BY ELAINA DEPETRO
Staff Writer

Dr. Janeen Peretin recently went from high school vice principal to district director of information and instructional technology. Peretin also recently received her doctorate from Robert Morris University.

Peretin graduated from Baldwin High School in 1998. She received her undergrad degree from Duquesne, master’s from Gannon, and principal’s certificate from California University. Peretin worked at the high school for the past 11 years, six as a math teacher and five as a vice principal.

Question: What does the new technology position entail?

Answer: One of my primary goals will be to work with students and staff on the integration of the technology that we have into classrooms, as well as building new programs with that we don’t currently have.

Q: What types of technology do you think teachers would use if they only knew how?

A: I am looking forward to us getting back to using Blackboard or some other learning management system. I know a lot of teachers currently use Weebly, but Blackboard offers some more interactive features that Weebly does not.

Q: When and why did you get involved with the Highlander Pride program?

A: The Highlander Pride program has been going on for seven years. I think it is a great way to recognize students and staff members who do the right thing day in and day out.

Q: What are some of your other accomplishments as vice principal?

A: I changed the format of curriculum night. It was one of my first initiatives. It became more of a college fair atmosphere. What I liked about that was that there was an opportunity for students, parents, and teachers to interact and it wasn’t a one-sided event with no interaction.

Q: What areas do you think the high school needs to work on?

A: I think our two biggest assets are the rich diversity in the student body and vast knowledge possessed by teachers. I would like to see the marrying of those two things so students and teachers both can, during the course of the day, explore what their individual passions are more.

Q: What technology do you think should be added into the high school?

A: There is a lot of work going on with 3D-printers and I think we are significantly behind on that. I would also like to see more programming, mulit-media presentation, game-based learning, and app designing/coding classes. This is an area in our curriculum that not enough attention has been paid to in the past few years.

Q: Are there any early projects you are thinking of that you can share?

A: I want to solidify the BYOD policy. To date there is still nothing on the books so that we have a proper policy in place. The other piece to it is to revamp the library spaces, a little bit in our building, but in the entire district, turning them into library media centers.

Q: What does it mean to you to get a promotion in Baldwin after going to school here and growing in your career here?

A: I have always believed in our schools, students, and teachers, so for me to have this opportunity I am thankful and appreciative. It’s going to allow me to grow as an educator but at the same time really develop programs from the ground up. So I think that really is exciting to be a part of that process.

Q: Do you have any final thoughts?

A: I would just like to thank the students and staff for all of their support during my time as a student, teacher, and administrator. I am really looking forward to this new chapter. But don’t worry –I am always a phone call or tweet away.