There’s a moment, usually about five minutes before class starts, when a teacher realizes a new student isn’t showing up in their learning platforms. The kid is in the room, pencil (and maybe even Chromebook) in hand, eager to start. But the system hasn’t caught up. It’s not a tech problem. It’s a systems problem….
How Story, Structure, and Systems Build Culture and Trust in Schools There’s a leadership myth I’m ready to retire: That communication is a soft skill.That it’s just about sending more emails or speaking more clearly.That it lives only in the hands of the PR person, or worse, “someone else.” In reality, communication is one of…
There’s something sacred about the night before school starts. Not just one night, but two.The night before teachers return, and the night before students do. Even now, years after I packed up my classroom and stepped into district leadership, I still feel it. That mix of anticipation, excitement, and just a touch of nerves. The…
The emails are flying in, the “quick” meetings aren’t so quick, and somehow it’s still July but your brain is already in October. Welcome to back-to-school season, the annual whirlwind of logistics, last-minute shifts, and leadership on fast forward. It’s tempting to go into superhero mode. To power through. To say “yes” to everything and…
In K–12 schools, we often talk about teaching digital citizenship to students. But in today’s cybersecurity climate, there’s another group we need to empower just as urgently: our educators. When it comes to ransomware, phishing, and social engineering, the front line isn’t our firewalls; it’s our people. And like any front line, they deserve training,…
Tomorrow, something big is hitting the airwaves. After months of behind-the-scenes planning, recording, re-recording, laughing, learning, and (let’s be honest) Googling how to set up podcast distribution, I’m thrilled to officially announce the launch of my new podcast: Leading Out Loud with Dr. Chantell Manahan! It’s real. It’s ready. And it’s made for you, education…
After a week at ISTE, surrounded by new ideas, emerging tech, and the buzz of what’s next, one thing sticks with me: most of the barriers to good technology integration aren’t about the tech at all. They are about the runway. We ask our people to jump through hoops all the time, such as new…
Spoiler alert: It’s way more than fixing the Wi-Fi. When most people picture a school district CTO, or Chief Technology Officer, they usually jump to one of two things. Either we are the person who magically makes the Wi-Fi work, or we spend our days resetting passwords. And yes, keeping the internet humming is definitely…
Big conferences like ISTE, FETC, and CoSN often feel like family reunions for those of us in the education space, full of familiar faces, joyful reunions, shared laughs over lanyards and late-night brainstorming. But if you’re not already “in,” those same spaces can feel more like walking into someone else’s family photo. I’ll never forget…
Generative AI has landed in schools, but most of what it’s doing right now is just scratching the surface. Lesson plan generators. Rubric writers. Auto-filled report cards. These tools are helpful. They save time. They reduce cognitive load. But in the grand scope of education, they’re not transformational yet. They’re making teaching faster. But they’re…
