| | March - 201919CXO INSIGHTSRethinking the potential power of the student information system has been central to the technology/data/assessment mission at the School District of University City. Over the past few years, there has been a growing recognition that data when packaged right and consumed with intention can bring fresh insights to the work happening in classrooms. This perspective has allowed the district to pursue its desire humanize, personalize, and problematize the learning ecosystem. This journey started with a deep dive into the data currently in the system. Most data gardens are full of weeds, which can choke out the possibilities of efficient data use. Student information systems require constant care to keep current data accurate, but the district also wanted to make sure that historical and legacy data was also being trimmed and resized as access and use of this data when needed was unwieldy and inefficient. This process helped digital safety and security as well because greater intention was given to access to systems. In addition, this work helped to make historical comparisons more valid and reliable as data between systems and over the years received the same treatments at the end of the year. Once a greater trust in our data was built, both within the department and with teachers and leaders, the district was in a better position to use our student information system as a powerful lever for change. This began with a shift in how the district viewed student information. Each Utilizing Student Information Systems as a lever for ChangeBy Robert Dillon, Director of Innovative Learning, School District of University Citypiece of student data is a star in the sky, beautiful in its own right, but once you begin to see the constellations and the galaxies created by the data connected, there are stories that can emerge. We believe that our student information system houses amazing stories of hard work, achievement, collaboration, and success. It is our role to uncover and mine these stories because in doing so, we create positive momentum and make deposits into a positive, productive learning culture. Stories are built on images, so we have worked to dedicate ourselves to moving from a 2-D model of data with numbers and spreadsheets to a more 3-D model that better visualizes our data in interactive, dynamic charts and graphs. Doing this has given more people, more frequent access to the true data story of the district, and it has helped to uncover stories about individual students that may have been lost in the aggregate. This push for images has also made data more personal as all individuals in data conversations are now seeing data as not a collection of average, but as a collection of individual stories that have a face and a name. In addition to our data visualization efforts, we are also looking for ways to bring data to the public as infographic, so that all in the community have an accurate picture of our data story. Previous to this work, misinformation was emerging about the data picture of the district. It is human nature to craft conclusions based on available data or use confirmation bias with the data points that are more visible, but this can Robert Dillon
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