Forming and Utilizing a Leadership Team

Forming a Leadership Team

A successful digital learning program requires skills, expertise, and feedback from many different stakeholders. The most effective digital learning leadership teams include district office and school personnel as well as external stakeholders like members of school boards and parent-teacher organizations to ensure commitment to a shared vision and support for achieving agreed-upon goals. The digital learning leadership team will be responsible for setting and monitoring progress towards those goals, communicating with other stakeholders (e.g., administrators, teachers, families, and community members), and addressing feedback and concerns. The team should bring together expertise from across the district and encourage collaboration.

An effective leadership team may include:

Developing a Shared Vision and Goals

Once the leadership team is established, the team should develop a set of straightforward, attainable goals. These goals should be developed iteratively based on district or school objectives and data on the determined needs of the community (see “Conducting a Needs Assessment”), and they should be shared publicly for feedback from the community

Effective digital learning goals should:

• Work toward each student having access to a device and internet at home and at school
• Set a timeline for digital learning implementation
• Establish standards of success for digital learning within the school or district
• Determine how digital learning supports district and school goals for student learning and social and emotional development
• Address the need for learning continuity when incorporating or moving to digital learning
• Consider supports for students, staff, and families
• Align with long-term district goals for learning and technology use

After the vision and goals are established, the leadership team should meet regularly (we recommend a weekly, 30- to 60-minute meeting, either in person or virtual) to monitor progress, provide updates, address concerns, and continue planning.

Monitoring Progress and Implementing Feedback

Collecting data and feedback about the success of digital learning should be a continuous process that begins early. From the start, the leadership team should create a plan for gathering feedback from stakeholders, including teachers, families, and students (see “Conducting a Needs Assessment”). The team should also identify key questions they seek to answer, especially as they relate to stated goals, and collect continuous feedback. It is often helpful to assign a leadership team member to monitor and take responsibility for each key question. After feedback is collected, the leadership team should meet to adjust the digital learning plan accordingly.

Collected feedback should:

• Align with the district or school’s digital learning goals
• Be collected through varied methods (e.g., surveys, focus groups) from a variety of sources and stakeholders
• Be able to be disaggregated by grade level, stakeholder category, and other key factors
• Be made public to stakeholders (see “Providing Information to and Training for Families”)
• Inform updates to digital learning within the district or school

Tools and Resources

Forming a Leadership Team

• Missouri Department of Education: Six Step Process to Creating a Technology Plan

Developing a Shared Vision and Goals for Effective Digital Learning

• The Center on School Turnaround at WestEd: Rubric for Assessing Schools’ Plans for Rapid Improvement

Monitoring Digital Learning Progress and Implementing Feedback

• Digital Promise: Engaging in Continuous Improvement for Digital Learning Micro-credential
• Educause Quarterly: Measuring Success: Evaluation Strategies for Distance Education
• Technology, Pedagogy and Education: Reflection for Action: Designing Tools to Support Teacher Reflection on Everyday Evidence
• Center for Collaborative Education: Learning Refitted: A Pop-Up Guide for Schools and District Leaders
• The Centre for Teaching and Learning: Stop, Start, Continue