The DLC is thrilled to announce Ms. Jessica Enderson as the recipient of the 2024 Individual Excellence in Digital Learning Award. This award recognizes someone who has achieved an exceptional achievement in K-12 digital learning for her exemplary implementation of competency-based education (CBE) for the North Dakota Center for Distance Education (NDCDE) in the 2022-2023 school year. This recognition highlights the transformative impact of personalized learning approaches, reinforcing their pivotal role in fostering student success and preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century. Ms. Enderson was recognized in person at the closing ceremony of the Digital Learning Annual Conference (#DLAC24), on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, in Austin, Texas.
Ms. Enderson is assistant superintendent for the NDCDE and embodies the innovation demonstrable through planning and implementation. Although she has served in this role for less than one year, in this short time she has spearheaded its move to CBE to meet that need identified to increase the center’s accountability to its stakeholders (parents, schools, and lawmakers) and provide the district’s partners with more robust information about their students' learning gains.
"I am deeply honored and humbled to have been selected as the recipient of the Individual Excellence in Digital Learning Award," said Ms. Enderson. "This achievement is not mine alone to claim, but rather a reflection of the amazing team I have the privilege to work alongside and the support of our incredible leader, Dr. Alyssa Martin! Their relentless commitment, innovative ideas, and common vision for enhancing the learning experience is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion that are the driving forces behind our efforts at NDCDE."
Ms. Enderson codified her vision by building a team to assist with customizing their vendor-purchased curriculum to strengthen state standards alignment and building out professional development capacity to provide teachers with the vision, knowledge, and tools to navigate the whole-scale transition to CBE. This included a full catalog and schedule of teacher-created professional development that is graduate-credit eligible, and a roadmap for performing standards alignment in each CDE course along with a set of easy to understand resources to help guide our teachers through the process. This fall, she also spearheaded a complete reform to our teacher evaluation process to ensure it is data-driven, observation-informed, and Marzano-based.
Change management is central to Ms. Enderson’s understanding of the organization, and evident of her skillful navigation through clear communication, passion, commitment, and a clear strategy. As a result, NDCDE will be one of the very few virtual schools in the country that will be CBE-based, and while this work is projected to take a few more years, we are well on our way to reaching this vision under Ms. Enderson's leadership.
The DLC announced additional 2024 award recipients:
- 2024 DLC Individual Excellence in Digital Learning Award – Jessica Enderson
- 2024 DLC Unsung Super Star Award (Individual) – Jeff Tracy
- 2024 DLC Unsung Super Star Award (School/District) – Mesa Digital Learning Program
- 2024 DLC Spirit of DLAC Award – Daniel Pfaff, Shelby County Schools (KY)
- 2024 DLC Spirit of DLAC Award – Julie Young
"We were delighted by the many amazing nominations from online learning leaders and organizations across the country," remarks Dr. Allison Powell, DLC Chief Academic Officer, "We are so proud to recognize these distinguished digital learning leaders. Each year we have a new group of innovators and change makers, and we’re pleased to learn alongside them to improve learning for K-12 education."
The Digital Learning Collaborative (DLC), Contact Information
Mia Peterson, Director of Marketing & Communications, Evergreen Education Group
http://www.digitallearningcollab.com
(970) 880-9291