A Fond Farewell to an Ed Tech Pioneer, Darryl LaGace

Darryl LaGace   (June 26, 1963-December 9, 2017)

In December, the educational community lost one of its most visionary and passionate advocates for transforming teaching and learning through technology. 

On Saturday, December 9^th, Darryl LaGace passed away peacefully in his San Diego home surrounded by family and friends.  Retiring this past summer, Darryl was diagnosed in June with an aggressive form of Parkinson’s disease.

Raised in Lemon Grove, Darryl worked tirelessly as Director of Technology for LGSD, bringing Internet connectivity through microwave technology. With this framework in place, in 1997 Project LemonLINK was born – a project that linked every classroom to the Internet and put a computer device in the hands of every student. It was in this capacity that SDCUE President, Laura Spencer, met Darryl. She taught in the 1:1 Lemon Link program that utilized a thin client tablet and Cox internet to provide 24/7 access to educational materials. This opportunity for Laura opened doors to a career in educational technology.

In 2008, Darryl moved to San Diego Unified bringing the knowledge and skills he had learned at  Lemon Grove to lead the district’s five-year i21 Initiative. Its innovative design transformed education for the second largest school district in California that included 7,000 classrooms and 130,000 students, setting the bar for technology projects across the nation. Many SDCUE members, including current SDCUE Treasurer Pam Rabin, benefitted from Darryl's vision in this role.

When Darryl joined Lightspeed Systems in 2012 as Executive VP Global Business Development, he used this opportunity to spread his vision of shaping the educational landscape worldwide by expanding products sold to over 55 countries.

On Thursday night, at the annual Top Tech Exec Awards, which Darryl previous won, he was remembered for his vision and perseverance to provide technology that better served humanity.