This week’s staff shout out goes to……..BAZINGA….. The core crew of the Technology Department.
Rhuie Ryan, Dawna Parcell and Jason Roberts make up the year-round core of the technology
department in charge of the devices in the district. In the spring, when the staff and students
leave for the summer, this team kicks it into high gear with the help of Nathon Watson.
Summer is the busiest time of the year for the department. This last spring and summer bright
in an additional 500+ computers for the middle school students. Coupled with the exsisting
computers, high school computers staff devices, administrative computers in the offices,
printers, copiers, access points, servers, TV’s and projectors……whew, that was a mouthful, this
team updates, troubleshoots, cleans and maintains over 3000 individual devices yearly. All of
these devices need to be ready for staff and student use by day one of the school year. Once
school starts, it takes a little time to settle. There are still software updates and bugs as well as
new problems that show up, even in the most prepared situations with the hardware. Then
they try to fix it fast for a quick turn around so work time is not negatively impacted by the staff
and students.
Besides the hardware, there is software also. Judy Jones and Tina Breen help to organize and
implement software around the district. It is the core team in the basement of the ACT that
makes sure it runs well on the network and our devices. From Infinite Campus and Canvas,
from Clever to Google Drive, they support the district software initiatives that allows everyone
to be able to accomplish their goals on a daily basis. In a job where you really only have
interactions with people who are experiencing issues, it is hard sometimes. Shout outs like this
are deeply appreciated for the work they do everyday.
Now, let’s meet this core group:
Rhuie Watson-Ryan
I am a graduate of FCSD and have worked for the district for about 19 years. I moved to
California in 1985 for 7 years and worked as a pharmacy technician. Upon moving back, I was a
stay at home mom until my children reached school age and then I was hired to work at the
Middle School as a para educator. I joined the Tech Department in the fall of 2020. My husband
Craig and I have 4 grown children, Devon, Emma, Molly and Connor. I also have a 3 year old
granddaughter, Caroline, who is the light of my life! I have two pets, a black lab named Maggie
and a white cat named Romeo. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family,
photography, music, reading, cooking, plants, and collecting crystals. I enjoy the variety and
new learning opportunities that my position on the Tech Team gives me and the fact that I am
able to still work district-wide with our staff to help facilitate learning for our students.
Dawna Parcell
I joined the Fairfield Community School District in August of 2017 as Technical Support
Specialist with some networking, server support, and web page creation experience. My
experience with tech started in 1996 when I worked at a company as a customer service rep. I
would help everyone with their computer or phone problems leading to being asked to work at
the help desk. From there, I moved to desktop support and finally moved up to the desktop
support team manager. I learned on the job with great mentors at this company. I have
worked at various companies in Fairfield since then as well as contracting with people and
businesses such as the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center as well as the Fairfield Public Library. I went to college in late 2010, graduating in 2013 from the Computer Networks and Security program with my AAS degree.
Outside of work, I love to travel, ride motorcycles, photography, camping with my family,
spending time with my grandchildren and children, husband Phil, and dog Hank. I do craft
shows and handstamp rings. I like to sing, but nobody else likes me to sing lol.
I enjoy people and helping them learn how to use devices more efficiently. I like the tech field
because I’m always learning as it is always changing. There is never a dull moment.
My favorite thing to do is troubleshoot a mystery why something is not working – that’s what
makes me tick.
Jason Roberts
Jason Roberts graduated from Fairfield High School in 1999, as a member of a student
technology team under the direction of then librarian Susan Kientz. Jason went on to study at
IHCC with a major in Computer System Management which included support ranging from the
personal computer to programming the VAX Mainframe. In 2001, Jason joined FCSD part-time,
while he finished his studies, by working nights to support the day staff, by doing upgrades that
could only be performed at night. Jason went on to continue his education at Buena Vista
University with a major in Technology Management and was offered the full-time position later
in 2003.
Jason and his girlfriend Kristin welcomed their first baby boy into the world just last October
and are now getting ready to celebrate Declan’s 1 year birthday.
Jason enjoys home improvement projects and traveling to places of historical interest.
Additionally, Jason enjoys the challenges of tinkering with things, to see if he can improve their
performance or to simply better understand the engineering behind them.
