Mrs. Vail Neal

Computer Specialist

As Computer Specialist for Hayes Cooper Center, Vail teaches keyboarding and computer applications to classes of fourth through sixth grade students and helps trouble shoot computer problems that arise at the school. She also manages the school website and works with teachers at Hayes Cooper to help them become more comfortable with the technology that is available to them. With the exception of a seven year hiatus to stay home when her children were younger, Vail has been in education since 1972. Along with junior high, she has taught kindergarten through sixth grade. She began work as Computer Specialist at Hayes Cooper at the school's inception in 1991 and has been working with computers and loving it ever since.

Vail completed her B.A. in elementary education at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. She eventually went on to complete her M.Ed. in elementary education at Delta State University and has also completed certification in computer applications and computer discovery. She is a former recipient of Mississippi's Technology Teacher of The Year Award and her most recent accomplishment has been to receive National Board Certification in the area of Career and Technical Education.

Her teacher training experience has included the state department's Phase I Technology Training for teachers in her school district as well as others in the area, facilitating INTEL Teach to the Future, Acceleration Station and various staff development sessions at her school. She is also a facilitator for online professional development classes for teachers through the RCU at Mississippi State University.