In Collaboration With Amazon Web Services, Future Ready Technology Leaders™ Empowers School Leaders to Implement a Vision for Personalized Learning
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Future Ready Schools® (FRS)—led by the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed)—announced Future Ready Technology Leaders™ (FRS Tech Leaders)—the latest expansion of the FRS initiative—aimed at empowering school and district technology leaders to better connect their practices, policies, and procedures to educational innovation in schools.
“Far from just counting boxes and wires, school and district technology leaders play a huge role in supporting schools in their transition to digital learning,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “From creating open, flexible, and robust digital environments that support teachers to creating anywhere, anytime learning for students, technology leaders hold the key to unleashing the power of digital learning for students and teachers alike.”
Acknowledging the various roles of technology leaders within schools and districts across the country, the FRS Tech Leaders framework provides guidance around the action steps necessary to ensure that all students, especially students of color and students from low-income families, have equitable access to qualified technology leaders, digital researchers, and innovative learning environments.
In collaboration with Amazon Web Services, FRS Tech Leaders focuses on how these leaders can support schools in their transition to digital learning by:
- making anytime, anywhere, anyhow learning a reality;
- supporting an open, flexible, robust digital learning environment;
- ensuring data safety and privacy while promoting best practices in digital citizenship;
- planning for future innovation and technology that supports learning and teachers; and
- creating a transparent environment that communicates to all stakeholders.
During five upcoming FRS institutes in Fall 2018, FRS Tech Leaders will tap an active network of like-minded educators beyond their own school, district, and state to share ideas and examples to overcome barriers to implementation, and for help and advice when challenges arise.
A project of All4Ed, FRS helps school districts develop the human and technological capacity needed to personalize student learning and prepare students for college, a career, and citizenship.
Over the last three years, 3,200 school districts’ superintendents—representing more than 19 million students—have signed the Future Ready District Pledge, committing to personalize learning by tailoring instruction to students’ strengths and needs while engaging them in challenging, standards-based academic content, with the help of effective digital learning strategies.
Future Ready Technology Leaders™ joins FRS program strands already underway for district leaders, principals, instructional coaches, and librarians.
“Through its various program strands, FRS crowd-sources expertise and connects similarly situated individuals within schools and districts who share skills and face similar challenges,” said Wise. “The end result is a powerful network of passionate educators who are maximizing student-centered learning opportunities and leveraging technology to prepare students for success in college, a career, and citizenship.”
More information on Future Ready Technology Leaders is available at http://futureready.org/program-overview/techleaders/.
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The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring all students, particularly those traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org
Future Ready Schools® (FRS) is a bold effort to maximize digital learning opportunities and help school districts move quickly toward preparing students for success in college, a career, and citizenship. FRS provides districts with resources and support to ensure that local technology and digital learning plans align with instructional best practices, are implemented by highly trained teachers, and lead to personalized learning experiences for all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved communities. FRS is led by the Alliance for Excellent Education alongside a vast coalition of organizations. www.FutureReady.org
