Contributing Chargers: Katy Deegan

This week’s Contributing Charger is Katy Deegan, Shorecrest’s Lower School Technology Coordinator and long time supporter of the Shorecrest Fund.

In her ten years at Shorecrest, Ms. Deegan has helped transform technology from projectors, Elmos, and SmartBoards to students learning to code through Beebots and Ozobots in the Experiential and Lower Schools, LEGO robotics in the Middle School, and AR/VR in the Upper School. This year Ms. Deegan has been instrumental in the transition to Flexible Learning and expanding our Apple One-To-One programs to start in second grade.

"As the Lower School Technology Coordinator, I am proud of the innovative and technological transformations throughout the school. Innovation means that we are willing to introduce and promote new ideas to our students. We encourage our students to take risks and be creative in their problem-solving. Through our project work, students have learned to formulate questions, research, problem-solve and develop communication skills. At Shorecrest, we continue to integrate technology in our daily lessons as well as introduce new trends and build our students’ and teachers’ expertise as technology changes. From the Experiential School to the Upper School, students have the opportunities to experiment with and use a variety of technology. 

“Shorecrest is a special place. I’ve seen our community pull together during many challenges. Our teachers are dedicated to teaching and caring for their students.This year has been a laborious one as we experienced face-to-face learning on campus and distance learning through the Flex program. It was also fascinating to see how well our teachers and students adjusted to the online format last year. We would have never been able to make it through the past year marked by the pandemic without Dr. Anna Baralt, Director of Educational Technology, and our wonderful Tech Team. They have worked together to train and help teachers with implementing digital curriculum and the usage of digital tools. The Tech Team has been instrumental in supporting our students, faculty & staff, and families both on campus and at home. It really does take a village! We are so lucky to have the leadership of Dr. Baralt  and the support team to make our school run smoothly. 

“When I give to Shorecrest, I know that I am donating to a school full of dedicated and talented faculty and staff. All of our community benefits from the contribution. Seeing the new building come to fruition and knowing that we are so close to transforming our school into our modern vision makes me proud. I am grateful to be a teacher, community member and donor to Shorecrest. I see the benefits of what giving makes possible at our school.”

During a year of many challenges, what stands out the most is the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff. They are continuing to learn new skills to make each student experience the best, whether it is socially distant in the classroom or virtually from home. This is what make Shorecrest the #1 ranked school for STEM in Pinellas County (according to Niche.com) and among the top 500 STEM schools in the nation (according to Newsweek Magazine).

The impact of our Contributing Chargers is felt every day. When we make a gift or volunteer our time to Shorecrest, we are really just giving back to each other.