Staff Spotlight: Brad Smith, GCSD9

By Chris Mitchell '95

Every Friday throughout the 2026-27 school year, Granite City Community School District #9 will be highlighting a staff member for going above and beyond to give students a positive experience.

This week's staff spotlight features Brad Smith.

Smith serves as the Technology Director for GCSD9 and is currently in his 20th year with the district. He began his GCSD9 career as Technology Coordinator at Granite City High School, where he led the district's building technology technicians. He later transitioned to Systems Administrator, focusing on server and network infrastructure while continuing to support the technology staff across the district.

In his current role as Technology Director, Smith oversees all aspects of the district's technology operations, combining his previous responsibilities with expanded leadership and administrative duties.

Smith discusses the day-to-day responsibilities of leading GCSD9's technology department, the lasting impact of COVID-19, the importance of customer service, keeping pace with ever-changing technology, and his vision for the future of technology in the district.

What does a typical day look like for you as GCSD9's Technology Director, and what are some of the biggest responsibilities that people may not realize happen behind the scenes?
A typical day for the technology team can vary greatly depending on if something is down. We work off of a ticketing system where staff can submit tickets for issues with equipment, it can be anything, maybe a problem with an app, someone not being able to print, or a problem within Google Workspace, Skyward, etc. . Things that happen behind the scenes are all about security and making sure that the network, servers, students and staff stay safe.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic change your job, and what technology improvements or practices have remained in place since then?
The pandemic changed everything about technology. For our team, the challenge was adding devices for all students and providing a safe and secure experience at home. Making sure that all students and staff could work from home with the ability to do everything just as if they were in their classroom and/or be in their classroom with students at home. Before COVID all of our devices were in carts in classrooms and not enough for every student.

We added over 3,000 Chromebooks in order to become one-to-one with devices and distributed them to families in parking lots at buildings which was another level of logistics. Several times I was directing traffic making sure that lines of cars were not backing up onto the streets from buildings.  Everything we use now such as Google Workspace, wireless technology, security measures, devices, insurance all changed with the pandemic and are still mostly in place.

Technology is constantly evolving. How do you balance keeping the district's technology current while also ensuring students, teachers, and staff have reliable tools they can count on every day?
I am very fortunate to have a great technology team, the people that I work alongside are the ones that keep the balance. Technology can change rapidly sometimes without much warning. An update may automatically take place that makes something not work correctly, across all devices. The team goes to work to assess what is going on and figure out a solution. 

A big part of your job is helping students teachers, staff, and administrators when technology issues arise. How important is customer service and building relationships in a role that's often focused on computers and technology?
I would say that customer service is crucial, without students and staff the technology department essentially would not exist. We strive to provide the best customer service that we can in every situation.  

Looking ahead, what emerging technologies or initiatives are you most excited about bringing to GCSD9, and how do you see technology continuing to enhance teaching and learning for our students?
Currently AI is the big topic, how will it change in the next year, 5 years, 10 years? I think it will be interesting to see what happens, much like when the internet came out. Technology will continue to grow and change, the teaching and learning process will continue to evolve around it as needed. 

If you would like to nominate a deserving staff member, please email: information@gcsd9.net