The “How” of Data Tracking: Conditional Formatting I’ve written a lot lately (here and here) about WHY tracking your school or organization’s data is so critical right now. As schools begin to reopen, I’ve heard from educators of so many different configurations for what school is going to look like: some totally virtual, some in person, some… Continue reading The “How” of Data Tracking: Conditional Formatting
Don’t Be Like Myers-Briggs: Measure Your Impact When I started my doctoral program at Vanderbilt, I certainly didn’t expect to get into a … heated discussion, shall we say? … with the professor of my first course. We were discussing characteristics of effective leaders, and our professor mentioned that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, one of… Continue reading Don’t Be Like Myers-Briggs: Measure Your Impact
Making the Most of Microsoft Excel I love a good spreadsheet. I mean, I really get excited about it. You may have read on the About page how my business evolved from the development of a really fancy spreadsheet. True story. Now I get to help others learn to use Excel to improve their work and watch… Continue reading Making the Most of Microsoft Excel
Why is it so hard to get a survey translated? I admit: I didn’t think it was that hard to get a survey translated. Over the past few weeks, I learned just how wrong I was — and ate a big piece of humble pie in the process. With colleagues, I’m working on a landscape… Continue reading Why is it so hard to get a survey translated?
Lifting Up All Families’ Voices Around School Reopening It’s easy to feel discouraged and upset when you turn on the news these days. So much is happening to progress the fight for racial equity and justice in this country that even a global pandemic seems to have taken the backseat. The truth is that without… Continue reading Lifting Up All Families’ Voices Around School Reopening
How Muay Thai Helped Me Re-Think Evaluation I’ve been training in Muay Thai (kickboxing) for a few years. I am always learning something new and being pushed outside of my comfort zone … and I love it. However, I am and have always been a perfectionist. It’s something I’ve struggled with my whole life:… Continue reading How Muay Thai Helped Me Re-Think Evaluation
Resolving Data Fears in Evaluation I had some great conversations this week with colleagues about establishing a culture of data in organizations and training organizations who are new to evaluation and data. These conversations reminded me about one of my favorite old blog posts, that I originally wrote for the National Association for Family, School, and… Continue reading Resolving Data Fears in Evaluation
Evaluating Our Thanksgiving Dinner This was an unusual Thanksgiving for my family. My parents have always hosted Thanksgiving at their house; it is one of the few family traditions that remains since my Grandma passed away. All was set to continue as usual this year, until last week, when my Grandpa — the effervescent, 89… Continue reading Evaluating Our Thanksgiving Dinner
My Evaluator Identity: Lessons Learned from the Evaluation 2019 Conference In my career, I’ve always identified as an educator first. I have proudly rooted my analytical and consulting practices in my experiences directly serving students, families, schools, and communities. However, as my career and business have evolved, and as I gained the additional identity of… Continue reading My Evaluator Identity: Lessons Learned from the Evaluation 2019 Conference