The newly introduced Community Building Framework for Technology Leaders in Independent Schools has been years in the making. ATLIS could hardly host a webinar or informal meetup without the conversation inevitably shifting to how technology leaders were supporting their schools’ efforts in the realm of Community Building and belonging. Someone would ask, “What name pronunciation software are you using?” The answers would explode in the virtual chat. In the next gathering, someone else would ask, “How are you using data to track progress on your school’s Community Building goals?” More answers in yet another chat.
We were starting to see an emerging trend in these conversations, even when the topics had nothing to do with Community Building. All these questions and answers started to add up, and in sum, they showed us that technology leaders were playing a more significant role in Community Building work than we previously thought. “Some folks had some really great things they were already doing, and others were inspired by what’s happening,” said Allison Ross Starling, M.Ed., chair of ATLIS’s Community Building Advisory Committee and a doctoral candidate studying culturally responsive pedagogy for adults. “Seeing those small micro-inspirations made me reflect on the fact of what other great things could this inspire in other organizations?”
About a year ago, on ATLIS’s Access Points community discussion portal, Starling published an article she crowdsourced with the support of the Community Building Advisory Committee titled, “You Belong Here: 7 Ways for Tech Leaders to Build Belonging.” It was the first time we saw what we had been feeling with all the questions in all those chats: Technology leaders were embracing an often unsung role in facilitating inclusion and belonging at their schools.
“Our goal here was to help everyone feel that they had a resource [the IT team] and that they had equal access to that no matter what,” shared Jason Epstein, director of IT at Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts, when he contributed to the article. “We worked on creating a culture of self-reliance no matter where an individual’s starting point was. Our messaging, interactions, and even replies to help tickets had the goal of encouraging the ‘asker’ to keep asking questions. We wanted to empower people with the vocabulary to ask questions that gave us guidance and details, and of course, we never wanted anyone to start with the preface of, ‘I feel stupid but …’ If people feel comfortable coming to you no matter what, they won’t wait until they are frustrated before coming for help. We are trying to change the culture of ageism, sexism, and whether or not someone is techy to one that recognizes people’s individuality within the system and that all have equal access to equipment, help, and guidance.”
Matthew Norko, director of information and education technology at Derby Academy in Hingham, Massachusetts, noted for the piece that tech leaders can accomplish so much more when it comes to belonging when they dive into the school’s community. “When I think about technology in schools, I think about how technology fits the needs of the school, not what technology we have that works for what the school does,” he said. “As such, I try to be part of anything at the school that I can: going to grade-level meetings and division meetings, chaperoning trips, and staying for events. ... It doesn’t feel weird or forced to have technology in the room or part of a conversation. I have gleaned so much insight from listening to everyone in the school, and they have felt like technology is a natural part of their story system in return. It’s been very organic and bridged many gaps that exist.”
Using these conversations around belonging as a springboard, the Community Building Advisory Committee peeled back additional layers of the Community Building onion to explore other ways technology leaders were advancing their schools’ efforts. Over time, these actions, ideas, and suggestions started sorting themselves into natural categories: work being done at a personal level by individual technology leaders, efforts being made to improve schools’ processes around Community Building, and investments in technology to support schools’ Community Building goals. The resulting Community Building Framework for Technology Leaders in Independent Schools offers concrete ways for schools to operationalize their Community Building efforts by leveraging what technology has to offer.
“The committee that was creating the document found it useful to frame the ideas around people, systems, and technology,” said Denise Musselwhite, ATLIS board chair and founder of Tech & Thrive. “That framework is at the core of what technologists and schools are doing every single day. Giving it that alignment, I think, helps them see themselves more in the work.”
In fact, Musselwhite noted she was most excited about how the framework’s launch empowered technology leaders to contribute to conversations about Community Building in which they might not have been invited to participate previously. Technology leaders “have access to questions and insights that they can take with them into rooms where they might not have been asked about Community Building before,” she said. “Now they have a framework that helps them feel more prepared for those conversations so they can be viewed as partners in the work.”
“It’s the pass to have a seat at the table to have important conversations about how technology supports, informs, and moves the needle on the work of Community Building.”
Denise Musselwhite, ATLIS Board Chair and Founder of Tech & Thrive
The framework not only looks at the three areas where work can be operationalized, but it also divides the work into beginning, intermediate, and more advanced stages, recognizing that all individuals and school communities come to this work with different goals and at different developmental stages. “It’s difficult to operationalize something that means so much to so many people and to make it feel authentic and reflective of diverse thinking,” Musselwhite noted.
Guiding ATLIS’s efforts to build the framework was Lawrence Alexander II, a consultant with deep experience in Community Building work and independent schools. “With the framework, we have a map,” he said. “We have a starting point. It’s not necessarily [an indicator] that we’re in a good place or a bad place or ahead or behind. But kind of like those mall maps with the little red dot that says, ‘You are here,’ I think the gift of [the framework] is that it’s a map that points the directional arrows to not only where schools can start but where they can go.”
Alexander noted that ATLIS’s efforts to operationalize the work are certainly not the end of a journey but could prove to be tremendous assets in supporting schools when they don’t know where to begin—or what to tackle next. “So many institutions had good intentions prior to 2020, and certainly during 2020, but then we got stuck on statements,” he said. “And those statements are bereft of the legs they need to carry the work forward. Maybe the operationalizing of the work helps us get unstuck.”
Starling explained that the framework can be a tool to center oneself and serve as a reminder of how important it is for a child to feel like they belong in an academic setting. “Really look at where you are and then really look at where your organization is,” she advised. “You have to be very honest about where you are and where you want to move forward to. Whenever it gets really overwhelming, go back to the framework, and remember your objective—the objective we all have whenever we’re doing this deep, intrinsic work—is doing what’s best for kids.”
Musselwhite encourages technology leaders to use the framework as a standing invitation to important meetings and conversations around Community Building work. “It’s the pass to have a seat at the table to have important conversations about how technology supports, informs, and moves the needle on the work of Community Building,” she said. “Use it as a pass to get curious about what it means at your school to step into this conversation with your leaders. Ask more questions so your school can grow and evolve.”
Alexander recognizes that applying the suggestions and considering the recommendations in the framework are likely easier said than done. Still, he said, “this model is a start. So, get started. There’s nothing perfect about this work, and it’s never done. But it’ll never get better if you don’t get something done.”
ATLIS announced the release of the Community Building Framework for Technology Leaders in Independent Schools at its annual conference in May. Since then, the framework has been downloaded hundreds of times as the association provides the resource to all independent schools regardless of membership status. To download a copy of the framework, scan the QR code on this page or visit theATLIS.org/diversity-equity-inclusion.