Nestled in California’s Central Valley lies the Ceres Unified School District, home to nearly 14,000 students, many of whom are English learners and come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Like most other districts across the country, leaders across CUSD are working tirelessly to address the district-specific challenges that stemmed from the pandemic.
And where education technology is concerned, folks know they can count on Chris Higle, the district’s chief technology officer, to ensure that solutions are being implemented proactively, because he believes IT leaders and departments shouldn’t have to wait for a phone call or online ticket.
“You just got to be super nosy,” he chuckles. “You can’t just wait for them to come to you.”
This philosophy, Higle says, is something that could help other IT leaders earn a seat at the table, whether you’re cordially invited or not. “Invite yourself,” he says. “Just come to the table and say, ‘Hey, I can help.'”
This week, District Administration had the pleasure of sitting down with Higle to learn about some of the great work he and his team are doing for CUSD students and staff. One thing you’ll take away from our conversation is that he rarely takes credit for his district’s success and he doesn’t have everything figured out. But he has an “amazing” team of dedicated individuals who he’s very fortunate to rely on, and that’s what makes their department so special.
Tackling challenges, ‘relentlessly’
At a time when schools have seemingly endless options of edtech solutions to choose from, Higle notes that while they’re constantly vetting new technologies to understand whether they’re a good fit for the district, the sheer cost of these technologies can be the biggest deterrent.
“Through the pandemic, technology ramped up,” he says. “Everybody was buying technology and putting technology out there. I think that’s probably one of the challenges that we’re facing is the pressure of cost. Everything has gone up.”
And like most other school district CTOs across the country, Higle says cybersecurity is another big concern of his. But each of these hurdles is overcome with ease thanks to one of the many things Higle says makes his district unique: “We’re relentless.”
“We provide a lot of innovative programs and support for our students,” he says. “We have really high standards for the work that we do and we place a lot of value in our staff, which makes all of that possible.”
Setting priorities, the ‘Ceres way’
This year, Higle and his team have set their sights on what he calls “transformation work.” It starts with rebranding the IT department in a way that invites a culture of belonging and a sense of pride among his staff.
“For many years, our department has been seen as ‘the fix it’ department,” he says. “We’re just the people that you call to fix your computer problems.”
And while, yes, that’s true, it’s just a glimpse of the work they’re doing behind the scenes for folks throughout the district.
“We want to be known for more than just that,” he says. “Our focus really shifted. We want to become more of a strategic partner in our district and really be that for our departments and school sites.”
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One way they’re doing this is by being proactive with projects instead of waiting for the call. Higle says they’re putting solutions in place that are centered around serving students and meeting their individual academic needs.
Another pivotal factor for the rebranding of the department involves gaining a better understanding of the K12 edtech space. Higle says they’re not just IT support. Edtech support is being ingrained in their work as well.
“That’s really important for meeting the needs of student learning experiences, but also the strategic needs of our district,” he explains. “We’ve adopted a new motto this year: Impact, innovate and inspire. We’ve outlined some focus areas for the year that are very intentional and connected to the mission of our district. We’re really proud of that alignment work that we’ve done with our department services.”
‘I’m proud of my team’
“It’s not just me that’s doing all of this,” Higle says. He’s humbled by the fact that it takes a village to meet your district’s goals. And he’ll be the first to tell you that he doesn’t have it all figured out. Everything isn’t perfect, but he and his team are doing the work that makes them proud.
“I have some dedicated individuals on my technology team,” Higle says. “They’ve been open-minded and patient throughout this process. I also work with a great administrative team here in this district. We have a supportive cabinet and school board. I want to put it out there to my peers.”
“If you don’t have that support… I mean, I feel very fortunate.”
He also thanks the organizations that have been instrumental in the department’s success over the years, including the Resolve Technology Group, the California IT In Education Community, and even the District Administration Technology Leadership Academy.
“That really helped me with the ‘how,'” he says. “How do I get this done? Just the wealth of knowledge and information really helped push me to understand how I can get this stuff done.”
But this isn’t the case in every district, and he acknowledges that. Instead, he encourages leaders to work with what they have and “take care of your team.” “Do what you can with what you have control over and the other stuff will either sort itself out or, at least, at the end of the day you know that you’re providing the best service possible,” he says.
And as for you as an individual, a valuable technology leader in your district, Higle asks you to bravely invite discomfort.
“You have to get uncomfortable and humble yourself to do this work because you know at the end of the day that things aren’t perfect, improvements need to be made,” he says. “That’s humbling, and it stings a little bit at times. But there’s a quote that I really like from Ginni Rometty, and it says, ‘Growth and comfort do not coexist.'”
“It’s not easy work. You have to just dig in and roll up your sleeves.”
