A Vast Menagerie

John Percevault director of technology Lethbridge SD #51
I tried to get his seven things down while he was reviewing them, but I was not very successful with that.
So, here is what I have:
SEVEN THINGS (JUNE ’07 – JULY ’09)
· Equitable schools (win the trustee over by comparing the schools)
This was a huge accomplishment in this district. This speaks to that leadership skill of being a good communicator and visionary. He knew that the people he had to impress and win over were the trustees, and their job is to make sure all the schools have equal access to technology. This may not have been one of the things that made things move, but it was the main goal of the whole project.

· competitive wages for tech (having the right people)
He did not speak about this very long, but it is important that he had the right people there - that includes the technological staff and the superintendent who were able to and wanted to make these advancements.

· Systemic organization (middle control)
This was a huge factor. Again this was visionary - to know that the decentralization that had been occuring was the cause of the lack of equitable access (among other things!) To have the vision of the long-term plan and the organization skills to pull it together, made this work.

· Collaboration of key stakeholders and creation of a unified vision (collaborative vision)
Communication, communication, communication. This is another example of the important skill of communications and how it builds relationships. Also in this context, there is a case for inclusion of everyone so that their is a sense of having a voice in the process.

· Long term financial planning and sustainability of budgets to continue
This is essential. To plan the money, get your hands on the money (through grants, etc.) and then know what is needed immediately at the same time as planning for the future. This will make sure that the situation he came into does not return.

· Buy in from teachers through PD (Job embedded PD) around the three cornerstones of 21st Century classrooms, differentiated learning, and assessment for learning.
This was a genuis plan to help meet the requirements of grants and teacher buy-in. I am wondering, though, how the teachers recieved the idea of working longer hours with students in order to give up time to have these meetings. This was an addition to their job already and teachers are often pressed for time as it is.

· Clear mandate from the superintendent
Leadership from the top is essential. But the leader was not making unreasonable demands. Although John did make it seem that the principals and teachers were not willing to test the superintendent. What I mean is, maybe there was some buy-in due to fear of reprisal?

Overall, this was interesting to learn about from the IT side. Very interesting is that John is super-organized. He even has the agenda for the first two meetings for the upcoming year. IMPRESSIVE!