Another Powerful Leader

Gary Spence is very inspiring, knowledgeable, and committed to improving student learning. In his role as the Assistant Superintendent he is responsible for technology in the Wolf Creek District. This district has experienced many successes in the IT area.

Many of the key speakers who have identified the importance of providing professional development opportunities for staff.  By acquiring 21st Century skills they can more effectively guide students along their journey of knowledge acquisition. Mentoring through video conferencing is one approach the Wolf Creek District has implemented in order to provide new teachers with a support group and create opportunities for collaboration.

This district has adopted a “backwards design” model for addressing problems. They only implement new technologies if they support the vision, and work properly!  This method ensures that they are not adding "things" just to have something cool. The technology needs to be effective and purposeful.

This district sees the value in hiring qualified people and they pay them competitive wages.  This is very important to ensure that the equipment will work properly for staff and learners.

Today Gary talked about the value of improving communication between home and school with innovative technologies such as the VOIP system. This system has been very valuable because it is easy to use and supports professional collaboration.

Significant Quotes from Gary:

• “Reasonable people given all the information will come to the same conclusion”  This profound statement can be applied to almost any situation! 
• “Mandates don’t work very well because people will dig their heals in”
• "Surround yourself with great people so that you can rely on these people, you cannot know everything yourself!"  
  
• Be transparent in all you do!  Value ideas of others but be able to make difficult decisions when required.  
  

It was very apparent that this division focuses on student learning and values technology as an integral tool. Gary stated that    technology is pervasive in every aspect of learning".