For many years, regardless of the industry, IT was siloed. K–12 education was no exception. However , today’s school THIS 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 frontrunners envision plus 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 market 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, business thinking has been an essential part of the process. He not only had to select the particular appropriate tools for his team but also needed to anticipate future capacity, device sustainability, security and control.
READ MORE: Network modernization in K–12 schools starts here.
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 plus automation in order 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 commanders understood that a long-term holistic approach was essential to the success of their programs.
This thinking extends to how the particular IT group 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 the current increasingly complex world, successful K–12 THIS leaders must think past their siloed functional roles to better serve the entire business and community.
Ryan Petersen
Editor in Chief
