Being a teacher means taking in tons of data points constantly—whether it’s formally collecting data through assessments or the casual noticing of demeanors, behaviors, and even “vibes.” As educators, we are in a unique position where this informal data collection is usually acted upon immediately. If I notice a lot of slumped or tired body language, I immediately adjust instruction to include movement. If I see a lot of confusion or questions popping up, I immediately go back and reteach. If a student is misbehaving, I immediately take appropriate action to support their transition back to a learning headspace. These actions are taken constantly. It is said that teachers make over 1,500 decisions per day. In a 6-hour school day, that means teachers are making four decisions per minute.
Students deserve for their teachers to make these decisions in a way that honors them as people and appreciates their strengths.
Learning How to Leverage Data
The Great Schools Partnership (GSP) is offering a community of practice for educators to come together and share best practices around collecting data and using that data to serve their students, all through an assets-based lens. The following quote by Shane Safir, author and educator, will serve as framing for this community:
“We have a crisis of alienation in our schools, driven at the highest levels by the insidious messages of…: ‘You are not achieving on these measures; therefore, we have to fix you with interventions. By extension, you don’t really belong to this academic community. You are a problem to be solved, a gap to be filled.'” — Shane Safir
Educators that participate in this community of practice—They’re Counting on You: Leveraging Data for Equitable Student Outcomes—will use the above framing as inspiration for their discussions. MTSS and RTI are two common frameworks to support students in their learning. Dan Liebert, a senior associate here at GSP, argues that these approaches are used too often in a reactionary way in order to “fix” the child. Liebert says that learning environments should be created around the student and this is done by first developing relationships with all students.
In this community of practice, participants will learn from each other how to implement tier-1 supports and use MTSS in a data-informed and asset-based way. When the school year starts up again this fall, educators will have concrete tools and ideas for collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, and an actionable plan for systems of support.
“As a former teacher, principal, and school coach, I have seen first hand how important systems of intervention are,” says Dan Liebert. “Every student will experience the need for interventions in some area, at some point, in their education. It is extremely important that we make sure students do not feel like failures when they need interventions, but that making mistakes and needing intervention is expected, and not a sign of failure. I have found that our beliefs and language around how we talk about students and how we respond to their needs is critical to establishing an equitable learning environment.”
Getting Started With a Community of Practice
This community of practice is open to any educator at any level who grapples with a system that seeks to divide and track students, and who wants something different. If you work with students and wonder how you can best support them—without judgment and without needing to “fix” the child—this community is for you.
As Dan Liebert says, “This community of practice will allow educators to gain insights into their work. It is often only by reflecting on our work in light of what others are doing that will allow us to see what needs to improve.”
Sometimes I think about my student, Fernando, who years ago was struggling with academic success. The support he was getting with his Individualized Education Program (IEP) was not enough. He transferred to my school as a student that needed to be “fixed.” I remember his teachers, including myself, coming together to talk to him, to review the moments he had experienced success, to ask about his passions and life. We learned so much about how he viewed himself and what his many skills were. I am not going to pretend there was an overnight miracle, but over time we were able to set him up for greater success because of our policies on revisions and late work, our focus on culture and relationship building, our commitment to student voice and choice in assessment, and by providing video resources that helped with his learning style. So many students like Fernando receive intervention in ways that reflect a deficit mindset. We have an imperative to flip that script and we can use each other to be better.
Learn more about or register for They’re Counting on You: Leveraging Data for Equitable Student Outcomes.