Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School’s Information Technology Academy will be the only site in Atlanta Public Schools to participate in Operation Reboot, a program designed to transform IT workers into teachers. Thanks to Barbara Ericson, director of the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, and Dr. Shirlene Carter, Jackson principal, and Dr. Phyllis Earls, Academy Leader for the Information Technology Academy, Operation Reboot will launch at Jackson High this month.
Dr. Theo Smith, Jr., theme teacher in the IT Academy, shared an article with Dr. Earls in April 2009 that offered an overview of the grant’s proposal and contact information. The timing was perfect; Dr. Earls and the IT theme teachers were reflecting on the course offerings and the direction of the program beyond year one of the IT Small Learning Community launch in August 2008. Though the Programs of Studies (POS) were established, the theme teachers in the academy (though certified to teach POS courses) wanted more professional learning experiences to provide a sure-fire “hook” for the IT Academy students.