I was fortunate to be able to implement all of my action plan and then some. We were able to offer two "typical" professional development sessions with a variety of offerings for teachers on technology integration. Then when the school closures were announced, we held a week of professional development sessions in preparation for going "offsite" with school for the COVID-19 closures. I continue to do work in my leadership role in planning for next year, for potential continued school closures, or developing hybrid learning models due to social distancing guidelines.

I feel that considering the turn of events that occurred, my project was incredibly successful in addressing the challenge I started with. I truly feel that the COVID-19 school closure actually benefited my project, and demonstrated the strong need for technology integration that myself and my technology committee members knew all along. While the implementation of my project couldn't have gone smoother, I believe I developed a great deal throughout the process in my ability to be flexible and address the needs of a diverse population.

Overarching Competency: Group Processes

Creating a place where staff feels comfortable to present their knowledge was absolutely achieved. Throughout this process staff shared how much they appreciated us leading professional development and the time and effort we put forward. During the school closure, I created a space in TEAMS where staff could share new things they were discovering. Many staff were feeling comfortable to share what they had learned on their own, it was a wonderful way to create and build upon our collective efficacy (Evidence A: one post example).

Overarching Competency: Adult Learning

I personally found my own confidence to lead teachers in professional development. I found that when you work to meet the individual needs of each person and make it beneficial for them personally, they are truly excellent learners. I received feedback of the help I provided on a survey I sent out about the technology help (Evidence B).

Diversity, Equity, and Cultural Competency: Explore and Challenge Inequity

Being able to provide individualized help and differentiated sessions allowed staff to feel more comfortable with learning new techniques. It was highly beneficial and successful. We were able to address each persons' needs and help them grow individually, both in person and then virtually once schools were closed (Evidence C).

Instructional Leadership Competency: Community Awareness, Engagement, and Advocacy

In response to the COVID-19 school closure we were able to advocate greatly for students and families who needed additional help. We provided frequent updates, we collected data from surveys, and we were able to respond to all needs by providing support and resources to help create equal learning opportunities for all students.

Evidence A: A post in Microsoft TEAMS from a staff member who had not done a lot of technology integration prior to our training, sharing a new feature he discovered and how he used it.

Aside from the obvious obstacle of COVID-19, I ran into some unexpected obstacles along the way. One of the first obstacles was working with building and district administration who handed over the learning and teaching of the Learning Management Systems (LMS) to us teachers (in Park High's Case, Microsoft TEAMS) but then did not participate in the training, therefore did not know anything about our learning platforms. This caused some issues, because when parents would reach out to our building principals with questions about the LMS they couldn't answer them, and it caused frustration and confusion for parents and the community - ultimately leading to a bit of mistrust, as shared via social media. While this wasn't a direct reflection of the work I was doing, I took it as such, because I and the rest of the team had worked so hard to ensure a smooth transition of learning for the teachers and students that this public criticism shed a negative light on the entire school. In order to resolve the issue, I had a candid conversation with my building principal about specific aspects of TEAMS that she needed to know. Then, we discussed if a parent had questions that she couldn't answer, that she could direct them to myself and my two colleagues on the tech committee. This ended up really working. Throughout my time, I worked with frustrated parents as much or more than teachers once we were in full swing. The parents, while they started frustrated, always ended on a positive note and grateful for more clarity.

Another obstacle I encountered, which I did anticipate - but not to the extent of where it went, were the reluctant teachers. In our initial Gold Ranger Friday PD sessions we, of course, anticipated the reluctant teachers. You know the type - You ask them to bring their laptops to the PD, and they conveniently "forgot", or "didn't read their email" In leadership they always say, "as long as you can 80% buy in, the rest will either come around, or just be quiet enough to not slow progress" - So I anticipated this. We would encourage them, and joke with them, but ultimately they were just a couple nay-sayers, and wouldn't slow our progress. When COVID-19 closures occurred, I was pleasantly surprised to have 100% buy in. I'm not over exaggerating - 100%! It was the best case scenario considering what was occurring in our world. Our team was ecstatic. Toward the end of the year, as I was working on a committee for continued planning and preparation for the following year, however, myself and the two other members of my team came under verbal attack by two teachers, former reluctant teachers, criticizing the work we had done, and the lack of preparation we gave them. They were very passionate about their complaints, and it caught me off guard. We, as a tech team, sat and listened to their critiques - claims that we didn't teach them specific functions, claims that we didn't do enough to ensure continuity, etc. There were some critiques that were valid, and I acknowledged such, that given the circumstances we did the best we could, but yes, we would have liked to have done more/better had we been given more time to prepare. Most of their critiques, however, were because they were the reluctant teachers of the past, and in a very respectful way, I reminded them of that. I explained that we had taught them all the features they were now critiquing us about, but that they were non-performers in our PD sessions, and that had they been invested a bit more then, they would have saved themselves the frustrations they felt later. It ended up being a very productive conversation, so much so, that one of the teachers spoke up during a following staff meeting reminding us all that even if PD doesn't seem particularly meaningful at the present moment, how important it is to stay engaged in preparation for unexpected things that could arise. I was pretty surprised, but pleased with his comments to the staff. It gave me the realization that he had been reflective of his own responsibility as a teacher and a professional.

Given the outcomes of my project, I truly wouldn't have changed anything that happened throughout it. Of course, there are things that needed changing, and we are evaluating those changes for next year and the future, but given the events that occurred and the learning that came from it, I wouldn't have changed a single thing from the past. Our work was even featured in an article, of which I was interviewed for, in our local paper, The Livingston Enterprise (Evidence D embedded below). Some of the things we are considering for changes for the future, however, is more centered around the benefits and draw backs of synchronous digital learning. There are a lot of unknowns as we approach this coming school year, and those are the circumstances we are trying to be a lot more thoughtful about in terms of teaching online, and how best to support teachers, students, and families. One thing that has been a huge project for the tech team is the creation of "Virtual Help Desks". This is an exciting project we have been invested in. Something that the three groups - teachers, students, and parents can each go to their own version and see resources, videos, and announcements that could potentially help them with their problems. We are almost done with the teacher version (Evidence E).

Evidence E: PHS Teacher Help Desk (so far only a couple of the links work (Tutorials) - this is definitely still a work in progress).