Boot Camp for School District Technology LeadersCTOs

1

• Boot Camp for School District Technology
  Leaders/CTOs

• Robert Gravina
• Chief Technology Officer
• Poway Unified School District, California
• and
• Ed Zaiontz
• Executive Director, Information Services
• Round Rock ISD, Texas

2
Poway Unified School District

• The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is
  located twenty-six miles north of downtown San
  Diego. Our district serves 33,000 students and
  has continued to increase in the student
  enrollment each of the last twenty years. The
  student ethnic diversity in the district is 14
  percent Asian, 7 percent Filipino, 10 percent
  Hispanic, 3 percent African American, less than 1
  percent American Indian/Alaskan Native and
  Polynesian/Pacific Islander, 4 percent
  undeclared, and 61 percent White. We serve the
  City of Poway and the San Diego communities of
  Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, Carmel
  Mountain Ranch, Sabre Springs, Black Mountain
  Ranch, Torrey Highlands, 4S Ranch, and Santa Fe
  Valley. During the next three years, three new
  schools are planned for the west side of the
  district. The new schools will be equipped with
  the newest technology innovations as they are
  built. In addition, a Bond was passed in 2002 for
  198 million dollars to modernize 24 schools.
  This year an additional bond for 179 million was
  passed to continue with modernizing our schools.
  The funds will be used to install these new
  innovations at the existing schools in order to
  ensure equity for all schools across the district.

3
Job Responsibilities

• You are now running from 4-6 small businesses
• Computer repair shop, telephone maintenance,
  cable pullers, software development, network
  management, security, etc.
• What are your responsibilities?
• Intercoms, bells, fire alarms
• Do you outsource any work?
• Software development, fire alarm maintenance
• What are your budget responsibilities?
• Who works for you?

4
What did I get myself into?

• Too small a staff
• Too few resources
• Not enough district influence (i.e. formal
  authority)
• No one understands the complexities of IT
• This is a small job, you just have to.

5
(No Transcript)
6
Central Texas Area Growth
7
Leadership Vision
What it Takes The Essential Skills of K-12 CTOs
Strategic
Planning Budgeting
Business Leadership (Customer Focus)
Strategic Results Process Results
Team Building Staffing
Process Management Bus. Leadership (Part
2) Systems Mgmt Communication Systems Education
Training Policies
Information Analysis
Core Values Skills
Operational
8
Leadership and Vision

• Developing a shared vision and big-picture
  perspective on the districts goals
• Playing a key role in district-wide planning and
  goal setting
• Serving comfortably as a change agent and
  consensus builder
• 2020 Vision

9
Develop Your Organization

• Vision
• Spend time early on with your team developing a
  vision
• Come up with a short and sweet phrase that
  captures your vision
• Providing Innovative Technology to Support the
  Learning Environment
• Create an Organizational Chart

10
PUSD IT Vision

• We are a team united and dedicated to provide
  reliable, innovative and dynamic technology
  through responsive customer service in support of
  the learning environment. As a nationally
  recognized Information Technology Department, we
  empower our students, parents, staff, and global
  educational community by delivering instant,
  secure access to accurate information and
  effective resources.

11
Philosophy

• Our bottom line is learning
• Focus on whats best for kids. That should always
  come first
• Educational Technology is not like anything
  youve done before
• Learn your trade
• read, read, read
• Professional journals, books, newspapers, etc.
• Take courses if you need to
• Attend conferences

12
Dont Micro-Manage

• You wont have time
• Trust your people
• Develop leadership in them
• Use a distributive leadership model
• Spend a few months observing how things work
• Dont change anything until you understand the
  organization

13
Business Leadership (Part 1)

• Build positive relationships with internal and
  external partners
• Internal Partners students, faculty staff,
  campus-based and central office administrators
• External Partners parents, community members,
  including stakeholders who work for high-tech
  companies, technology vendors, and key people who
  may be in a position to support technology
  initiatives

14
Board Members
Media Specialists
Business Manager
Principals/Assistant Principals
District Administrators
Parents
Students
Teachers
15
Planning and Budgeting

• Transforming the district vision for effective
  use of technology into a long-range plan
• Beginning with strategic challenges and moving on
  to specific goals, objectives and action plans

16
Budgets

• Go through them with a fine tooth comb
• Budget Development should follow your philosophy
  and vision
• Know what you have and where it is
• Become best friends with your CFO

17
History of Bond Elections

• 1994 (99 M)
• Elementary, Middle School, High School Prototypes
• Voice, video, data infrastructure
• Library PCs and PC in every classroom
• 1997 (99 M -- 22 M for technology)
• Voice, video, data infrastructure at all campuses
• T1 wide area network infrastructure
• Feasibility study for long-term WAN solution

18
History of Bond Elections (cont)

• 2000 (199 M -- 38 M for technology)
• Wireless COWS (200 16 3200)
• Fiber WAN (10 M)
• Technology refresh schedule
• 2005 FAILED (349 M -- 38 M for technology)
• Technology LRP Committee
• Proposed HS 1-1 laptop solution

19
What does Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
meanand what has it got to do with a school
learning environment?
20
What Is TCO?

• All costs associated with deploying, operating
  and maintaining a computer network
• Analysis tool used by businesses since the
  late-1980s
• A method of understanding real costs to make good
  decisions on technology investments

21
A Simple School TCO Definition
Hardware (purchase or lease) Installation
Software Upgrades Technical Support
Outside Services Professional Development
User Self-Support Training Total Cost of
Ownership
22
TCO Can Help Schools Meet Educational Goals by

• Tracking tech support
• To minimize time computer and network is down
• To minimize troubleshooting interruptions for
  teachers
• Tracking adequacy of professional development
• To ensure teachers are prepared
• To ensure teachers are integrating technology
  into the curriculum
• Tracking pros and cons of various implementations
  and support strategies

The bottom line effective use of technology
23
The CoSN-Gartner TCO Tool

• Developed by CoSN, Gartner and NCRTEC at North
  Central Regional Educational Laboratory
• Supported financially by U.S. Department of
  Education
• Gartners distributed computing TCO methodology
  for businesses modified for K-12 environment
• 100 data points
• Reviewed with eight school districts to date
• Available at classroomtco.cosn.org

24
Leadership Vision
What it Takes The Essential Skills of K-12 CTOs
Strategic
Planning Budgeting
Business Leadership (Customer Focus)
Strategic Results Process Results
Team Building Staffing
Process Management Business Leadership Communicati
on Systems Systems Mgmt. Education
Training Policies
Information Analysis
Core Values Skills
Operational
25
Processes

• Business Leadership (Part 2)
• Systems Management
• Communication Systems
• Education Training
• Ethics and Policies

26
Business Leadership (Part 2)

• Advising on technology expenditures
• Overseeing the selection of technology items
• Reviewing requisitions for technology purchases
• Exercising authority to approve, amend or reject
  purchases based on compatibility with district
  goals and needs

27
Systems Management

• Overseeing day-to-day operation of the districts
  IT systems
• Requiring project management and personal
  leadership skills
• Requiring perpetual learning

28

• Lessons Learned From
• Round Rock ISDs
• TCO Study

29
Communication Systems

• Communicating with all members of the educational
  community
• Using technology-enhanced tools to support
  communication with stakeholders

30
Telling the Technology Story . . .

• Public relations is a critical component of your
  districts successful technology implementation
• and it involves communicating on an ongoing basis
  with the range of stakeholders inside and outside
  the district.

31
Telling the Technology Story includes

• Articulating, to both internal and external
  stakeholders, a systemic vision for where the
  district is headed
• Connecting with the media
• Using an array of district communication vehicles
• Planning for surprises and having a crisis
  management/ preparedness plan
• Inviting parents and the community into your
  schools
• Digital Stories Science Math
• Keeping legislative partners and policy makers
  informed
• ETAN Education Technology Action Network

32
Community Support Makes a Difference
Source Digital Leadership Divide, Grunwald
Associates
33

• Advocacy Toolkit Making the Case for Educational
  Technology
• www.iste.org/advocacy/toolkit/

34
Education and Training

• Overseeing district-wide, technology-related
  staff development efforts
• From ensuring a sufficient budget through the
  implementation and assessment process

35
Professional Development - Things to Consider

• Whether your investment will go to waste
• Wasted time of those who DO understand computers
• Wasted time when not in synch with installation
• Bad choices made by under-trained technology
  staff

36
Incentives for Staff Development

• Many states/districts offer
• tech training for initial licensure
• incentives for teacher tech use
• e.g. laptops, continuing education credits
• incentives for principals and administrators to
  use technology

37
Ethics and Policies

• Understanding the social, legal and ethical
  issues related to technology
• Modeling responsible decision making with regard
  to these areas
• Building consensus around key issues related to
  appropriate use of technology as well as
  communicating with all parties regarding what is
  expected of them

38
Team Building and Staffing

• including a staffing strategy to support the
  technology plan as an integral part of strategic
  planning from the beginning
• 1st Help Desk

39
Good to Great Jim Collins

• Good is the enemy of great

40
First Who, then What

• First, get the right people on the bus, and the
  wrong people off the bus
• Then
• Figure out what seat the right people fill best

41
Confront the Brutal Facts

• Use measurable, documented information
• Dont be afraid to show your team and others this
  information
• Maintain your confidence,
• Listen to your team, dont go to Abilene
• Never lose faith

42
The Stockdale Paradox

• You must never confuse faith that you will
  prevail in the end - which you can never afford
  to lose - with the discipline to confront the
  most brutal facts of your current reality,
  whatever they might be
• Admiral James Stockdale

43
The Hedgehog Concept

• The Three Circles
• What are you deeply passionate about
• What can you be best in the world at
• What drives your economic/learning engine

44
A Culture of Discipline

• The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for
  incompetence and lack of discipline a problem
  that largely goes away if you have the right
  people in the first place. Most companies build
  their bureaucratic rules to manage the small
  percentage of wrong people on the bus, which in
  turn drives the right people away

45
Technology is an Accelerator

• Technology will not make a bad school district
  great, nor will it make a good school district
  great
• If you district has a strong educational plan,
  technology will help to make it better (i.e. more
  efficient, more effective)
• A good example of this has been the failed one to
  one laptop initiatives

46
The Flywheel

• There is no single moment, or single initiative
  that will push you from good to great
• It is a cumulative effect
• And
• Everyone has to be pushing in the same direction

47
Team Building Staffing

• Start with two organizational charts
• Necessary functions (e.g. data management,
  network support, professional development)
• Current staffing and roles
• Comparisons will identify gaps

Great teams require great leadership including
the ability to lead by example
48
Information Technology Services Organizational
Chart
CTO
Admin Asst
Office Specialist
Program Manager School Site Support
Program Manager Business Support Services
Program Manager Personnel Support Services
Program Manager Learning Support Services
Office Assistant ll
TechnologyTrainer
Supervisor Communication
Network Services Support Technician
LAN Coordinator
Cabling (2)
LANS (23)
Telecom Technicians (2)
PROJECT 4
PROJECT 3
PROJECT 2
PROJECT 1
Electrical Technicians (2)
System Administrator
System Engineer
System Engineer
System Engineer
Programmer Analyst II
System Administrator
System Administrator
System Administrators
Programmer Analyst III
Programmer Analyst I
49
Team Building Staffing

• Strategies to consider
• Succession plan team members who understand the
  larger picture
• Professional growth opportunities chances for
  promotion within the team
• Customer satisfaction surveys find outhow the
  people you serve perceiveyour teams strengths
  and challenges

50
Team Building Staffing

• Required skills and knowledge
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to
  empower others to assume leadership roles
• Skills at facilitating team building activities
  modeling examples of trust between department
  members

51
Team Building Staffing

• Required skills and knowledge
• Ability to identify staff strengths and
  weaknesses and make effective hiring decisions
• Strong communications skills and a commitment to
  keeping all parties informed about technology
  progress and choices

52
Information Management

• Focusing on the crucial role information plays in
  todays schools
• Utilizing the powerful data gathering abilities
  of digital age tools for strategic planning

53
Current Context

• Data collection, analysis and reporting are
  critical components of No Child Left Behind
  (NCLB)
• School districts must collect more data, in more
  detail and disaggregate them
• State-level systems and support are being
  developed for collecting and integrating student
  assessment data with demographic information

54
National Education Technology Plan
Toward a New Golden Age in American Education
calls upon states, districts and schools to

• Establish a plan to integrate data systems
• Use data from both administrative and
  instructional systems to understand relationships
• Ensure interoperability
• Use assessment results to inform instruction

55
Moving Beyond the Mandate

• The current environment is an opportunity to
• Use data to transform teaching, learning and
  administration
• Inform decisions about everything from class
  schedules to textbook reading levels to
  professional development budgets
• Provide a rationale for decisions that parents,
  teachers, taxpayers and students can understand

56
Data-Driven Decision Making
A process of making choices based on appropriate
analysis of relevant information
57
CoSN Initiative Vision to Know and Do

• Stages of data-driven decision making
• VISIONplanning for DDDM
• KNOWimplementation of systemsand processes for
  DDDM
• DOtargeted interventionsand their results
• www.3d2know.org

58
Leadership Vision
What it Takes The Essential Skills of K-12 CTOs
Strategic
Planning Budgeting
Business Leadership (Customer Focus)
Strategic Results Process Results
Team Building Staffing
Process Management Business Leadership Communicati
on Systems Systems Mgmt. Education
Training Policies
Information Analysis
Core Values Skills
Operational
59
Essential Skills for the K-12 CTO

• Core Values and Skills include a focus on
• Students and instruction
• Continuous improvement
• Managing for innovation
• Data driven decision-making
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Results and creating value

60
Leading ChangeJohn Kotter

• Eight (8) Step Process of Creating Major Change
• Establishing a Sense of Urgency
• Creating the Guiding Coalition
• Developing a Vision and Strategy
• Communicating the Change Vision
• Empowering Broad-Based Action
• Generating Short-Term Wins
• Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
• Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture

61
Establishing a Sense of Urgency

• The enemy of great is good
• Allowing to much complacency
• Push up the urgency level
• Use the brutal facts
• Buy in from management
• Key players are middle and lower level
• 75 of overall management must believe
• Creating a crisis
• Dont be tempted to skip this step

62
Creating the Guiding Coalition

• Find the right members for the team
• 1. Position and Power
• 2. Expertise
• 3. Credibility
• 4. Leadership
• Who not to have on your team
• People with egos
• Snakes
• Build your team based on trust and a common goal

63
Developing a Vision and Strategy

• An imaginable picture of the future
• Desirable long term interests of employees and
  stakeholders
• Feasible
• Focused and clear
• Flexible
• Easily communicated within five minutes

64
Communicating the Change Vision

• A great visionsreal power is unleashed only
  when most of those involved have a common
  understanding of its goals and direction

65
Vision

• Dont get lost in the clutter
• Keep it jargon free, focused and simple
• Use metaphors, analogies and examples
• Over communicate
• All managers must walk the talk
• Listen
• You dont want to go to Abilene

66
Empowering Broad-Based Action

• Distributive Leadership
• Great leaders remove structural barriers
• This is truly the essence of our job
• Training is critical
• Build it into your budget and increase it every
  year
• Align system to the vision
• HR practices should follow Good to Great
  principles

67
Generating Short-Term Wins

• Provide evidence that sacrifices are worth it
• Reward change agents with a pat on the back
• Help fine tune vision and strategies
• Undermine critics and self-serving resisters
• Keep bosses on board
• Build momentum

68
Generating Short-Term Wins, cont.

• Planning vs. praying for results
• Short term wins arent gimmicks either
• Pressure isnt all bad

69
Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change

• Resistance is always waiting to reassert itself
• The nature of change is highly interdependent,
  especially in school systems
• Stay the course

70
Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture

• Culture is very powerful and has a powerful
  influence on behavior
• Cultural change comes last, not first
• Depends on results
• Change becomes part of the culture if and only if
  it works
• Requires a lot of talk
• May involve turnover
• Makes decisions on succession crucial
• Promotion processes changed to be compatible with
  the new practices

71
Where is your organization in this process?

• Have your team read and study the books together
• Set time to discuss freely the concepts
• Evaluate where you are in the change process
• Reevaluate where you are in the change process

72
Discussion . . .

. . . and your questions
73
Contact Information
Robert Gravina Poway Unified School
District Phone [phone] E-mail
rgravina_at_powayusd.com Ed Zaiontz Round Rock
ISD Phone [phone] E-mail
ed_zaiontz_at_roundrockisd.org