Washington, D.C. (April 12, 2022)CoSN today announced this year’s education technology award winners during its Annual Conference. The 2022 winners are individuals and groups that are driving innovative teaching and learning in school districts across the United States by championing the equitable use of technology.

CoSN’s 2022 award winners are:

  • District Team Leadership Award: Wake County Public School System (NC)
  • Community Leadership for Digital Equity Award: Louisa County Public Schools (VA)
  • Hurley Private Sector Champion Award: Adam Garry, Senior Director of Education Strategy, Dell Technologies
  • Volunteer of the Year Award: Louis McDonald, Director of Technology, Fauquier County Public Schools (VA)
  • Withrow CTO of the Year Award: Mathew Flood, Chief Technology Officer, Goose Creek CISD (TX) and Carol Phillips, District Technology Director, Elder Grove School District #8 (MT)
  • CoSN & AASA EmpowerED Digital Superintendent of the Year Award: Matt Miller, Superintendent, Lakota Local Schools (OH)
  • Excellence in Public Service Award: Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)

“It is such an honor to recognize these leaders who demonstrate the power of one. They are making a difference in making digital equity front and center in our education system,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN.

More information on each winner is below, including links to watch videos highlighting winners’ impressive accomplishments and/or remarks.


District Team Leadership Award: Wake County Public School System (NC)

WATCH HERE

The District Team Leadership Award, sponsored by ENA, recognizes an exceptional district team for leveraging technology to improve learning opportunities and access. This award emphasizes CoSN’s belief that the district leadership team is crucial to the digital transformation. The 2022 award goes to the team at Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in North Carolina. The Technology Services Division at WCPSS has supported teaching and learning in the last year through tight collaboration with the academics and curriculum divisions. Through these collaborations, they were able to facilitate the planning and implementation of a brand-new Virtual Academy, including the building of curriculum courses within Canvas and the deployment and support of those courses to all schools. This year, the Technology Services team also partnered with their Magnet Programs team to provide hands-on opportunities for students to learn with innovative technologies. Through partnerships with local companies like Apple, SAS and Microsoft, students have been able to participate in programming activities, such as Hour of Code and Code and Go, and make curricular connections to expand their knowledge of innovative technologies.

Community Leadership for Digital Equity Award: Louisa County Public Schools (VA)

WATCH HERE

CoSN created the Community Leadership for Digital Equity Award, sponsored by Kajeet, to encourage and recognize districts that are working to minimize the Homework Gap. Louisa County Public Schools (VA) stepped up to provide their students with accessible IT services in the wake of the pandemic. Louisa County Public Schools designed and built units called Wireless on Wheels (WOW), which are solar-powered, Wi-Fi hotspots. Affixed onto trailers, these units provide quality, high-speed internet to anyone within a 200-foot radius. At this time, more than two dozen of these units have now been placed at various locations throughout Louisa County for residents to use, free of charge. The WOW units have been strategically placed so that no one in the county is more than a 15-minute drive from the nearest unit.

Hurley Private Sector Champion Award: Adam Garry, Senior Director of Education Strategy, Dell Technologies

The Hurley Private Sector Champion honor, named after edtech leader Kathy Hurley, annually recognizes one person who has had an outstanding impact on the education technology community outside of the confines of his or her job. The 2022 Hurley Private Sector Champion Award is going to a corporate leader who has provided creativity and passion to create collaborative opportunities with CoSN that advance its mission: Adam Garry, Senior Director of Education Strategy, Dell Technologies.

Volunteer of the Year Award: Louis McDonald, Director of Technology, Fauquier County Public Schools (VA)

The Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes the achievements of one CoSN member who has provided exemplary support to the organization over the past year. This year, Louis McDonald, Director of Technology, Fauquier County Public Schools (VA), was named CoSN’s Volunteer of the Year. Louis is always the first person to raise his hand to volunteer. He shares his expertise by speaking, writing and contributing to the Emerging Technologies Committee, as well as the Privacy and Digital Equity leadership initiatives. He also has been an active board member of the Virginia CoSN chapter since its inception.

Withrow CTO of the Year Award: Mathew Flood, Chief Technology Officer, Goose Creek CISD (TX) and Carol Phillips, District Technology Director, Elder Grove School District #8 (MT)

WATCH GOOSE CREEK CISD HERE AND ELDER GROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT #8 HERE

The Withrow Outstanding CTO of the Year Award, sponsored by ClassLink and named after long-time edtech leader Frank Withrow, recognizes an individual who has been a key education innovator. This year, CoSN is honoring two technology leaders: Mathew Flood, Chief Technology Officer, Goose Creek CISD (TX) and Carol Phillips, District Technology Director, Elder Grove School District #8 (MT). Matt Flood has successfully standardized each classroom with technology as a focal point in day-to-day instruction at Goose Creek CISD. Standardized classroom technology, along with the district’s 1:1 iPad program, has revolutionized the classroom experience. Matt has also been at the forefront of several initiatives to help eliminate the connectivity challenges that his district faces. Carol Phillips has been at the forefront of edtech leadership in the Elder Grove School District since she began her time there. Each year, she has presented different ways for the administration to continue moving forward to become a 1:1 district, which they finally achieved in April 2021. Carol has since worked tirelessly to make sure they remain at 1:1 through grant writing and donations, leading to an increase in student keyboarding skills, several computer science classes, robotics, coding and art activities.

CoSN & AASA EmpowerED Digital Superintendent of the Year Award: Matt Miller, Superintendent, Lakota Local Schools (OH)

WATCH HERE

The EmpowerED Digital Superintendent of the Year Award, sponsored by ClassLink, honors a specific leader who has championed the use of technology to enhance learning. This year, CoSN & AASA, The School Superintendents Association, are celebrating Matt Miller, Superintendent, Lakota Local Schools (OH). From personalized learning to a range of curricular and extracurricular programs, Matt Miller has provided students with a multitude of opportunities to explore their passions, while embracing educators, administrators and staff to take the lead on creating innovative learning environments. Under Matt’s leadership, Lakota Local Schools ensures all students are engaged and inspired learners who have access to equitable and inclusive learning environments.

Excellence in Public Service Award: Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)

WATCH HERE

The Excellence in Public Service Award recognizes national, state or local officials who have promoted the use of safe and secure technology as a tool to improve teaching and learning, strengthening CoSN’s nationwide advocacy efforts. This year’s winner is U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI). Sen. Peters has been one of the most influential voices on Capitol Hill on cybersecurity and broadband policy. He was the lead sponsor of the K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 which was signed into law by President Biden last October. Securing additional federal cybersecurity support for school districts has been a CoSN priority in recent years and Sen. Peters has been an integral partner in this work.

Additional information about CoSN’s annual awards program is available at: cosn.org/award/.


CoSN kicked off its Annual Conference, CoSN2022: Amplifying for the Power of One, on Monday, April 11. The three-day Conference highlights that it only takes one to ensure the success of each student every day — one teacher, one team, one school, one district, one community, ONE STEP. Keep up with live updates on CoSN’s Twitter and via #cosn2022. The 2022 CoSN Conference is made possible through the generous support of its sponsors.

About CoSN

CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community best practices and advocacy tools to help leaders succeed in the digital transformation. CoSN represents over 13 million students in school districts nationwide and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. cosn.org

MEDIA CONTACT:

Kate Klimaszewski, kklimaszewski@fratelli.com, 202-822-9491