion). For the fourth question, if any problem

arises with technology, the teacher would submit a request to the SBT. Usually the time to

resolve the issue varies, but in most cases it would be solved on the same day. The fifth question

was if there were any professional development courses or workshops for teachers to learn the
systems. At the Saville Middle School, there is a full-time coach who is available to assist

teachers who are having trouble with using any particular software or hardware. Other than that,

there are webinars by the district each week and basic Office application training available

online and monthly in-person. I asked Principal Davis if there was a technology committee

active in the school, in which he respond that there is that meets once or twice a year and

provides general input. I asked him if there are any events or activities that involve the

community with the schools technology. He stated, Yes, we talk about it at the Parent Advisory

Council meetings (PAC) that have taught parents on how to use the technology to help their

children. Principal Davis felt that the changes in the infrastructure was the greatest challenge in

the school, but stated that their best features related in technology was in science where they are

piloting blended/project-based learning in classrooms. He added that theyve also done some

workshops during open house as well. For the ninth question about digital divide, Principal

Davis stated that he cant speak for the entire district but added that schools with better Wi-Fi

infrastructure and Title I funding are often able to do more with technology. For the last question

about how schools and teachers ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to learn how to

use computers while enrolled in school, he believes that each school has adequate infrastructure

and devices, then pair that with continued support for teacher PD.

The interview went very well, despite not ever attending Saville Middle School and

knowing the principal. After the interview, Principal Davis gave me a tour around the school and

showed me how the Chrome books are implemented into the classrooms. I was amazed to see

how engaged that students are in their work. Every classroom I walked into was so quiet and

cluttered free from paper. All work was done online; it was like as if the teacher was not present
in class. I had a great experience today at Saville Middle School, and I look forward for the

future.