Sheila Talamo On-line Summer Institute Participant

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Name of School

Louisiana Department of Education, Louisiana Center for Educational Technology

Name of city, state

Baton Rouge, LA

Number of students enrolled in school

about 900,000 K-12 students in Louisiana (public and non-public)

General description of school and communities served

Louisiana has a diverse population and consequently the Department of Education serves urban, rural, and surburban communities of students. Unfortunately, a large portion of our student population is from low socio-economic backgrounds (approximately 59% of Louisiana students are on free and reduced lunch). Like many other states, we are working hard to meet the challenges of educational reform, higher standards for students and teachers, high stakes testing, technology integration, and professional development.

School's home page

The Louisiana Department of Education web site is http://www.doe.state.la.us

Information on the center at which I am Assistant Director is located at http://www.doe.state.la.us/DOE/asps/home.asp?I=LCET

The major instructional programs for which I have responsibility include

• Making Connections http://www.lcet.doe.state.la.us/conn
• Louisiana INTECH http://www.lcet.doe.state.la.us/laintech
• the Louisiana Virtual Classroom http://www.lcet.doe.state.la.us/distance/

Next year's class assignment

I anticipate that I will be working on many of the same projects during the coming school year. In addition we hope to begin implementation of a new program for K-12 administrators, LEADTech. LEADTech will be a multi-faceted program, utilizing face-to-face seminars, compressed video conferencing, online courses, and technology workshops, designed to develop and support stronger instructional leaders in our schools ... with and through technology.

Any general bio information

Alumnus of Math Forum Summer Institute '96; math teacher for 25 years, high school principal for 8 of those years. I was born and raised in Louisiana. Have been married for 23 years and have a sixteen year old son.

Any major interest outside of education?

Who has time??? But I do love to travel and read ... whenever the opportunity arises. And, I particularly love spending time with my husband and son -- just relaxing and enjoying one another's company.