Management

As Digital Transformation in Schools Continues, the Need for Enterprising IT Leaders Grows

K-12 IT leaders move beyond silos to make a meaningful impact inside and outside their schools.

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As Editor in Chief, Ryan works on developing editorial strategy and is always on the lookout for new writing talent and sharing great stories with the IT world. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, biking and obsessively following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

For many years, regardless of the industry, IT was siloed. K–12 education was no exception. However, today’s school IT leaders must contend with a hydra of challenges: limited staffing, uncertain budgets, a growing number of devices on the network, cybersecurity risks, securing the physical campus, leading digital transformation and so much more. This means IT leaders must think more broadly.

According to Korn Ferry’s research on enterprise leadership, “Enterprise leaders envision and grow; scale and create. They go beyond by going across the enterprise, optimizing the whole organization and its entire ecosystem by leading outside what they can control. These are leaders who see their role as being a participant in diverse and dynamic communities.”

How IT Teams Benefit from Holistic Planning

As Technology Director Keith Price looked to modernize the Vestavia Hills City Schools network in Alabama, enterprise thinking was an essential part of the process. He not only had to select the appropriate tools for his team but also had to anticipate future capacity, device sustainability, security and control.

In Massachusetts, Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School students work in mini industries such as farming, restaurants and cosmetology. The two-person IT team relies on remote management and automation to support students and staff more efficiently across the large campus.

While many schools shifted to one-to-one environments during the pandemic lockdown, enterprise leaders understood that a long-term holistic approach was essential to the success of their programs.

This thinking extends to how the IT team at Lewisville Independent School District in Texas quickly moved to support virtual parent communication with dedicated rooms that feature videoconferencing technology and further expanded the service after students returned to campus.

In today’s increasingly complex world, successful K–12 IT leaders must think beyond their siloed functional roles to better serve the entire organization and community.

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Ryan Petersen
Editor in Chief

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