Presented by Dr. Jeanne Barker, Director of Schools, Lenoir City School System, TN; Dr. Chris Gaines, Superintendent, Mehlville School District, MO; and Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss, Superintendent, Salisbury Township School District, PA

Program Host and Moderator: Ann McMullan, Project Director, CoSN Empowered Superintendents Initiative

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This edWebinar series is co-hosted by CoSN, AASA, and edWeb.net

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Over 50% of U.S. school districts and about one third of all public schools in the nation are located in rural areas. Successfully leading digital transformations within rural school districts has a tremendous impact on our nation as a whole.

Technology planning and investments can typically be quite complicated. Often the challenges begin almost from the moment a district begins to consider next steps in a comprehensive technology plan. With tight budgets and multiple stakeholders involved, each with valid concerns, along with the constant evolution of technology tools and resources, a framework for evaluating technology initiatives and guidelines for arriving at well-supported decisions are more important than ever before.

Watch this edWebinar with three tech-savvy superintendents, from three different states, as they share how they lead their districts in creating technology plans that align priorities, costs, and outcomes and also assure that the ability to sustain technology initiatives over time is part of the planning process. Each superintendent explains their strategies and imparts their expertise on the total cost of ownership, student outcomes, budget management, and the value of investment. Tools and resources to evaluate, rethink and strengthen technology planning and decision making will be shared.

Given the current challenges involved with the efforts to continue teaching and learning in the midst of multiple school closures, the issues involved in school districts’ strategic technology planning are now more urgent and relevant than ever. Our three superintendents share strategies they have implemented to lead learning for all students in their school districts during these most unprecedented and complex times.

This recorded edWebinar will be of particular value to school superintendents, K-12 school and district leaders, and aspiring leaders. 

About the Presenters

Dr. Jeanne Barker is the director of schools for Lenoir City School District in Lenoir City, Tennessee. She earned her Ed.D. in educational leadership in 2011 from Trevecca Nazarene University. Her dissertation is entitled, The Effects of an Individual Academic Plan on Improving Student Achievement. Utilizing technology to deliver individualized instruction to each student is a goal of the one-to-one program in Lenoir City Schools. Her goal is to ensure that every student has the skills to achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations. Dr. Barker serves on the boards for the Loudon County Educational Foundation, Little Tennessee Valley Educational Cooperative, Rotary International, and the Boys and Girls Club of Loudon County. She is also a 2013 Leadership Loudon graduate and a 2019 representative for Loudon County in the Tennessee Regional Leadership Class. Dr. Barker has also served as a principal, a middle school technology/instructional coordinator, grant writer, and teacher.

Dr. Chris Gaines is Superintendent of Mehlville School District in suburban St. Louis. Dr. Gaines previously served as superintendent of Missouri’s Crawford County R-I and Wright City R-II school districts. Under Dr. Gaines’ leadership, Mehlville is expanding opportunities for students. In 2017 the district opened MOSAIC, a personalized learning elementary school, and created the MyPath program, which allows high school students to create their own class. The AASA Digital Consortium visited these programs in the spring of 2018 to gain insight into emerging models of best practices using digital media to support engaging learning experiences. This year Mehlville opened academies at each middle school to expand personalized learning experiences at the middle school level. Dr. Gaines holds degrees from Southeast Missouri State University and earned his doctorate at St. Louis University. He is a member of numerous professional associations and served as the 2018-2019 President of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss, Superintendent of Salisbury Township School District in Pennsylvania, is an educational disruption designer. He is passionate about moving K-12 schools away from the dominant “school” paradigm and conversation to a learner-centered, learner-friendly design responsive to the context of the ever-changing, technology-rich world we live in. He strives to answer the question: What new leadership competencies does it take to truly transform our schools—to create a new form of education? You can read his blog and listen to his podcasts, Shift Your Paradigm and TL Talk Radio.

About the Host

Ann McMullan is Project Director for CoSN’s Empowered Superintendents Initiative. Ann served as Executive Director, Educational Technology in the Klein Independent School District, near Houston, Texas until September 2013, when she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California. For 16 years Ann led the district team that provided professional development on technology and 21st century instructional strategies to 4,000 professional educators serving 50,000 students. Ann served as co-chair of Texas Education Technology Advisory Committee which developed the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020. Today, Ann is based in Los Angeles working as a public speaker, writer, and education consultant focused on leadership and planning to meet the needs of today’s students. Ann serves on the Project Tomorrow advisory council and is a leadership consultant with Executive Service Corps of Southern California, serving non-profit associations. Ann co-authored Life Lessons in Leadership, a guide for leaders ages eight to 88.

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AASA is the premier association for school system leaders and serves as the national voice for public education and district leadership on Capitol Hill.

CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community, best practices and advocacy tools to help leaders succeed in the digital transformation. CoSN represents over 13 million students in school districts nationwide and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education.

ClassLink empowers your students and teachers with instant access to their learning resources. ClassLink® OneClick® includes a library of over 5,000 single sign-on apps and instant links to file folders at school and on Google, Office 365, and Dropbox cloud drives. ClassLink Roster Server easily and securely delivers class rosters to any publisher using open technology standards. ClassLink Analytics gives decision makers the usage data they need. Accessible from any computer, tablet or smartphone, ClassLink is ideal for 1to1 and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives.