Overview

August 18

K-12 education – and our lives overall – have been upended since early March. In the Spring, many schools and districts found themselves unprepared and lacking the agile infrastructure to transition and maintain a dependable learning platform virtually. Now it’s time to look at those challenges, discuss the solutions school leaders found, and talk about how to prepare for the upcoming school year and the new normal.

Join the Center for Digital Education on August 18 at 9 a.m. pacific / 12 p.m. eastern to listen in to an important virtual roundtable discussion among K-12 school leaders regarding agility and reliability within teaching, learning and productivity infrastructure to support modern schooling. They’ll address questions like:

What is the new school year going to look like?
What kind of services will be needed to support districts?
How can you best manage budgets during this time?

Speakers

Manuel Luna

TCC Systems and Operations Director, Texas Computer Cooperative

Manuel has over 20 years of IT experience with over ten of them in the educational sector. He currently works at Education Service Center, Region 20, in the Texas Computer Cooperative (TCC) Division. Manuel is the Systems and Operations Director. Manuel is responsible for the management and hosting operation of the Student Information System ASCENDER /TxEIS. Manuel holds a Masters in Management of Technology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at the Permian Basin.

Vince Scheivert

Assistant Superintendent of Digital Innovation, Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia

Vince Scheivert is the Assistant Superintendent of Digital Innovation for Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia. Loudoun County is in the greater Washington DC Metro area. Vince leads The Department of Digital Innovation which supports 90 schools, more than 80,000 students and 11,000 plus employees. He provides leadership in the development and implementation of digital innovation initiatives to ensure a meaningful, effective and secure use of technology throughout Loudoun County Public Schools. One of those initiatives include the rollout of individual learning devices (1:1) for all students providing an individualized learning experience. Mr. Scheivert is also heading up a fiber optic construction project to increase connectivity between school sites within Loudoun County. This equips students and staff alike with the necessary tools to interact with each other, other school divisions, and the world at large. An active participant at the national level, through such organizations as Digital Promise, the Alliance for Excellent Education, The Consortium of School Networking, The International Society for Technology and at the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. In 2015, CoSN recognized him with its National CTO of the Year award. Prior to joining Loudoun County Public Schools, Mr. Scheivert led school district technology implementation programs in Pennsylvania and Virginia. He is a graduate of Temple University and earned his master's degree from George Washington University.

Chad A. Stevens, Ph.D.

Leader, K-12 Education, Amazon Web Services

Chad has dedicated his career to improving education outcomes for all students, and he continues to do so at Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the leader for K12 education. Prior to AWS, Dr. Stevens held leadership positions focused on education strategy at CDW-G and Dell. A majority of his career was spent with the Clear Creek Independent School District (Texas). Clear Creek serves more than 42,000 students in suburban Houston and encompasses the Johnson Space Center. Dr. Stevens had a 14-year career as classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, director of instructional technology, and chief technology officer. His work was featured in The Principal's Guide to Curriculum Leadership, and he maintains Superintendent Certification in Texas and AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification. Chad serves on the Board of CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) and the Indian Prairie Education Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Tarleton State University, a Master of Science in Educational Management from the University of Houston – Clear Lake and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Kecia Ray, Ed.D. — Moderator

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Education, President/Owner, K20Connect

Kecia is a strategic thinker and a proven leader in K12 transformation. Her career includes designing technology within the Frist Art Museum and directing technology research through Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Science Outreach programs. She was appointed as a turnaround agent by the Tennessee Commissioner of Education and established award-winning instructional technology programs recognized by the USDOE and Harvard University while in that role.

Webinar

Designing an Agile Infrastructure for Modern Schooling