Effective digital learning empowers teachers to connect, create, and innovate, enabling dynamic environments where students can explore, collaborate, and think critically. A non-profit association called CITE (California IT in Education) is recognizing Tawny Reinhardt, Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) Coordinator of Educational Technology and Digital Learning, for her role in advancing educational technology. The association, which supports IT professionals in schools, has announced Reinhardt will receive its Educational Leader Award.
Reinhardt is leading efforts by SCOE’s College and Career Readiness department to expand digital learning opportunities for educators and students throughout the county. With nine years of technology experience in the classroom, she brings expertise and empathy to her coaching work, and helps schools make the most of new tools. She is also a founding member of the Teacher Innovation Network, a four-county consortium that hosts free educational technology “playgrounds” to help educators choose the right tools for their classrooms through hands-on professional learning.
Andrew Brooks, SCOE’s Computer, Network, and Telecommunication Support Director, described Reinhardt as a “visionary leader whose forward-thinking, solutions-oriented, and compassionate approach has transformed the way SCOE supports digital learning.”
CITE will officially present the award at its 2025 CITE conference in Sacramento this November.
Board of Education Learns About SCOE AI Efforts
Tawny Reinhardt joined Jerry Jones, SCOE Executive Director of Technology Services, at the Sacramento County Board of Education meeting last night to give a presentation about artificial intelligence and the challenges it presents to education. They discussed efforts to implement and support productive AI use in SCOE schools and at local school districts. Reinhardt also highlighted ways more than 300 staff learned about AI at the annual SCOE professional learning session this summer, including using it with common education software and helping staff recognize their individual roles in supporting students—even if they aren’t teachers themselves.