Palo Alto Unified co-designed workflows with HR, finance, and educators, then connected the systems behind them—cutting cycle times and digitizing thousands of forms.
GUEST COLUMN | by Derek Moore
TETIANA LAZUNOVA
Across the country, K–12 school districts are navigating complex, often competing pressures: constantly changing fiscal constraints, competing budget priorities, and an urgent need to modernize the systems that power day-to-day operations. At Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), with over 10,000 students and a commitment to excellence in every area of operation, we weren’t immune from these pressures and recognized that meeting these demands would require transformation within our IT department.
‘…we weren’t immune from these pressures and recognized that meeting these demands would require transformation within our IT department.’
Our Information Services Team undertook a district-wide initiative to modernize core administrative workflows. Through strategic collaboration and targeted use of an automation platform, we were able to cut new employee onboarding time from weeks to just days, reduce purchase order processing times by 50%, and digitize more than 5,000 forms annually, decreasing costs, eliminating data entry errors, and manual overhead.
Here are the strategies we used that other school districts can also deploy as they scale digital change and aim for measurable, immediate outcomes.
1. Design for People, Not Just Processes
A common misstep in digital modernization is to replicate inefficient manual processes in a digital format. At PAUSD, our initial design processes started by drawing the manual processes on a whiteboard with input from all staff members involved in the process. Like many organizational processes, oftentimes those involved with the process didn’t fully understand all the steps involved! Seeing the process on a whiteboard led our teams to a different approach: redesigning workflows from the ground up, informed by extensive input from the staff who interact with them daily. We listened closely to staff across departments from HR to finance to educators who pointed out where things slowed down and the types of improvements that would help them most with their jobs.
‘We listened closely to staff across departments…’
This human-centered design approach has proven critical for our long-term success. A study from the EdTech Evidence Exchange found an estimated 85% of new technology tools at schools fail to deliver value due to poor alignment with educator needs or flawed implementation. By embedding stakeholder voices into the planning process, we ensured that the systems we built enhanced their work without introducing new complications.
Districts seeking to modernize should prioritize user experience so that new digital solutions simplify workflows, reduce cognitive load, and foster confidence among staff.
2. Treat Digital Change as Organizational Change
Real transformation doesn’t come from technology alone, it comes from the people using the technology. That’s why we treated this initiative as a cultural shift rather than just a software rollout and focused on clear communication, hands-on training, and ongoing feedback from staff to make sure the tools were working in practice, not just on paper.
‘we … focused on clear communication, hands-on training, and ongoing feedback from staff…’
Staff adoption was cultivated through consistent engagement and the visible support of district leadership. In our experience, success is more likely when change is framed as collaborative and iterative, not top-down or one-size-fits-all. Educational institutions are built on relationships and trust, so any effort to modernize must honor that foundation.
3. Build for Integration, Not Isolation
Modern school districts rely on dozens of data systems to manage operations, instruction, and compliance. Without thoughtful integration, these systems remain siloed and force staff to duplicate their efforts, leading to fragmented, inconsistent information.
Integrated systems enhance data accuracy, reduce operational friction, and strengthen compliance, but CoSN’s 2024 State of EdTech Leadership found that while most districts have interoperability initiatives, the majority are only partially implemented or in the planning stage. Data interoperability had an implementation rate of just 11%.
At PAUSD, we invested in custom integrations to ensure interoperability between our student information system, finance platforms, document automation tools, and learning management systems. This eliminated redundant data entry while enabling smarter workflows—for example, automating approval chains based on role-based access, syncing onboarding records across departments, and pre-filled form fields directly from the student information system and ERP to reduce data entry errors.
Establishing an architectural vision that emphasizes interoperability is essential. Whether through open standards, APIs, or vendor partnerships, the ability to connect systems meaningfully can be the difference between short-term improvement and long-term digital agility.
‘…the ability to connect systems meaningfully can be the difference between short-term improvement and long-term digital agility.’
Ultimately, what we’ve done at PAUSD is part of a larger movement toward making school operations more resilient and responsive. By focusing on user-centered design, treating change as a people-first effort, and connecting systems in smart ways, we’ve learned lessons that are applicable far beyond our district’s boundaries. With budgets tightening and demands growing, IT leaders have a real chance to step beyond the role of system manager and become true partners in shaping what the future of education looks like.
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Derek Moore is Chief Technology Officer at Palo Alto Unified School District, where he has led digital transformation initiatives for more than a decade. With previous leadership roles in San Jose Unified and Campbell Union School Districts, he brings over 15 years of experience driving technology strategy, integration, and innovation in K–12 education. Connect with Derek on LinkedIn.
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