Administrator Spotlight

Jarod Morrison

Director of Technology and Maintenance, Farmington Public Schools

Jarod Morrison, Director of Technology and Maintenance at Farmington Public Schools, credits working on a cattle farm for inspiring him to pursue a career in education. He says, "All throughout my junior high and high school career I worked on a beef cattle farm for my agricultural teacher, Roy Hummel. Mr. Hummel had a long career in education, and through my time working for him I got to see the many lives he had impacted and the long-lasting relationships he had made with his students and those he worked with in education. His mentorship and advice had a huge impact on my life and caused me to desire to pursue a similar career path as him.” Jarod started his career at Farmington Public Schools as a high school math teacher and coach in 2004. A few years later he became the Technology Director at Farmington and has stayed in that role since, additionally taking on the role of Maintenance Director in 2020.

Jarod says his favorite part of his job is that he gets to be involved in so many aspects of schooling. He says, "Technology now touches almost every aspect of the school day. I feel this gives me the opportunity to have a major impact on students’ education and help our staff with their educational and administrative duties. The additional role of maintenance has only increased this involvement." The biggest challenge, he says, is dealing with the many moving parts involved with technology and maintenance. "Staying on top of everything that is going on and trying to stay abreast of new technology can be challenging. It’s my job to see down the road and know what obstacles and changes are coming. However, I lean heavily on my professional organizations such as AAEA, CoSN, and ISTE, and my professional learning community of peers in my field to stay informed on what new technologies are on the horizon and how to prepare to take full advantage of them.” When it comes to identifying the biggest change he's seen in education over his career, he says that one is easy: "Technology! When I first started as technology director, K-12 educational technology was just starting to make headway. I had the privilege of having a part in bringing our school district into the digital age. Now, almost every aspect of schooling involves technology."

Jarod says others considering in a career similar to his should know that the challenges and opportunities in the many different areas of education are very rewarding. “I would encourage them that education is a great place to make a difference in the lives of young people and to build lifelong relationships with peers.” He says that unlike the business world, where peers in a field are often in competition with each other, peers in educational technology are willing and eager to help each other. "This great professional learning community is one of the reasons we started TEL-AR. TEL-AR’s goal is to help strengthen this community and help mentor those leaders who are new to the career field."

? Q&A ! with Jarod Morrison

What is the most daring thing you’ve done?

Starting TEL-AR was probably one of the biggest gambles I have taken. It was a lot of work, and there was no guarantee that it would ever gain momentum and grow into something that could make a difference in Arkansas K-12 education. Reaching out and becoming a constituent group of AAEA was a major part of that growth and it is good to see that our hard work is paying off.

What have you done that you are most proud of?

Raising two wonderful and accomplished children. I have a 17 year-old son who is a senior in high school and a 14 year-old daughter who is in the 8th grade. They are both honor students who do well in school and are well behaved. They are both involved in athletics and other extracurricular activities. My son has had a great senior year. He was voted Mr. FHS by the school staff, was the lead part in the fall play, made all-conference in football, and was voted onto the colors day court by his peers. My daughter is involved in school government, always makes straight A’s and plays a grade up in both basketball and volleyball. As you can tell, I love to brag about them!

What do you enjoy doing during your time off?

I like spending time outdoors. I love to kayak, fish local rivers and streams, and have started to get back into serious hunting now that I don’t coach any more. I also like backpacking and hiking.

What is one of the things on your “Bucket List?”

My wife and I have a goal to visit all the places in the Beach Boys “Kokomo” song. So far we have marked off three out of the ten places listed in the song.

What are the goals you are still working toward?

In my career, I would love to be an assistant superintendent someday and maybe even a superintendent. However, it would be hard for me to leave Farmington to pursue these goals, because I consider it my home. Personally, I’m still working on losing that covid weight!

What do you see as the biggest benefit of AAEA membership?

The community that you get to be a part of in AAEA is incredibly valuable. AAEA has so many different educational leaders from our state, all who have the same goal of improving the lives of our students. The amount of knowledge and insight that the AAEA membership has is immeasurable. Additionally, the community and organization do so much to stay on top of current trends and legislation and keep the members informed on these items. These benefits are extremely helpful and valuable for any educational leader.