Stephen Sanders, Director, Instructional Media and Technology Team,
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Excerpt from Steve's nomination letter:
In his current role as the Director of the Instructional Media & Technology Team, Steve currently oversees the Title II-D federal program, the state’s virtual education program, partnerships with Thinkfinity and Intel, School Library programs, and various other state and local initiatives housed on his team or across the agency. He played important roles in providing DPI guidance in the development of BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN), the statewide voice and data network used by schools, libraries, higher education, municipalities and state government and making Wisconsin a “Google Apps for Edu” state. He is currently taking on a leadership role in the Wisconsin state superintendent’s Digital Learning Advisory Council which will provide a framework for the use of educational technology in Wisconsin in the future, and has played an instrumental role in working with Wisconsin school districts to implement a statewide student information system (SIS) program. Within SETDA, Steve has served on both the Data and Policy Committees, chairing the latter. He is highly responsive to requests for assistance, be it a request for a letter from the Chief, in providing pragmatic feedback on EDEN Data Elements or in written testimony for the FCC on eRate. His knowledge of eRate is extensive and he has served Wisconsin greatly in assisting LEAs with program participation.
Full nomination letter:
It is with great honor that I nominate Stephen N. Sanders, Director of the Instructional Media & Technology Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for the 2011 SETDA Leader of the Year (SLY) Award.
From his days teaching high school math to his current position at the Wisconsin DPI, Stephen not only has embraced the role of technology use in the classroom, but has also provided leadership to others in implementing technology to meet the ever expanding needs of today’s students.
In his current role as the Director of the Instructional Media & Technology Team, Stephen currently oversees the Title II-D Enhancing Education Through Technology federal program, the state’s virtual education program, partnerships with Thinkfinity and Intel, School Library programs, and various other educational technology state and local initiatives that are housed on his team or across the agency. Stephen has played a vital role in developing the first statewide instructional Technology plan in 1996, the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Information and Technology Literacy (2000) and Standards Matrix for Information and Technology Literacy (2002). He played important roles in providing DPI guidance in the development of BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN) the statewide voice and data network used by schools, libraries, higher education, municipalities and state government (2005) and making Wisconsin a “Google Apps for Edu” state (2011).
He is currently taking on a leadership role in the Wisconsin state superintendent’s Digital Learning Advisory Council which will provide a framework for the use of educational technology in Wisconsin in the future and has played an instrumental role in working with Wisconsin school districts to implement a statewide student information system (SIS) program. His SIS work has him teaming with people from the DPI IT staff, Office of Educational Accountability, and Content and Learning teams. He is recognized at DPI as the “go to” person for all things relating to educational technology – from content to certification to boxes and wires.
Stephen has been a member of SETDA from its beginning in 2001. He has served on both the Data and Policy Committee, chairing the latter and has attended many of the Leadership Summit & Education and Emerging Technology Forums. Stephen has Made Wisconsin a “go to” state for SETDA when a letter from the Chief is needed, to assist in providing realistic feedback on EDEN Data Elements or in written testimony for the FCC on eRate. His knowledge of eRate and its minutia is extensive and he has served Wisconsin greatly in assisting local LEAs with answering questions and providing guidance on appeals.
Stephen has participated in SETDA Advocacy Day meetings on Capitol Hill to share information about and advocate for educational technology and extending invitations to senators and representatives to visit schools in Wisconsin for a first hand view. He has also worked with ISTE and CoSN on advocacy matters and has served on the CoSN board in recent years. In addition, he has been an influential leader in Wisconsin to help preserve the original intent of the Common School Fund, by providing guidance and data to DPI personnel, legislators and the press. Part of the original Wisconsin state constitution, the Common School fund provides roughly $30 million each year to local district for the express intent of purchasing materials to support school library programs.
While Stephen may not be a recognized speaker on the conference circuit, his value lays in providing behind the scenes work, from managing the technology needs at the state library conference, to working the NCREL/NCRTEC/Learning Point Associates/AIR on various projects, to working behind the scene on eRate changes, to making sure as many school district in Wisconsin received the most from their Microsoft Settlement money, to manning the video camera at the state superintendent’s state of education speech, and to providing great gifts (sausage logs, cheese erasers and laughing cows) and conversation at ET Forums.
It is truly a pleasure to watch Stephen in action and to work for and with him on various projects over the years. In an organization like SETDA, where many members standout as leaders in their field, Stephen, albeit quietly, rises to the top. He has made a difference locally and regionally in his work as a teacher and technology coordinator in three Wisconsin school district and again nationally through his role at the DPI. He has contributed to the success of SETDA during its first 10 years, some measurably and some not.
We cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award and we hope the review committee agrees with us in submitting this nomination.
Sincerely,
Kurt J. Kiefer
Assistant State Superintendent
Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning
Nancy Anderson
Stuart Ciske, PhD.
Donna Steffen
Educational Consultants – Instructional Media and Technology Team
Amy French
Operations Assistant – Instructional Media and Technology Team
