Chris Devera of WCS Graduates from Chief Technology Officers Program

Watauga County Schools Technology Director Chris Devera has successfully graduated from the Certified Education Chief Technology Officers (CeCTO) Program at the UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Government. The N.C. Department of Public Instruction and the Microelectronics Center of NC (MCNC) partnered with the UNC School of Government to offer this professional development opportunity.

Devera (center)
Left to right are Dr. Shannon Tufts, Director of the Center for Public Technology, Chris Devera, and Maurice Ferrell, Assistant Director of the Center for Public Technology.

Chris Devera is one of 11 technology leaders in K-12 school systems who completed the program this year, joining 98 graduates from the previous four years. Devera first came to the Watauga County Schools as director of technology during the 2012-13 school year. He has helped lead the implementation of an expanded 1:1 laptop program and numerous upgrades to the school district’s technology infrastructure to support the increased use of instructional technology.

Devera and the rest of the Watauga County Schools technology team serve as part of the district’s Curriculum and Instruction Department.   This department helps develop plans and priorities for continuous improvement in classroom instruction. Providing teachers with professional development on the most appropriate and effective ways to use instructional technology is a major part of its work.

CeCTO is the first technology leadership program in the country with a specific focus on technology in education. This 240 hour program for K-12 technology leaders covers enterprise issues, strategic technology planning, communication, project management, emerging trends, risk assessment and management, acquisition management, change management, leadership, security, legal issues and financial trends.

CeCTO is one of the many offerings in the UNC Certified Government Chief Information Officers’ series, which was pioneered by the UNC School of Government’s Center for Public Technology. The CGCIO program, started in 2005, was the first of its kind in the nation and has successfully graduated more than 1200 public sector information technology professionals across the country.