School staffer named Woman of Innovation
by Jake Krob · November 18, 2009

For Julie Hill, it’s about the school district’s focus on helping students and staff succeed.

“I’m in a place that encourages me to be innovative,” Hill said.

As the technology director for Lisbon School, Hill was honored last week with an Iowa Woman of Innovation Award from the Technology Association of Iowa. It’s the second year the non-profit organization has specifically honored the work of women in technology fields. Hill received the Academic Innovation and Leadership in Secondary Education honor. She was nominated for the award by Kevin Halder of Network Computer Solutions of Eastern Iowa.

“This is what I love to do – it’s my passion,” Hill said of her work.

“She is so open to finding new ways to do things,” said Lisbon secondary principal Brian Downing. “It’s really appropriate that she’s been honored for innovation.”

A native of Minden in western Iowa, Hill grew up with four sisters. All, she said, were encouraged by their parents to work hard and “do your best” at whatever task they faced.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the former Tarkio College in Missouri and landed her first job at Center Point, teaching first grade, in 1989.

Hill had an Apple IIe in her classroom, and said she was “bit by the bug” of using technology to help students, thanks to a media specialist at the school.

She and her husband, Bob, have lived in Lisbon since 1991. They have a son, Seth, who’s in seventh grade.

Hill landed a third grade teaching job at Lisbon in 1996. For a couple of years, she essentially had two full-time jobs – as a third grade teacher and technology director. She received a master’s degree in educational technology from UNI in 2001 and for about six years she’s been the school district’s full-time technology director.

Hill loves that her job is filled with diversity. One moment she’s helping a staff member with a computer software issue, the next she’s working on a networking problem, the next she’s training someone how to use a particular program.

“I just love the ever-changing,” she said. “I’m someone who wants to have a challenge.”

Downing said Hill is constantly working to find ways the district can use technology in the education of students.

And she’s been innovative.

When a few years ago she learned of a group of students’ desires to create a music studio, Hill worked with them to set one up in the school, thanks to funding from the Booster Club.

When she realized a number of students could benefit from working with technology to help others, she put Lisbon on the map with the district becoming the first school in the state to join the international program known as SWAT (Students Working toward the Advancement of Technology). The program involves middle schoolers assisting Hill as she helps staff and students with their technology issues. Each day, during a study hall period, the students are sent out with work orders to complete. Furthermore, Hill has high school work study students helping her.

This school year, the district is diving into “cloud computing,” where data and software isn’t stored on an individual machine but “in the clouds” on a server. Hill worked with teachers on training for Google documents in that area this summer. She’s excited about how it can free up resources – such as the cost and maintenance of software – to focus on other areas.

Hill said all of this work wouldn’t be possible if not for supportive, energetic administrators, staff and students. Chief among them is Julie Hendricks, an assistant in the technology area.

“This award is for everyone,” she said.