69ý

IT Infrastructure & Management

What We Know About District Tech Leaders, in Charts

By Lauraine Langreo — August 01, 2023 1 min read
Illustration concept of leadership, using wooden cut-out figures and arrows.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

K-12 district technology leaders are among the most influential people in a school district.

As the role of digital technology in the classroom has expanded and become more sophisticated, chief technology officers’ responsibilities have grown beyond just managing and troubleshooting a handful of information technology tools.

Now, there are thousands of digital tools to maintain, an increased risk for cyberattacks, a need for off-campus access to digital devices, and a much stronger connection between technology and teaching.

Who are the people taking the lead to manage all these challenges in K-12 school districts?

The vast majority are white, male, and between the ages of 40 to 59, according to . Slightly more than half of male CTOs come from a technical or technology background outside of schools while the vast majority of female tech leaders come from K-12 instructional backgrounds.

These demographics haven’t changed much in the last decade, the report found. But it’s worth noting that the number of women in K-12 ed-tech leadership has actually dropped slightly in the past seven years, to 33 percent this year from 36 percent in 2016.

The male dominance in district technology leadership is even more striking given that the vast majority of teachers are women. More than three-quarters of teachers are women, as well as 56 percent of principals.

“That’s alarming,” said Diane Doersch, who leads CoSN’s board of directors and is also the senior director of information technology for Digital Promise. “What can we do not only to get females but other underrepresented populations into ed-tech leadership roles?”

Following are five charts that illustrate in detail the makeup of district technology leadership, based on data from CoSN’s annual report, which surveyed more than 1,200 U.S. school district technology leaders between Jan. 10 and Feb. 28.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

IT Infrastructure & Management Sizing Up the Risks of 69ý' Reliance on the 'Internet of Things'
Technology is now critical to both the learning and business operations of schools.
1 min read
Vector image of an open laptop with octopus tentacles reaching out of the monitor around a triangle icon with an exclamation point in the middle of it.
DigitalVision Vectors
IT Infrastructure & Management How 69ý Can Survive a Global Tech Meltdown
The CrowdStrike incident this summer is a cautionary tale for schools.
8 min read
Image of students taking a test.
smolaw11/iStock/Getty
IT Infrastructure & Management What Districts Can Do With All Those Old Chromebooks
The Chromebooks and tablets districts bought en masse early in the pandemic are approaching the end of their useful lives.
3 min read
Art and technology teacher Jenny O'Sullivan, right, shows students a video they made, April 15, 2024, at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla. While many teachers nationally complain their districts dictate textbooks and course work, the South Florida school's administrators allow their staff high levels of classroom creativity...and it works.
Art and technology teacher Jenny O'Sullivan, right, shows students a video they made on April 15, 2024, at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla. After districts equipped every student with a device early in the pandemic, they now face the challenge of recycling or disposing of the technology responsibly.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
IT Infrastructure & Management Aging Chromebooks End Up in the Landfill. Is There an Alternative?
Districts loaded up on devices during the pandemic. What becomes of them as they reach the end of their useful lives?
5 min read
Brandon Hernandez works on a puzzle on a tablet before it's his turn to practice reading at an after school program at the Vardaman Family Life Center in Vardaman Miss., on March 3, 2020.
Brandon Hernandez works on a puzzle on a tablet before it's his turn to practice reading at an after-school program at the Vardaman Family Life Center in Vardaman Miss., on March 3, 2020. Districts that acquired devices for every student for the first time during the pandemic are facing decisions about what to do at the end of the devices' useful life.
Thomas Wells/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP