Beyond the Keyboard: Meeting LaRue County Schools’ IT Crowd

“Have you tried turning off and turning it back on again?” So goes the most common joke in Information Technology (IT) departments — largely thanks to the British comedy series “The IT Crowd”. But for LaRue County schools chief information officer Freddie Newby, the work is far more than flipping an on/off switch.

During the school year, work typically involves standard IT maintenance. They’ll help maintain laptops, monitor ticketing for in-class fixes, and handle things like phones, printers and Internet network access. The schools’ Chromebooks provide a steady stream of fixes, giving students an opportunity to get hands-on IT and computer science experience.

One might think that things would slow down during the summer once kids, teachers and staff leave. However, Newby explained there’s a lot of work to do to prep for the next year. During the summer, those Chromebooks become one of the first orders of business.

“The IT department’s summer is our busiest time of the school year,” Newby said “Once Chromebooks are taken up, each one has to be inspected, a work order placed for any needed repairs. Then, we are able to order parts, generate any needed invoices, and once the parts are in we are able to repair each unit.

“Next we have to reassign Chromebooks to students for the upcoming year by updating the inventory, creating badges and tags, and having them ready for pickup on the first day of school. This process includes our district techs and technology resource technicians at each school. It is not only detailed and very lengthy, but it also consumes most of our summer.”

Chromebooks are just the start of a busy summer for the IT department. They’ve still got technology infrastructure elements like server updates and maintenance, interactive displays for classrooms, updating digital signage and maintaining them, checking on surveillance cameras, and managing staff accounts for the upcoming school year.

The LaRue County Schools IT team goes above and beyond despite the busyness, Newby said. He noted that the school system includes a wide range of digital skills — from the tech savvy to the not-so-comfortable. Bridging the digital divide has been a national focus for educators for decades now. As the nation and world move toward increasingly digital means of business and communication, it’s critical that students have the skills they need to succeed beyond graduation.

The LaRue County IT Department all share a common goal: helping bridge the gap when it comes to ever-changing technology. Newby said he and the team take that divide into consideration when addressing any technology issues.

“We assist everyone with patience and understanding,” he said. “Making our end users feel comfortable to work with us and build their confidence in using technology will help us to empower them.”