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Norwich Public Schools/Adult Education: Reflections
on Leadership*
This reflection responds to the following questions:
Mary C. Berry, Director , Norwich
Adult Education
Differences between
Year 1 and Year 2:
As Director of Norwich Adult Education, I initially
described my leadership role in technology implementation as one
of articulating a plan, cultivating an atmosphere of enthusiasm
and creativity and stressing technology as an educational tool.
In Year 2 of implementation these functions continued, but they
needed far less emphasis from me as Director. Staff themselves “took
the ball and ran with it” revising curriculum, communicating
electronically, using the Internet, sharing with their colleagues
and trouble-shooting and problem-solving constantly. Rather than
feeling like the “leader” I now often find myself trying
to “keep up.” The willingness of many teachers to take
risks in front of large classes (will the technology perform as
planned?) and to have back-up plans if all does not go smoothly
is very commendable. As I think about it, I wonder if I’ve
shared my appreciation (and sometimes amazement!) at their talents
often enough.
New Challenges
and Actions during Year 2:
Challenges have certainly continued as well. First
and foremost is the fiscal challenge of budget cuts on all levels
– local, state and federal. Norwich had a rich tradition of
offering an annual Fall Saturday Professional Development Day. Replacing
this with other forms of professional development (ATDN training,
CAACE workshops, etc.) did not allow the same level of hands-on
technology training with our own equipment, on our own site. I have
encouraged staff to help one another in less formal situations,
but clearly this benefits the daytime staff at the Adult Ed Center
over those in satellite sites.
Another huge challenge to Norwich Adult Education
was planning a move to a new facility. Although larger and more
accessible for all our programs, packing up all our technology resources,
moving them safely uptown, and then getting everything to work at
the new site has proven to be a bit overwhelming. This situation
also stresses the need for a Director like myself, who is not technology
savvy, to trust and empower others to make the correct decisions
about the configuration of labs and purchases of additional equipment
to get the program up and running again. Undoubtedly, this has slowed
our progress during the latter part of Year 2 and the beginning
of Year 3. Fortunately the persistence of the “techies”
on the staff will continue to move us forward.
Finally, a challenge that I believe all Directors
face this coming year, is how to keep the momentum moving forward
with the end of this project funding as of June 2004. I hope that
our State Bureau will seriously consider some continuation plans
to support technology integration for our adult learners.
*from Technology
Implementation — End-of-Year Report as of June 30, 2003, compiled
by Mary C. Berry, Director
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