DATA IN ACTION
Why Data in Action?
In GO West Contra Costa’s first year, we hosted a Data Equity Walk informed by The Education Trust-West’s Black Minds Matter report. As parents, educators, and community partners interacted with the data, the need to find progammatic solutions to improve outcomes for students-particularly vulnerable populations-gained urgency. We invited the community to join a research team, and tasked participants with proposing potential interventions. After some months, a foundational need became clear: data – and the tools, mindsets, and skills to use it. As a result Data in Action was launched, with the goal of ensuring that leaders in West Contra Costa - from the classroom to the boardroom to the community - use data and evidence to inform strategy, budgets, and decisions.
EVALUATE OPPORTUNITY
The Data in Action compaign was launched in recognition of the reality that data is needed to inform decision-making and support students. Alongside members of the community, we chose to take on this work because of our shared belief that students deserve access to the most effective programming, scheduling, and use of limited resources, and the reality that we cannot make such decisions without evidence of our effectiveness.
DEVELOP CAMPAIGN BASE AND SOLUTIONS
In tandem with the launch of the campaign, we carried out work to develop our campaign base and solutions, including:
Convening a community-led study team to develop policy recommendations.
Launching our Family Leadership Program– now 150 graduates strong
Releasing our first Kids Can Student Outcomes Report
ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE — AND WIN
Over the course of 2017, members of our Family Leaders Program and staff worked to pressure the school board to adopt stronger data practices. They presented at a school board meeting, worked directly with board members to draft a resolution, and met with the Superintendent to solicit his support.
In October 2017, our network claimed a first major victory with the unanimous adoption of a resolution committing the district to the strategic use of data.
HOLD SYSTEM ACCOUNTABLE
Adapted from the Harvard Strategic Data Project, we created a data rubric to evaluate district staff presentations to the school board in hopes of seeing an increase in the strategic use of data to inform decision-making.
As the fourth phase of the campaign countries, we will monitor the disctrict’s progress through editorialized communications, strategic tool development, direct engagement with district leaders, and public action.
Our Wins
Over the course of 2017, our family leaders and staff advocated for the school board to adopt stronger data practices. Our family leaders presented at a school board meeting, met with Superintendent Duffy to garner his support, and worked directly with members of the school board to draft a resolution.
In October of 2017, the efforts of our family leaders, staff, coalition partners, and community allies were rewarded when the school board unanimously voted to adopt A Resolution to Affirm Our Commitment to Strategic Use of Data from Preschool through 12th Grade.
The resolution reflects our distict’s commitment to:
Take the necessary steps to improve our data infrastructure and reporting to enable assessments of current policy, program, and resource allocation
Provide high quality program and budget report to enable accountability and ensure improved acutcomes for students
Provide educators with relevant information to best answer essential questions about which programs and interventions do, and do not, work for our students
Make the necessary changes tothe district’s website, board-level reports, and communications collateral to reflect the examplary use of data
Take the necessary steps to improve our data infrastructure and reporting to enable assessments of current policy, program, and resource allocation
Monitoring Progress
West Contra Costa Unified School District’s commitment to improve data reporting and use is not the end of the journey To monitor progress and hold our leaders publicily accountable, we created the Strategic US of Data Rubric Adapted from the Harvard Strategic Data Project, we developed this data rubric to evaluate distrit staff presentations to the school board in hopes of seeing an increase in the strategic use of data to inform decision making. Using this tool we have scored several presentations to the board and the community. We then used the data rubric to inform our own presentation to district leader, where we called for a revision of Superintendent Duffy’s Roadmap 2022.