Julio Vargas

EDU 214 1005

Prof. Flowers

Administrator Interview

I was really excited for the administrator interview. I learned a lot

during my teacher interview, and I was hoping an administrator had

more in depth knowledge to give me. I interviewed Mrs. Shannon Koss

who is the Assistant Principal at Jesse D. Scott Elementary School. She

has worked there for one and a half years. I arrived at the school

promptly at 12:50 p.m. where the front desk lady greeted me with a

smile. Mrs. Koss arrived shortly after, and took me to her office for the

interview.

Mrs. Koss is from a city south of Detroit, Michigan. She attended

college at Eastern Michigan University where she majored in Science

Education. She said she had always wanted to be an educator, but

when she had her son it motivated her to actually pursue that

aspiration. Her purpose for becoming an administrator was that she

wanted to control the schools her son attended. She worked in a

middle school for twenty- three years before going to Scott elementary.

My first inquiry was about the schools technology plan. She

explained how they had just purchased 120 new chrome books for the

school. Their plan uses programs that allow students to use technology.

ST Math, System 44(Reading program), Read 180, and Myon, which has

5,000 digital books for students to read, are examples she gave me.
Julio Vargas
EDU 214 1005
Prof. Flowers
Their school puts a lot of value into placing technology in their

curriculum.

The next question I asked was who is in charge of purchasing

technologies. She replied with CCSD. CCSD likes their school to go

through their warehouse, or SAP as she referred it to. The warehouse

shows the school what is available, and recommends which items

would be best for their situation. If a teacher wants a specific

technology for their classroom they need to write a formal proposal.

They need to state the technology and explain as to why they need it.

The question that followed was in regards to who solves

technical issue when they occur. Scott elementary shares an ECS with

a nearby school, and teacher submit Quickets to the ECS to request

help. The ECS takes no more than twenty-four hours to fix the problem

at hand.

Mrs. Koss explained that teachers use an online registration

called Pathlore to register for professional development classes to learn

how to use technology software. These classes are available year

around, and flyers are constantly sent out to remind the teachers. I

asked her about the schools technology committee next. She said that

there was no committee, but the ECS meets with the principal once a

month to explain his plan for the month. She said it is very effective

and everything runs smoothly during these meetings.

Julio Vargas
EDU 214 1005
Prof. Flowers
I followed that question with one about involving the community

with the schools technology. She explained that the school has a

Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)

night where the parents are invited to introduce the technology. The

schools best feature are its testing centers she feels that a lot of

technology must be available so students can become proficient using

technology. The most riveting question I asked was about the digital

divide in the school district. I was surprised when she told me that she

believes there is no divide. She said that if the budget was used

effectively all schools would have equal exposure to technology.

She then explained how their school makes sure students get a

fair chance at an education in technology. She stated that each student

gets their own computer station, and there are at least five stations left

over. They have a mandatory class called humanities where the

students learn how to use technology. Mrs. Koss was polite, and she

knew a lot about the questions I asked. It was cool to see how

passionate she was about her students getting a quality education in

technology.

My Additional Questions
1. Where are you from?
A: Im from Detroit, MI
2. Where did you attend college, and what was your major?
A: Eastern Michigan University, Majored in Science in education.
3. What was your reasoning for choosing a career in education?
Julio Vargas
EDU 214 1005
Prof. Flowers
A: Ive always wanted to be teacher, but after having my first
child I went back.