Educator • Technology Leader • Author

A long view of schools, technology, and what still matters most.

I’ve spent decades in K–12 education—as a teacher, a technology leader, and now back in the classroom again. That perspective has let me see both the promise of innovation and the blind spots schools often learn to live with.

My work today is shaped by a simple belief: schools need solutions that actually fit how schools work. That means helping schools improve student focus by making more intentional decisions about student device access, while also preserving the wisdom school employees build over time.

TomSextro.com is the personal side of the story: the background, milestones, and lessons behind the ideas now taking shape at K12 Focus.

See the leadership story Visit K12 Focus

About Tom

I’ve always been most interested in practical work that helps schools move forward. Over time, that has meant teaching, building systems, securing resources, leading technology initiatives, and now stepping back into the classroom to reconnect strategy with real daily school life.

Educator

My roots are in teaching math and computer science. Returning to the classroom later in my career gave me a fresh view of what technology is really doing to attention, learning, and school culture.

Technology Leader

I helped lead districts through major technology transitions, from early networked systems and internet access to 1:1 devices, cloud tools, and today’s AI-driven possibilities.

Problem Solver

I’m drawn to the issues schools often stop questioning—places where “that’s just how we do it” hides the chance for a smarter and more useful solution.

A leadership story built on specific milestones

These milestones highlight the experiences that shaped my work in K–12 education and technology leadership.

1984–1988

Started in the classroom

Taught math and computer science, building a foundation in instruction, relationships, and the everyday reality of school life.

1990–1995

Consulted with small school districts through Kansas State University

After finishing work on my master’s degree, I joined two others in consulting with small school districts through the Kansas State University College of Education Computing Consortium, traveling to neighboring districts for about five years at a time when most schools did not yet have dedicated technology directors.

Fall 1997

Became Holton USD 336’s first technology director

Started at Holton USD 336 as the district’s first technology director, beginning the next major chapter of work that would include grant-funded innovation, district infrastructure growth, and long-term technology leadership.

Leadership Growth

Helped bring grant-funded innovation into a district

Worked with others to secure numerous grants that supported innovative technology projects for Holton USD 336, helping the district move faster, try new ideas, and stay at the forefront of school technology.

Internet Era

Helped create an uncommon community technology model

Helped secure grant funding that allowed Holton USD 336 to become the dial-up internet provider for Jackson County and the surrounding Holton community, creating revenue that supported major technology growth, including a district fiber wide area network that is still used today.

Late 2006

Helped lead an early 1:1 device rollout

Helped lead Holton High School’s 1:1 rollout of 500 Apple iBooks beginning in late 2006 during Apple’s transition from iBooks to MacBooks—an unusually early move that reflected how aggressively the district pursued meaningful technology use.

Fall 2025

Came back to the classroom in the AI era

Returned to teaching to see firsthand how modern devices, student attention, AI tools, and day-to-day classroom realities are changing the work of schools.

Now

Turning experience into practical next steps

Today that experience feeds current work around student digital distraction, more intentional device access, institutional knowledge, and preserving the wisdom school employees build over time.

What matters to me now

I’m especially interested in the problems schools feel every day but often struggle to solve in a practical way. I’ve seen that school leaders often become so accustomed to how things are done that they rarely step back to ask whether a better approach is possible. Content filtering is in place, but many people assume there is only one way to do it. Offboarding exists, but it often misses the larger opportunity to preserve wisdom and decision-making knowledge. I care about those kinds of overlooked problems because they often contain the biggest opportunities for unique, practical, and powerful solutions that can genuinely improve how schools operate.

Student focus and device access

I’m interested in helping schools think more intentionally about student focus, device access, downtime, after-hours use, and the assumptions built into current content-filtering approaches.

Preserving institutional knowledge

When experienced principals, superintendents, educators, and staff leave, schools lose more than a position. They lose judgment, context, and institutional knowledge. I’m interested in better ways to capture that before it is gone.

EducatorWisdom.com PreservingWisdom.com

Real school improvement often starts when someone takes a fresh look at routines and systems that have gone unquestioned for too long.

Author

When Experience Can Answer Back

I also wrote When Experience Can Answer Back with the assistance of AI. The book explores why hard-earned experience matters, how wisdom can be preserved, and what becomes possible when the knowledge people build over years can still help others after they move on.

View on Amazon

Let’s connect.

Whether the conversation is about K12 Focus, institutional knowledge, AI in schools, or the long arc of technology leadership in education, I’d be glad to connect.

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