At Prine Elementary in Manatee County, JerryAnn Craft focuses on tech, so teachers can focus on teaching

BRADENTON -- When a piece of technology at Prine Elementary School is broken or on the fritz, JerryAnn Craft knows she's the first line of defense.

As the technology teacher assistant and lab manager at the school, Craft can help teachers with almost anything, from a broken bulb in a projector to a forgotten password for the email system.

"That's how I feel my job should be. If I can make the teacher's job easier, that's what I want to do," said Craft, 56.

In addition to troubleshooting any number of the 500 computers, Craft also increased the number of computer labs in the school from three to five this year by utilizing any leftover inch of space. She also helps run live morning announcements with a group of fifth-graders.

The emphasis of supporting teachers through technology is part of what makes Craft one of four finalists for the support employee of the year award in the Manatee County School District.

'Available any second'

By lunch, Craft's Fitbit will tell her she's already hit her 10,000 step goal for the day -- not unusual. That's because Craft flies around the school, helping solve one problem after another, or moving from lab to lab to help teachers as they bring in their classes and get students logged in.

Her mornings usually start the same way. She and a select group of students congregate in the school's studio, a small area inside the media center to prepare for the morning announcement. They do a dry run of the announcements, which include the specials' schedule and the lunch options for the day before they go live promptly at 8:24 a.m. Craft took over the program when she came to Prine three years ago.

The students are recommended by their fourth-grade teachers and the specials teachers, who see all the students in the school. The first week of the school year, Craft teaches the group of fifth-graders the equipment, including how to use the teleprompter and the different cameras. By the second week of school, the live production is up and running, with the students changing roles every few weeks, to make sure everyone is cross-trained on the technology equipment.

"Everybody's going to learn everything," she said.

Craft, who jokes she doesn't have the face for TV, also joins the students for the live broadcasts each morning, reading off some of the headlines and special notices for teachers.

"It's helped me be more outspoken, too," she said.

Once the announcements are over and the students are settled in for the day, Craft heads to her room, where she is able to sit briefly.

It's not long before Michael West, a technician with the district, brings in a computer. If it's not something Craft can fix on her own, it gets sent to the district level for a technician to handle.

"Jerry's realm of expertise is pretty good," West said, adding that Craft and some of the other lab managers have a running communication thread for ideas and solutions if they're stumped.

Just before 9 a.m., less than a half-hour into the school day, the phone rings.

"Here we go," she said.

This time, it's a projector bulb that's burned out in a classroom. Craft unscrews the bulb then heads back to grab a new one. Because she's not given lunch or hallway duty by her principal Guy Grimes, she's better able to help the teachers handle issues promptly.

"He lets me do my job," Craft said. "He knows I need to be available any second."

Grimes said he thinks it's important the support staff is free to help out. But he also said Craft has a drive to help the students succeed.

"She doesn't let the job description define her," Grimes said.

With 125 computers set up for teachers to use for classroom work and to help prepare students for online state testing, plus an additional five computers or so in each classroom, Craft is often working to make sure they're all functioning well so teachers have the maximum amount of instruction time.

"You have to make sure they have the time to teach," she said.

Brink of retirement

Craft said she's been nominated within her schools before, but never made it to the finalist level before now.

"It was a very big surprise," she said.

Not so much for Grimes.

"She's just downright incredible," he said. "She has a strong desire to see every child succeed."

Craft has been working in the district for 35 years. Before she joined Prine, she worked at Samoset Elementary and Sugg Middle. Although she was born in New York, she has lived in Bradenton since she was 12, graduating from Southeast High School in 1977. Her two children, 35-year-old Michelle Hernandez and 28-year-old Michael Craft, also graduated from Southeast.

In April, Craft is set to retire.

Retirement will bring new adventures. Craft and her fiance, Sherman Ballard, are waiting until then to set a wedding date.

"I'm sure I'm going to find lots to do," she said.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 2:32 PM with the headline "At Prine Elementary in Manatee County, JerryAnn Craft focuses on tech, so teachers can focus on teaching ."