Fostering connections and edtech strategies between education leaders

Key points:

• Education leaders face uncharted challenges ensuring that teachers who stay feel supported and connected
• Leaders are consistently ensuring that policies, technology, and teaching practices prioritize equity and cultural responsiveness
• See related article: 4 best practices to support and retain school leaders

If there is one thing I have seen consistently over many years of working with education leaders around the world, it is that they don’t often get enough opportunities to connect and learn from one another. The heart of education is community, and peer-to-peer learning and conversation are foundational to that. 

This year, as part of ISTE in Philadelphia, a roundtable event hosted by Visual Sound brought together representatives from three districts: the School District of Philadelphia, Prince George’s County Public Schools, and the District of Columbia Public Schools for conversations among education leaders about shared challenges and ideas for solutions. Together, these districts represent more than 300,000 students. They are dedicated to leveraging technology as a key part of teaching and learning, and this roundtable provided the opportunity to share approaches and learn from each other about what works with edtech and what doesn’t.

During the roundtable, hosted at the School District of Philadelphia’s Education Center, district representatives were split into three groups based on their role and main area of focus: coaches, technicians, and administrators. Across all the conversations, common themes arose that will be relatable for districts across the country–and beyond.