Michell McNeill is the District Media Specialist for Harnett County Schools in North Carolina. Her mission? To use her extensive knowledge to elevate the media program and enhance educational experiences for students across the district.
We’re excited to feature Michell for our “Front & Center” Q&A series, in which we shine the spotlight on school administration superstars.
Michell specializes in integrating technology and advancing digital literacy. As an ISTE Certified Educator and a Google Level 1 Certified Educator, she brings a wealth of expertise and commitment to fostering a forward-thinking learning environment. She also handles the behind-the-scenes aspects of the district’s libraries and oversees inventory management for technology and other assets throughout the district.
Michell says she’d love to be a professional travel blogger (“I may have missed my calling — I love to travel, but don’t get to do enough of it”) and is the published author of a children’s book: The Pawsome Adventures of Duramax the Rescue Pup.
What does a district media specialist do?
I do all the behind-the-scenes stuff for the libraries in our district. We have 28-ish schools with libraries. I handle all the professional development and trainings, and I also manage the databases for inventory for the district: books, patrons, devices.
We have around 20,000 students, approximately 55,000 devices like laptops, desktops, Chromebooks, iPads, Apple TVs — those are the biggest part of our inventory that we manage using Asset Management.
What was your first job in education? How did you get to your current role? Where did you begin, and how did you wind up where you are now?
I like to take the long road. I started out as a teaching assistant, then left education. My bachelor’s degree is in accounting, so I came back as a career and technical education teacher. I taught accounting, multimedia, web design, business law, sports marketing — lots of fun, business-related classes.
One day, a friend of mine posted that they had a library position open at their school. That has always interested me, and I absolutely love books. So, I applied and ended up as a school librarian. From there, I became the district librarian.
Looking back to the beginning of your career, if you could speak to young Michell as she was just getting into education, what advice would you give to yourself?
“Stick with it. You’re going to do fine. Never stop learning.” It has served me well so far.
“‘Never stop learning.’ It has served me well so far.”
— Michell McNeill
What would you say is one skill that every media specialist should have in a district?
Organizational skills. If you are not organized, it’s detrimental to the success of your library.
The other thing is to embrace customer service. You have to be ready to serve others, be interrupted millions of times, and never get your to-do list done.
What would you say is the single biggest challenge you have in your role?
That changes every day. Today, the single biggest challenge is that I have nearly 30 schools — every day, people are being hired, retiring, or leaving — and keeping an accurate account of what they have and where everything is located. It was what led me to Frontline to begin with.
How does Frontline help you manage inventory?
Oh my goodness, it is amazing. The integration with Jamf and Google Admin Console — those two things are lifesavers. Just being able to see who logged into a device, when it was last logged into, and when it last pinged on our system — those are huge. They really help keep a handle on your inventory. So, I may not see the device physically, but I can see that it’s here in our location and who last had it.
Looking back over the couple of years, what would you say was your biggest win? And how did you achieve it?
Looking back over the last couple of years, I would say my biggest win was being offered the position of District Media Specialist. This role has provided me with so many opportunities for growth. One of the highlights has been the chance to become ISTE certified. Although the certification process was long and challenging, it was an incredible learning experience that allowed me to connect with educators not just locally, but worldwide. It also deepened my understanding of how to best utilize technology to create meaningful, inclusive, and engaging learning experiences, helping students build essential digital skills.
The ISTE Certification Program focused on pedagogy rather than just using technology, which made it especially relevant for me when delivering Professional Development to educators in different roles. To receive the certification, I had to complete a 10-week online course and submit a portfolio that demonstrated my understanding and ability to apply the ISTE standards in real-world teaching and learning. The portfolio included evidence of lesson planning, student work, and other artifacts that showcase how technology enhances learning. I’m truly honored to be one of about 2,000 educators worldwide — and less than 100 in North Carolina — who have earned this certification. I feel that this opportunity allowed me to grow in my instructional technology leadership in ways that I would not have otherwise.
What would you say is the best creative idea you’ve had that has made a difference in how you do your job?
A big part of my job is professional development, so any ideas related to making professional development better and more engaging for staff are always helpful. Anytime the state offers sessions or conferences, I try to attend and really get a good handle on ways to engage staff and students.
I’ve been part of a book study group that is reading The Art of Gathering, and that has given me a lot of insight into when we gather, why we gather, and what is the most effective way to have a meeting that leaves a lasting impact.
How have advancements in technology changed how you approach your job?
AI. Need I say more? Our state is one of I believe six states that have AI guidance when it comes to schools, and we led the way on that. Our county is also putting together guidance for our schools. I’m part of our county’s Media Technology Advisory Committee, shaping how staff and students are introduced to, educated on, and using artificial intelligence — generative AI specifically.
It has given me a lot of good ideas. If I’m drawing a blank, I can use it as my thought partner to get the juices flowing again and come up with good ideas for professional development, lesson plans, or whatever I’m working on.
What do you think is going to change the most in education over the next 10 years?
A lot has to change in education. We have got to create an environment that engages and encourages our students. We have a huge divide. When we are one-to-one with devices, that helps bridge the digital divide. But if one school is teaching AI and another is not, that creates another divide. We’ve got to bridge that divide somehow, and there are so many divides that it’s hard to figure out which one to tackle first.
What are you most hopeful about for the future of education?
I see us going more toward hands-on, project-based, problem-based learning. That excites me because students need that relevancy. If they can see how something is relevant to them, they are more engaged. If they can see ways they can make a difference, they’re more engaged as well. I see that happening a lot.
I see a lot of focus on STEM education and doing more hands-on learning. We are even seeing it in our standards; the new science standards include the engineering design process, which is important. It teaches students to think through something rather than just choosing the right answer from a set of options. It’s open-ended, where they learn to fail successfully — because we all fail. We fail daily. Learning to fail successfully and saying, “Okay, that didn’t work; now what do I try?” without getting upset — that’s important. I see that happening more in education every day.