Awards

The VSTE Coach and VSTE Leader of the Year awards recognize and honor coaches and leaders who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in implementing technology to improve education.  Award recipients are selected from a pool of nominations submitted by VSTE members from around Virginia.

On December 5, 2022, during the VSTE Annual Conference, three individuals were recognized as Technology Coaches and Leaders for their outstanding work in supporting their peers and districts in becoming digital-age educators. The winners met the high standards set by the ISTE Standards for Coaches and Education Leaders.

Below are our winners and remarks that were provided as part of their application packet.

Logan Childress - Emerging Technology Specialist, Bristol Virginia Public Schools

Mr. Childress was brought to BVPS as an Emerging Technology Specialist and immediately began work on two state of the art virtual labs that have become the envy of the state. Working with universities, vendors and local businesses, he has put together a lab on a scale that is rarely seen in education. Additionally, he has procured software, trained staff and students and worked with teachers to find the software that best meets the needs of their students. He has actively pursued legislators and Department of Education personnel for funding and awareness of the potential for virtual reality in education. He is a true advocate for the betterment of education and the extension of learning beyond the traditional school environment.

Catherine Richards  - Lead Instructional Technology Coach Goochland County Public Schools

Ms. Richards has spearheaded many efforts at Goochland High School that have positively impacted teaching and learning in both an immediate and sustained way. She led the GHS faculty through the school's school-wide goal of having 100% of the instructional team engage in at least one meaningful cross-curricular lesson. This goal was met with flying colors and included collaborations between an advanced statistics teacher and the health and physical education department which focused on the integration of tools to measure heart rate during physical activity, as well as a partnership between the culinary program and history department that had students dive deep into specific time periods and explore the impact of food and culture.

Dr. Chris Collier, GHS principal, identified Ms. Richards' leadership related to the school's cross-curricular goal as, "the most important instructional work in the school during the 2021-22 school year."

Dr. Anthony Brads  - Superintendent Culpeper County Public Schools 

In 2014, Dr. Brad took the reins of the Culpeper County School division and immediately sought goals to enhance the opportunities of students within the division. Working closely with community partners, he endeavored to create a career technical center that would provide students with real world training to meet the needs of the growing economy throughout Northern Virginia. In particular, he recognized building trades, but also cyber-security and basic networking skills. This facility launched two years ago and has since added solar panels to teach students how to use and install this new technology. The division has been working on collaborative projects with Amazon Web Services who recently were approved to build a data center in Culpeper illustrating the relationship between education and industry.

Additionally, In an effort to provide the skill set needed for students to be successful, Dr. Brads saw the value of Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRTs) and their collaborative work with teachers. As a result, he worked with the local school board to provide an ITRT in each building going beyond the minimums set forth under the standards of quality. This effort exemplifies the Superintendent’s understanding that ITRTs are effective instructional coaches who can assist in the development and implementation of curriculum to meet the demands of the Profile of a Graduate set forth by the VDOE. He also understands the value of the technical expertise required to be an advocate for the use of instructional technologies in the classroom. This is apparent in his emphasis placed on professional development and ensuring the teachers of Culpeper are provided the best instructional tools available.