The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), in partnership with the Texas Association of School Administrators and CoSN’s Texas state affiliate chapter, the Texas Educational Technology Leaders (formerly The Texas K-12 CTO Council), is honored to support the work of current and aspiring superintendents and district leadership teams in leading all aspects of digital learning transformations.
The EmpowerED Superintendent edWebinar Series
“Innovative Technology Solutions to Address Digital Equity: Award-Winning Collaborative Leadership Strategies”
It’s a wrap! The final episode of Season 3 of the EmpowerED Superintendent edWebinar series aired Monday, July 12. The webinar series is co-hosted by CoSN, AASA and edWeb.net, and sponsored by ClassLink. The premier of Season 4 begins on Monday, September 13, 2021, at 4 p.m. CT. The July 12 webinar was titled “Innovative Technology Solutions to Address Digital Equity: Award-Winning Collaborative Leadership Strategies.” Student access to robust digital tools is key to their success as 21st-century citizens. CoSN created the Community Leadership Award for Digital Equity to encourage and recognize those districts that are working to eliminate inequities and narrow the access gap. The winning district team is selected based on its efforts to build community awareness and actions taken to narrow the Homework Gap and other issues related to Digital Equity.
The superintendents and district technology leaders from each of the school districts that were awarded CoSN’s Community Leadership Award for Digital Equity in 2021 (Desert Sands USD, CA) and in 2020 (Santa Fe Public Schools, NM) were the featured guests during the July 12 edWebinar broadcast. You are welcome to watch, listen, and learn from Superintendent Scott Bailey and Dr. Kelly May-Volmer, Assistant Superintendent, Education Services, from Desert Sands USD, CA along with Dr. Veronica C. Garcia, Superintendent, and Dr. Tom Ryan, Former Chief Information and Strategy Officer from Santa Fe Public Schools, NM, as they shared the strategies they used to build community awareness and the actions they have taken to address a wide variety of issues related to digital equity.
Access the following link to watch the recording of the July 12 edWebinar: https://home.edweb.net/webinar/supers20210712/
Previously broadcast webinars from Seasons 1, 2, and 3 of the EmpowerED Superintendent series are also freely available as recordings and podcasts at https://home.edweb.net/supers/.
CoSN Resources
CoSN Digital Equity Toolkit
CoSN’s Digital Equity Toolkit spotlights ways in which schools and districts have successfully addressed digital equity challenges and identifies community engagement opportunities around digital access and inclusion. The toolkit discusses five strategies schools and districts can implement to address the “homework gap” and four steps school leaders can take to collaborate with local governments and other community leaders. You can read the executive summary and access the link to download the complete Digital Equity Toolkit at: https://cosn.org/DEtoolkit
CoSN Student Home Internet Connectivity Study
CoSN recently released the preliminary findings of a breakthrough study on students’ at-home internet connectivity that provides guidelines on bandwidth, devices, and other remote learning needs based on the data. The study was supported by a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). The findings serve as a guide for school district leaders who are working to improve online learning equity. Key findings from the Student Home Connectivity Study as well as a link to access the full report are available at: https://cosn.org/digitalequity
CoSN Membership & Texas Educational Technology Leaders
If your school or district would like more information about joining CoSN or getting more involved with CoSN and/or Texas Educational Technology Leaders, please contact Dr. Alice Owen, Executive Director, Texas Educational Technology Leaders, at ExDir@TETL.org or call 855.458.9286.
