Leading Change, Sharing Knowledge: Barry Kallmeyer on Building the Future of Independent School Technology
In this engaging discussion, Barry Kallmeyer, a seasoned technology director, shares his insights on the evolution of the CIO role in independent schools. He delves into the importance of strategic planning, the value of data-driven decision-making, and the critical aspects of leadership, such as succession planning and fostering a collaborative community.
Resources
- Hathaway Brown School
- Zork (playable), text-based adventure game
- Cleveland Browns, struggling American football team
- Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl LIX champions known for especially obnoxious fans
- Owl & Hybrid Learning, website built during COVID & shared with the community; highlighted by OWL directly
- Productivity Tools for 2025: Project Management with Asana and Slack, ATLIS webinar
- Scribe, tool to capture how-to content
- IT Glue, IT documentation software
- Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (TLIS) certification, credential demonstrating that a person has the skills and experience to effectively perform the role
- TLIS Prep Program
- TLIS Study Guide
- ATLIS 360 Self-Study Guide, Companion Manual, and Rubric, tools providing a plan to evaluate how your school utilizes technology and the effects it has on the school
- Max Action Arena, VR zombie game at Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV
- Center for Institutional Research of Independent Schools (CIRIS), provides resources and support for institutional research practitioners
- Mission & Data, integrated consulting, custom data products, and executive coaching services
Transcript
Peter Frank:
Phil, welcome to Talking Technology with ATLIS,
Peter Frank:
the show that plugs you into the important topics and trends for
Peter Frank:
technology leaders all through a unique Independent School lens.
Peter Frank:
We'll hear stories from technology directors and other
Peter Frank:
special guests from the Independent School community,
Peter Frank:
and provide you with focused learning and deep dive topics.
Peter Frank:
And now please welcome your host, Kristina Lewellen,
Christina Lewellen:
Hello, and welcome back to talking
Christina Lewellen:
technology with Atlas. I'm Kristina Lewellen, the President
Christina Lewellen:
and CEO of the Association of Technology Leaders in
Christina Lewellen:
Independent Schools.
Bill Stites:
And I am Bill Stites, Director of Technology
Bill Stites:
at Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair, New Jersey, and
Hiram Cuevas:
I'm Hiram Cuevas, Director of Information Systems
Hiram Cuevas:
and Academic Technology at St Christopher school in Richmond,
Hiram Cuevas:
Virginia.
Christina Lewellen:
So here we go, and I'm almost afraid to
Christina Lewellen:
greet you, because I know what Bill Stites is going to say, so
Christina Lewellen:
just go ahead. Go.
Bill Stites:
Birds. Go birds.
Hiram Cuevas:
Break out the green
Christina Lewellen:
we are recording right after the Super
Christina Lewellen:
Bowl.
Bill Stites:
It's a good thing there's been a day because I got
Bill Stites:
it all out of me yesterday, it was like a dress down day here
Bill Stites:
at school, so I was, like, all decked out. I can honestly say I
Bill Stites:
wasn't the most productive person in the world yesterday,
Bill Stites:
because there may have been a lot of highlight watching and
Bill Stites:
ESPN listening throughout the day. I'm neither going to
Bill Stites:
confirm nor deny that, but let's just say I probably owe the
Bill Stites:
school a little bit of time after yesterday.
Christina Lewellen:
Well, I started a tally when we got on
Christina Lewellen:
our call today here to start the pod, and I believe we're up to
Christina Lewellen:
about 12. Go birds.
Unknown:
Go. Birds. 13.
Hiram Cuevas:
There you go. Well, I
Christina Lewellen:
am happy for you. It was a well earned
Christina Lewellen:
victory, and I have so many friends who are Philly fans, and
Christina Lewellen:
so I gotta say, Go, birds, go birds.
Bill Stites:
1415, it's a call and response. If you say it, I
Bill Stites:
have to respond. That's how it works. Yeah.
Christina Lewellen:
That happens with my kid who goes to JMU? You
Christina Lewellen:
know, they yell at each other. I had a friend in town over the
Christina Lewellen:
holidays, and she got something on her hoodie, and so she
Christina Lewellen:
borrowed my husband's J MU hoodie, and I warned her,
Christina Lewellen:
because we were going downtown and having some beverages. And I
Christina Lewellen:
said, If you wear that hoodie downtown, someone is gonna say,
Christina Lewellen:
Go Dukes. And sure enough, we were literally in the parking
Christina Lewellen:
garage, not even barely out of the car, and somebody gave her a
Christina Lewellen:
big go, dukes, and she at least knew how to respond. So I
Christina Lewellen:
understand the Colin response. Indeed, we are welcoming to the
Christina Lewellen:
pod today. Barry cow Meyer, Barry, I'm a little afraid,
Christina Lewellen:
because I know how this is going to go, but I also love and adore
Christina Lewellen:
you and everything that you contribute in our community. So
Christina Lewellen:
I will try to keep the guys under control, but I make no
Christina Lewellen:
promises. It's
Barry Kallmeyer:
going to be difficult for sure. You know
Barry Kallmeyer:
what you're in for? I do. I'm looking forward
Christina Lewellen:
to it. Well, Barry, we are glad to have you
Christina Lewellen:
here on the pod. Thank you for joining us. You are calling in
Christina Lewellen:
from Ohio. Tell everybody a little bit about your job and
Christina Lewellen:
who you work for and all that fun stuff.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Before I do that, I just need to say, Go
Barry Kallmeyer:
browns. Being a Cleveland fan, we were obviously far away from
Barry Kallmeyer:
hitting Super Bowl, but someday, so I've been working at Hathaway
Barry Kallmeyer:
Brown School for the past 28 years. It's been really an
Barry Kallmeyer:
amazing journey. I think about all the changes in my role and
Barry Kallmeyer:
the things I've seen and been a part of here at this school,
Barry Kallmeyer:
it's just been an amazing journey. I mean, from truly the
Barry Kallmeyer:
beginning of technology in schools, I was part of that
Barry Kallmeyer:
transition, and just watching that happen and being a part of
Barry Kallmeyer:
it, it's been an honor for me. So did
Christina Lewellen:
you start as a teacher? Like, what's your
Christina Lewellen:
background, and how did you come to be at the school?
Barry Kallmeyer:
So, you know, it's interesting. I think back
Barry Kallmeyer:
to how in the world did I end up here? And I think it started
Barry Kallmeyer:
when I was about 10 years old. And I have an older brother a
Barry Kallmeyer:
couple years older. My parents bought us an apple two plus
Barry Kallmeyer:
computer. So if you remember those computers, the old
Barry Kallmeyer:
greenish screen, we would run programs from a cassette tape.
Barry Kallmeyer:
It was just so basic. But they were future thinking, like,
Barry Kallmeyer:
let's get the boys this computer. And so I grew up those
Barry Kallmeyer:
years after in the house with my brother, just playing with his
Barry Kallmeyer:
computer, exploring, learning basic playing. I remember there
Barry Kallmeyer:
was this game called short, which was a text based game. You
Barry Kallmeyer:
could basically type two words at a time. And so that kind of
Barry Kallmeyer:
led to my interest in tech. And then when I was a kid, for three
Barry Kallmeyer:
years, I went to summer camp, and I worked there for 11
Barry Kallmeyer:
summers in northern Wisconsin, and so I worked there when I was
Barry Kallmeyer:
the first year, I think I was 17, up until I was 27 and so I
Barry Kallmeyer:
knew I love working with kids. I'm like, How can I do the tech?
Barry Kallmeyer:
And they connected the camp. And so I found a teaching job at a
Barry Kallmeyer:
public school. School, and two years later, my sister in law
Barry Kallmeyer:
saw this ad in the paper for a computer teacher at Hathaway
Barry Kallmeyer:
Brown School. I still have the clipping from the newspaper of
Barry Kallmeyer:
that job, and that's been in my journey since.
Christina Lewellen:
So now, what is your title and what are you
Christina Lewellen:
responsible for at the school? Because I've certainly come to
Christina Lewellen:
understand that different directors of technology job
Christina Lewellen:
descriptions just encompass so many different things. So what
Christina Lewellen:
is your day like and what are you responsible for? Yeah.
Barry Kallmeyer:
So my title is Chief Information Officer. And
Barry Kallmeyer:
like many technology directors, I wear a lot of different hats,
Barry Kallmeyer:
and it does look, I think, a little different when we talk to
Barry Kallmeyer:
other tech directors. We have a lot of different roles. So my
Barry Kallmeyer:
day to day is really varied. I'm fortunate to still have a role
Barry Kallmeyer:
in the classroom. You know, I think back to why I went into
Barry Kallmeyer:
working in schools, is I love working with students, and so I
Barry Kallmeyer:
still teach a couple of grade levels computer science courses.
Barry Kallmeyer:
But then my day can be anything from, you know, we just had a
Barry Kallmeyer:
meeting this morning talking about thoughts for our website,
Barry Kallmeyer:
like, how do you get a font? What does that look like? How do
Barry Kallmeyer:
you license it? How do you deploy it to talking about
Barry Kallmeyer:
security cameras, I've been filling in to help make badges
Barry Kallmeyer:
because we've had a change in personnel who was doing that.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Some of it is strategic planning, thinking ahead, and
Barry Kallmeyer:
some is just stepping in for the moment when there's a fire to
Barry Kallmeyer:
put out, they generally come to the IT department. So
Bill Stites:
Barry, I got a quick question for you, and this
Bill Stites:
is one I'm always curious about. I've gotten into some
Bill Stites:
conversations around how we define different things. You
Bill Stites:
know, I was talking recently about how we define
Bill Stites:
entrepreneurship here at the school, and in particular when
Bill Stites:
it comes to how we define our titles. I've had the title of
Bill Stites:
director of technology for a very long time, and you've got
Bill Stites:
the title of CIO. I can imagine you didn't come in with that
Bill Stites:
title. When did your title change to that and what was the
Bill Stites:
evolution behind that change, because I think you see
Bill Stites:
different titles now at a lot of different schools, and I'm
Bill Stites:
curious about how yours progress to become just that.
Barry Kallmeyer:
That's a great question, because we've really
Barry Kallmeyer:
gone through some transitions over the past probably 1415,
Barry Kallmeyer:
years related to the structure of the department and the title.
Barry Kallmeyer:
So, you know, obviously I initially started out as a
Barry Kallmeyer:
teacher, and then I stepped into a role that was called the
Barry Kallmeyer:
Director of Academic Technology. And at the time when I stepped
Barry Kallmeyer:
into that role, they shifted that role to directly going to
Barry Kallmeyer:
the head of school. So the head of school and I would meet, we
Barry Kallmeyer:
would have those conversations. But paired with that, there was
Barry Kallmeyer:
also a director of network technology. And so that person
Barry Kallmeyer:
and myself, in a sense, collaborated together on all
Barry Kallmeyer:
things technology. But strangely, that person reported
Barry Kallmeyer:
to the CFO, and so what we were finding over a course of a
Barry Kallmeyer:
couple of years is the direction of the department, it was hard
Barry Kallmeyer:
to kind of come up with that consensus and really move us
Barry Kallmeyer:
forward. And so there were some pretty significant discussions
Barry Kallmeyer:
around, what should it look like at the time? There really
Barry Kallmeyer:
weren't that many CIO roles in schools. Our head of school at
Barry Kallmeyer:
the time, well, it's pretty visionary about okay, it's I to
Barry Kallmeyer:
create one role as the CIO who would then oversee the director
Barry Kallmeyer:
of technology, who would report to the ED of school. And so that
Barry Kallmeyer:
really allowed us to make decisions at a strategic level,
Barry Kallmeyer:
knowing we still have a director of network technology who is
Barry Kallmeyer:
hands on into operations and really can make things happen,
Barry Kallmeyer:
but really the decisions of the department should be based on
Barry Kallmeyer:
the deans of the school, and not whether it's easy for it or not.
Barry Kallmeyer:
It's so interesting,
Christina Lewellen:
Barry, you've always been the type that
Christina Lewellen:
you will reach out to Atlas for data and benchmarking, and the
Christina Lewellen:
three of you have been contemporaries for a long time,
Christina Lewellen:
so you do Informal Benchmarking with each other, but then you
Christina Lewellen:
also were always one reaching out to Atlas, going, Hey, do we
Christina Lewellen:
have any information about team sizes or things like that? So in
Christina Lewellen:
a lot of ways, you've been a great nudging force to get us
Christina Lewellen:
down the path of getting data pulled together that we might
Christina Lewellen:
not have available for everybody. Tell me how that
Christina Lewellen:
informs some of this evolution. I mean, it seems like every time
Christina Lewellen:
you're considering some kind of change, you're looking for
Christina Lewellen:
information to help you make that change.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Data is such a critical component of our work,
Barry Kallmeyer:
I feel like for many of us, especially smaller schools or
Barry Kallmeyer:
maybe one person who's running the department. It's like, how
Barry Kallmeyer:
do you know whether the decisions you're making make
Barry Kallmeyer:
sense? And so by having a community where you can share
Barry Kallmeyer:
this data, share your stories, be able to really make some
Barry Kallmeyer:
decisions based on the data so important, but something that I
Barry Kallmeyer:
think for us, has always helped drive. Decisions. You know, I
Barry Kallmeyer:
know, when we first moved to laptops for our faculty, I think
Barry Kallmeyer:
I threw out some questions on okay, what are you all doing?
Barry Kallmeyer:
How does that work? What kind of laptops, even just from the
Barry Kallmeyer:
performance standard, were schools looking at at the time
Barry Kallmeyer:
and being able to have those conversations? You know, if
Barry Kallmeyer:
you're only talking with the people in your school, you're
Barry Kallmeyer:
missing just that huge range of expertise. I always say I know
Barry Kallmeyer:
enough about like our wireless to be dangerous, but I rely on
Barry Kallmeyer:
other people to help us make that correct decision on okay,
Barry Kallmeyer:
what system should we get and how do we deploy?
Hiram Cuevas:
And Barry, that's such a great example of making
Hiram Cuevas:
sure you're surrounding yourself with team members that are
Hiram Cuevas:
really, really bright and are super collaborative. Because our
Hiram Cuevas:
roles today, we can't know absolutely everything, and we so
Hiram Cuevas:
desperately need to have not only experts in these various
Hiram Cuevas:
areas, but the ability to have some cross pollination, when you
Hiram Cuevas:
mention that you know just enough about wireless to be
Hiram Cuevas:
dangerous, that's such an important factor in these types
Hiram Cuevas:
of conversations, because you essentially now know what kinds
Hiram Cuevas:
of questions to ask and to pose of the team, so that you can
Hiram Cuevas:
derive The data that you want to provide your constituents.
Bill Stites:
And Barry, I think about this a lot, this example
Bill Stites:
going back to when COVID hit, and the back and forth with you,
Bill Stites:
me, Ty and I think a handful of others, when we were trying to
Bill Stites:
deploy the owls and just the work that we put in together, we
Bill Stites:
each kind of knew different pieces of it, and we were like,
Bill Stites:
all right, where can I go? Who can we turn to? And how can that
Bill Stites:
work? And I think that's a great example of that, needing to have
Bill Stites:
that network surrounding yourself with either people at
Bill Stites:
the school or within the Atlas community that can pitch in and
Bill Stites:
help. But I think it also speaks to something that I have always
Bill Stites:
known and appreciated about you, is your willingness to share and
Bill Stites:
not keep information to yourself and really get out and either
Bill Stites:
share exactly what it is you're doing so somebody else doesn't
Bill Stites:
need to struggle through it, or Like the work that we did with
Bill Stites:
those owls, and trying to get ready for what it was going to
Bill Stites:
be like to go into COVID, and teaming up with people to put
Bill Stites:
together resources that don't just benefit you and your
Bill Stites:
school, but benefit the community as a whole. And what
Bill Stites:
drives you in that to want to connect in those ways?
Barry Kallmeyer:
Yeah, I always believe being able to
Barry Kallmeyer:
collaborate in that way, and I think you're bringing up the
Barry Kallmeyer:
house is a good example of that, because we all, you know, I
Barry Kallmeyer:
remember our head of school, she knew, Okay, the next school
Barry Kallmeyer:
year, we have to offer a hybrid option. We have to be able to
Barry Kallmeyer:
support our families and knowing, like, oh my gosh, how
Barry Kallmeyer:
are we going to figure that out? And so to be able to connect
Barry Kallmeyer:
with other schools and throw out ideas and build, I mean, we
Barry Kallmeyer:
built that website with all of those resources that any school
Barry Kallmeyer:
could access. To me, being able to support each other is just so
Barry Kallmeyer:
critically important again, so many of our schools are
Barry Kallmeyer:
understaffed. You know, we could probably double our staff and
Barry Kallmeyer:
keep ourselves busy. And so knowing that there's never
Barry Kallmeyer:
enough time to be able to collaborate with other leaders
Barry Kallmeyer:
across the country, other schools, I mean, is only going
Barry Kallmeyer:
to benefit us. You know, someone reaches out to me with the
Barry Kallmeyer:
question, I'm like, Absolutely, all help. There's four
Barry Kallmeyer:
independent schools in the area that we meet fairly regularly,
Barry Kallmeyer:
and we always throw ideas to each other about, Hey, you don't
Barry Kallmeyer:
counter this. And there's nothing competitive about that,
Barry Kallmeyer:
even though we are competitors in this market.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, that's what I love about this
Christina Lewellen:
community. And another thing that I think many of you who are
Christina Lewellen:
the first generation technology leaders. All three of you on
Christina Lewellen:
this pod are first generation tech leaders, which is such a
Christina Lewellen:
great phrase in terms of what it captures. You are all thinking
Christina Lewellen:
about the long term in terms of succession planning. I'm not
Christina Lewellen:
saying that you're like heading out the door towards retirement,
Christina Lewellen:
but it is something that I know. I've talked to Bill and Hiram a
Christina Lewellen:
lot about on this pod. Barry, I know in my discussions with you,
Christina Lewellen:
you have concerns about this, but it's so interesting because
Christina Lewellen:
all three of you have been more than 20 years at your schools,
Christina Lewellen:
and you are that first generation of technology leader.
Christina Lewellen:
You figured it out as you went. There were a lot of changes
Christina Lewellen:
along the way. So now that it is so deeply complex and kind of
Christina Lewellen:
ingrained into how you do your jobs every day, how do you hand
Christina Lewellen:
over the reins to somebody else, to the next generation of
Christina Lewellen:
technology leader?
Barry Kallmeyer:
That's a difficult question to answer,
Barry Kallmeyer:
and something that for sure. I am starting to think about and
Barry Kallmeyer:
trying to figure out, what does that look like? You know, give
Barry Kallmeyer:
you an example I had mentioned. I've been helping out printing
Barry Kallmeyer:
our security badges for our students and employees, and just
Barry Kallmeyer:
going through that process of stepping in to that specific
Barry Kallmeyer:
task and trying to figure out, Where are the written
Barry Kallmeyer:
instructions, what's the process? And I basically, by me
Barry Kallmeyer:
stepping into that role, I've written at least partially,
Barry Kallmeyer:
probably 75% of the way there. Here's what needs to happen from
Barry Kallmeyer:
A to Z to print these badges. And so I think that for me, has
Barry Kallmeyer:
been a really good push to think about, okay, I need to do the
Barry Kallmeyer:
same thing with other components of my role and also other tasks
Barry Kallmeyer:
in our tech department. Of what are these things that if
Barry Kallmeyer:
something were to happen to one of us, someone could step in and
Barry Kallmeyer:
replicate that part of the role? There's always trepidation. I
Barry Kallmeyer:
think a lot of people worries. Well, that means I'm easily
Barry Kallmeyer:
replaceable. And I was pushed back on that because I don't
Barry Kallmeyer:
that is just not true, just because there's some
Barry Kallmeyer:
instructions for how to print the badges or how to process,
Barry Kallmeyer:
you know, iPad deployments, you still need the person to do it
Barry Kallmeyer:
and do it efficiently and manage the entire process. So it's just
Barry Kallmeyer:
something I think that I am starting to set aside time, and
Barry Kallmeyer:
that's the hardest part the time to just think about, okay, what
Barry Kallmeyer:
is our priority? What can we focus on? Document really well
Barry Kallmeyer:
and be able to know that someone else could pick it up if
Barry Kallmeyer:
necessary. And Barry,
Hiram Cuevas:
what's interesting is this whole new area of cyber
Hiram Cuevas:
that has come into our space has really highlighted policy in
Hiram Cuevas:
terms of your disaster recovery, what is the policy surrounding
Hiram Cuevas:
doing X, Y and Z? And it's required many of us to take a
Hiram Cuevas:
step back to understand, I have it all up here. I get that and
Hiram Cuevas:
to put it down on paper, takes a lot of time, which you've
Hiram Cuevas:
already articulated, but it just further emphasizes how much we
Hiram Cuevas:
have in terms of intellectual property within our minds. And
Hiram Cuevas:
to your comment earlier about being able to substitute Barry
Hiram Cuevas:
for somebody new to come on in. The other piece that is missing
Hiram Cuevas:
from the policy is that network very few people are going to be
Hiram Cuevas:
able to come into Hathaway Brown with the same skill set and
Hiram Cuevas:
network that Barry possesses. And so just because you have the
Hiram Cuevas:
policies and you have the protocols and the step by step
Hiram Cuevas:
doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a one equals one
Hiram Cuevas:
with your position. And so often I find it's useful on the
Hiram Cuevas:
internal side, so that you do get that cross pollination
Hiram Cuevas:
across the team, so that the team members themselves can
Hiram Cuevas:
understand and you actually help each other up. I say, Have you
Hiram Cuevas:
thought about doing it this way? Well, this is how I actually do
Hiram Cuevas:
it in this area, and maybe you can benefit from it, and then
Hiram Cuevas:
everybody grows as a result of that cross pollination. I hear
Hiram Cuevas:
you. We are all in the same position, yeah,
Barry Kallmeyer:
it just goes back. It takes time, and you
Barry Kallmeyer:
really have to be helpful. And it's not going to be something
Barry Kallmeyer:
that's going to be done in a week. It's going to take
Barry Kallmeyer:
multiple years, like we have a document, our internal IT
Barry Kallmeyer:
guidelines, that is just a Google Doc, just with random
Barry Kallmeyer:
policies, things we've said, Oh, this is what we do when this
Barry Kallmeyer:
occurs, or this is a link to this set of instructions. And so
Barry Kallmeyer:
just trying to create that, I think this document is maybe
Barry Kallmeyer:
three years old at this point, and I continually circle back to
Barry Kallmeyer:
that document to add to it, to make changes, but I'm hoping
Barry Kallmeyer:
it's something that eventually will help us down the line, when
Barry Kallmeyer:
there is a change in leadership.
Christina Lewellen:
I just want to mention really quickly,
Christina Lewellen:
before we get off this topic, that number one, I give a lot of
Christina Lewellen:
credit to the first generation technology leaders in our space
Christina Lewellen:
for creating the Atlas community. And so part of that
Christina Lewellen:
future network will be what you guys have built. Yes, you can
Christina Lewellen:
reach out to each other via text, but those who don't have
Christina Lewellen:
the baked in network will be able to find that community with
Christina Lewellen:
Atlas. And so first I give all of the first generation tech
Christina Lewellen:
leaders, many of whom we've had on this podcast, a lot of
Christina Lewellen:
credit. Secondly, I also just want to do like, a quick, weird
Christina Lewellen:
product plug. So what you're talking about capturing those
Christina Lewellen:
procedures and whatnot. Have you guys used scribe? Have we talked
Christina Lewellen:
about that? It's an AI tool that basically, kind of follows you
Christina Lewellen:
around and grabs screenshots every time you click. And so
Christina Lewellen:
I've been recommending that as I work with tech leaders around
Christina Lewellen:
the country who are trying to document processes for business
Christina Lewellen:
continuity, the scribe AI tool is pretty groovy, and it
Christina Lewellen:
basically creates a tutorial or a user's manual, and some tech
Christina Lewellen:
leaders I know are using it to help educators know how to use.
Christina Lewellen:
Tool. In other cases, they're using it for some of these
Christina Lewellen:
capturing of the institutional knowledge. So we'll throw that
Christina Lewellen:
in the show notes, but that's one that Atlas team has used
Christina Lewellen:
with great success, because we're a small team, and so if
Christina Lewellen:
somebody wasn't available to do a certain task, then having this
Christina Lewellen:
manual has been really helpful.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Yeah, Scribe is awesome, and it's definitely a
Barry Kallmeyer:
great tool. You know, I want to give a shout out, Kristina, to
Barry Kallmeyer:
your team, because they recently offered a webinar where they
Barry Kallmeyer:
talked about their use of asana and really creating those
Barry Kallmeyer:
workflows in Asana. And that's something I went back to my team
Barry Kallmeyer:
here, because we actually have been using Asana, but we are not
Barry Kallmeyer:
using workflows. I'm like, we need to be able to develop some
Barry Kallmeyer:
workflows. Let's get our laptop deployment. So we've got mac
Barry Kallmeyer:
deployments. We have PC deployments from start to
Barry Kallmeyer:
finish. I want to build a workflow on exactly what happens
Barry Kallmeyer:
from the beginning to the end, and those are the kind of things
Barry Kallmeyer:
that I think will allow for that succession of well, it's not
Barry Kallmeyer:
based on one person who knows all those steps. Those are
Barry Kallmeyer:
documented. It is clear so anyone can come in and deploy
Barry Kallmeyer:
that device. So Asana, to me, is like, that is all my to do in
Barry Kallmeyer:
the next two to three weeks is to develop one of those.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, it's powerful, if you can unlock it
Christina Lewellen:
and take the time, as we say at Atlas, slow down in order to go
Christina Lewellen:
fast. It's a really incredible tool, and it kind of one simple
Christina Lewellen:
thing, triggers what everybody needs to do. It's a waterfall
Christina Lewellen:
effect. It's pretty incredible.
Bill Stites:
I'll throw one more on that list for you all. Is
Bill Stites:
that a while ago, we were looking at a tool to manage
Bill Stites:
passwords, just Password Manager. And we actually got
Bill Stites:
turned on to by one of the vendors that we worked with, a
Bill Stites:
tool called it glue. And it glue is something that is used by a
Bill Stites:
lot of managed service providers to keep track of all of the
Bill Stites:
stuff that they need to know about all the clients that they
Bill Stites:
work with. And we kind of flipped it around, and we said,
Bill Stites:
You know what? We're going to use it internally to keep track
Bill Stites:
of all the people that we work with, as well as putting in all
Bill Stites:
of those passwords and taking all those things that you might
Bill Stites:
use scribe to build for you and lay them in there, as well as
Bill Stites:
all these other things with like managing like when licenses
Bill Stites:
expire and all these different pieces. So I think it speaks to
Bill Stites:
the number of tools that you can use to help manage all this and
Bill Stites:
also, again, just thinking about the network right now, in five
Bill Stites:
minutes, we've shared three things that I think anyone
Bill Stites:
listening can come back and take and really, really run with.
Christina Lewellen:
I think that's our new question. Like,
Christina Lewellen:
instead of asking, what your favorite coffee is, what about
Christina Lewellen:
what is your favorite tech solution at the moment? I bet we
Christina Lewellen:
could make a pretty cool list. Yeah,
Bill Stites:
but going back to the title and going back to as
Bill Stites:
we plan for the future, do you think the title of CIO carries
Bill Stites:
more weight to it when you think about somebody coming in after
Bill Stites:
you, as compared to any of the other titles that we might have.
Bill Stites:
Do you think that title change moving to that will help the
Bill Stites:
next person to come in after you and finding that person?
Barry Kallmeyer:
Yeah, you know, for a while I didn't think
Barry Kallmeyer:
titles mattered, but as I moved through my career, I I think
Barry Kallmeyer:
titles do provide some weight to the role. And, you know, I think
Barry Kallmeyer:
through my transition into the CIO role, I think it really
Barry Kallmeyer:
elevated the strategic nature of the work that it wasn't about me
Barry Kallmeyer:
being in charge of plugging in the network cables and the
Barry Kallmeyer:
closets and adjusting the wireless. It was really about
Barry Kallmeyer:
working to develop the strategic path the school is going to take
Barry Kallmeyer:
with our technology in the hands of our kids and our teachers,
Barry Kallmeyer:
and really thinking at that high level, whereas you may have a if
Barry Kallmeyer:
you're just a role that's like a director of network technology
Barry Kallmeyer:
role, which is an important role, it does have a slightly
Barry Kallmeyer:
different significance, even though your job description may
Barry Kallmeyer:
be very similar, I think it does elevate it. And I do think for
Barry Kallmeyer:
schools that are trying to figure out the next step and
Barry Kallmeyer:
really elevate their technology work. I think you want to put
Barry Kallmeyer:
someone in place who has a title that is going to indicate to the
Barry Kallmeyer:
people in that building the importance of
Hiram Cuevas:
the work they do. And very externally, I would say
Hiram Cuevas:
it also impacts the types of conversations you can have with
Hiram Cuevas:
certain vendors. Absolutely.
Barry Kallmeyer:
You know, as a first generation technology
Barry Kallmeyer:
leader. We're all figuring this out together. I know we've had
Barry Kallmeyer:
conversation on, you know, what are best practices for this or
Barry Kallmeyer:
that? Because our schools are all so different, the way we've
Barry Kallmeyer:
structured things is so different. But I think having
Barry Kallmeyer:
that role, that job. Title really does provide that support
Barry Kallmeyer:
to be able to have those conversations vendors, anyone.
Barry Kallmeyer:
So
Christina Lewellen:
Barry, you took the T list, the technology
Christina Lewellen:
leader in independent school certification. Obviously you are
Christina Lewellen:
aware of it because you're an atlas board member, so you knew
Christina Lewellen:
the goals of it and what we were trying to accomplish, and what
Christina Lewellen:
the research indicated in terms of why we established it, but
Christina Lewellen:
why did you decide to take it
Barry Kallmeyer:
when I looked at the TLS and obviously been
Barry Kallmeyer:
connected to it over the past year or so, thinking through,
Barry Kallmeyer:
you know, this is an important step for me, personally, to be
Barry Kallmeyer:
able to sit down and kind of prove to myself is like, yeah,
Barry Kallmeyer:
I've done this work. I deserve to be in this position. But then
Barry Kallmeyer:
also there was this other part of me that was like, I want to
Barry Kallmeyer:
be able to show my colleagues at other schools that anyone can do
Barry Kallmeyer:
this. And the importance of really being that example of,
Barry Kallmeyer:
you know, this is really an important thing that our
Barry Kallmeyer:
community now has, that can really show that you have the
Barry Kallmeyer:
skill set and the knowledge base to lead a school. So personally,
Barry Kallmeyer:
I was like, I got to do this. I'm just so proud of myself for
Barry Kallmeyer:
taking the time understanding what it involved and then
Barry Kallmeyer:
sitting for the test. And truly, I don't think I've sat for a
Barry Kallmeyer:
high stakes test since I was probably 17 years old when I
Barry Kallmeyer:
took the SAT. So it was a little nerve wracking, but I would
Barry Kallmeyer:
encourage anyone to take the T list. Yeah. And what
Christina Lewellen:
was really interesting to me about that,
Christina Lewellen:
Barry, is that at first, you're like, Well, you know, I'm kind
Christina Lewellen:
of at the end of my career. Do I really need it? And so I was so
Christina Lewellen:
grateful that you decided to take it, because it's important
Christina Lewellen:
for people like you, well known first generation tech leaders in
Christina Lewellen:
our space, to have those letters after your name. And now you do.
Christina Lewellen:
And so just by existing and putting your credentials on
Christina Lewellen:
LinkedIn or whatever, folks know what that's all about, if
Christina Lewellen:
somebody is thinking about taking the T list. Do you have
Christina Lewellen:
any nudge to get them over the line to go ahead and do it? Any
Christina Lewellen:
advice in terms of setting for it? I mean,
Barry Kallmeyer:
it's definitely a commitment. It's something
Barry Kallmeyer:
that you want to take seriously, and you want to make sure you
Barry Kallmeyer:
invest the time to really look at what it involves. I know I
Barry Kallmeyer:
had signed up for Atlas and offered the T less prep program,
Barry Kallmeyer:
which I think was four sessions over a course of four weeks,
Barry Kallmeyer:
which was really a great way to learn about the different
Barry Kallmeyer:
components of a test. You get a sense of the different questions
Barry Kallmeyer:
being asked, and then just kind of sitting down and looking at
Barry Kallmeyer:
all the resources that Atlas provided. A lot of reading, a
Barry Kallmeyer:
lot of me just kind of thinking through these different
Barry Kallmeyer:
scenarios. And so it was definitely a time commitment,
Barry Kallmeyer:
but something, I think again, it forced me to stop, to slow down,
Barry Kallmeyer:
and to reflect. I do think for a lot of the work that we do, we
Barry Kallmeyer:
are putting out fires all the time, but the value of just
Barry Kallmeyer:
taking a moment slowing down and digging into all this T list
Barry Kallmeyer:
prep was just an amazing opportunity that I feel like,
Barry Kallmeyer:
again, like I'm not planning on using T list to find another job
Barry Kallmeyer:
anywhere else I am happy where I'm at, but I just learned so
Barry Kallmeyer:
much That's
Christina Lewellen:
really incredible. Another thing that
Christina Lewellen:
you've done that I find really impressive is the way that
Christina Lewellen:
you've used the Atlas 360 product, and the way that I sort
Christina Lewellen:
of describe Atlas 360 for those listeners who may not
Christina Lewellen:
understand. It's a self study guide. It asks a lot of probing
Christina Lewellen:
questions. It has prompts in various categories. So
Christina Lewellen:
technology for education, you know, teaching learning
Christina Lewellen:
technology on the operations side of the house, cyber,
Christina Lewellen:
security and safety. So it goes through all of these different
Christina Lewellen:
categories and asks relevant questions that your school can
Christina Lewellen:
kind of wrestle but it also creates a checklist of various
Christina Lewellen:
documents and resources that you should make sure that you have.
Christina Lewellen:
Barry, I know that you have been an early adopter of the Atlas
Christina Lewellen:
360 Can you describe how it is that you use that at your
Christina Lewellen:
school?
Barry Kallmeyer:
Well, we initially jumped into it. We
Barry Kallmeyer:
were going through our accreditation, and at the time,
Barry Kallmeyer:
technology was a little bit of an afterthought to the
Barry Kallmeyer:
accreditation. You know, it was mentioned here or there. You
Barry Kallmeyer:
could find some stuff in the facility section, but it really
Barry Kallmeyer:
was lacking for where I thought technology should be within the
Barry Kallmeyer:
accreditation so the 360 guide had recently been published, and
Barry Kallmeyer:
we're like, we're going to use that, you know, that really
Barry Kallmeyer:
provided the framework that we needed to put all of these
Barry Kallmeyer:
random documents and policies and thoughts that we had at
Barry Kallmeyer:
format. All together in one place. We ended up creating a
Barry Kallmeyer:
Google site, an internal Google site that our school has used
Barry Kallmeyer:
just to house our Atlas, 360 technology responses. And that's
Barry Kallmeyer:
something I pulled up over the years. It's something whenever
Barry Kallmeyer:
we have new people join the IT department or other school
Barry Kallmeyer:
leaders, I'll give them access to it, just so they can see how
Barry Kallmeyer:
things are laid out within our department, how we support each
Barry Kallmeyer:
other throughout the school. It's just been a fantastic
Barry Kallmeyer:
guide. And I believe not next year, but then the year after,
Barry Kallmeyer:
we have our accreditation self study year. And so I feel like
Barry Kallmeyer:
we're 90% of the way there, to be honest, in the work we need
Barry Kallmeyer:
to do for that next accreditation, because of the
Barry Kallmeyer:
continued development of this
Christina Lewellen:
tool, that is a perfect segue for me to
Christina Lewellen:
share a little secret just between us friends and all of
Christina Lewellen:
our listeners, Atlas is working on taking the Atlas 360 rubric
Christina Lewellen:
and creating a product, an interactive survey dashboard
Christina Lewellen:
where you can actually answer the questions on the Atlas 360
Christina Lewellen:
and give your school a score, and then you'll be able to
Christina Lewellen:
benchmark against other schools. And so that's just a little cone
Christina Lewellen:
of silence for us and all of our podcast listeners, but that
Christina Lewellen:
product is right in the middle of development. It should be
Christina Lewellen:
done this summer, we were working with our good friends at
Christina Lewellen:
Mission and data to create literally the coolest product,
Christina Lewellen:
to be able to not only do what you've done Barry, but now also
Christina Lewellen:
score yourself and then see how you stack up against other
Christina Lewellen:
schools. So we're really proud of how that suite of products
Christina Lewellen:
has continued to evolve. And Barry, you're instrumental in a
Christina Lewellen:
lot of that, because you definitely have encouraged me to
Christina Lewellen:
look at ways to expand how that product can be used. Some
Christina Lewellen:
schools just use it as a tech audit, and they score themselves
Christina Lewellen:
on a paper rubric to be able to have important conversations
Christina Lewellen:
about what the school is lacking or where the school is
Christina Lewellen:
excelling. And now we're going to take that another step
Christina Lewellen:
farther and have the benchmark against your peers so that you
Christina Lewellen:
can also have meaningful conversations with your
Christina Lewellen:
leadership team, like, Hey, we're falling behind in these
Christina Lewellen:
areas, and here's how we score compared to other schools of our
Christina Lewellen:
XYZ demographic, and so I thank you, because you have challenged
Christina Lewellen:
me and the Atlas team to stay on our toes about that product,
Christina Lewellen:
because you're just such a super user of it.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Well, that is so exciting to hear, because I
Barry Kallmeyer:
love that idea of being able to benchmark across other schools,
Barry Kallmeyer:
because sometimes you make a decision you're like, is this
Barry Kallmeyer:
makes sense? What are other schools doing? And so I love
Barry Kallmeyer:
being able to kind of see where we are across other schools. So
Barry Kallmeyer:
I'm excited. Sign me up. I'm ready to go. Early Adopter here.
Barry Kallmeyer:
That
Hiram Cuevas:
is great news. Kristina, I know that many of us
Hiram Cuevas:
are participants with the index group, and it doesn't
Hiram Cuevas:
necessarily have all the detail that I think this atlas
Hiram Cuevas:
benchmarking tool is going to have to be really useful, and so
Hiram Cuevas:
I'm very excited about it. And now thank you to Barry, because
Hiram Cuevas:
every time he has documentation, he always has this creative
Hiram Cuevas:
licensing on the bottoms of his documentation, allowing us to
Hiram Cuevas:
share what he's created. And I know I've been grateful for the
Hiram Cuevas:
work that you've done in this space as well. Barry,
Barry Kallmeyer:
kudos to so many other tech leaders over the
Barry Kallmeyer:
years. You know, I want to be where I am without this atlas
Barry Kallmeyer:
community and the list serves that have been popular among our
Barry Kallmeyer:
group over the years, and it's something that I feel so
Barry Kallmeyer:
fortunate to have had others lift me up. And you know, at
Barry Kallmeyer:
this point in my career, it's so important that we as these
Barry Kallmeyer:
technology leaders continue to lift others up. I'm always happy
Barry Kallmeyer:
to do that, Barry,
Christina Lewellen:
you've really put your money where your
Christina Lewellen:
mouth is on that, because you have stepped into leadership
Christina Lewellen:
roles at Atlas, like I know the team turns to you all the time
Christina Lewellen:
when we're working on various projects, but one of the ways
Christina Lewellen:
that I am most thrilled that you've been involved with Atlas
Christina Lewellen:
is that you serve on the board, and obviously that came after a
Christina Lewellen:
lot of years of experience. You've been a long time
Christina Lewellen:
presenter. You've helped us with a million little projects, and
Christina Lewellen:
that obviously prepares you, because you're so well versed in
Christina Lewellen:
the Atlas community, that it really prepares you for
Christina Lewellen:
something like a pinnacle service on the board. Tell
Christina Lewellen:
everybody a little bit what it's been like for you to be on the
Christina Lewellen:
board. You're on the executive committee. So you give back in a
Christina Lewellen:
lot of ways. You give a lot of time to your community that
Christina Lewellen:
maybe people don't really realize.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Yeah, you know, it's a lot of behind the scenes
Barry Kallmeyer:
work, and I think for me to be able to take off my CIO, my
Barry Kallmeyer:
teacher at and be a part of those strategic, forward
Barry Kallmeyer:
thinking discussions where the work on the board is deep
Barry Kallmeyer:
thinking and big picture, and what's the next 510, years going
Barry Kallmeyer:
to look like? And it's so different than my day to day,
Barry Kallmeyer:
where so much of it is this operations paired with the
Barry Kallmeyer:
strategy. So it's just so much fun to be a part of that, and
Barry Kallmeyer:
with a group of people who really come in with so many
Barry Kallmeyer:
different experiences in work that they do, and just to be
Barry Kallmeyer:
able to continue to support this community. You know, if I had
Barry Kallmeyer:
this community 20 years ago, I can only imagine what I would be
Barry Kallmeyer:
doing now, and I'm just so honored to be part of it. Well,
Christina Lewellen:
I know that the guys are itching because
Christina Lewellen:
they want to talk about zombies with you. So I'm going to go
Christina Lewellen:
ahead and set a timer and allow free range zombie chat for I'm
Christina Lewellen:
not sure how many minutes go
Bill Stites:
so Barry, I know for a fact that you were
Bill Stites:
involved with picking the location in Reno, and I want to
Bill Stites:
thank you for that, because it did have the zombie experience
Bill Stites:
in the basement of the casino there that we were able to take
Bill Stites:
advantage of. So I don't think I've publicly thanked you for
Bill Stites:
that. You know, it made the trip that much more special for
Bill Stites:
Hiram, and I sorry that you couldn't join us for a little
Bill Stites:
adventure into the immersive world of VR zombies, but it was
Bill Stites:
truly a pleasure, and I want to thank you again. So
Barry Kallmeyer:
glad to help, so glad to
Hiram Cuevas:
help. So Barry, you remember in Orlando, we
Hiram Cuevas:
pulled you as soon as you arrived, you know how many exits
Hiram Cuevas:
are there to this hotel? And you kind of sat there thinking,
Hiram Cuevas:
thinking automatically with four, and you knew exactly how
Hiram Cuevas:
many exits there were. So for Atlanta, here's the mission. The
Hiram Cuevas:
mission is, we have to save Christina. Who is on your team
Hiram Cuevas:
to save Kristina
Barry Kallmeyer:
from zombies. I really think that the three of
Barry Kallmeyer:
us have been the sort of key zombie aficionados over the
Barry Kallmeyer:
years. So I want the two of you right next to me as we are going
Barry Kallmeyer:
in and we are taking care of business. I can't think of
Barry Kallmeyer:
anyone else who would step up like that,
Bill Stites:
a follow up, because you knew exactly what
Bill Stites:
the layout was when we were in Orlando, and that was very
Bill Stites:
important in all of the locations that you've been to
Bill Stites:
for Atlas, for the conference, which conference venue was the
Bill Stites:
absolute worst choice when it comes to escaping a zombie event
Bill Stites:
for one to occur at these because these are legitimate and
Bill Stites:
real world questions.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Yeah, yeah. Obviously, I think about this
Barry Kallmeyer:
all the time. Anytime I go to a new event. You know, it's a
Barry Kallmeyer:
matter of text back and forth as we consider this. Initially I
Barry Kallmeyer:
thought Orlando, the hotel, that big open area you could see all
Barry Kallmeyer:
the rooms. But then I thought, maybe that's good. You can see
Barry Kallmeyer:
them coming. And when I thought about Grand Rapids, that was
Barry Kallmeyer:
such an amazing hotel, really, these old spaces, it's like
Barry Kallmeyer:
there were so many little hidden cubbies. You could be coming
Barry Kallmeyer:
around the corner, back and forth. You never know where
Barry Kallmeyer:
they're going to be hiding, Grand Rapids, by far, would be
Barry Kallmeyer:
the worst possible place to be in a zombie
Hiram Cuevas:
apocalypse. I'm also thinking Washington, DC was
Hiram Cuevas:
pretty
Barry Kallmeyer:
rough. Oh, all the underground stuff. That is
Barry Kallmeyer:
true. You've got the access to the trains. Yeah, that's a good
Barry Kallmeyer:
point. Now, you
Bill Stites:
didn't know where they'd be coming from. They
Bill Stites:
could be coming in from like other areas. Piped in,
Bill Stites:
literally,
Barry Kallmeyer:
absolutely.
Hiram Cuevas:
One last question. Then, mele, weapon of choice.
Hiram Cuevas:
What is your weapon of choice? Oh,
Barry Kallmeyer:
man, I feel like I would need a good, broad
Barry Kallmeyer:
sword, just something you know, really solid on that. Oh, see,
Barry Kallmeyer:
you're remembering your sort days. Yes, exactly, exactly. I'm
Christina Lewellen:
gonna need to figure out how to be a
Christina Lewellen:
zombie, because I feel like I'm screwed. You guys are not gonna
Christina Lewellen:
protect me from zombies. This is a mess.
Bill Stites:
Now we've got your back. We've already claimed you
Bill Stites:
as our one person to save. Okay,
Barry Kallmeyer:
thank goodness. Did I hear there's gonna be a
Barry Kallmeyer:
zombie aficionado meetup at the annual conference this year? Or
Barry Kallmeyer:
was that
Hiram Cuevas:
just a rumor? Well, especially if Ramsden
Hiram Cuevas:
shows up. Ooh, true.
Christina Lewellen:
He will be there, as I understand it. So
Christina Lewellen:
what do I need to plan for? I mean, if we're having a zombie
Christina Lewellen:
meetup, do I need, like, a themed menu with human brains
Christina Lewellen:
and stuff? I don't know how to plan for that. Guys.
Bill Stites:
We'll figure it out. I think I know I felt like
Bill Stites:
a zombie at the end of some of the nights, that's for sure,
Bill Stites:
after many a long day and imbibing in a few cocktails with
Bill Stites:
some friends, maybe the morning of maybe not necessarily the
Bill Stites:
night. Okay, so
Christina Lewellen:
now I'm gonna have our producer put a
Christina Lewellen:
timer signal audio into this because we're done with zombies.
Christina Lewellen:
I hope you had fun. It'll never happen again to all of our
Christina Lewellen:
listeners, I thoroughly and sincerely apologize, these guys
Christina Lewellen:
are not stoppable. So with that, Barry, tell me what you're
Christina Lewellen:
thinking about and working on at school right now. What are some
Christina Lewellen:
of the top priorities that you guys are tackling as we round
Christina Lewellen:
out this school year?
Barry Kallmeyer:
I think one of the biggest priority right now,
Barry Kallmeyer:
especially as we're. We're nearing the approach to our
Barry Kallmeyer:
accreditation is there's been a lot of discussions around data,
Barry Kallmeyer:
how we as an institution are using data, where's the data
Barry Kallmeyer:
live? You know, how do we best leverage data at Hathaway Brown
Barry Kallmeyer:
School to help support our strategic plan? How we can
Barry Kallmeyer:
support the work we do in our classrooms, and just what that
Barry Kallmeyer:
looks like throughout the entire institution. And then kind of
Barry Kallmeyer:
connected with that is the conversations around artificial
Barry Kallmeyer:
intelligence, and I do think they're connected in many ways,
Barry Kallmeyer:
because they think AI can help you with searching that data.
Barry Kallmeyer:
And you know, again, you have your own internal sort of AI
Barry Kallmeyer:
warehouses, but really thinking about, what does that look like
Barry Kallmeyer:
connected to data, and also, of course, AI in the classroom is a
Barry Kallmeyer:
big conversation that we're having.
Christina Lewellen:
100%
Bill Stites:
Barry, I've got to believe that there must be
Bill Stites:
something in the accreditation book for 2024, 2025 around data,
Bill Stites:
because we're going through the same thing right now. It is been
Bill Stites:
something that has been brought up in multiple areas. The one
Bill Stites:
thing I think is very interesting in that it's done
Bill Stites:
for us here in terms of kind of opening up that door and
Bill Stites:
exposing the need for data has really helped us have
Bill Stites:
conversations around how we manage our data, who owns our
Bill Stites:
data? Who's responsible for our data, the way in which the data
Bill Stites:
is going to be brought out of the system, what we're going to
Bill Stites:
use it for, and all of those structures that I think you
Bill Stites:
know, if you're going to bring like Eric Hileman into a room in
Bill Stites:
CIRIS and talk about raising and elevating that level of
Bill Stites:
institutional research, like the conversations I'm having right
Bill Stites:
now with Steve Valentine here at MKA has been around. What does
Bill Stites:
that look like? Is it one person, or is it a team? Is it a
Bill Stites:
structured approach that is so much of what I have been happy
Bill Stites:
that has been exposed, because I often say, on the IT side of
Bill Stites:
things, we're the ones that can structure the systems to hold
Bill Stites:
all of it, to gather all of it, but until you really have
Bill Stites:
practical applications around how it's going to be used, and
Bill Stites:
the reasons for it, something like an accredited re
Bill Stites:
accreditation or accreditation report, really gives you, Again,
Bill Stites:
that juice to get the job done, in order to use these things in
Bill Stites:
meaningful ways.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Yeah, and I think there's some trepidation
Barry Kallmeyer:
around data. I think it's an overwhelming thing to consider.
Barry Kallmeyer:
It's like there's just so much of it. But my thought is, you
Barry Kallmeyer:
can't wait for that perfect tool, that perfect time, the
Barry Kallmeyer:
perfect person to step in and do this work. I think you have to
Barry Kallmeyer:
start somewhere. I look at the work Atlas is doing, CIRIS
Barry Kallmeyer:
mission and data, and there's so many great resources out there,
Barry Kallmeyer:
so just starting somewhere and knowing that, okay, this is
Barry Kallmeyer:
round one of our work with data, and then let's circle back and
Barry Kallmeyer:
revise and continue to push it forward. So I think our
Barry Kallmeyer:
accreditation in a couple years is going to really elevate this
Barry Kallmeyer:
work at our school as we prepare for it. Through the
Barry Kallmeyer:
accreditation and then
Bill Stites:
after the best analogy I've had is it's going
Bill Stites:
to make us all better storytellers. Yes, and I think
Bill Stites:
that that's the biggest thing you can think about when you're
Bill Stites:
looking at the data, when you're trying to organize the data, is,
Bill Stites:
what is that story you're going to tell? How are you going to
Bill Stites:
visually represent it? How are you going to frame it? And just
Bill Stites:
have a good story? I think if we can do that, we'll really be
Bill Stites:
able to get somewhere with the work that we'll do in this area.
Bill Stites:
Yeah, I totally agree. And
Barry Kallmeyer:
I think our head of school, you know, I look
Barry Kallmeyer:
at when she has to get up in front of families or alums
Barry Kallmeyer:
raising money, whatever she's doing, she's always telling
Barry Kallmeyer:
stories. The importance of those stories, and then the data that
Barry Kallmeyer:
supports that is just so important for the work that we
Barry Kallmeyer:
do.
Christina Lewellen:
And I think that'll be an emerging area for
Christina Lewellen:
us as well, the Atlas community, the CIRIS community, there's
Christina Lewellen:
data today, and then there's going to be data in a few years,
Christina Lewellen:
and that's going to evolve, which is why these important
Christina Lewellen:
conversations need to be happening, which I love. So I
Christina Lewellen:
appreciate that. Before we let you go, Barry, I've often talked
Christina Lewellen:
to the guys about their initial career trajectories and how
Christina Lewellen:
that's influenced their work as a technology leader. You have a
Christina Lewellen:
bachelor's degree in psychology and Spanish, and then you find
Christina Lewellen:
yourself in this technology role. How does that background
Christina Lewellen:
in Psych and Spanish impact the work that you do now? Has it
Christina Lewellen:
been useful some of those tools,
Barry Kallmeyer:
the Spanish? Maybe not as much. You know, I'm
Barry Kallmeyer:
fortunate in my role. I'm able to help support some of our
Barry Kallmeyer:
global trips over the years. So a year ago, a year and a half
Barry Kallmeyer:
ago, in March, I was on our Spain trip, and so I definitely
Barry Kallmeyer:
improved my Spanish a little bit, advanced in that trip, and
Barry Kallmeyer:
some of it did come back, which I was happy about. But, you
Barry Kallmeyer:
know, the psychology major is something that I think, and. Has
Barry Kallmeyer:
really helped me as a tech leader, because you understand
Barry Kallmeyer:
people, you understand group dynamics, you really understand
Barry Kallmeyer:
how to have conversations with people. And so I think about
Barry Kallmeyer:
that psych degree and the work I do as a teacher and as a
Barry Kallmeyer:
technology leader, it's like that lays the groundwork for my
Barry Kallmeyer:
everyday work in what I do. And so 100% I was happy that I had
Barry Kallmeyer:
that degree. It's definitely helped
Christina Lewellen:
me out a lot. Yeah, I would imagine in
Christina Lewellen:
change management, if nothing else,
Barry Kallmeyer:
absolutely yes. And I do joke with people here
Barry Kallmeyer:
that basically, if something hasn't changed, what's going on.
Barry Kallmeyer:
That change is a constant in our work. And having been at the
Barry Kallmeyer:
same school for 20 years, people think, why aren't you bored?
Barry Kallmeyer:
Like doing the same thing? Was like, No, every two years, three
Barry Kallmeyer:
years, I've reinvented myself with my role. And this is
Barry Kallmeyer:
amazing. I'm so fortunate. So that change element is huge. Do
Christina Lewellen:
you guys find that as well? Bill Hiram,
Christina Lewellen:
you've been there a long time. Does it change every couple
Christina Lewellen:
years for you?
Bill Stites:
Yeah, it's some years. It seems like it changes,
Bill Stites:
like every couple of days. But it is interesting. I mean, it
Bill Stites:
was funny. You mentioned that, Barry, because I sat down with a
Bill Stites:
colleague yesterday and we were going through and updating some
Bill Stites:
content on our website around our hiring processes. And it was
Bill Stites:
just funny, because I think about when I was doing that work
Bill Stites:
on our website, when we were redoing it, when we were
Bill Stites:
launching it, and doing all this work, and I was really deeply
Bill Stites:
involved with it. I could run the back of that system like I
Bill Stites:
wasn't even thinking about it, and I haven't touched it in a
Bill Stites:
few years. And it was one of those things where it was like,
Bill Stites:
Oh my God, I've got to relearn this again. It all came back
Bill Stites:
after a few minutes, but it was like, it processes and changes,
Bill Stites:
and we're on to something new. And in a lot of cases, the
Bill Stites:
things that you learned two or three years ago, they're not
Bill Stites:
around anymore because you've taken them out. So it's an ever
Bill Stites:
changing, ever evolving job that always keeps us on our toes and
Bill Stites:
keeps us interested in what we do.
Hiram Cuevas:
Yeah. I mean, in addition to it ever changing, I
Hiram Cuevas:
will say there is some relief in knowing that going through that
Hiram Cuevas:
experience, then retain that wisdom for what you encounter in
Hiram Cuevas:
the future. You're like, Okay, this is similar to what this was
Hiram Cuevas:
like. And if you're a Google school, their dashboard is
Hiram Cuevas:
changing all the time without warning. So you'll sit there and
Hiram Cuevas:
you go, Okay, this looks very familiar. Let me go back and
Hiram Cuevas:
think about this and you realize, all right, I've been
Hiram Cuevas:
down this road before. I understand what this is about.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Yeah, I think I would be bored if it was the
Barry Kallmeyer:
same thing over and over again every year. I love that
Barry Kallmeyer:
challenge, and I think so many of the people I've met through
Barry Kallmeyer:
Atlas feel the same way. They love these challenges, you know,
Barry Kallmeyer:
like, oh, there's this new thing we need to think about. How do
Barry Kallmeyer:
we best roll out this new CIS how do we approach these
Barry Kallmeyer:
challenges? And I think we all thrive a little bit on the chaos
Barry Kallmeyer:
and the change.
Christina Lewellen:
I love that. Chaos wranglers a new title in
Christina Lewellen:
the technology director realm Barry. Thank you so much for
Christina Lewellen:
spending the time with us. This has been a really awesome
Christina Lewellen:
conversation. It's always good to spend time with you. We look
Christina Lewellen:
forward to seeing you soon in person at the conference. Thank
Christina Lewellen:
you for this opportunity.
Barry Kallmeyer:
Love talking with little to review.
Peter Frank:
This has been talking technology with Atlas,
Peter Frank:
produced by the Association of Technology Leaders in
Peter Frank:
Independent Schools. For more information about Atlas and
Peter Frank:
Atlas membership, please visit the atlas.org if you enjoyed
Peter Frank:
this discussion, please subscribe, leave a review and
Peter Frank:
share this podcast with your colleagues in the independent
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school community. Thank you for listening. You.
