Aliquippa School District recognizes the increasingly important role of technology in educating their K-12 students. They also understand the difficulties that accompany technology implementation and management. In the early 1990s, Frannie Brown, the district's Cisco Certified Technology Administrator, was one of the first in the district to realize technology would impact education. A computer technology teacher at the time, Brown began by writing grants and using the money to increase the school's technology infrastructure.
When the Internet became more prevalent in the mid-1990s, Brown worked with district officials to offer it within the school's computer labs. But as the technology continued to grow, the need to maintain and monitor the network became as much of a full-time position as teaching.
"Managing our district's technology became a full-time responsibility and it quickly became evident that someone needed to oversee its function on a daily basis," recalls Brown. "However, when it came to building the district's infrastructure, I was knowledgeable, but needed qualified support to make sure we implemented everything correctly and that we did so with room to grow and continually improve it."