Elections

Lynmara Colón

Director of English Learner Programs and Services
Prince William County Schools

Educational Leadership

Lynmara brings the perspective of a teacher, assistant principal, and principal—positions she has held since joining education in 2003. As principal of an elementary school in 2014, she served over 1,000 students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade and was able to increase reading engagement by leading a culture of literacy, personalized learning, and collaborative learning teams. She now leads the English Learners office where she supports over 20,000 Els, teachers, and their families.

Vision for VSTE

My vision for VSTE is to continue to advocate for special populations and represent the fastest growing population in the VA. I want to continue supporting educators in seeing Els as students who have potential and deserve access despite where they come from or the level of their digital literacy skills.

Biographical Sketch

Lynmara believes all schools should be run like Disney; providing magical experiences to every student regardless or their background. She now heads the office that provides comprehensive registration services to English learners and immigrant children, including translation and interpretation services, to a school division serving over 90,000 students. These students represent 124 countries and 149 languages. Colón holds two master’s degrees: a degree in curriculum and instruction, and the other in educational leadership. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in education through Old Dominion University.

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Kerry Adkins

Gifted Resource Teacher
Marsteller Middle School/Prince William County Schools

Educational Leadership

I have served on many county committees, on gifted advisory boards, as grade level chair, 504 coordinator, mentor, and on leadership teams making decisions that offered equitable and rigorous opportunities for all students. I currently participate in my county’s digital citizenship educator cohort and facilitated a professional development session on gifted education via Zoom using collaborative apps like Mentimeter, Padlet, and break out rooms. Previously, I served as a middle school assistant principal where I facilitated a digital safety session for parents and served on the county’s leadership team making decisions on initiatives for the county. I presented at a Virginia gifted conference on a STEM project in which my students had an experiment included on a NASA sounding rocket; I enjoyed encouraging teachers to participate in the program.

Vision for VSTE

My vision for VSTE is to support the goals of all Virginia educators from small to large divisions as they use the tools of technology to implement Virginia’s 5 Cs. VSTE can lead the way by researching emerging technologies while considering how they can support current school initiatives such as ensuring equity and culturally responsive instruction. VSTE can also lead in demonstrating how technologies can support learners of all abilities. By providing requested professional learning and other opportunities for educators, both live and asynchronous, VSTE will lead the way in supporting teachers and encouraging technology in education.

Biographical Sketch

For seventeen years I have worked in four counties with students of all ability levels on the elementary and middle school levels. I taught Language Arts and gifted resource classes and served as a middle school building administrator and 504 coordinator. I recently earned a doctorate in educational leadership from VCU and the experience taught me a great deal about working digitally with a team. I enjoy sharing my passion for lifelong learning and my interest in using tools that engage students in STEAM education to bring them what they need for the future.

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Matt Caratachea

Coordinator of Technology Integration & Innovation
Goochland County Public Schools

Educational Leadership

Before becoming an educational leader in title for Goochland County Public Schools, I had many leadership roles. I helped organize and carry out division-wide events celebrating students and teachers for the innovative learning experiences happening across the county. I also helped organize division-wide professional learning events for teachers and leaders that were both packed with learning and fun. Currently in my role in central office I am lucky enough to lead an amazing team of coaches as we not only design professional learning to help teachers and leaders feel supported and prepared for anything, but help shape the instructional vision of the school division as we continue to grow and innovate.

Vision for VSTE

Driving state-wide educational innovation and creating opportunities to bring educators together are two incredibly important aspects of the VSTE organization. Though this past year was one of immense struggle, one positive light is the widespread adoption of integrating technology by teachers. VSTE must now reach the teachers who are starting to see the potential in these technological tools in order to not only meet these teachers with the high quality professional learning they need to carry on, but to also guide these educators in meaningfully integrating this into their classrooms. True innovation in schools can only happen when top notch pedagogy and 21st century tools and practices come together. There are teachers and leaders all over the state excited to help shape what comes next in education in a post-COVID world and VSTE will be the force behind bringing them together and making it a reality.

Biographical Sketch

From classroom teacher, to coach, and now in central office, I have always been an advocate for the innovative use of technology in the classroom. Helping teachers, students, and leaders see technology as a tool that can be used to create is a passion of mine. My day is made when a student is able to find their voice or their next creative outlet through a tool they have learned in school, or when a teacher has a vision and I can help with the tools or knowledge to help them see it through.

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Kelly S. Rippard, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer
Old Dominion University

Educational Leadership

My educational leadership experience spans both the secondary and post-secondary learning environments. As a third generation educator, I began my secondary teaching career as an English teacher at a technology-rich public high school in southeastern Virginia that also housed the district's STEM academy; here I was also a grade-level leader and subject-matter expert in technology. Later, I transitioned to teaching future teachers at both the undergraduate and graduate level in PK-12 instructional technology courses. During this time, I have been a committee member and committee chair for my college's Technology Committee, and I have been a part of the college's Transition Team to help faculty and students transition to online learning during the global pandemic. Lastly, I have served as a special interest group (SIG) chair within the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education.

Vision for VSTE

My vision for VSTE for the next three years includes two main tasks: 1) increasing VSTE's professional development presence in schools and districts and 2) investigating certificate-type training options for Virginia's educators. I'd like to see VSTE focus on professional development seminars, events, and sessions offered in partnership with the state's districts and as a way of meeting teachers where they are and with what they need. During the pandemic and with many districts' budgets increasingly narrowing, I think this is a way to work with educators who cannot travel to conferences. Lastly, many organizations are offering certificates for learning different technologies and methods through online training courses (both asynchronous and synchronous), and I'd like to see VSTE pursue some of these options, too, or work to partner with other state organizations (like Virtual Virgina) to offer certificates, classes, or even professional development hours that can go towards recertification points for educators.

Biographical Sketch

I am a technologist, researcher, instructional designer and licensed English educator. My areas of interest include technology education, mobile learning, blended learning models, instructional design, curriculum development, and English education. After having a successful career as a secondary and post secondary English educator as well as an instructional designer and curriculum specialist, I am currently a senior lecturer in the department of teaching and learning at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Here I focus on teaching future teachers about the innovative ways to use technology for learning, including how technology can be used for higher-level learning and collaboration in the classroom, how to best apply the TPACK framework in various disciplines and grade-levels, and how BYOD can be used to differentiate learning.

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