Dave Barancyk is an instructor in television communications
at Hobart High School. He studied telecommunications at Indiana University
in Bloomington and earned his masters at Purdue University. He was a radio
personality for WWCA in Gary and public information officer for the Lake
County prosecutor's office under Jack Crawford. Dave began teaching TV production
in 1984 at the Gary Career Center and transferred to Hobart High School
in 1986. He recently produced a video on the local community and our schools.
His TV production classes broadcast daily newscast's from the HTV studio
at Hobart High School.
Peggy Buffington is the Director of Technology for the
School City of Hobart. She is currently working on her doctorate in educational
computing with a minor in curriculum and administration at Purdue University.
She earned a masters in Instructional Technology from Purdue University,
did her practicum with Apple Computers, and currently teaches "Microcomputers
in the Classroom" and "Hypermedia" at PUC. She enjoys teaching
adults the power of using technology in their classrooms. She has also been
active in leading the School City of Hobart and other school technology
workshops at the local, state and national levels. She serves on the Board
of Directors of the Indiana Computer Educators (ICE). She continues to work
with her Mac-A-Teer Computer Club who has won many international acclaims.
She believes that a good staff development program will change the way teachers
teach and achieve success for all students when using the technology tools
of today and tomorrow.
Mary Cezus is a math teacher at Hobart Middle School. She
is a published writer, author of short stories, poetry, and logic problems.
Mary currently has an exclusive contract with Dell publications for her
logic problems. She earned her bachelor and masters degrees from Valparaiso
University and currently resides in Valparaiso.
Lori Cook is a graduate of Indiana University and is currently
teaching third grade at Liberty Elementary School. Over the last 3 years
she has enjoyed sponsoring her buildings chapter of Student Council as well
as instructing other teachers in her building in the proper usage of Macintosh
computers and relevant software programs. She feels that technology has
allowed her to utilize her time better so that she can spend more quality
time with her students. Lori is currently working on completing her Administrations
License in Education.
Shirley Coons is an English teacher at Hobart High School.
She earned her first Masters Degree in education from Indiana University
and is currently working on her second Masters Degree in Instructional Technology
at PUC. Shirley is a technology instructor for staff development within
our district as well as our community. Shirley is also a Technology Associate
with the Indiana Department of Education allowing her to share her enthusiasm
and expertise with educators across the state. Currently, she is using PowerPoint
as part of her curriculum with a group of "at risk" students in
her summer school English class. Shirley points out that these, normally
hard to motivate students, are eager to learn more.
Kathy Cox is the Principal at George Earle Elementary.
Kathy is a firm believer in doing whatever it takes to help kids achieve.
She is very supportive in helping her staff implement technology into their
curriculum. She is also very excited about what the Internet will bring
to education.
Rich Edwards is the Assistant to the Superintendent of
schools. He is a huge supporter of using technology in education. Rich brings
visionary thinking to our corporation and believes that technology is the
foundation of the future. He realizes that funding dollars are very important
to our future.
Sheila DeBonis works as the executive director of the Hobart
Industrial Economic Development Corporation (HIEDC), an organization that
promotes growth and development in the City of Hobart. Some of their program
goals include the development of Hobart's lakefront and the revitalization
of downtown Hobart. HIEDC also strongly supported the construction of the
new elementary school. She earned a bachelors degree in English and journalism
and a masters in business administration from IUN. She was born in California,
grew up in Gary, lived in Chicago, New York, and Paris, and currently lives
with her family in Hobart.
Bob Galliher is a teacher at Hobart Middle School. He feels
that he grabs hold of new ideas and is anxious to put them into action.
Bob uses Macintosh computers in his teaching with eight computers in a "mini-lab"
setting.
Joanne Groff earned her degree at Mundelein University
at Loyola and is currently teaching first grade at Ridge View Elementary
School. With 27 years of experience, she has also taught fourth grade. With
the introduction of technology into our curriculum, Joanne has become a
valued resource to our staff and students. She has taught after school computer
clubs focusing on HyperStudio, made technology presentations to our School
Board, and recently wrote a review on "Wiggle Works" for the ICE
newsletter. Joanne has also become a Technology Associate for the Indiana
Department of Education where she can better share her expertise with educators
across the state. Joanne also served on the committee responsible for the
4R's grant at Ridge View.
Beth Jones is a fifth grade teacher at George Earle Elementary.
She is excited about the great things that students can create through the
use of technology. It was fun for her to teach her first class to other
teachers in the school system. Beth also runs a Computer Club for fifth
graders as an after school club.
Shannon Jancich is a fourth grade teacher at Joan Martin
Elementary and has been busy helping other teachers in
her building feel comfortable with their new Macintosh computers. She received
her Masters degree from Purdue University and is currently working as a
Technology Associate for the State of Indiana Department of Education. Shannon
also serves as the Secretary for the Hobart Teacher's Association (HTA)
and supervises an after school HyperStudio Club.
Dr. Jack Leach is an Assistant Superintendent of schools
for K-12 curriculum. In addition to his strong background in curriculum,
he is also very active in community relations. Dr. Leach publishes School
City of Hobart news to keep the staff and community up-to-date with happenings
in our schools.
Jim Mellon serves on the Board of Trustees for the School
City of Hobart. He is very supportive of technology in education. He runs
his own electronic bulletin board, writes tax software and provides support
software marketed nationally.
David Phelps serves on the Board of Trustees for the School
City of Hobart. He believes that technology can make a difference in education
and better prepare our students for the world in which they live. Dave is
a graduate of Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He
is also Chief National Officer for a privately held corporation.
Mike Richards is a computer programmer and is serving as
a community representative on the committee. He brings with him enthusiasm
for the concept of additional technology throughout the corporation. Mike
makes himself aware of the actions of the School Board by attending meetings.
He felt that phones in the classrooms was a great idea!
Karen Robbins is a CPA. She has held a variety of offices
in the Foreman Elementary School PTA. She has helped with after-school computer
classes and assisted several teachers with their classes in the Foreman
and Joan Martin computer labs. She is very proud of Foreman's PTA and their
commitment to technology. Over the last few years, the PTA has contributed
over $12,000 to Foreman's lab and they have contributed over $11,000 to
computerize the library. Most recently, the Joan Martin PTA is budgeting
the financing of memory upgrades for Joan Martin's computer labs.
Traci Prescott is the music director at Hobart High School.
Traci has been instrumental in training the middle school staff on electronic
grade book management. She believes in the power of technology. She runs
a HyperStudio Computer Club after school. Traci has recently won a telecommunications
grant from the state department and is eager to begin implementation.
Janet Webber is a first grade teacher at Joan Martin Elementary
School. While a teacher at Foreman Elementary School, she was on the first
school district committee that applied for and received the state 4R's grant.
She has done staff development training, supervised after school enrichment
courses with Macintosh computers, co-taught adult community enrichment courses
involving Macintosh computers and was a co-presenter at the ICE 96 conference.
This year Jan became a Technology Associate for State of Indiana Department
of Education where she is able to share her technology expertise with educators
across the state.