Here’s what future-forward innovation looks like in his district for the 2025-2026 school year:
EDTECH: What did planning for this new school year entail, and when did it start?
COTTON: We started making final preparations the day after graduation. However, we begin making plans for the upcoming year even earlier, while we are engaged in our annual budgetary process. As a result, many of our new initiatives and resources require preplanning and secured funding months ahead of implementation.
For example, we are launching a new program at one of our middle schools that will focus on computer science, innovation and design. We secured funding, facilitated professional development for staff, purchased equipment and recruited students several months prior to implementation.
DISCOVER: Optimize K–12 devices for long-term success.
The 2025-2026 school year marks the renewal of our district’s strategic plan, Empower 2030. This process began in May 2024 by collecting student, staff and community feedback in a comprehensive climate study. We assembled action teams to analyze the data, uncover trends and imagine what success could look like by 2030. At the conclusion of the project, we developed a comprehensive plan that includes strategies, initiatives and success measures to lead us to our ideal future.
EDTECH: What does the new strategic plan mean for the district? What are your goals as you roll it out?
COTTON: Our Empower 2030 strategic plan will focus on five goals and work toward progress and improvements within initiatives that address five key areas: Our Learners, Our People, Our Operations, Our Well-Being and Our Community.
With the sunsetting of our previous strategic plan, Empower 2025, we took time to celebrate our accomplishments over the past five years. Now, we turn our focus to the newly adopted plan to take our identified goals to the next level.
As part of the launch of Empower 2030, I have challenged each staff member to embrace one of Chesapeake Public Schools’ values: creating opportunity, elevating potential, cultivating innovation, modeling integrity, promoting accountability, inspiring excellence and connecting community.
As my own commitment to this journey, I’ve pledged to create opportunity by exploring innovative learning experiences that give our students voice and choice in the learning process. My hope is that all staff will embrace our values, vision, mission and goals as we launch into the new year.
EDTECH: Does technology play a role in the district’s new strategic plan and the goals you’ve talked about?
COTTON: Absolutely, technology and innovation play an important role in everything we do.
For example, one of our Empower 2030 goals is to leverage the power of artificial intelligence. In teaching and learning, we’ve begun to make use of AI to support instruction. We are introducing these tools in the classroom and providing AI training opportunities to our teachers.
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We’ve also entered into formal agreements with two providers to deliver AI services for students and staff. AI is a powerful tool that will assist our teachers in creating personalized, highly engaging learning opportunities for students.
We hope to embrace these new opportunities, not just to enhance the classroom experience but also to better prepare our students for life after they leave school.
EDTECH: What challenges do you anticipate this school year, and how are you approaching them?
COTTON: Each school year comes with unique challenges, and one of them is balancing the needs of students, staff and families while adapting to new initiatives. Anytime you go through the implementation process, there are bumps in the road, but change is an opportunity for growth.
My approach is to be proactive with communication, listen closely to feedback and provide consistent support so that challenges don’t become roadblocks. While I anticipate there may be moments that stretch us, I’m confident that with collaboration and clear priorities, we’ll turn those challenges into progress.
DIVE DEEPER: These tools support seamless collaboration in K–12 environments.
EDTECH: Are there any other new initiatives at Chesapeake Public Schools this year that you’re especially looking forward to?
COTTON: One of the things I’m most looking forward to is the opening of Crestwood Elementary School. This is especially meaningful to me because Crestwood has been an important part of my journey. I was a student there and later began my teaching career in the same classroom where I was once a student. Now, as superintendent, it is thrilling to see this community benefit from a new, state-of-the-art facility designed to meet the needs of today’s learners.
The new school provides student-centered spaces, from dedicated science, technology, engineering and math labs to flexible learning areas that foster collaboration and create highly engaging learning opportunities.
Our newest middle school program also launches this year at Oscar Smith Middle School. SmithTech will provide innovative learning opportunities in computer science.
The educators at SmithTech, with the help of Old Dominion University, have developed more than 130 computer science–integrated lessons across the core subjects of English, math, science, history and exceptional learning. These lessons weave computational thinking, data analysis and algorithmic processes directly into daily instruction. We’ve also created more than 60 computer science–infused electives and designed a new course, “Music Production & Recording,” which blends music theory with industry knowledge, production tools and even deejaying.
