SALISBURY — Greg Keys will serve as the Rowan-Salisbury School System’s new coordinator of instructional technology.

Keys is a 15-year educator. His career began as an English Language Arts teacher at Lake Norman High School. Technology integration, specifically in student demonstration of mastery, was an important part of his classroom.

Keys transitioned to the role of Blended Learning Coach for Iredell-Statesville schools for three years before stepping into the role of assistant principal at Brawley Middle School. In 2018, he became the assistant principal at East Mooresville Intermediate School where he helped implement the use of Canvas to grow teachers in their technology integration. He also taught English Language Arts online for Dwight Global.

“I am excited to welcome Greg Keys to the Information and Technology team. His expertise with instructional technology and his background in teaching and learning make him a natural fit for the district with our continued goals for innovation and instruction,” Senior Information and Technology Officer Dr. David Blattner said in a news release.

Keys obtained his bachelor’s degree, a master of arts in education media with instructional technology concentration, a graduate certificate of school leadership, and an instructional technology leadership graduate certification, all from Appalachian State University.

 

Morgan Elementary staff takes part in competency-based education training

GOLD HILL — Morgan Elementary staff participated in Marzano Resources professional development on October 13. Marzano Resources is a national leader in the
movement toward personalized learning for students through competency-based education. Staff spent the day with Douglas Finn III, a co-author of A Handbook for Personalized
Competency-Based Education.

“I am extremely excited to be working with the Morgan Elementary administrators and staff. My excitement is based on the school’s foundation they built before the Oct 13 professional
development. Their foundation of energy, willingness and strategic planning make the topics and strategies for CBE much more effective. Everyone is focusing on creating the best learning environment for their students and I feel lucky to be a part of this work,” Finn said.

The training focused on topics such as student agency, code of cooperation, standard operating procedures, and student voice and choice. Finn outlined best practices and how to leverage
these strategies to make CBE as successful as possible. Teachers, instructional assistants, support staff, and administration worked in groups to brainstorm implementation plans for Morgan classrooms. Morgan has fully implemented a competency-based education system for the 2021-2022 school year and hopes to participate in future training with Marzano Resources.