Effective Use of Data Insights to Manage EdTech Initiatives

Presented by Mackey Pendergrast, Superintendent, Morris School District (NJ); Erica Hartman, District Director of Technology Integration, Morris School District (NJ); and Dewayne J. McClary, Director, League of Innovative Schools, Digital Promise
Moderated by Monica Cougan, Manager, Strategic Relationships and Initiatives, ENA and CatchOn

Sponsored by CatchOn, An ENA Affiliate

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Tracking and gaining a better understanding of student engagement in a digital learning environment is a priority for many districts. Education leaders want to inform their decision-making by leveraging quantitative data that provides new insights into product usage. Learn how Morris School District’s Superintendent, Mackey Pendergrast, and Technology Director, Erica Hartman, are using their application usage and engagement data to make data-informed decisions. Dewayne McClary, Digital Promise’s Executive Director of the League of Innovative Schools, joins the discussion and share how other League of Innovative Schools are using data analytics to track ROI, monitor engagement, and identify opportunity gaps.

This recorded edLeader Panel will be of interest to K-12 school and district leaders, chief technology officers, and directors of technology.

About the Presenters

Mackey Pendergrast is the current superintendent of the Morris School District in New Jersey. He began his public school teaching career as a high school history teacher and basketball coach for the Summit Public Schools and held positions in central office administration for the Westfield Public School District and the West Morris Regional High School District before becoming superintendent of West Morris.

In 2014, Mr. Pendergrast participated in the U.S. Department of Education’s Superintendents Technical Working Group, which contributed ideas in the creation of the Future Ready Pledge as well as shaped the agenda for the White House ConnectED to the Future Convening for educational leaders in digital learning, in which he also participated. Along with 11 other superintendents, he contributed to the Obama administration’s National Education Technology Plan.

Mr. Pendergrast has a Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration and a Master of Arts in Education/Counseling. He was adjunct professor in the Teacher Education program at Drew University, where he taught a graduate-level course in Educational Theory and Practice. Mr. Pendergrast was named 2020 Superintendent of the Year for the State of New Jersey by the NJ Association of School Administrators (NJASA).

An avid reader and nature enthusiast, Mr. Pendergrast enjoys swimming and hiking with his wife, also an educator, and their two sons.

Erica Hartman is a technology integration consultant and the District Director of Technology Integration for the Morris School District, a PreK-12 1:1 Chromebook Google Apps for Education district in Morristown, New Jersey. She specializes in data interoperability, digital citizenship, blended learning, 1:1 device implementation, and helping school districts choose digital platforms that best suit their strategic goals and stakeholders. Erica lives in Mendham, New Jersey with her husband, two daughters and a rescue dog. When not online she can be found in the stands cheering on her daughters at their basketball games.

Dewayne McClary comes to Digital Promise most recently as Director of Educational Technology and Library Programs at D.C. Public Schools, where he supervised DCPS’s 1:1 pilot and roll-out and other innovation initiatives. He has broad and deep experience as a teacher and district leader. He has worked in rural South Carolina, the suburbs of Virginia, and at an urban D.C. school district. Dewayne is a visionary and strategic leader, an extraordinary relationship builder, and a highly energetic, adept communicator. In his role as League of Innovative Schools Director, he will lead efforts to increase engagement and impact for the network.

Dewayne earned a B.S. in Political Science from Francis Marion University, an Executive Master’s in Leadership from Georgetown University, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Liberty University.

About the Moderator

Monica Cougan is the manager of strategic relationships and initiatives at ENA and CatchOn, where she leverages her more than 35 years of experience in education and technology to help schools make the most of new technology. Throughout her career, Monica has been an evangelist for the adoption of technology as a transformative educational tool. She also has extensive experience helping K-12 schools implement 1:1 programs and in disseminating problem-based and project-based learning methodologies that focus on helping each student develop his or her own voice. Throughout Monica’s extensive career, she has sought out the diverse experiences required to know how to implement positive changes in education: she has served as a classroom teacher, adjunct professor, and education consultant for national, technology-based curriculum companies. Away from the classroom, she has served as an independent math consultant, worked in curriculum development, evaluated research on school-based programs, and developed professional learning opportunities for educators looking for a new mastery of technology.

Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.

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CatchOn is a user-friendly data analytics tool that collects real-time data on every device, enabling school districts to make data-informed decisions about the apps and online tools their educators and students are using. In 2018, CatchOn joined forces with ENA, a leading provider of comprehensive technology solutions to education institutions and libraries across the nation. Collectively, CatchOn and ENA leverage their respective resources and expertise to deliver critical services and solutions that help school districts produce positive outcomes in the communities they serve.