Dr. Eileen Woods is the Principal for The South Elementary School in Andover. A Reading resident, Eileen has provided leadership in the field of educational technology since 1985 when she became a principal in the Andover Public Schools. As Principal of South School, she has been a strong, visionary leader who is not afraid to take risks. Woods gained recognition with one of the first programs in Massachusetts to utilize laptops as a learning tool for elementary students. She piloted a mobile wireless laptop computer classroom and initiated the first-in-the-Commonwealth, student-owned, laptop computer classrooms. Eileen provided time and found funding to train teachers for a successful writing program using portable keyboards, and for a project where the first grade team built photo portfolios that showed the students’ development over the course of the year. From laptops to desktops to video cameras to AlphaSmart keyboards, she has encouraged her staff and students to utilize the technology-rich environment she has helped to create.

While employed with the Andover Public Schools, Eileen has nurtured the use of technology through modeling. For example, she took a web design class side-by-side with her teachers, and afterward developed her own “Principal’s Page” in order to communicate with parents. She used a digital camera to capture “lunch brunch” meetings with first grade students. She regularly uses email to inform her staff about weekly events, and she conducts her teacher observations using her laptop to take notes. Most importantly, she has built a staff of risk-takers in the use of technology. Her staff understands that if they introduce a new program or present a new idea, they will have the support of their principal. The teachers at South Elementary know that Eileen Woods will be there to provide the resources, training, and time necessary for them to succeed.

Eileen participated in her district’s long-range technology plan, and in 1999 she was named Massachusetts Principal of the Year. In 2001 she and her “laptop teachers” presented at the National Anytime, Anywhere Laptop Conference in Boston. Also, she recently hosted an educational foundation from Spain. She shared with these educators, leadership ideas about establishing laptop schools in their country. Dr. Eileen Woods is an exemplary principal and leader 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.