Schools

Royal Oak Media Center Tech Honored for Exceptional Dedication

Karen Kaiser, the media center tech at Keller and Oakland Elementary Schools, is the school district's Betty Campion award nominee.

The Royal Oak Board of Education recognized Karen Kaiser for her dedication and valuable contributions to the school district at its board meeting on Thursday.

The media center tech at Keller and Oakland Elementary Schools is the Royal Oak Schools nominee for the Oakland Schools Betty Campion Distinguished Support Service Award – an annual honor given to exceptional support service staff members who go above and beyond the call of duty.

“She does a lot more than maintain books and keep track of students using the media center,” said Susanne DeWolfe, the IB Primary Years Program coordinator at Keller.

Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kaiser oversees computer labs, iPad carts, student news broadcasts, book fairs and theScholastic Reading Counts! program, which helps motivate students to achieve reading success. She’s also part of a district-level committee that makes decisions on technology and tools to keep students on task.

“Her input matters to us,” DeWolfe said.

Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Recently, Kaiser was showing a group of children a new reality app that brings the pages of Guinness World Records 2013 to life. As she hovered an iPad above the hardcover book, a fierce shark appeared to jump off the page onto the tablet’s screen to the delight of the students.

“She’s the best at what she does,” said Ryan Hey, 11.  “Even when she is surrounded by a bunch of students, she knows how to deal with it calmly!.”

The Keller fifth grader said he also appreciates Kaiser’s efforts to keep the media center exciting and interesting. Her enthusiasm and kind personality make her deserving of the district’s honor, according to the 11-year-old.

For Kaiser, operating two media centers smoothly on a day-to-day basis is shear joy.

“There is always something going on,” she said. “I love it!”

Source: Royal Oak Schools


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here