“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”
How can we measure 2021? Over the past few months, we’ve been playing a lot of music for our baby girl, to keep her entertained (mostly because Mommy and Daddy sing and dance around the house like fools) and to help lull her to sleep. We may not be helping her get along with her… Continue reading How Can We Measure 2021?
A gut check While I am lucky that I get to consult with schools and districts in their work with families, it isn’t often that I get to engage with students and families directly (especially since COVID derailed my weekly mentoring sessions at a high school here in Columbus). So I was especially delighted this… Continue reading A gut check
Summarize, visualize, analyze In my last post, I asked for feedback about what you’d like to learn about in our summer of figuring out the “so what?” of our data. To my amusement, a longtime colleague and friend replied to my LinkedIn post with the following topic: “How to turn raw data into meaningful information… Continue reading Summarize, visualize, analyze
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
Whose Evidence Is It? I’ve been talking a lot about evidence lately, but I feel I’ve been missing a crucial piece. As a reminder, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), our country’s primary federal education legislation, requires that programs and interventions purchased with federal education dollars must have be evidenced-based. Most people know these federal… Continue reading “Whose Evidence Is It?”
ESSA Level 4: Getting your foot in the door In my last post, I talked about how the recent American Rescue Plan Act will bring an influx of funds specifically for out-of-school time (OST) — after-school and summer — programs, as well as for community schools and wraparound services. This is a huge win for… Continue reading ESSA Level 4: Getting your foot in the door
Funding is Coming: Get Your Evidence Ready! Here’s a sentence we don’t often get to say in education: the motherlode of funding is coming our way! The recently-passed American Rescue Plan Act has set aside … brace yourself … over $2 BILLION for out-of-school time (OST) — after-school and summer — programs!Not to mention, there… Continue reading Funding is Coming: Get Your Evidence Ready!
Your data tracking cheat sheet In my last post, I talked about how logic models — although they can be a chore — can actually be a great visual roadmap of your program’s components, benchmarks, and goals. Working collaboratively to develop a logic model can be a unifying experience for teams, a way to get… Continue reading Your data tracking cheat sheet
From “Ugh” to “Ooh!” – Reframing Logic Models “Ugh, they’re making us submit a logic model? What is the point of a logic model anyway? “I don’t understand all that technical jargon. What am I supposed to put in a logic model?” These are the thoughts I imagine my clients having when a funder or… Continue reading From “Ugh” to “Ooh!” – Reframing Logic Models
