NYC Department of Education Develops Education Technology Leaders with Participate

The NYC Department of Education (DOE), which serves 1.1 million students in over 1,800 schools, developed during the global pandemic an innovative fellowship program to support school leaders across NYC DOE in strengthening their schools’ use of technology.  

Participate partnered with NYC DOE beginning in April 2021 to provide the digital platform and learning design services to support 50 New York City principal-fellows as they built and strengthened their capacity and competency as education technology leaders through the Tech Fellows program.

Building a Vibrant Community of Practice

Using a design-based approach and a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning, the Participate education strategy team engaged principals in developing their own online community of practice to support and complement four design-thinking workshops. 

In close collaboration with NYC DOE facilitators, Participate incorporated into the Tech Fellows community of practice:

• A responsive coaching support system

• A strong mentorship model

• Access to expert-curated resources aligned with district goals and standards

The result of the learning and sharing in the Tech Fellows?

Principals designed customized school-based plans that demonstrate knowledge and capacity to implement evidence-based practices for technology to support rigorous learning and student agency.

Celebrating Leaders Through Microcredentials

Three microcredentials are in co-development with the NYC DOE team and select principals from the 2021 cohort. Completion of the microcredentials through the NYC DOE Tech Fellows program will help the system identify innovative leaders to drive key initiatives in their schools, communities and across the system — as well as provide mentorship to school leaders and future cohorts of Technology Fellows. 

The microcredentials are mapped onto the ISTE framework and the Multidimensional Principal Performance Rubric (MPPR) to ensure alignment with existing evaluation frameworks and allow principals to build dynamic digital portfolios.

Systems Designer Microcredential

Competencies for this credential are:

• Collaborate with key stakeholders in the school to develop and implement a shared vision and mission for learning.
• Develop a culture of collaboration, trust, learning and high expectations by encouraging staff to work together on key projects (e.g. induction processes, program design, integrated curriculum, or other individual or organizational projects).
• Ensure that resources for supporting innovative technology for learning are sufficient and scalable to meet future demand.

Community Advocate Microcredential

Competencies for this credential are:

• Engage in strategic planning and inquiry (e.g. ongoing collection and analysis of data relevant to the educational environment from diverse stakeholders and perspectives).
• Create partnerships that engage students, educators, parents, and community to tap the diverse cultural, social and intellectual resources and employ a range of mechanisms and technology.
• Foster a culture of sustainable, positive relationships with families and caregivers to enable them to take on significant roles in ongoing improvement efforts.

Instructional Leader Microcredential

Competencies for this credential are:

• Build a learning culture. Engage students, staff and parents in developing and sustaining a learning environment that actively involves students in meaningful, relevant learning.
• Engage students and teachers in designing and revising a learner-centered curricular program that integrates basic and higher levels of thinking.
• Develop and tap the instructional and leadership capacity of all stakeholders in the school organization.

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