Profile
Rebecca Gillespie
Superintendent
Winters JUSD
An educator for more than 20 years, Becci Gillespie has held a variety of positions including teacher, assistant principal, principal (both elementary and middle school), and now superintendent-principal in a small but vital district just outside Sacramento, California. She has worked in large and small schools and districts on both traditional and multi-track year round calendars. Becci has enjoyed the variety of challenges she's faced in these different settings.
Becci is a lifelong learner and is particularly proud of having completed her doctoral degree in educational leadership in 2003.
Becci first became interested in technology while in college-although, she says, "technology choices were still emerging way back then!" As a new teacher, she pursued opportunities to try new technologies and feels extremely fortunate to have worked with a very forward-thinking principal and superintendent who provided her with lots of learning opportunities and support. She had the opportunity to try out new computers and applications as they became available. Before long, she was teaching computer classes to other teachers and later, as an administrator, leading district technology efforts.
When asked what technology solutions and projects she believes make the biggest difference in schools and education, she promptly replied, "Almost any technology can make a difference-if it's used!" She believes successful technology implementation has to do with effective leadership on the part of both teachers and administrators. "Using technology involves significant change, and that kind of change only takes place when people work together. You can have the latest and greatest tech solutions, but they won't be used effectively unless you have people working together to make it happen."
What role does Becci see for technology in the future of education? A big one! "If knowledge is power," says Becci, "successful students need to have access to the latest information. They should have access to tools to deliver, analyze, and present information. I love the fact that our students can have a laptop that has a wireless connection to the Internet on their desk. They can research a topic, then use PowerPoint or iMovie to report what they've learned to the class. It's hard to imagine how we'll be learning in the future."
Despite the demands of her role as superintendent/principal, Becci finds time for a variety of other professional and personal activities. She works with a consulting group and also coaches intern teachers on classroom management and professional responsibilities. She greatly enjoys spending time with her family. And, to relax, Becci loves to swim, walk, and travel to new and exciting places. She has traveled through the United States and to Canada, Mexico, and Europe and is planning a trip next summer to Italy, Switzerland, and Eastern Europe. She hopes to see an opera in the newly-remodeled Milan Opera House and visit a museum in Prague. One of her most memorable traveling moments is riding a rickety train up a mountain pass to a glacier in the Alps. "It was breathtaking and terrifying at the same time!"