In announcing a new option for students to receive instruction for the 2020-21 school year, Cleburne ISD has named Secondary Digital Learning Coordinator Tracy Shea to oversee the district’s new remote learning program.

                “Remote learning will provide an option for parents, their students, and staff, who are prohibited from returning to school for face-to-face instruction due to health concerns,” Superintendent Dr. Kyle Heath said. “Tracy played a very instrumental role in the remote learning we provided during the school closure to avoid the spread of COVID-19. She brings a lot to her new position in the district, as Director of Remote Learning, in her experience as a classroom teacher, her involvement with faculty as a member of our curriculum and instruction team and her exemplary skills in technology.”

                “We are extremely fortunate to have someone with her expertise to develop a remote learning program to facilitate teacher support and meet student needs,” Heath said. “She is a great fit for this position.”

                Shea joined the Cleburne High School Career and Technical Education program in 2013 as an audio/visual technology teacher. In 2015 she was honored as the Texas Technology Student Association Advisor of the Year. She has been in her current position in the CISD Curriculum and Instruction Department since 2015 and has also served as the district’s videographer, including production of the monthly “CISD Matters” video.

                Shea holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Tarleton State University. Shea began her career in education in 2004 with Everman ISD, where she taught seventh grade language arts. She served in Alvarado ISD from 2006-12, starting as a sixth grade language arts teacher before moving to the high school to teach audio/visual technology.

                “Having a director of remote learning will put us ahead of the game in developing a program that will be at the same level of rigor as instruction in the physical classroom,” Kristi Rhone, assistant superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction said. “Tracy’s level of experience will be of great help to our teachers who will be engaged in the remote learning initiative.”

                Shea is excited to be working with teachers and students in this new capacity, in coordinating the remote learning program. She will move into the “director’s chair” on July 1.

                “I am excited to serve CISD in this new position as we start 2020-21, in giving our parents and teachers a remote learning option,” Shea said. “I’m very proud the District is ready to meet the instructional learning needs of students in this way. Over the last four years, Cleburne ISD has been actively collaborating with other north Texas districts who use similar tech tools. This innovative and forward thinking collaboration has kept our district at the helm of PreK-12 instructional technology integration. We are ready to provide remote learning as an option for our students.”

                “I am blessed to work in a district that is cognizant of the medical vulnerability of some students and staff members and their health concerns in returning to the classroom and face-to-face instruction,” Shea said. “Through remote instruction, we are offering an alternative learning option for our students, and an alternative working option for teachers. We want our students to be successful, therefore it is imperative that we provide a learning environment that is technology infused. To accomplish this, we have provided our teaching staff with the educational technology resources to support continued learning and the necessary social, emotional and academic growth critical to the development of the whole child.”