Essential Skills of the K?12 CTO

The job of overseeing a school district's technology program has grown exponentially in recent years as computers, the Internet, and other technology applications have become essential to the daily operation of schools. What are the essential skills needed to oversee a school district's technology program? The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has undertaken a project to explore this question. Although actual job titles vary tremendously from one district to another (see By Any Other Name on p. 41), the authors will use Chief Technology Officer or "CTO" generically to refer to the main person or people responsible for technology leadership and decision making in a school system. The authors also refer to the school district as the main organization for which a K-12 CTO works, although technology leaders responsible for a network of independent or parochial schools--or even a large, individual school--are likely to identify with the issues.