Generative artificial intelligence has occupied a large space in the minds of K-12 school district technology leaders over the past two years.
They had to think about how rapidly changing and emerging technologies would impact the district’s network, how that would change teaching and learning, and how they could leverage it to create efficiencies.
But AI isn’t the only challenge facing district tech leaders.
Their work is “like spinning plates on a pole in the circus,” says Diane Dorsch, president of the School Network Consortium and senior director of information technology at Digital Promise. “When you’re focused on spinning one plate, the other plates slow down and fall.”
One of Dorsch’s biggest concerns is that AI is getting so much attention that other priorities may not be getting enough attention.
And yet, despite all the attention AI is getting in the K-12 space, it’s not a top priority for school district technology leaders, ranking it fourth, according to a CoSN report released last month.
The results raise an important question: Besides AI, what are the top priorities for district technology leaders?
The other five things they list as priorities are:
1. Cybersecurity
Schools have become a prime target for cybercriminals, and cybersecurity remains a top priority for school district technology leaders, according to the CoSN report, which surveyed 981 school district technology leaders between Jan. 10 and Feb. 29.
Cybersecurity “touches everything,” says Sarah Radcliffe, director of future-oriented learning for the Altoona School District in Wisconsin and secretary of the CoSN board of directors. “Cybersecurity isn’t just about keeping your desktop computer safe. It’s all of your systems, because so many of your systems are online. If it’s online, it can be hacked.”
Cyberattacks are financially costly and have a negative impact on teaching and learning. A 2022 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that lost learning time after a cyberattack can range from three days to three weeks, and recovering from an attack can take two to nine months. The report said school districts lose between $50,000 and $1 million per cyberattack.
2. Data Privacy and Security
This year, data privacy and security was ranked the No. 2 priority for school district technology leaders, up one spot from 2023. This is a cybersecurity-related issue: Cybercriminals target schools because of the valuable data they hold on students and staff.
With so many of the tools schools use every day now online, it’s hard to ensure all data is secure.
“It used to be that we had locked file cabinets where we kept student information to keep student data safe,” Radcliffe said. Now, there’s much more data online, and “not everyone has a shared understanding of how dangerous it is to have all that data. It’s our responsibility to protect that data, but we’re not the only ones that touch it. I think that’s the challenge.”
This challenge has also captured the attention of federal and state policymakers who are introducing and enacting data privacy bills.
3. Staff recruitment and retention
Not only are school districts grappling with teacher shortages, they are also dealing with technology talent shortages.
According to the CoSN report, technology leaders in at least half of school districts said they lacked the staffing to provide instructional support for using technology in the classroom, remote support to students and families, and integrate technology into classrooms.
This challenge has led school districts to outsource key tech functions: For example, 57% of school district tech leaders say they outsource cybersecurity monitoring, up from 23% last year.
4. Training
For school district technology leaders and their employees, continuing professional learning is necessary to keep up with emerging technologies like AI and the demands of modernized infrastructure. They are also responsible for training students and staff on how to use the new digital tools the district employs and how to take proper cybersecurity measures. But they don’t always have the time.
“Helping humans understand the dangers and know how to avoid things like phishing attacks” is key, Dorsch said. “It will take time for officials to do that, but think about school districts that have had to halt learning because their systems were compromised or have had to pay huge ransoms to get their data back.”
5. Funding
Budget constraints and a lack of resources are making it difficult for districts to adopt and maintain digital technology, according to school district technology leaders. Federal emergency funds expiring this year made it easier for districts to implement one-to-one computing programs and buy new software for teaching and learning. Without those funds, district technology leaders worry about sustaining those programs.
