Profile
Quinn Kellis
Principal,
Hillcrest Middle School
Deer Valley Unified School District
Glendale, Arizona
Quinn Kellis knew early that he wanted to be an administrator but he wasn't sure what kind. He thought about hospital administration, but his brother, a doctor, advised against it. With the encouragement of his father, himself a school superintendent, Quinn chose to make his career in education.
After earning a B.A. degree from Brigham Young University and an M.A. from Chapman University, the tall, lanky Arizona native taught Spanish and English for four years at Deer Valley High School in Glendale, Arizona. "As a teacher, I got in a lot of trouble for using technology," shares Quinn. "I tried to submit computer-generated grade sheets for final grades, but I was told to go back and write them all by hand. My wife and I spent hours copying a whole semester's worth of six classes' grades by hand into a grade book."
Fortunately, the experience did not undermine Quinn's interest in finding ways to use technology to streamline and improve education. As assistant principal of newly opened Mountain Ridge High School, he was responsible for facilities, curriculum and technology. "I was working with a principal who already had a vision of technology," relates Quinn. "She committed resources to build a media center that was technology based. We ordered fewer books and emphasized access to on-line resources. We had a 72 station student computer lab. In lieu of classroom cupboards and more expensive teacher desks, we afforded a computer for the teacher in every classroom." Under Quinn's guidance, the school built a campus-wide network to enable every student to access personal file storage from any computer on campus, developed a broadcasting studio, and launched teacher web sites. Mountain Ridge also started a program of monthly staff development opportunities for teachers that has spread to other schools in the district.
In his six years at Mountain Ridge, Quinn's own vision for technology crystallized. He looks forward to the day that technology bridges school and home and enables parents to be partners in their children's education in ways that have never before been possible. "Parents should be able to go on line anytime and find out about their kids, just like they can go to the bank's site and check their bank balance, make transfers, pay bills. Parents should be able to go to the school's web site and access information like attendance, grades, discipline. And this could all happen in a month's time if we were able to devote the necessary financial and human resources."
In 2001, Quinn became principal of Hillcrest Middle School, which sits adjacent to his former school. He's excited to be working with a motivated staff that's ready and willing to work with technology. But there are obstacles to be overcome before Quinn's vision is realized. Like many other districts, Deer Valley faces tough economic times and must find ways to cut the budget, not increase it. Technology must compete for scarce funds that are also needed to maintain top notch instructional programs and retain the district's very able teaching force in a time of teacher shortage.
In the meantime, this low key, soft spoken leader is focusing on using existing technology to better advantage. In particular, he wants to make it possible for every teacher to access student data, find out how students are doing compared to their peers, find out what they know and they don't know, and then use technology to get kids to where they need to be.
Quinn is dedicated to advancing technology's role in education. He is one of 12 Phoenix area principals working with Arizona State University, Apple Computer, and the American Association of School Administrators to develop a set of multimedia exhibits that will be published on the web and illustrate the Technology Standards for School Administrators. He is also part of the first cadre of principals to participate in Arizona's Leadership Institutes for Technology, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
What does Quinn do when he's not at school or a leadership seminar? He enjoys woodworking and is proud of the wall unit he completed for his mother. He loves the outdoors and camps, fishes, and hikes. On vacation, you'll find him reading Tom Clancy or John Grisham. And most of all, he enjoys the time he can spend with his wife Suzanne, his two sons ages 8 and 10, and his 4 year old daughter.