Every Student Future-Ready

Wichita Public Schools is dedicated to giving every student a future-built education with innovative AI-assisted programming

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New mechanisms of learning need bold visionaries to nurture and promote new ways of thinking.

As the CIO of Wichita Public Schools, Rob Dickson is creating dynamic learning communities that are preparing teachers, students, and families to navigate a future of enduring promise and incredible complexity.

At the heart of Dickson’s vision for WPS is the shepherding of “Our Wildly Important Goals” to support new generations of students. They aim to provide equitable access for all students and staff; give personalized, borderless learning opportunities for students, staff, and community; and build and maintain infrastructure for secure data and a safe environment that contributes to learning and the future of education. “Public education is doing a great job in the communities that it serves, and I don’t think that story gets told enough,” he said.

The largest school district in Kansas, WPS serves 50,000 students. It has 94 schools and programs and employs nearly 10,000 professionals.

Prior to joining Wichita Public Schools, the award-winning CIO launched Nebraska’s first virtual school. At WPS, he founded Education Imagine Academy, which opened in 2019 and scaled rapidly — rising from a legacy baseline near 120 students to approximately 350 in 2020, then growing year over year to reach 600 by 2025. Education Imagine Academy earned Microsoft Showcase School recognition for the last four years. In partnership with Wichita State University, Dickson also introduced an esports program across the district's secondary schools, along with several other innovative initiatives.

Dickson also oversees the Digital Literacy and Citizenship instructional training department, which is designed to bring purpose to the influx of digital devices and infrastructure in the learning process.