Dr. Scarlet Davis, associate superintendent of the Watauga County Schools, has successfully graduated from the 2011 Certified Education Chief Technology Officers (CeCTO) Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government.  Dr. Davis is one of just 23 school system personnel statewide who completed the course this year.

“This has been a wonderful professional experience and I look forward to applying what I have learned to further strengthen our school system’s progress in the use of instructional technology,” said Dr. Davis.  “Our teachers and school leaders have done an outstanding job integrating educational technology into the classroom to help engage and empower students for the kind of creative, collaborative learning that is essential for 21^st century education.  Completing this program will help me support the continued implementation of best practices in the use of technology in our schools.”

Completion of the program requires approximately 240 hours in class time spread over 10 months.  The topics covered include strategic technology planning, communication, project management, emerging trends, risk assessment and management, acquisition management, change management, leadership, enterprise issues, security, legal issues and financial trends.

The CeCTO program is designed for school system chief technology officers (CTOs) and chief information officers (CIOs) whose responsibilities require a broad understanding of management, leadership, and technology topics.  The program at UNC is the country’s first education-specific program for CTOs and CIOs, and this year’s class is only the second one to complete the program.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and MCNC partnered with the UNC School of Government to offer this professional development opportunity for educational leaders.  The CeCTO program is part of a series of programs for Certified Government Chief Information Officers that were initiated by the UNC School of Government’s Center for Public Technology in 2005.

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