GCS Insider - Making a Difference

Behind the Scenes:
Technology Communications 

 

 The Technology Communications group is made up of the folks who work behind the scenes to keep the roads secure on the GCS information super highway. Three teams make it happen: the wide area network (WAN)/Internet team, local area network (LAN)/Infrastructure team and Telephony team. 

 

All three teams in Technology Services perform different and vital functions, keeping GCS working at peak capacity.  Noel Melton, senior communications engineer, heads up the WAN/Internet team that keeps all GCS schools and administrative offices connected together and to the Internet.  They also work to protect our network from hackers and malware (malicious software) by keeping a firm firewall and network monitoring in place. The group provides safety for students. “If the subject matter is not allowed for students, we block it,” explained Melton.  An Internet advisory committee comprised of educators, Media Services and Technology Services personnel, works together to determine which sites are appropriate, or not, for students. Internet connectivity and filtering has never been more important as GCS users produce 19 million hits daily to the Internet, and approximately 260 new pornography sites pop up daily on the information super highway. 

 

The LAN team keeps connections working. “We are the road that everything travels on, from the cable to the back of the PC,” said Stephen Durham, communications engineer. The LAN team is responsible for the cabling in the walls and the network hardware in the closets. “We are also behind the wireless effort at all the schools,” explained Durham.   

 

The LAN team is responsible for network access control which is analogous to a vehicle inspection sticker. They verify that all PCs connecting to the network have anti-virus software and up-to-date patches. Performance monitoring is another function, or in lay terms, making sure there are no potholes on the road and checking the speed of the network. Cabling infrastructure is an intimidating term that means making sure that cable outlets are available when facilities or schools relocate. “When anyone moves to another location, we are called,” smiled Durham. Lastly, the team is behind the in-school broadcast systems. These are the systems that provide school announcements, morning television shows and video broadcasts.  

 

A big buzz for the LAN team is the new Internet Protocol television (IPTV) currently being tested.  IPTV transmits television signals through a data network, allowing users more control of when and how they watch programs. Teachers choose video segments on their PC and then play them when needed, similar to Movies on Demand. “This concept is relatively new in schools, and I am not aware of any other schools in North Carolina using it,” said Richard Sumner, supervisor of technology communications. 

 

The Telephony team is responsible for unified communications, paging interface and the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone systems. “We have been installing the VoIP systems for about a year, and they are currently in 22 locations, with seven more installations scheduled in the next few months,” said Sumner.  The technology uses a space-age looking telephone that leaves regular voicemail for its user but also leaves an e-mail message, allowing users to access phone messages when away from their office by checking e-mail.  If a principal needs to make an announcement, they can do so by using this technology. The system is cost effective because it uses multiple lines to help prevent callers from getting a busy signal.  “This technology will save money because we don’t need to install three different cables,” said Brad Bolton, communications engineer for the Telephony team. The busy Technology Communications group never has a dull moment, and 2008 will not be an exception.  Technology will be actively involved in discussions this year regarding new schools and their design. “We are involved from the first thoughts of new schools to the finish,” Sumner explained. 

 

Did you know?    

• The average school has 40 miles of cable and 1,000 cable connections.

•  GCS requires 4,000 miles of cable to keep everyone connected.  That is enough to stretch from here to California.

• Technology Communications supports over 2,000 network switches, wireless access points and routers.

• When President Bush visited, Technology Communications worked closely with the Secret Service to provide special data and telephone needs. They also worked with all the major media outlets to provide technology to help cover the event. Two employees received Secret Service clearance and awards for their service.

 

Do you know GCS employees that should be spotlighted for their efforts on and off the job? Contact Lynne Brandon at 370-8353 or brandol@gcsnc.com to share their stories.

 

 

GCS Insider - Employee of the Month

 

Sometimes, it can be hard to engage a student in geometry classes. That’s why Dr. Acohin Thon goes to great lengths to keep the subject matter interesting, even singing, rapping and dancing to get his students’ attention. He tells his students that failure is not an option, and Thon takes the time to give each of them individual attention so they can reach their potential.

 

Thon was nominated for the honor by a student. In describing her favorite teacher, she said, “Dr. Thon is a funny and understanding teacher who cares for all of his students. I honestly wish I had his class all year long!” 

 

According to Principal Patrice Faison, Thon always gives the students 110 percent. “He is adored by his students and admired by his colleagues,” she said. “His hard work and dedication is second to none. It is no surprise that he is honored with this award.” For his creative teaching methods and dedication to the success of his students, Thon was chosen as the district’s January Employee of the Month.  

 

 As Employee of the Month, Thon received a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club, which has partnered with GCS to support the employee recognition program. In addition, the Guilford County Board of Education recognized him at its January 8 meeting.

 

Do you know an employee who goes above and beyond the call of duty in his/her job? Let us know! Click on the following link to submit your nomination form online: http://www.gcsnc.com/emp_month/emp_month.htm

 

 

 

 

GCS Insider - Teacher Supply Warehouse

 

Community Partnerships Open Teacher Supply Warehouse

 

 

Only an educator can appreciate having a free pass to go shopping for needed school supplies like pencils and paper, and that’s what happened with the opening of the Teacher Supply Warehouse last fall. The initial brainchild of Cecilia Adams, Manager of Community Partnerships, the Teacher Supply Warehouse, which currently serves Title 1 schools, is making a lot of folks happy. The joint effort involves local businesses, non-profits and individuals who came together for the common cause of helping teachers receive needed materials in their classrooms so they can teach effectively. 

The idea germinated three years ago when the district began exploring a better way to distribute community donations. “Businesses would want to donate items, and we had no room to store them before distribution to schools,” said Adams. “Now that we have the Teacher Supply Warehouse, our challenge is to get the community to donate supplies at a level that will keep it sustainable.”

The momentum for the Teacher Supply Warehouse kicked up when Senator USA, a local specialty pen company, donated seven pallets of pens – that’s roughly 485,000 pens! The story of this donation gave birth to a community partnership comprised of GCS, the Guilford Education Alliance, the Welfare Reform Liaison Project, Leadership Greensboro and the Junior League of Greensboro. These groups worked together to make the Teacher Supply Warehouse a reality.
Partnerships with educational advocates like Guilford Education Alliance, a non-profit organization that supports public education, are crucial.  “This is a wonderful collaboration among community leaders and a worthy cause that we are pleased to participate in,” said Margaret Arbuckle, executive director of Guilford Education Alliance. “We have an ongoing need for volunteers to work in the warehouse during open hours, to assist with re-stocking supplies and to promote the Teacher Supply Warehouse to businesses in the community for donations of materials.”

Business partners like Bart Wiley, commercial banker at First Citizens, explains that his involvement is a result of community awareness.  “As a member of Leadership Greensboro, I was asked to take part in a community-based project,” said Wiley. “I immediately saw my calling to help with the Teacher Supply Warehouse.  It helps build a stronger community in four distinct ways:  by growing available resources, growing the learning environment, growing teacher recruitment and retention and helping the environment by recycling materials through the community. The project has brought together human capital from the areas of for-profit business, non-profit organizations and public education. What a win! “

Manpower to operate the warehouse was a critical component to the project, as was an actual location to house the supplies. That’s when Reverend Odell Cleveland and the Welfare Reform Liaison Project stepped in. The faith-based non-profit organization has not only supplied 5,000 square feet of warehouse space, but also provides staffing. “We are a community, meaning ‘common unity,’ so we pull together to make it happen for teachers,” said Cleveland. “We have to make Greensboro a better place, and we all have the responsibility to give back.  We don’t worry about who gets credit for helping, but we do want to pay it forward.”

The people who benefit the most from this project are teachers, and Gillian Hill, fourth-grade teacher at Washington Elementary, couldn’t be happier about the Teacher Supply Warehouse. “It is a wonderful opportunity to restock on supplies that we use daily,” said Hill. “We go through a lot of erasers, crayons, paper, pencils, pencil sharpeners, Kleenex and everyday supplies, and the warehouse has a good range of usable consumables that meet teacher and student needs. I was excited to get binders, which are expensive to buy, and it will help me to stay organized. This is an ongoing need, so I am thrilled.”

The warehouse is open to Title 1 schools from 3 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Currently, Title 1 schools have scheduled shopping days. For more information go http://www.gcsnc.com/teacher_warehouse/index.html.

 

GCS Insider - Quick Notes

 

January 2008
National Mentoring Month

• 17        Ben Franklin’s Birthday
• 21        Martin Luther King Jr. Day

 

Thank Your Mentor Day™ - Share What You Know.  Mentor a Child.

January 24 is Thank Your Mentor Day™; a day for Americans to thank or honor those individuals who have encouraged and guided them and had a lasting impact on their lives. The recognition promotes ways to honor a mentor by expressing appreciation, “passing it on” by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community, making a financial contribution to a local mentoring program or writing a tribute to a mentor for posting on the campaign’s Web site. Please share this with your fellow educators, and consider mentoring a student and making a difference in a child’s life.

Find additional information about National Mentoring Month at www.WhoMentoredYou.org.  

 

The Shaw-Lewis Grant for First-Year GCS Teachers

The Beta Delta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society for Key Women Educators is sponsoring a scholarship for first-year women teachers. Teachers are encouraged to apply if they have a special classroom project that cannot be funded in another way. To view the application process, click here. Applications should be mailed by February 15. 

For more information, please contact Leisa Huddleston at 316-5883.

 

Read Across America

The Literacy Empowerment Foundation (LEF) invites schools to apply for free books for Read Across America Day. During the past year, LEF has distributed over three million books to schools all across the country for Read Across America Day and other literacy projects. Please share this important information with your fellow educators. Orders must be received by February 10. To order, go to http://literacyhelp.org

 

Teacher Supply Warehouse

The district’s Teacher Supply Warehouse is now open, providing traditional school supplies and more to teachers at Title 1 schools. Through the generosity of contributions from businesses and individuals, GCS has a more efficient way to link donated school supplies to the children who need them. The goal is to open the warehouse to more schools as donations increase.  For more information, please contact Cecilia Adams, Manager of Community Partnerships, at 370-8355.

 

GCS Insider - Cornerstone

Don't Let Stress Rule Your Life

By John Holt, Cornerstone Psychological Services

  

Anyone who thinks that being an educator isn’t stressful cannot be in tune with the requirements of educating our children. However, stress itself is not a bad thing. A little bit of stress can serve to compel us to action and enhance our performance. But, we can also feel overwhelmed with life’s demands. You can learn to listen to your mind and body and make adjustments so that you take control of stress instead of letting stress control you.

 

Stress is a part of life. Like most things, it’s not the presence or absence of it that matters, but how we deal with it. By paying attention to your thoughts, emotions and physical reactions and using stress management strategies, you can be more effective in taking control of the stress in your life.

 

Here are a few ways to help manage your stress more effectively:

1. Breathe. When feeling stressed or anxious take several slow, deep breaths, and as you exhale silently say “calm” to yourself. It’s not as easy as it sounds because when we’re stressed our breathing is quicker and shallower, and we breathe from the chest instead of the belly. Strive to breathe deeply, but naturally, from the stomach.
   
   
2. Be aware of your stressors and your reactions to them. Reactions can be emotional or physical. When you realize what your stressors are, you can then begin to do something about them. For example, you can prepare emotionally in advance for a meeting, maybe by letting yourself know that while not your favorite activity, you’ve been in difficult meetings before and have done fine. What are you telling yourself about the meaning of events? What we think about events has profound effect on how we feel about them. You can change the tape in your head and move away from perfectionism and self-criticism.
   
   
3. Exercise and eat a healthy diet.
   
   
4. Experience gratitude. Think of the positive things in your life. Spend 30 seconds thinking of how lucky you are to be alive, grateful to be loved, in good health, doing what you love or how awesome nature’s beauty is. There can even be gratitude for the opportunities that develop from our problems.
   
   
5. Slow down. Try not to multi-task, it requires more mind-body energy. Doing things more slowly and deliberately helps calm the body down. When feeling stressed, do a common activity slowly, carefully and attentively.
   
   
6. Let it go. Recognize what you can change. Don’t spread yourself too thin. If you’re feeling resentful about helping others or that volunteer committee, maybe you’re overloaded. Put off taking that class or withdraw from that committee. Some things need to be done, just not today. Learn to say “no.” It’s not selfish to be nice to yourself, especially when health is involved. You can decide not to get stressed. If there is a circumstance you can’t change – it is what it is.
   
    John Holt, Cornerstone Psychological Services (CPS). CPS is the district’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that offers five free counseling sessions per year to eligible employees and/or immediate family members. Call CPS at 540-9400 for information.