Why School should have a (part time) Fractional CTO (chief technology officer)?
Read the following story, all characters are imaginary but problems are real
Scene – The Staff Room, Monday Afternoon at Private School in Noida
Characters: Ms. Aditi Sharma – Middle school science teacher Mrs. Verma – School Principal Mrs. Malhotra – Parent of Class 7 student, also on the school advisory board
Ms. Sharma (sipping chai, looking a bit frustrated): Mrs. Verma, I’ve been trying to use that new content platform we subscribed to, but honestly… half the teachers are confused, and the students are already asking when we’ll go back to Google Classroom.
Mrs. Verma (sighs): I know, Aditi. It seemed promising when the vendor demoed it, but no one told us we’d need this much hand-holding. Even the IT team is overloaded. We don’t really have anyone who owns this transition.
Mrs. Malhotra (enters, overhears): I was going to bring this up, actually. My son said their ‘AI project’ was just copying prompts from YouTube. And honestly, as a parent, I’m concerned about where our school is headed with tech. Are we just buying tools? Or do we have a plan?
Ms. Sharma: That’s exactly the problem. There’s no central person helping us decide why we use a tool, how it fits into our teaching, or how to train us properly.
Mrs. Verma (nodding slowly): You’re right. I’ve been stretched thin. We’ve got ERP decisions pending, parents asking about AI integration, NEP updates rolling in, and no one to really guide all of this holistically.
Mrs. Malhotra (thoughtful): I was talking to a friend whose child is at a school in Bangalore. They’ve brought in a part-time CTO, someone with both tech and education understanding. Not an IT guy, but someone who works directly with the principal and the board.
Mrs. Verma (interested): Part-time? That sounds doable. What does the role cover?
Mrs. Malhotra: From what I heard, they help map out the school’s tech plan, train teachers, evaluate tools without vendor bias, guide AI curriculum rollouts, and ensure policies are in place for data privacy. They only come in a few hours a week but sit at the leadership table.
Ms. Sharma: That sounds like exactly what we need — someone who gets both pedagogy and platforms.
Mrs. Verma: Maybe it’s time we stop trying to patch things as they break, and instead bring in someone who can help us build a long-term strategy. (pauses) “Would you be able to connect me with that person, Mrs. Malhotra?
Mrs. Malhotra (smiling): Absolutely. I’ll send you their one-pager this evening.
Read the following story, all characters are imaginary but problems are real
Scene – The Staff Room, Monday Afternoon at Private School in Noida
Characters:
Ms. Aditi Sharma – Middle school science teacher
Mrs. Verma – School Principal
Mrs. Malhotra – Parent of Class 7 student, also on the school advisory board
Ms. Sharma (sipping chai, looking a bit frustrated): Mrs. Verma, I’ve been trying to use that new content platform we subscribed to, but honestly… half the teachers are confused, and the students are already asking when we’ll go back to Google Classroom.
Mrs. Verma (sighs): I know, Aditi. It seemed promising when the vendor demoed it, but no one told us we’d need this much hand-holding. Even the IT team is overloaded. We don’t really have anyone who owns this transition.
Mrs. Malhotra (enters, overhears): I was going to bring this up, actually. My son said their ‘AI project’ was just copying prompts from YouTube. And honestly, as a parent, I’m concerned about where our school is headed with tech. Are we just buying tools? Or do we have a plan?
Ms. Sharma: That’s exactly the problem. There’s no central person helping us decide why we use a tool, how it fits into our teaching, or how to train us properly.
Mrs. Verma (nodding slowly): You’re right. I’ve been stretched thin. We’ve got ERP decisions pending, parents asking about AI integration, NEP updates rolling in, and no one to really guide all of this holistically.
Mrs. Malhotra (thoughtful): I was talking to a friend whose child is at a school in Bangalore. They’ve brought in a part-time CTO, someone with both tech and education understanding. Not an IT guy, but someone who works directly with the principal and the board.
Mrs. Verma (interested): Part-time? That sounds doable. What does the role cover?
Mrs. Malhotra: From what I heard, they help map out the school’s tech plan, train teachers, evaluate tools without vendor bias, guide AI curriculum rollouts, and ensure policies are in place for data privacy. They only come in a few hours a week but sit at the leadership table.
Ms. Sharma: That sounds like exactly what we need — someone who gets both pedagogy and platforms.
Mrs. Verma: Maybe it’s time we stop trying to patch things as they break, and instead bring in someone who can help us build a long-term strategy.
(pauses) “Would you be able to connect me with that person, Mrs. Malhotra?
Mrs. Malhotra (smiling): Absolutely. I’ll send you their one-pager this evening.
#CTOforSchools #FractionalCTO #EdTechStrategy #SchoolLeadership #FutureReadySchools #Scripthonix #AIStrategy
Well if you are School Principal / Trustee / Owner of a private school in Noida / Delhi / Gurgaon or adjoining area and having similar struggles please DM to have a 60 mins discovery session with us.
We would also send you the one pager mentioned in above story 🙂