Suffolk Public Schools’ technology mastermind John W. Littlefield has earned a regional distinction as one of the best in his field.

As Coordinator of Technology for the school division, Littlefield was named this past week as the 2002 Educational Technology Leader for the Hampton Roads region (Region II) by the Virginia Department of Education. Littlefield is one of seven technology coordinators tapped for the honor.

Suffolk Public Schools Superintendent Milton R. Liverman, who nominated Littlefield for the award, credits him with &uot;transforming the school division’s technology program from a haphazard collection of computers to an integrated system to provide students and staff with key instructional support.

&uot;Littlefield has demonstrated an untiring vision of how technology can effectively be used to support teaching, learning and school management.&uot;

Since joining Suffolk Public Schools in 1998, Littlefield increased the technological capabilities of the system by rallying support for equitable access to hardware, software and connectivity, and led the schools to meet the Virginia Department of Education’s technology goal of a one-to-five computer-to-student ratio, according to a report released by the schools.

One of Littlefield’s most significant contributions to the school management has been the development of SOLO (Standards of Learning Online), which allows teachers throughout the division to create SOL assessments, share test questions, and manage student records – making Suffolk Public Schools on of the first to create is own online testing system.

Since 1998 Littlefield’s one-person staff has grown to include a crew of technicians responsible for internal repairs and Compaq warranty work. Again, Littlefield created a unique system for online repair requests and tracking, thereby reducing paperwork.

&uot;Without Littlefield’s energy, vision and hard work,&uot; Liverman wrote in his nomination letter, &uot;Suffolk Public Schools would not be making such significant strides in meeting student’s academic needs. I wholeheartedly nominate John Littlefield for the 2002 Educational Technology Leadership Award.&uot;

Littlefield and the six other coordinators selected represent an area consisting of Virginia Beach, Norfomouth, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Franklin, Williamsburg-James City, York, Accomack, Northampton, Isle of Wight and Southampton counties.

The coordinators will receive their awards in December during the 2002 Educational Technology Leadership Conference in Roanoke.