Data

In school today we have data.  Tons of it. We have demographics, attendance, assessment, survey, and daily data.  How do we use that data to drive our instruction or make change happen?  When I began my principalship in July, our school CIP was due almost immediately.  There was so much data there to sift through I was overwhelmed.  Although I knew the numbers on the sheet, I was uncertain what could really maximize impact.  After working here for a year, I see data very differently.  Having lived the day to day with these teachers and students I see that some of our data is more relevant than others. 

The thing that has stung the most this year for me is our attendance.  Students just are not at school as much as they should be, and some teachers miss way too many days to be effective.  As I look forward to our CIP for the new school year, I will be hyper focused on this attendance rate.  I will include incentives for those who attend.  We cannot teach students who are not at school, and students cannot learn from most substitutes what they can learn from a highly qualified teacher.  I believe this every day data could make a great impact that many other topics of focus.