“I couldn’t have put it better myself…” We all know how powerful a startling statistic can be. Maybe you’ve seen a PowerPoint presentation where there is just a huge number on the slide or a newspaper headline that highlights the stark realities of a situation. Remember the New York Times’ cover early on in the… Continue reading “I couldn’t have put it better myself”
Preparing for Another Uncertain School Year I think we had all hoped that after two school years disrupted by COVID-19, the 2021-2022 school year could be a return to “normal.” Yet with the Delta variant surging throughout the country and children under 12 still unvaccinated, it’s becoming clear that educators and families are in for… Continue reading Preparing for Another Uncertain Year
Reframing data analysis as meaning-making This summer on the Engage with Data blog, I’m exploring different ways to answer the question: “So what?” My goal is to remind us of the human element of data — we are in the field of student and family engagement, after all! But I do get it – data… Continue reading Reframing data analysis as meaning-making
Looking for the “so what?” in our data If you’ve read this blog for any period of time, you’ve probably figured out that data tracking is kind of my thing. My super Type-A personality gets a lot of satisfaction from crossing every “t” and dotting every “i” and making sure that I can quickly access… Continue reading Looking for the “So What?” In Our Data
Use your data to celebrate families Educators: you’ve made it! It’s finally the end of the school year. And what a school year it was. I’m sure that there are all kinds of celebrations happening as this confusing, exhausting, stressful, and probably scary year comes to a close. But if you’ve been tracking your student… Continue reading Use Your Data to Celebrate Families
Education’s lessons learned from a year at home It’s hard to believe that a year ago this week, my husband and I returned from a trip to visit my family and went into lockdown for the first time. At that time, the thought of staying at home for even two weeks straight sent my anxious… Continue reading Education’s lessons learned from a year at home
We need teachers today. When I was a senior in high school, I thought the coolest job would be to serve as a member of Congress. I was lucky to be part of an amazing course (in a public school, might I add!) called Government and Law-Related Experiences, affectionately known as GALRE. Our teacher, Doug… Continue reading We need teachers today.
Start the School Year By Hearing from Stakeholders Growing up in New Jersey, the day after Labor Day always marked the start of a new school year … and the day I finally got to wear the new outfit I had carefully planned and crack open my new, pristine notebooks. If you couldn’t tell, I… Continue reading Start the School Year By Hearing from Stakeholders
The COVID Slide Last week, I watched a powerful webinar from Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center about health inequity and COVID-19. One of the first speakers, Dr. Nwando Olayiwola, started to talk about vulnerable populations but quickly corrected herself. She called them, “populations that have been made vulnerable.” What a difference such a small change… Continue reading The COVID Slide
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