BOSTON — May 31, 2018— Beatriz Arnillas, senior educational advisor for itslearning,has been recognized as one of the two recipients of the IMS Global2018 William H. (Bill) Graves Leadership Award. Arnillas received the award alongside fellow educator Lenny Schad, chief technology information officer (CTIO) for the Houston Independent School District (HISD).
Named after one of its founders, the Bill Graves Leadership Award is the highest honor awarded by IMS Global. Each year, IMS recognizes leaders who have made a strong impact on the implementation of open education technology standards and who embody the spirit of Dr. Bill Graves, a pioneer in the industry who encouraged institutional leaders to apply technology to academic strategy.
“This award in particular is such a great honor and an incredibly humbling experience for me as an educator,” Arnillas said. “For the first time, IMS Global designated a team of two leaders for the prestigious Bill Graves Leadership Award. I’m even more honored to share this moment with Lenny, my previous boss and a man who taught me the most about service and collaborative leadership, This rare ‘leadership partners’ award is symptomatic of the kinds of leadership collaboration that will be required to solve increasingly complex K12 educational problems in the future."
In a news release distributed by IMS Global Learning Consortium, CEO, Dr. Rob Abel said, "This year, we recognize two individuals who have made an extraordinary difference in the work of IMS and the educational technology community at large. Beatriz and Lenny envisioned and guided the development and implementation of an integrated digital ecosystem at Houston ISD that enables personalized learning for all students and has been used as a model by K-12 districts across the country."
Before joining itslearning as senior educational advisor, Arnillas was a leader in Houston ISD’s innovative programs, including Digital Content Interoperability, which has yielded more than 1.5 million learning objects from many providers in Houston’s LMS librarypowered by itslearning. It was through this comprehensive initiative to transform teaching and learning that HISD and itslearning began making an impact not only for HISD teachers and students, but also for countless other districts around the country. Currently, Arnillas is Co-chair of IMS’s Data Privacy and Security Task Force, a contributing member of CoSN’s Emerging Technologies Committee, and Co-Chair of The Learning Counsel’s Characteristics of Digital Curriculum Committee.Arnillas has published a host of articles about Houston’s innovative initiatives and has received numerous awards for her work.
“We are thrilled that IMS Global has recognized both of these exceptional educators through this esteemed award,” said Arne Bergby, CEO of itslearning. “Beatriz is such a valuable part of the itslearning team, and is so deserving of this acknowledgement. Through our work with Houston ISD, we have met many remarkable leaders in the education technology industry. Both Beatriz and Lenny have committed themselves to furthering education in innovative ways, and we could not be more proud of the successes they have achieved as edtech trailblazers.”
About itslearning
Established in 1999, itslearning is headquartered in Boston, MA and Bergen, Norway and serves more than 7 million users worldwide. For more information, visit https://itslearning.com
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