Starting Your Student Tech Team

Hear more about getting started with student tech teams from staff and students at Shepard Middle School:

Phases of Creating a Student Tech Team

Step 1: Finding the Right Facilitation Structure

To build a successful student tech team, start by recruiting a facilitator who is enthusiastic about students taking the lead in using technology as a tool for designing their own powerful learning opportunities. (Perhaps this is even you!)

An ideal student tech team facilitator:

• Collaborates with other staff, especially those with decision-making influence.
• Advocates for students to build leadership and technology competencies.
• Values collaborative student learning time.
• Embraces the opportunity to facilitate a student-led learning environment.

Although your school will need at least one staff member to lead the charge, there are many different roles that a school or district team can collaboratively take to engage with the student tech team development. Consider involving adults who are curious, open to learning, and able to foster student belonging. Include at least one staff member with decision-making influence to help integrate the team’s work into the larger school community effectively¹. Explore some of the ways that each staff role can contribute to the overall success of a school’s student tech team below:

Step 2: Establishing Team Vision and Mission

After recruiting the student tech team sponsor(s), it’s time to outline a vision and mission for the team. Engaging a diverse group of collaborators—including student representatives of the school community—will help create a strong foundation for long-term success and buy-in. This inclusive planning approach fosters a sense of ownership for those involved, especially students², a key component of the Leadership for Digital Transformation domain of Digital Promise’s K-12 Digital Equity Framework.

Guiding questions to support the planning team:

• How will the student tech team align with the school’s overall goals, mission, and initiatives?
• What specific technology needs or challenges within the school can the student tech team address?
• How can the student tech team foster and empower student technology leadership within our school community?

Step 3: Establish a Meeting Schedule

A well-structured meeting schedule is key to keeping the student tech team organized, engaged, and effective. Clear expectations help students develop leadership skills, take ownership of their roles, and contribute meaningfully to the school’s technology initiatives. Establishing a structure also ensures consistent communication, accountability, and opportunities for hands-on learning.

There are many ways to integrate a student tech team into a school, such as:

• Class Tech Leader Reps – Students act as liaisons for classroom tech support and meet during a dedicated non-academic time to collaborate with other team members.
• STEM Pathway Course Integration – Instructional specialists or coaches work with leaders to incorporate the student tech team into a structured STEM curriculum offering.
• Elective Course – Leaders add student tech team as an elective in the master schedule to provide dedicated time for tech learning.
• Student Club – A teacher or other engaged facilitator runs a flexible, extracurricular student tech team option for students to collaborate and innovate with available technology.

By choosing the right structure, schools can maximize student engagement and inclusivity and ensure long-term success.

Step 4: Developing Your Recruitment Strategy

Once the vision and mission are set, it’s time to plan how to recruit students for the student tech team.

• Create an inclusive application process to attract a wide range of students, including quiet leaders, problem-solvers, tech-savvy innovators, and individuals from special populations such as students with disabilities, English language learners, and those from underrepresented communities.
• Offer leadership opportunities for students who may not stand out in a traditional classroom setting but could thrive in a hands-on tech environment.
• Engage students in shaping school technology by involving a handful of them in designing the recruitment and application phase, helping them develop confidence and a sense of ownership.
• Ensure applicants understand the commitment and provide space for them to share their motivation.

Application Review and Selection

As applications come in, it will be important to consider how you want to structure your review and acceptance process. Take time to consider how big your initial team will be; team size can impact everything from relationship- and trust-building to decision-making. A team as small as 3-to-6 students may not be representative of your whole community, while a larger team (15-20) may be difficult for building cohesion and taking action³. Ensure that you build out an acceptance process that considers your diverse student population needs and directly aligns to the overall vision and mission of the team.

Step 5: Onboarding and Training

Empowering students to take an active role in planning and decision-making builds confidence, leadership, and real-world skills. A well-structured onboarding process gives the student tech team a clear and purposeful start, supporting the development of transferable digital skills. Actively involving them in the planning process further strengthens their ability to “create to solve and share,” a key attribute of a powerful graduate.

Not sure where to begin? Start here:

• District IT Alignment – What existing processes or systems can students support?
• School Priorities – Where can your new team’s work align with school needs?
• Expertise & Interests – What skills do team members bring? What do they want to learn first?

By considering these questions, schools create a foundation for a team that’s engaged, capable, and ready to make an impact. Explore more ideas for onboarding and training the new team members on the remaining pages of this toolkit.

Take Action

Now that you’ve started to think about key elements for a strong start to a school’s student tech team, it’s time to take action. Consider who to loop in now to make the school’s dream a reality, and draft a student tech team proposal email to start the conversation now!

Interested in getting started now? Download this Student Tech Team Toolkit 1-pager for editable links to helpful resources found in the Student Tech Team Toolkit.