We talk with Nate Lichte, Chief Operations Officer of Lebra, about the challenges of retaining top talents in school leadership and the classroom. You can enjoy engaging insights into these important topics during Lichte’s presentation at the upcoming EdExec Summit, taking place September 10-11 in Chicago.

“I've always had a passion for leadership,” Nate Lichte says. “My mom was in human resources. Growing up I didn't get the traditional bedtime superheroes and fairy tales, I got leadership fables."

Like most fables, Lichte’s path wasn’t a simple or straight one, but it resulted in a lesson learned he brings into his work everyday.

“I got into education because I struggled with my own educational journey, so I wanted to make an impact for educators and their students,” he says. “I started in higher ed working directly with college students, which eventually led to K12. I even worked with juvenile justice and corrections education programs. I’ve been spending the last seven years with school superintendents within a company whose core product helped leaders to better connect with their employees to build a culture of belonging and ensure that the employee feels seen, valued, and inspired to grow.”

Lichte says the education sector is extremely unique, and presents difficult challenges for school leaders, who are under tremendous pressure. Every district is distinct, but most are facing the same challenges when it comes to staffing.

“Right now a lot of districts are talking about recruitment because we're dealing with this shortage of teachers,” he says. “The immediate thought is, ‘Let's go get more teachers.’ We're not talking enough about retention. It's far less expensive and far more impactful to create an environment where the best people choose to stay. At the end of the day, the best people want to work for someone that genuinely cares about them.”

Determining what matters most to the brightest stars in your school’s universe is key to keeping them.

“Teachers are not in a role for the compensation,” Lichte says. “The reason people stay is because they have great leadership. They have purpose. They have opportunity to grow. There's trust. There's flexibility. There's an authentic relationship that's built between them, the leadership, and the entire organization. That's what sets a high-performing organization apart, whether it's a K12 school district or any other industry.”

Just knowing what your staff needs is the first step. For Lichte, this isn’t about selling a product, but selling a culture that can make life better for all the stakeholders.

“Culture isn't something you can write on a wall,” he says. “Culture isn't something that happens because you throw a building a pizza party or order a snack cart on Teacher Appreciation Day. Those small things are great and may lead to a positive culture, but nine times out of ten, that's not what builds a healthy culture of belonging. What builds a strong culture of belonging is small intentional actions. It's conversations, it's feedback, it's recognition, all of those small things that happen in seconds in the day that build trust and relationships.”

Becoming the GOAT of Joy and Belonging Might Take a Few Llamas

“Culture starts from the top down,” says Lichte. “It doesn't matter whether we're working with K-12 districts, hospitals with 20,000 employees, or a private organization with 6,000. We have to start with the CEO or the superintendent of that organization. If you as the head of that organization do not believe — or don’t take the intentional actions that it takes to build a culture of belonging, it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

Small daily actions, such as noting someone’s birthday, might seem simplistic or something that wouldn’t move the needle on culture.

“When you're the superintendent of an organization and you send a personal email birthday message to an individual, it has meaningful impact,” Lichte suggests. “A superintendent in Illinois sent a last-minute birthday message to an individual in his district. The gentleman responded that he didn't know that the superintendent knew it was his birthday, and was furthermore surprised that he took the time just to wish him a happy birthday, because he's the superintendent leading this big district. His final sentence? Sometimes, being a janitor I feel at the bottom, but today — I feel at the top.”

This made such an impact on the superintendent, the district adopted a bigger recognition of birthdays and milestones across the organization. Doors were decorated, and joy and a sense of belonging was spread.

“These are the moments that matter,” Lichte says. “That individual employee will stay retained and engaged in his role because of this one small email and then everything else that the district has done to kind of change their philosophy. That's when employees feel trusted, valued. They're inspired to grow, regardless of what position they hold.”

Lichte insists this conversation should not be about recruitment, because recruitment will come when you create an environment with a focus on a culture of belonging. If that’s what you narrow in on, you're focusing on the wrong piece of the puzzle.

“The challenge for superintendents is that education is currently facing a heavy politically-charged environment,” he says. “They have budget constraints and reins are being tightened to the greatest degree they've ever experienced.”

Lichte says small intentional acts and inspiration matters. He cites Dr. George Philhower, Eastern Hancock Community Schools superintendent in Greenfield, Indiana, who has four key tenets, starting with joy.

“He wants every single individual to experience joy and that joy is exhibited not only when the kids are being taught, but when employees and teachers feel like they're part of the school,” says Lichte. “It takes intentional work. You cannot do it on Fridays and special occasions; as a leader, you need to do it every single day. If you're bleeding talent, it's because people don't believe, one, in you as the leader, or two, because your core tenets are in misalignment with what they want.”

This philosophy has attracted such a stir that 300 educators from around the country come to Philhower’s annual Joy Jam educators’ conference. To be fair, this is the same man who sent a local farmer in uniform riding a horse past a history classroom yelling, “The British are coming!”

So how does joy express itself in Greenfield, Indiana?

Says Lichte: “The best way I can sum up that conference is as I'm walking down to the main session, George passes me and says, ‘Have you seen a goat? We've lost the goat.’ The next thing I heard was his voice calling down the hall, ‘The llamas are slipping on the floor. We need a tarp for the llamas!’ Because this conference brought in everything that exhibits joy. This is why George doesn’t have a recruitment problem.”

3 Takeaways To Gain From Nate Lichte’s EdExec Summit Presentation

Culture is not a pizza party. Leadership is building a high-performing organization around a culture of belonging, built on a foundation of connection. You can’t have one without the other.

Start from the ground up. Learn from the good work already taking place, such as the birthday note example. Sharing best practices starts a conversation to spark ideas. Other creative things are happening organically in districts.

Create environments that people don't wanna leave. You can't just do it on Tuesdays and Fridays or because it feels like the right thing to do. You have to block your calendar 5-10 minutes every day and go find someone to make feel seen. If you're not giving this culture the same intention that you give your budget, then you're missing the mark.

The insights from a recent Ed-Tech Leadership Collective Briefing paint a clear picture: the traditional playbook for marketing to school districts is obsolete. Today’s educational leaders are navigating a perfect storm of tightening budgets, expiring stimulus funds, and an unprecedented volume of vendor outreach.

The Briefing, co-hosted by Tech & Learning, featured two speakers from T&L’s EdExec Summit, taking place in Chicago on September 10-11. The discussion offered a sneak peek into the kinds of conversations expected to take place at this event for education executives.

Collin Earnst, Founder and Managing Partner at the Ed-tech Leadership Collective, spoke with Trina Reeves (Director of STEM and Innovation at Clayton County Schools, GA) and Joe Ayala (Director of Information Technology at Santa Clara USD, CA), to hear their candid feedback to education companies looking to market to them.

Below are the insights education companies can use to evolve their marketing and sales strategies and build lasting partnerships with schools.

The New Era of Budget Scrutiny and ROI

The days of easily accessible ESSER funds are gone. Districts are now managing the realities of inflation, cost escalators, and, in many cases, staff reductions.

Consequently, the scrutiny placed on spending has never been higher. Superintendents and school boards are demanding concrete proof of a product’s Return on Investment (ROI).

"One thing that is being asked more than ever is, ‘Is your product actually making a difference?’” Ayala said. “From the superintendent level to the board members, I've been asked more about ROI than I have in my entire career over the last six months."

Trina Reaves echoed this reality, noting that shifting leadership brings intense new focus on metrics. Sharing a recent conversation with her new superintendent, she detailed his strict mandate: "’I want to see the data, I want to see usage. I want to compare it to scores, how the students are performing.’ He says if it's not making a difference, it's going to go."

To market effectively in this environment, vendors must proactively assist district leaders in proving this value. Enter conversations armed with data, usage metrics, and a clear understanding of the district’s specific strategic plan and needs. Don’t put the burden of justifying a product's cost on the district.

Cutting Through the Vendor Noise

District leaders are inundated with sales pitches. With some administrators receiving upward of 200 calls per day and countless emails, the push for a "quick win" or an immediate long-term contract can permanently damage a relationship.

"I've actually fired quite a few vendors,” said Ayala. “If they went really hard on the first sale, I'm like, ‘Okay, I'll give you one sale, but we're not going to form a partnership. You got that one PO from me, but you're not going to get any more POs.’”

To break through the noise, education companies must pivot to a value-first, relationship-based approach:

▶Go slow to go fast: Building a genuine partnership can sometimes take years. Rushing a district into a long-term commitment before they have secured funding or proven the concept through a pilot will likely burn bridges.

▶Show up without an ask: Support district events, attend regional STEM collaboratives, and send check-in emails that offer value rather than a sales pitch.

▶Respect the chain of command: If an initial pilot or conversation is moving slowly, do not bypass your primary contact to pitch directly to the superintendent or principal. This is a surefire way to get blacklisted.

When you do earn that trust, the loyalty is profound. "Once you're my partner, we're partners and 10 toes down for you all the time," Reaves said. "When I think of something, I'm calling you. When I need something, I'm calling you."

Flexibility in Pricing and Implementation

Rigidity in software licensing is a major friction point for modern districts. If a tool is primarily utilized by a specific subset of teachers, vendors should not force a district-wide site license.

"There is no way I should pay for 5,000 licenses, and only 100 kids are using it,” Reaves said. “If those 100 kids are doing great but we’re spending $2 million, that's a problem."

When budgets are tight, vendors who adapt their pricing and packaging to match actual usage will retain clients. Furthermore, successful implementation requires ongoing PD. Because teacher turnover is high, Reaves suggests packaging PD deeply into the adoption rather than treating it as a massive, recurring separate line item that eats into a district's limited PD budget.

Standardizing and Sharing Meaningful Data

You cannot prove ROI without accurate data, yet many edtech platforms make data extraction unnecessarily difficult. Beautiful, high-level presentation dashboards are nice, but district IT leaders need raw, exportable data to integrate with their own internal systems.

"I think the next iteration of edtech is developing some data standards of reporting data back,” said Ayala. “One easy thing that you do is make sure the usage data is easily exported."

Vendors must collaborate with districts to define what constitutes an “active user.” Is it one login per month, or five interactive sessions per week? By establishing shared metrics and making data sharing agreements seamless, vendors empower district leaders to confidently defend the product to their school boards.

The Ed-Tech Vendor Playbook: Do's and Don'ts

The Bottom Line

Marketing to K-12 educators today requires empathy, patience, and a willingness to adapt. Vendors who listen to a district's financial constraints, respect their time, and prioritize slow, authentic relationship-building will ultimately thrive.

As the conversation with Reaves and Ayala makes clear: once you prove your value and earn the title of a true "partner," district leaders will advocate fiercely for your continued presence in their schools.

To build a winning strategy for the post-stimulus education market, join us at Tech & Learning's EdExec Summit on September 10-11 in Chicago. Featuring tailored tracks for every functional leader, each session is co-facilitated by a district buyer—providing exclusive, direct insights to help you craft an actionable business plan.

The K-12 education market has reached a critical inflection point. As the ESSER cliff shifts from a looming threat to a present reality, the easy money of the stimulus era has vanished. For edtech companies, the fundamental question has changed: How do we drive growth when the budget rules have been rewritten?

Now in its fourth year, Tech & Learning’s annual EdExec Summit heads to The Old Post Office in Chicago on September 10–11, 2026. This isn't a sprawling convention, but a curated, high-level strategic exchange designed specifically for the executives and functional leaders who must navigate this new landscape.

“No other event compares to the Tech & Learning EdExec Summit,” says 2025 attendee Allison Maudlin. “The intimate setting created space for real, candid conversations about the business of education, and the sessions provided the kind of depth and insight that most conferences overlook."

If you are responsible for the long-term health and scalability of an education company, here is why the 2026 Summit is an essential addition to your calendar.

Decoding the Post-Stimulus Economy

The era of rapid-fire spending is over. District leaders are now forced to justify every dollar through the lens of efficacy and essentiality. The 2026 agenda is built around a practical Executive Playbook to help you survive this scrutiny.

The session “State of the Education Market: What to Expect in 2026 and Beyond” provides a 360-degree view of an $800B+ market in transition. You won't just hear about funding; you’ll learn how to navigate the shift toward a skills-based economy and career-connected learning—the two primary drivers currently reshaping district priorities.

Direct Intelligence: The Modern Buyer Persona

The Summit’s most valuable feature is the removal of the barrier between vendor and customer. Every session is co-facilitated by district administrators, ensuring you receive candid, real-time feedback. Each day concludes with a panel of district administrators who share their reflections on the day’s conversations and explicitly state what they need most from their vendor partners.

Tracks for Functional Leaders

Success in 2026 requires total alignment across your leadership, sales, marketing, and product teams. The EdExec Summit is engineered to develop your entire bench of functional leaders through table discussions co-facilitated by district administrators and industry veterans. Key focus areas include:

• The Complex District Sales Cycle: Navigating longer procurement timelines.
• Privacy, Cybersecurity & AI Governance: Moving beyond simple compliance.
• Product Market Fit: Meeting the "Evidence" imperative.
• Marketing Trends: Breaking through the noise in a saturated market.
• From Pilot to Enterprise: Strategies for usage, retention, and expansion.

The AI Paradigm Shift: Hype vs. Market Reality

For an executive, the AI gold rush presents a dangerous fork in the road: Do you pivot your entire roadmap toward Generative AI, or do you wait for the dust to settle?

The session “The AI Paradigm Shift: Hype vs. Market Reality” separates VC-driven buzz from classroom reality. Our panel of experts will explore whether districts are actually shifting budgets toward AI tools or if they are blocking these due to privacy and safety concerns. You will leave with an understanding of where the actual revenue opportunities lie, ensuring your R&D investment is grounded in market demand.

Moving from Pilot to Enterprise

Perhaps the greatest friction point for edtech today is "pilot purgatory." Many companies have products in thousands of classrooms but struggle to convert those footprints into sustainable, district-wide contracts.

The Summit tackles this head-on with sessions such as “From Pilot to Enterprise Adoption” and “Creating Outcomes-Based Contracts.” In an era of skepticism, you will learn how to translate complex academic data into high-impact narratives that convince superintendents your tool is "un-swappable" during budget cuts.

Turning Compliance into a Competitive Advantage

Privacy and cybersecurity are often viewed by sales teams as hurdles. We reframe them as strategic advantages. Through sessions such as “Trust as a Brand Anchor” and “The Third-Party Data Leak,” executives will learn how to lead their teams toward “Privacy by Design.” By the end of the event, you will know how to position your company as the safe choice in a market increasingly wary of "Techlash."

The Bottom Line

The EdExec Summit is timed perfectly for September 10–11—just as the back-to-school season provides its first set of real-world data and before the primary planning cycle for the next fiscal year begins. Attendees will leave Chicago with a roadmap for leading through uncertainty.

“As both a sponsor and speaker, I left with new and growing relationships, validation of our market approach, and intelligently informed insights that will shape our strategy,” writes Trevor Minton, CXO of Openfield. “The EdExec Summit truly delivers on connecting EdTech companies with the decision-makers who matter.”

Ready to join the conversation? Visit tledexecsummit.com to view the full speaker lineup and register today.

Following a fantastic launch event last Fall, Tech & Learning’s EdExec Summit is back at the Chateau Elan Winery & Resort outside of Atlanta on September 11-13, 2024.

Once again, Tech & Learning will bring together senior executives from companies serving the K-12 industry for a three-day networking conference dedicated to the business of education. Last year, 80% of the attendees rated the event as “excellent,” and described it as “one of the best conferences we have ever attended.”

REGISTER HERE FOR EDEXEC 2024

The intimacy, deep connections, and partnerships that industry executives can forge at this event, coupled with a curated agenda that includes meaningful time for collaboration and connection, is unlike any other conference for education business executives. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to network with some of the most influential figures in the education industry.

The Agenda

The EdExec Summit 2024 agenda boasts an extensive group of industry experts from respected companies such as Google, Instructure, Powerschool, ClassLink, Renaissance Learning, Edmentum, and many more. Learn how to tackle unique edtech challenges to become the best provider you can be. Immerse yourself in the trending topics of today’s educational space, including AI, data privacy and security, and overcoming common edtech pitfalls. The EdExec Summit 2024 will provide you with the information you need to thrive in educational technology.

FIND THE COMPLETE EDEXEC 2024 AGENDA HERE

The summit’s agenda is divided into four tracks with multiple sessions to support education industry executives at all stages:

• The education market - Delve into various aspects of the edtech industry, including discussions about school policies, product interoperability, common pitfalls, and scalability.
• Team performance - Learn best practices for building and reskilling your team, setting and tracking goals, and recruiting and leveraging a community of brand ambassadors.
• Ramping up - Learn the vital components to gain market share both domestic and internationally.
• Exponential growth - Learn how to identify and secure strategic partnerships that drive growth, manage AI and data privacy in edtech, build roadmaps to success, and navigate funding pain points.

In addition to building connections with industry insiders, you will learn best practices of top-performing sales teams, hear insights and advice from school district decision makers, be informed of the latest edtech trends, receive tips for navigating the edtech space, and much more.

Agenda highlights include:

Privacy and AI: What Companies Need to Know: This session covers crucial school data privacy rules and regulations, as well as offer tips for operationalizing and scaling those rules.

The End of ESSER: Now What? How can companies find the billions of dollars still available in the education market after ESSER? In this session, attendees will learn where to find and secure funding.

How to Win in an AI-Driven Market: Tech & Learning's content director, Christine Weiser, talks with Magic EdTech's Chief Solutions Officer, Rishi Raj Singh Gera, about the challenges and opportunities education companies have in the current AI-driven market.

Sourcing and Securing Strategic Partners: This session covers best practices for partnership selection, negotiation, and management, presented by industry experts from Google, Classlink, and Instructure.

The Evolving Global EdTech Landscape: Opportunities & Challenges in 2024: This panel of experts explores the dynamic global edtech market, identifying emerging trends, opportunities, and obstacles.

FIND THE COMPLETE EDEXEC 2024 AGENDA HERE

And that’s not all! EdExec Summit 2024 offers chances for downtime and casual conversation as well. Throughout the three-day event attendees will have plenty of time to network with each other while enjoying meals and activities provided by Tech & Learning, one of the most trusted sources in educational technology news.

Who You'll Meet

Throughout the conference, attendees will have the opportunity to network with some of the most respected names in educational technology. They will also have time to connect with one another, providing the opportunity to share opinions, strategies, and information all to help them better connect with decision makers and make an impact in education.

Join senior education executives at the 2024 event from companies including: Intel, Google Education, Instructure, PowerSchool, Edmentum, Nearpod, Magic EdTech, ClassLink, Lexia, Renaissance Learning, Sirius Education Solutions, Authentica Solutions, Second Avenue Learning, Global Grid for Learning (GG4L), 1EdTech, Advancing Global EDU, CoSN, Burbio, CAST, Edlatam Alliance (Latin American Company alliance), Cherry Tree Associates, Loeb & Loeb, LLP, Boclips, Carolina -- and much more!

The Venue

The 2024 Tech & Learning EdExec Summit takes place at the beautiful Chateau Elan Winery & Resort outside Atlanta — spanning 3,500 acres of rolling hills and wooded forests.

In addition to a tranquil setting ideal for learning and networking with colleagues, the Chateau Elan has on–property restaurants and bars, a golf course, spas, wine tours, and more.

The EdExec Summit is a rare opportunity to garner actionable insights from edtech leaders, and this year is looking to be the best one yet! This three day event is your chance to learn from the nations’ top leaders in innovative educational technology. Make sure to secure your chance to attend the Summit and experience a unique event with connections and information that will last a lifetime.

It only happens once a year! Register now and put your finger on the pulse of the edtech industry with EdExec Summit 2024!

Go here for more information and to register for the EdExec Summit

Educators and school leaders will get two conventions for the price of one next year when ISTELive and the ASCD Annual conference join forces in San Antonio, Texas, from June 29-July 2, 2025. Those who register for either conference will get access to both, which will be held at the same facilities and operate as a two-in-one event. 

Jennifer Ragan-Fore, ASCD + ISTE Chief Experience Officer, says the decision to co-host ISTELive and ASCD was made for the same reasons the two organizations decided to merge in the first place. 

“It’s really about being able to bring together people across the entire instructional spectrum — leaders all the way down to classroom teachers and coaches,” she says. “The events for both organizations are obviously an exclamation point, and each year we’re bringing that educator community together.”

ISTELive and the ASCD Annual Conference Co-located: What That Will Look Like  

Some aspects of the 2025 co-hosted ISTELive and ASCD Annual Conference are still coming together, but participants will be able to register through ISTE or ASCD, and though that, registration will provide access to all events. Various talks, panels, demonstrations etc. will be branded as either an ISTELive or ASCD conference event. Broadly speaking, each of these types of events will have their own flavor. 

"On the ASCD side, there's been a lot of focus really on thought leadership, really deep learning longer format sessions,” Ragan-Fore says. “On the ISTE side, it's been a little bit faster moving shorter sessions, more hands-on things, lots of public space workshops and playgrounds. What we hear a lot is the audience is really there to find those sparks of inspiration to go back and try in their classrooms.” 

Excitement From Educators  

With the events now hosted together, leadership-focused educators will have the chance to sit-in on more classroom-centric events and classroom-focused educators can listen in on some broader curriculum focused workshops and discussions. Various team members from the same district will also be able to attend together and discuss what they have learned, Ragan-Fore says. 

At this year’s ASCD conference there was lots of excitement about the plan. “We got a lot of great feedback from folks, lots of people coming up and saying, ‘We have limited budgets, and every year, I'm trying to decide, 'Can I send this subset to this event, and this subset to this event?' It’s going t be super exciting to bring a whole team together and be able to kind of experience this across the board,’” Ragan-Fore says.

Advice For Conference Attendees  

Whether attending the co-located conference next year or ISTELive this summer, Ragan-Fore recommends planning ahead to ensure you choose correct conferences. 

For next year, Ragan-Fore says the team is hoping to unveil an AI recommendation app that can help participants choose the best events for them. But even so, she says, it’s also good to have a second pick for each time slot in case you arrive and that event is full. 

And no matter how great the events are, one of the true highlights of this, or any other conference, is connecting with other educators. 

“You're learning from other people and hearing their reflections on things,” she says. “Even if you're part of the team reach out and hear other perspectives from other schools and districts, and if you're going individually really try to take advantage and make the most of those [networking/connecting] opportunities.”  

• What is TeachAI? The AI Education Resource Explained by ISTE’s Chief Learning Officer
• Best of ISTELive 2023

Tech & Learning’s Regional Leadership Summits are starting off the 2024 year in the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia region on February 23, 2024 at the Maritime Conference Centre! Following a successful event last February, the T & L team is excited to head back to Maryland and have a full day filled with sharing sessions, phenomenal speakers, and plenty of opportunities to network! 

                   READ MORE AND FIND THE LINK TO REGISTER HERE

District administrators from the region are invited to join the day’s events at no cost as it is Tech & Learning’s mission to make sharing information and networking accessible to the school leaders who are innovating in their communities. PLUS: Tech & Learning will cover a two-night hotel stay for qualified attendees. The day’s events will include interactive workshops and panel discussions designed to support school planning. The event features inspiring speakers including:  

Richard Culatta
T&L Summit MC Carl Hooker talks with ISTE/ASCD Chief Executive Officer Richard Culatta to discuss his vast experience in education policy and teacher preparation and his thoughts on the future of education. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions as part of this conversation.

Keith Krueger
In this session, Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN, explores the key challenges and opportunities facing education leaders around technology. How should we think about innovation to transform learning? Attendees will engage in an interactive conversation about the top Hurdles, Accelerators and Tech Enablers identified in the 2024 Driving K-12 Innovation report. 

Tarrin Morgan, NASEF scholastic fellow
This session will explore how scholastic esports programs provide students with meaningful career and STEM education alongside their tournament experience. 

Amy Jackson, Supervisor, EdTech Programs, Arlington Public Schools, and Krystle Pearson, former Brunswick County Director of Technology will discuss The Shifting Role of Edtech Coaches.

These leaders have a wealth of knowledge to share and the Tech & Learning team urges prospective attendees to visit the agenda to see more of what the day will entail. In addition to these featured speakers, attendees will have the chance to participate in small group discussions with other district leaders, where they can share ideas and best practices to help reshape and reimagine the future of education. 

We'll also kick off the event the day before with our new Innovation Lab – a new series of events we are launching in partnership with Education Market Experts – where attendees can learn about new emerging tech AND earn a $200 scholarship for their district, followed by an opening dinner. 

Tech & Learning will also be hosting the "Innovative Leader" Awards as part of the Summit, to ensure leaders are getting the recognition they deserve. All finalists will be invited to the Summit and the winners will be announced at the event. District leaders are welcomed to think about the work an individual has done and submit a nomination here.  

Tech & Learning is delighted to continue providing a space in 2024, where school district leaders can engage with one another and amplify one another’s work. If you are not in the DMV area but are interested in attending another Tech & Learning Regional Leadership Summit, please visit here to see a list of other 2024 Summit dates and locations.

                   READ MORE AND FIND THE LINK TO REGISTER HERE

On December 2, 2022, Tech & Learning will host its first “Innovative District Leader Summit” at the Liberty Science Center outside New York City to celebrate the district leaders and industry providers who are leading innovation in schools. 

The Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Summit will bring together district administrators to share ideas, best practices, and solutions to help to reshape and reimagine the future of education through interactive workshops and presentations. 

Innovative district leaders are invited to apply here to attend this unique opportunity to work with their peers to reshape the future of education. 

Highlights and takeaways from this event will be captured in an “Innovation in Action Playbook” that will be published in Tech & Learning magazine and shared with our audience of 72,000 district leaders. 

          Visit our website to apply to attend the Innovative Leader Summit

Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Summit Agenda

Below is the agenda for the Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Summit:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022: Opening Dinner & Reception

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2022 

8:30 AM  Registration & Breakfast 

Attendees arrive to register, network, and enjoy breakfast.

9:00 AM-9:30  Welcome and Introductions 

Edtech luminary and international keynote speaker Carl Hooker brings his enthusiasm and passion for education to the Innovative Leader Summit as our host and MC for the day. As MC, Carl will facilitate fun and interactive conversations throughout the day to ensure attendees walk away with innovative ideas they can put into action. 

9:30 -10:00  AM  Keynote: What Does It Means to Be Innovative? 

Risk-taking and celebrating failure are key building blocks to drive innovation. During this interactive session, Carl Hooker leads attendees through a series of improv activities designed to help activate the creative side of their brains. Come prepared to move, think, and leave your inhibitions at the door. It’s not how you fall down, it’s how you get back up! 

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Problem-Solving Working Groups and Sponsor Meetings 

Attendees will break into small working groups to review a variety of scenarios that could impact their district and will collaboratively decide what is the best course of action to handle the situation. After each case study, attendees will choose a representative from their group to present their solutions. These solutions will be curated into actions that will be shared in the Tech & Learning Innovation Playbook. 

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM  Lunch & Networking

1:00 - 3:00 PM Planning the Future Working Groups and Sponsor Meetings

Attendees will break into small working groups to imagine what their future school district might look like if there were no barriers. After each case study example, attendees will choose a representative from their group to present their solutions. These solutions will be curated into actions that will be shared in the Tech & Learning Innovation Playbook. 

3:00-5:00  Pitch Contest: Building the District of the Future 

Attendees group into teams to answer the question: “What does the ideal school district look like?” You have unlimited funds, no politics, no state or federal mandates. The sky's the limit! Your team has 30 minutes to create a 5-minute pitch that you will present to your district community. The audience votes on each pitch and the winning teams receive prizes and a feature in the Tech & Learning Innovation Playbook. 

5:30 - 8:30 pm Closing Reception & Dinner

Attendees celebrate the collaboration and creativity of the day at a cocktail reception and dinner.

          Visit our website to apply to attend the Innovative Leader Summit

Any New York City teacher can register to attend the 10th annual #NYCSchoolsTech Summit, which will be back in-person on Wednesday, August 17 at LaGuardia High School in Manhattan. At the Summit, you’ll find dozens of thought-provoking sessions, hear best instructional practices, gain edtech insights, learn about new technologies and strategies, and network with colleagues.

There are lots of other reasons to attend the Tech Summit. Here are eight: 

A chance for in-person connection

It’s been over two years since DIIT has held a large, in-person conference. This conference is a chance to reconnect with colleagues and meet SPOCs, librarians, and parent coordinators in person. In some cases, it’ll be a chance to meet colleagues in-person for the first time! 

The latest tech

Emergency remote teaching turned New York City into the largest district in the nation with one device for each student. Wonder what devices and software kids are using these days? Come take a spin on the vendor floor and find out. 

Keynote

This year’s keynote speaker is Roya Mahboob, an entrepreneur and Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO who has used her success and expertise to help educate and empower Afghan women and girls. She founded the Digital Citizen Fund and the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, and has worked to build innovation/tech centers across Afghanistan. 

Escape room - made by students!

Can you make it out of the escape room? Give it a shot and see if you can solve a series of puzzles and decipher clues about ed tech to make it out of the room! Students at Thomas A. Edison Career & Technical Education High School designed the entire experience. 

Special guest star

Gaspare Randazzo is a New York City teacher and stand-up comedian, performing in clubs around the city. He’ll be on stage, during the closing remarks, to talk about life as a teacher. 

Social Media Scavenger Hunt

Is your Insta and Twitter game on point? Share what you’ve learned in the Social Media Scavenger Hunt using #NYCSchoolsTech for a chance to win terrific prizes. 

Many teacher-led sessions

Teachers will host many of the summit's sessions. They’ll share their real experiences with the technology they’re using.

Free food!

We all love free food and snacks. Come to the Summit for coffee, snacks, and a delicious lunch. 

This was cross-posted at The Innovative Educator.

As administrators and building leaders, each of you have rolled up your sleeves and done the hard work to build your remote learning programs in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

To support your ongoing efforts and share your stories, Tech & Learning has launched a District Leadership Lunch ‘n Learn Roundtable series, hosted by Dr. Kecia Ray. 

In this series, districts from across the U.S. share their strategic plans, the challenges they are facing, and the creative solutions they are using to support students and teachers.

By attending the live webinar, you will be able to ask questions to other district leaders, gain actionable insights to help support your community, and expand your network.  Join us and lend your voice to help support student success during the crisis by registering for the events below. 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 3, 2020 - Keeping Data Secure in Remote and Blended Learning Environments 

In this lunchtime event, Dr. Ray talks with district leaders about the security issues related to online learning as schools plan for next year, such as keeping data private, cybersecurity concerns, and monitoring online activity to make sure students are safe and content is appropriate. 

Register here

Want to host a roundtable in your region? Email christine.weiser@futurenet.com

ON-DEMAND WEBINARS: 

REMOTE LEARNING IN TEXAS
In Texas, the needs of teachers, students, and families across the state vary greatly as they face long-term school closures. In this Lunch ‘n Learn Remote Learning Webinar, you’ll meet district leaders from small, medium, and large districts to learn how they are meeting these diverse needs as they roll out remote learning programs. In addition to ensuring teachers are delivering effective instruction in this all-new teaching environment, these leaders discuss how they are supporting other aspects of the well-being of their communities. Watch this on-demand webinar here. 

REMOTE LEARNING IN ILLINOIS
Illinois has been at the forefront of remote learning delivery and Tech & Learning have invited their Superintendents and Academic Officers to outline how they have driven their capability in this area, the challenges they have had to overcome and the technology they have used to achieve it. Watch this on-demand webinar here. 

REMOTE LEARNING IN GEORGIA
Georgia had a smaller but similar regional crisis during 2014’s “Snowmageddon,” when Georgia schools experienced long-term school shutdowns because of unusually extreme weather conditions. In this virtual roundtable conversation, Dr. Kecia Ray talks with district leaders about how they made the shift to remote learning then -- and how they’ve sustained this model since that time. Watch this on-demand webinar here. 

REMOTE LEARNING IN NEW YORK CITY
Hear how the NYC DOE launched a remote learning program to the nation’s largest school district, including deploying millions of devices in less than a week. Leaders, including NYC DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza, shared their experiences as well as their short- and long-term remote learning plans. Watch this on-demand webinar here.

REMOTE LEARNING IN CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles USD launched -- and sustained -- an effective remote- learning program in the second largest district in the country. LAUSD was quickly able to train their teachers, add a more robust library of vetted resources to their LMS, and roll out the devices needed so every student had access from home. In Cupertino USD, they used the remote learning program to unify their school district and encourage collaboration. Watch this on-demand webinar here.

REMOTE LEARNING IN FLORIDA
Leaders from Miami-Dade County Public Schools discussed how they are sustaining ongoing professional development and sharing remote teaching strategies and best practices. Meanwhile, Escambia County School leaders talked about  managing devices remotely and plans for next school year. Watch this on-demand webinar here.

PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR: TRANSITIONING FROM REMOTE TO BLENDED LEARNING 
How can you prepare for next school year when there are so many unknowns? In this Tech & Learning Remote Learning webinar, Dr. Kecia Ray talked with school district leaders about how they are designing an infrastructure that supports blended learning, including providing the training and content to ensure continuity of education for their school communities next year. The conversation ranged from handling uncertainty and addressing digital equity to creating opportunities and shifting pedagogy. Watch this on-demand webinar here.

Tech & Learning Leadership Summits are attended by a select group of K-12 technology and teaching school professionals and education department leaders from districts across the country who understand and benefit from timely and relevant executive-level news about the successes and challenges of education technology. Each Tech & Learning Leadership Summit uses a combination of presentations and idea exchanges to focus on the challenges and success stories related to using education technology to support educational transformation.

The 2020 Tech & Learning Summits will take place:

• Oct 9-10 | Denver, CO | Grand Hyatt Denver
• Dec 2-3 | Clearwater, FL | Clearwater Beach Marriott

Tech & Learning Leadership Summits are by invitation only. To read more about these events, visit our Tech & Learning Leadership Summit website. Questions? Email christine.weiser@futurenet.com 

At the October 2019 Tech & Learning Leadership Summit, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to and share about the many ways districts are using data to personalize learning.

CLICK HERE to see the complete agenda!

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Tech & Learning Leadership Summits are attended by a select group of K-12 technology and teaching school professionals and education department leaders from districts across the country who understand and benefit from timely and relevant executive-level news about the successes and challenges of education technology. Each Tech & Learning Leadership Summit uses a combination of presentations and idea exchanges to focus on the challenges and success stories related to using education technology to support educational transformation.

Tech & Learning Leadership Summits are by invitation only. To be considered for an upcoming Summit, click here to complete a brief survey.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TLSummit19 Questions? Email christine.weiser@futurenet.com 

October 4-5 | Chicago, IL Theme: Using Data to Personalize Learning
Location: Westin Chicago River North
At the October 2019 Tech & Learning Leadership Summit, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to and share about the many ways districts are personalizing learning through innovative tech and curriculum. Click here for more details. 

December 5-6 | New Orleans, LA
THEME: Bridging the Equity Gap with Innovative Connections
Location: Hyatt Regency New Orleans
During the December 2019 Tech & Learning Leadership Summit,  attendees will have the opportunity to listen to and share the many innovative ways district leaders have worked to close the digital divide through innovative solutions. Click here for more details. 

PAST EVENTS: March 7-8 | Marina Del Rey, CA Theme: A District-Level Look at Innovation in K-12 Location: Marina Del Rey Marriott At the March 2019 Tech & Learning Leadership Summit, attendees will discuss innovative models of schooling, tech breakthroughs that will drive innovation, and what schools are doing to create the next generation of innovators. Click here for more details. 

WHO ATTENDS 

Tech & Learning Leadership Summits are attended by a select group of K-12 technology and instructional professionals from districts across the country who understand and benefit from timely and relevant executive-level news about the successes and challenges of edtech. Tech & Learning Leadership Summits are by invitation only. To be considered for an upcoming Summit, click here to complete a brief survey.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TLSummit19 

WHY ATTEND

Presenting timely and relevant content from the most authoritative speakers and advisors, along with unmatched networking opportunities, these two-day events are comprised of lively panel discussions and roundtables, one-on-one meetings, and networking-focused social activities. Speakers and discussions focus on K-12 leadership for tomorrow’s schools and the impact of emerging technologies such as mobile and cloud computing, immersive and virtual environments, and more. Each Summit will use a combination of presentations and working sessions to focus on challenges and success stories related to technology-supported educational transformation.

Tech & Learning Leadership Summits are by invitation only. To be considered for an upcoming Summit, click here to complete a brief survey.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TLSummit19 

EVENT Overview: Tech & Learning is planning a funding event help K-12 school district leaders secure and make the most of their funding. Topics will include: creating flexible learning environments, developing an affordable, effective school safety plan, budgeting for innovation, tips for securing school bond dollars, and more. As with all Tech & Learning events, we'll build in plenty of time for networking and opportunities to build your PLN.

The content is ideal for superintendents, tech and curriculum directors, CFOs, facilities managers, safety and security officers, and others looking to network with colleagues to share best practices in making the most of school funding. 

Want to attend? Complete this brief survey to be considered. Questions? Contact Christine Weiser, christine.weiser@futurenet.com 

For sponsorship opportunities, email Katrina Frazer katrina.frazer@futurenet.com