Conversation with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

At our US Public Sector CIO Summit event recently, I had to opportunity to catch up with Susan Johnson, the CIO at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina. I always love talking to Susan.  She not only has passionate energy for her work, but she has tremendous insights on the progress that she's making with Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and some of the challenges that they're facing. 

The district is working hard to rollout a data dashboard not just to be more transparent to the public, but to also empower teachers to learn more about their students so they can develop personalized learning plans. You can read more in their case study here. And earlier this year, I spoke to Mariner, the partner who is working on the project. That conversation is here.

One of the things that she and I have discussed in the past and we talked about in this conversation…is the need for technology companies like Microsoft to make IT invisible. In order for technology to be a success tool as part of the learning and process, it needs to be seamless and not add friction or complexity to the tough environments teachers and schools already face every day.  So, it challenges us and inspires us to think differently on how we can simplify our usage of technology in the schools and improve the efficiency of the way in which we deliver products and technologies…and certainly be sensitive to the realities of budget and time. 

Take a listen and let us know what you think…