PAECT Becomes CoSN’s Seventh State Chapter

Washington, DC (June 25, 2007) - The Consortium for School Networking today announced the launch of a new state chapter in Pennsylvania, marking CoSN’s seventh state chapter. The new chapter was formed through a strategic alliance with the Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology (PAECT).

“We are thrilled to enter into this exciting new partnership with Pennsylvania’s premier school technology association – PAECT – to help provide professional development, resources and valuable expertise to meet the needs of the state’s education technology community,” said Katie Lovett, Chair of CoSN and Chief Information Officer of Fulton County Schools in Georgia.

The Pennsylvania chapter will serve school district education technology leaders in the state and provide them with resources and information relevant to their unique needs. The partnership between CoSN and PAECT will also be instrumental in helping to build stronger leadership resources for this underserved key audience in Pennsylvania, and provide a forum for stronger state advocacy on ed tech.

“School district technology leaders in Pennsylvania, which have a variety of titles from district technology director to CTO/CIO, are looking for new ways to improve their own professional development. Aligning with CoSN will be a great strategic partnership and leverage the strengths of CoSN at the national level and PAECT in Pennsylvania,” said Martin Friedman, President of PAECT.

This collaboration will result in a new division of PAECT, which will be called the Chief Technology Leadership SIG (CTL-SIG), where school districts and intermediate service units will join. As with other CoSN state chapters, there will be unified dues between the state chapter and CoSN national dues. CoSN has chapters in California, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico and Texas.

For more information, please visit www.cosn.org/chapters/index.cfm.

About the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)

CoSN is the country’s premier voice in education technology leadership, serving K-12 technology leaders who through their strategic use of technology, improve teaching and learning. CoSN provides products and services to support and nurture leadership development, advocacy, coalition building, and awareness of emerging technologies. CoSN leadership initiatives include: Using Technology to Raise the Achievement of ALL Students (www.accessibletech4all.org); Cyber Security for the Digital District (www.securedistrict.org); Data-Driven Decision-Making (www.3d2know.org) K-12 Open Technologies (www.k12opentech.org); Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom (www.classroomtco.org); Value of Investment (www.edtechvoi.org) and the development of the Council of School District Chief Technology Officers (CTO Council). CoSN’s membership includes a unique blend of education and technology leaders, policy makers, and influencers from the public and private sectors. Our audience includes key technology leaders (often called Chief Technology Officers—CTOs) in leading-edge states and districts, policy makers, private sector leaders, as well as those technology leaders who wish to accelerate their districts’ or states’ systemic technology use. Visit www.cosn.org or phone 866.267.8747 to find out more about CoSN’s programs and activities supporting leadership development to ensure that information technology has a direct and positive impact on student learning in elementary and secondary schools.

CoSN’s membership includes a unique blend of education and technology leaders, policy makers, and influencers from the public and private sectors.  Our audience includes key technology leaders (often called Chief Technology Officers—CTOs) in leading-edge states and districts, policy makers, private sector leaders, as well as those technology leaders who wish to accelerate their districts’ or states’ systemic technology use.  Visit www.cosn.org or phone 866.267.8747 to find out more about CoSN’s programs and activities supporting leadership development to ensure that information technology has a direct and positive impact on student learning in elementary and secondary schools.

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