TIPS Volume 3, No.9
May, 2003

     Grade Level Key 
     = Elem, = Middle
     = High, = Teachers

Joy Buckingham, Technology Resource Teacher

Joy was born in Glasgow, Kentucky ("... I will not tell you how many years ago, but less than Jeff Jones!" [I deny it! - the editor]), and her parents brought her home to Metcalfe County. The family moved to Barren County a year later. Joy graduated from Park City High School, a school at which she taught years later. 

Ms. Buckingham attended Western Kentucky University and the University of Texas at El Paso, graduating from WKU with a teaching certificate for grades 1-8. She has a Masters from WKU which added kindergarten certification, and earned a Rank 1 using the Kentucky State Education Option entitled "Science Integrating Technology in the Classroom." Like many educational technology specialists, most of her skills in technology are self-taught.

Before joining the Fayette County Office of Educational Technology in the fall of 2000, Joy taught in Barren County, teaching every grade for which she was certified. She substituted into 9-12 classrooms as well, teaching everything from agriculture to music ("...and [I] can't even play an instrument!"). Her current responsibilities include attending to the technology integration needs of Johnson, Arlington and Mary Todd Elementary schools. Joy is also the coordinator of the Digital Storytelling initiative, which is in pilot at Yates, Dixie, Meadowthorpe, Northern, Stonewall and Veterans Park Elementary, as a part of her commitment to early literacy.

Joy cites religion as an important part of her life and attends South Side Church of Christ or South Green Street Church of Christ, depending on which town she's in on Wednesdays and Sundays. With her free time, she likes to sew, and counts amongst her successes her daughter's prom and wedding dress. She especially likes working without a pattern. She also enjoys her two granddaughters, first grader Morgan, and kindergartener Katy Ann, and camps - both primitive and RV. Beyond that, "...I'm one of the lucky people whose job IS my hobby. I'm always fascinated with what computers can do and amazed at how we can learn something new everyday about technology."

Joy still maintains a home in Glasgow which she visits on weekends, but is slowly becoming a "citified" Lexingtonian. She has two daughters - Amy, a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, and Brandy, Hart County Federal Crops Coordinator, and counts amongst her other children "...numerous dogs, cats, ducks, rabbits, cows, horses, gerbils, hamsters, snakes, turtles and gardens."

Mr. Simpson is a native Lexingtonian, attending Picadome Elementary, and Tates Creek Junior and Senior High Schools. His family moved to Charleston, South Carolina in the middle of his junior year, and he graduated from Middleton High School there in 1976. From there, Dick went to the University of South Carolina, earning a Bachelors of Arts in journalism. 

Dick subsequently returned to Lexington, and has been working at Fayette County Schools ever since, starting as a field producer right out of college. He became Coordinator of Educational Television in August 2001, and has provided the leadership for many new initiatives, including sports broadcasts and new technical capabilities. His face (and voice) are frequently a part of many of Channel 13's broadcasts, including play-by-play for high school games!

Beyond the workplace, Dick enjoys time with his family, Broadway shows, sports, and reading. He is an American History buff, with particular interest in the American Civil War. He is also an avid runner, having successfully competed in and completed two marathons. He lives in Lexington with wife Cindy, a media specialist at Veterans Park Elementary. Their eight-year-old daughter Elaine also attends Veterans Park. Cindy's son Patrick graduates from Tates Creek this June, and daughter Claire graduates from Western Kentucky University this month. A cat, Sammy, and a Yorkie, Staci, round out the Simpson household.