As of the 2025-2026 school year, Dr. Amanda Pierman will be taking on a new role as the Director of Educational Technology for the Upper School. With a recent doctorate in Educational Technology, Dr. Pierman is prepared to take on her future tasks with passion and knowledge.
The role of Director of Educational Technology has just been created as Upper School administrators asked Dr. Pierman to begin in this
new job for the fall. For now, her responsibilities will only cover the Upper School, however, the future remains unknown.
“For the first year or two we’re going to look at how much benefit there is from having this position. Most schools will have a director of educational technology title position in their school which is more of an advocate for ed-tech products and then implementation for students and faculty,” explains Dr. Pierman.
Dr. Pierman is currently on faculty as an Upper School science teacher although her current role will have to shift because of the duties that she will be taking on as Director of Educational Technology.
“I will only have two class periods throughout the year, as well as the advanced human anatomy course in the spring semester. I will become a point person for students to come and see me if they want individual help. I will also have a repository of information that can help students whenever they need it,” says Dr. Pierman.
Faculty will be taught more one-on-one than the students will be next year with Dr. Pierman going to see them all individually to see how
much they want to utilize what she can offer them. Her goal is to give teachers ways to improve their classes for everyone and lighten the faculty’s loads without having technology do all of the work.
“For faculty, my plan is to see what their needs are and what their level of interest is then gradually increase their knowledge, efficiency, expertise, and comfort level within the technology,” shares Dr. Pierman.
The Human Systems Biology class which has been taught by only Dr. Pierman for decades will now be facing some changes as her band-
width increases across the entire Upper School. With the possibility of a new teacher to add another class period of HSB, adjustments would need to be made because of the abundant personal anecdotes used by Dr. Pierman.
Dr. Pierman advises that a different teacher must “Make it their own, because I have made it my own. It is going to be very difficult to have a conversation about not having a belly button when you actually do have one.”
Along with different teaching, the class will also become an honors course which means that all past classes of HSB will gain this credit too to make it fair for all. Since HSB will be an honors credit, the Upper School has also decided to create a regular class for the required health
course.
The new role allows Dr. Pierman to utilize her expertise and enthusiasm for the betterment of the Benjamin community. She credits her passion to when she attended her first Future of Educational Technology Conference around 17 years ago.
“This has been my passion project for a long time. I’ve been expanding my repertoire and knowledge which led to my doctorate,” states Dr.
Pierman.
Head of Upper School Mr. Fletcher Carr appears excited to have Dr. Pierman leading the faculty in the exploration of new technologies.
“Dr. Pierman has been a champion of integrating useful, ethical technology into the educational process since I first met her, nearly a decade ago. She is an articulate, enthusiastic spokesperson and teacher of teachers in this area, and I think her contributions will be invaluable in her new role. I believe that there are a number of key efficiencies that we can realize here at the Upper School, and in doing so, we can give ourselves more time to focus on the aspects of teaching and secondary education that we love most. Dr. Pierman has the skill
and drive to push us all to a better use of educational technology in our daily work routines,” expressed Mr. Carr.
Next school year will allow students and teachers alike to expand their technological capabilities. Dr. Pierman looks forward to being able to assist the Upper School community through her proficiency in educational technology.
