Jeff McCoy: A District Leader Making Technology Academic
Greenville County's Jeff McCoy explains why his district moved instructional technology from the technology department into academics.
Jeff McCoy is an innovative leader who is doing great things for the students of Greenville County, SC.
Jeff McCoy is Associate Superintendent for Academics at Greenville County Schools in South Carolina. In this role, Jeff provides leadership to several departments including Title I, Instructional Technology, ESOL, Virtual School & Distance Learning, Media Services, and Special Academic Programs (STAR Academy, Satellite Diploma Program). Jeff has had an accomplished career in education being named Teacher of the Year at Greer Middle School in Greenville in 2004 and Professional Employee of the Year at Greenville County Schools in 2010.Â
I recently had a chance to talk to Jeff, and I asked about his non-traditional role and career path. He says he has spent his entire 17-year career in Greenville County Schools, first as a teacher, and then as an administrator. Along the way, Jeff found himself evolving with technology as the role of tech grew tremendously in education.
Jeff was instrumental in moving the position of Director of Instructional Technology from the Technology Department to the Academic Department. It’s a move that took a great deal of time to implement, spreading the message to teachers, principals and staff that the Instructional Technology Department was more than a computer fix-it station – it was there to integrate technology into teaching. Thanks to buy-in from the staff and the backing of an innovative superintendent, the move is considered a huge success for the district.
Jeff mentioned how the district is also diving into personalized learning as “one size fits all” environments are no longer viable. Children are learning at different levels within the same classroom, and it’s imperative that instruction is tailored to individual needs. They now use software purchases for individual licenses based on student needs. It’s the district’s desire to align software into a multi-tiered system of support to further profile student learning behaviors.
Jeff is an innovative leader who is doing great things for the students of Greenville County. I look forward to speaking with him again in the future to catch-up on all his accomplishments.
This article was originally published in the Huffington Post.
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