Management
ISTE Live 26: Doing More With Less: Kirsten Baesler on Sustainable K–12 Technology
In the post-ESSER era, many schools and school districts are learning how to iterate their resource allocation to do more with less and build durable plans that center planning around the mission instead of the money.
During her session “Driving Innovation When Budgets Are Tight” at ISTELive 26, Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education for the U.S. Department of Education, discussed the importance of having a clear framework for what sustainability looks like alongside panelists Chris Lehmann, CEO and principal of the Science Leadership Academy Schools, Angélica Infante-Green, commissioner of elementary and secondary education for the Rhode Island Department of Education, and others.
DIVE DEEPER: Learn how K–12 districts can do more with less and optimize their IT budgets.
With years of experience leading K–12 policy at the state and federal levels, she posits that the solution requires deliberately sequencing resources.
Previously serving as the North Dakota Superintendent of K-12 Schools, Baesler details how school leadership and technology directors navigating tighter budgets and higher expectations can pivot to create an evidence-based plan to bring to their legislature or school board to ensure alignment across all subjects, from kindergarten through twe lfth grade.
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Participants
Kirsten Baesler, Assistant Secretary, OESE, U.S. Department of Education
Video Highlights
- Districts that built durable technology programs during the ESSER window used each of the three tranches of funding deliberately.
- Collect evidence to justify continued investment and make the case to school boards and legislators for long-term funding.
- Technology directors in tight budget environments can strategically build an evidence-based plan to align investments in K–12.
