Gail Ross-McBride is Director of Emerging Technologies at TEC (The Education Cooperative) in Wellesley. A Lexington resident, Gail has provided leadership in the field of education since 1974 when she began her career in Weymouth as a special education teacher. Early on she recognized the importance of computer assisted learning, and she incorporated technology into her curriculum at The School of the Future in Cambridge, Massachusetts while at the same time earning a Masters in computers in education. Since 1986 when she became the Director of Emerging Technologies for TEC, Gail’s leadership, dedication, and group best practice professional development have not only served TEC’s thirteen communities (Dedham, Dover, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medfield, Natick, Needham, Norwood, Sherborn, Walpole, Wayland, Wellesley, and Westwood) well but also have elevated technologies’ thinking and applications across Massachusetts. That same year she created the first vendor area for the MassCUE Conference, she served as Conference Chair the following year, and she went on to serve as MassCUE’s vice-president for four years.

While employed with The Education Cooperative, Gail has nurtured the use of technology through monthly meetings with the technology coordinators from the member school districts. Thomas Plati, the Director of Libraries and Educational Technologies for Wellesley Public Schools, commented that these meetings “always provide rich sources of information . . . . Educators in our local area and in the state have been major beneficiaries of Gail’s work.” In addition, she worked with key Massachusetts technology educators and the Department of Education to work out a procedure whereby educators currently in the field could be grandfathered into the certification for Instructional Technology.

Gail’s accomplishments for TEC communities include a film, video, and software library; an adaptive equipment center, an MCAS data management center, curriculum review showcases, and a network of custom designed, professional development technology integration workshops. She also wrote about her classroom experiences for Scholastic magazine, wrote and received grants focusing on special education and assistive technology, and offered training for teachers using technology as a tool for inclusion. Recently she wrote two grants that enabled educators in TEC schools to be trained in assistive technology practices. Perhaps most importantly, Gail has learned how to effectively bring school administrators together into a comfortable setting where they can share information and ask questions. She facilitates such meetings by keeping the participants informed, by providing resources, and by offering them the comfort and confidence to question further. Gail Ross-McBride is an exemplary leader who goes well beyond her job description, and who has a proven track record of accomplishments. Her commitment to student and teacher training in the field of Educational Technology uniquely qualifies her to receive a MassCUE Year 2003 Pathfinder Award.