RISING STAR
Melanie Arrington – Rome City Schools
School District Rome City Schools
Link https://youtu.be/3VYmwWiztLg
From the nomination…
Melanie Arrington is a star in her field. She is a media specialist like no other. Walk into her media center and you hear the hum of the 3D printer, the smell of wood burning on the Glowforge, and the chatter of children working collaboratively on projects like cardboard challenges. She has a passion for engaging students and teachers in the art of technology. She sees her library as the heart of our school and she takes learning to a whole new level. She introduces our students to technology that enhances their world. The students at Elm Street have access to virtual reality, allowing them to experience a world they may never have the opportunity to experience without this technology. Our students learn through coding, building, creating, and exploring. This technology helps to meet the learning styles of our students. They find they have talents they never knew they had.
She takes this passion to a new level by sharing her passion with teachers through monthly grade-level meetings. She always knows the newest up-and-coming app, website, or tool. We are the first to try new programs. She guides us through how to use them as well as gives us ideas on how to incorporate them into our content area. If teachers are uncomfortable with the technology but really want to try it she will model it in his or her classroom. Melanie is the lifeline of our school.
Mrs. Arrington’s impact is clear across our school. Teachers all over the building use technology throughout their day. Children are comfortable with coding, not afraid to try new things, and ALL think outside the box. She has guided our school to begin student-led businesses such as Sugar Kids Beauty, a first-grade company that makes sugar scrubs.
She also co-created the Elm Street ASPIRE Fit to Read Trail as part of the after-school ASPIRE program. This partnership with Trails for Recreation and Economic Development (TRED) resulted in a storybook and fitness trail along the GE Trail at Garrard Park. In this program, students recorded their original stories and provided the community with a QR code to enable the community to hear their stories. She also videoed the students performing exercises for the public to perform during the trial. These are just a few of the projects Melanie has spearheaded in our school.
There are so many students that I have seen change their view of school once they were introduced to the creative outlet of technology. Students that have struggled academically see they can be successful when exposed to new creative venues to express their talents. The confidence and self-expression these children have is immeasurable. Mrs. Arrington and her media center are the heart of Elm Street.
She is a Rising Star and helps the rest of us students and teachers shine.