Chelsea High School’s new Director of Technology, Ryan Spencer has grand plans for technological improvements in the coming year after being recently hired to fill the critical position.

“I have been working at Chelsea School District for two months,” Spencer said. “I took over for Mr. Wooster as he retired at the end of September.”

Spencer has been working in technology for the past ten years. His behind-the-scenes role in the CHS technology system is a vital part of everyday school life, especially with the wide variety of technology spread across Chelsea schools.

“We’re very fortunate to have iPads for all of our students in Y5-12th grade,” Spencer said. “We also have desktops and laptops in certain spaces like Journalism/Yearbook and CAD.”

Spencer says that most of the technological improvements for the school district will be made during the summer of 2023, with a plan to upgrade the iPads, computers, phones, PA systems, wireless access points, and security cameras.

“We’re working on connecting all of our technology closets to the generator that powers our district’s main server room when the power goes out,” Spencer said. “This will allow us to keep our tech-powered in the event the power goes out without disruption.”

The technology at CHS is all over the school, the devices we use in class, internet, printing, PA system, clocks, being “buzzed” into the building, PowerSchool, school Gmail accounts, and much more. The upcoming summer will include several upgrades to the technology in our district, and better yet, some of these changes will be made within the month. 

“Our phone and voicemail system is being upgraded during our November break,” Spencer said. “We will also be introducing the ability for our staff to wirelessly project from their laptops so that they do not need to be plugged into an HDMI cord.” 

Spencer is grateful to have such an important role and loves supporting the staff and students at Chelsea.

“There are a lot of things special about my role here in Chelsea, but my favorite part is that I am helping students,” Spencer said. “I am not in front of students every day, but rather behind the scenes and more so helping the staff so that they may teach our students.”