Beyond Textbooks is the product of 5 years of research and development by the Vail School District’s teachers, curriculum department, and technology department. Below is some information about the folks working on Beyond Textbooks.
Andrew Chlup – Director of Beyond Textbooks
Andrew Chlup is a life-long advocate for technology in education. He has been an advocate and trainer of teachers who use technology in the classroom. He began his career as an upper elementary teacher, but soon realized that his goal was to teach educators how to engage their students through the purposeful integration of technology.
Andrew has made it his goal to utilize a combination of existing equipment and open-source software applications to revolutionize the way teachers and students work and learn. He has authored and implemented several programs, ranging from an online homework system to school district wide blogs. Beyond Textbooks represents a culmination of these efforts.
Andrew is an Arizona certified teacher and has his Masters in Educational Technology from Northern Arizona University. He is also a member of the Arizona Technology in Education Association (AzTEA) and the International Society for Technology in Eduation (ISTE).
Kevin Carney – Beyond Textbooks – Principal Consultant
Kevin Carney is in his ninth year as a principal in the Vail School District. Mr. Carney was the principal at Desert Sky Middle School from 2001-2008. He then spent a year as the planning principal for Rincon Vista Middle School, while simultaneously helping to launch the Beyond Textbooks Program for the Vail School District. Mr. Carney opened Rincon Vista in July of 2009, before being assigned to the Beyond Textbooks program.
Prior to entering into administration, Mr. Carney taught for four years at Vail’s Desert Willow Elementary and for three years at Roadrunner Elementary in the Marana Unified School District.
As part of his professional preparation, Mr. Carney received a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.
Some of Mr. Carney’s noteworthy professional achievements include being the principal of an Excelling school for four years, being named the Distinguished Administrator of the Year in 2007 by Arizona School Administrators, and being tabbed as one of the Top 40 Under 40 Business and Community leaders in the city of Tucson in 2006.
Eileen Short – Beyond Textbooks Facilitator
Eileen Short was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. After completing her B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Arizona, she joined the Vail School District in 2001 teaching math at Desert Sky Middle School until 2008. After the birth of her daughter, she continues her work at Desert Sky part-time as a Student Achievement Teacher. In January of 2009, she joined the Beyond Textbooks team.
As part of her ongoing commitment to lifelong learning, she completed her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University in 2006, attends and presents at various math education conferences, and has worked closely with the University of Arizona’s Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers.
