| District Office: Part One (PDF) |  |
| The collection and use of data are critical for documenting successful programs that should be expanded and for identifying those programs for which alternative strategies are needed. Data allows district leaders to demonstrate effectiveness necessary to make programmatic and funding decisions. |  |
| District Office: Part Two (PDF) | |
| New data collection and analysis tools have emerged in the past decade. These new tools, such as data warehousing and data mining, are now making their way into education. Districts can use these new tools to collect important data, which in turn, can inform their planning and decision-making processes. | |
| Guide To Using Data In School Improvement Efforts (PDF) | |
| This guide is designed for educators who are beginning to learn how to use data in their school improvement planning process. Because most educators are not trained in data-driven decision making and planning, it is necessary to begin with a foundation on which to build processes for data use. The guide offers some foundational information on types of data, strategies for analyzing and understanding data, and methods for determining how these efforts can influence goals and planning. There are additional resources in the Appendix. | |
| How To Buy A Student Information System | |
| Imagine you are planning and implementing a new student information system (SIS) for your school district. This scenario is exactly that faced by Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools. Prince George's County CIO Wesley Watts was charged with defining technical requirements, selecting a vendor, and implementing an SIS that meets the district's current and anticipated future needs. This is his story. | |
| Learning Facts (PDF) | |
| In just the last ten years, goaded by broad and still unsettled cultural shifts, education practices have changed dramatically. Schools are no longer just recording and analyzing inputs -- dollars spent, number of days of instruction, numbers of students per teacher -- but pushing their data-gathering and analysis efforts into the brave new world of outcomes. Who is dropping out and why? Which students are reading at grade level, and which are not? How are 4th graders doing on fractions and decimals? Today's educators are deciphering, and using, the results of student assessments better than ever. And it is not a reform at the margins. This article from the Winter 2007 issue of Education Next takes a close look at three schools that have integrated data into their instructional decision making: Evelyn S. Thompson Elementary School in Aldine, Texas; Feaster-Edison Elementary School in Chula Vista, California; and Elm City College Preparatory School in New Haven, Connecticut. Each has concluded that the practice has helped improve student achievement. | |
| Making Sense Of Student Information | |
| A district discovers the unexpected while implementing a statewide system for reporting and accessing student data. | |
| A New Way To Teach: Begin With The End | |
| At the Marin School of Arts and Technology, teachers have implemented a project-based learning curriculum. Students work in the field, take their data back to the labs, and ultimately present their findings through digital media. School administrators believe that the students should be doing the learning work in project based learning, not the teachers. However, this curriculum requires teachers to brainstorm and work together to develop questions and projects for their students. | |
| Around The Clock Learning | |
| Spry Community School is a new school model in Chicago. This school combines pre-K through high school students into one space where K-8 starts at 9am, and High School runs from 11-7pm. The school aims for a 100% graduation rate, and its philosophy is that the greatest influence on students is family, and the greatest influence on family is community; therefore, they aim to be a resource for continuous community learning and involvement. Spry offers programs such as partnerships with hospitals where students serve as interns, a high school-elementary school tutoring program, and an afterschool program that teaches computer and life skills. | |
| Cinema Program: Cultivating A Career In Film | |
| At the Northeast School of the Arts, students are engaged in a filmaking class which instructors use a context for developing their thinking and writing skills. Students document school projects and trips in the class, and their films have been screened at festivals. The students learn how to write and develop a storyline, all while realizing that their stories do matter, and that the public is interested in what they have to say. | |
| Civic Center: Part One (PDF) | |
| When there is representation and communication among all stakeholders in strategic planning for education, the community can reach across boundaries to find solutions that benefit students and support the broader community. As technology and software continue to evolve, schools and districts have taken steps to align technology with their teaching needs and to provide the technology students need. With a systemic approach to technology, needs can be prioritized and budget funding allocated where they are most needed. | |
| Developing Minds | |
| The UrbanPlan curriculum is a three week project-based learning exercise that has been implemented in schools across the nation. Teams of high school juniors and seniors compete to win the redevelopment contract for a decaying neighborhood in the fictitious city of Yorktown. The curriculum combines government and economics classes and applies them to real-world situations. | |