Day 9 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

 Day 9 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge.  We collected all the big stuff, the data most people think of and include in their data search like grades, attendance, discipline, and school climate during days 2-8.  Today was for collecting any other data that gives you insights to your students.  If I hadn't included my bully/cyberbully survey data with my School Climate data, I think I would have put it here. Did you have some special data that you gathered today? Something that is unique to your school?  If so please share it in the comments below or on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page.

Tomorrow is Day 10 and it is time to start disaggregating all the goodies we've gathered.  We'll start with attendance data. Take a look, study the data, and find out what it says about your school.  I think it is important to remember something a good friend of mine says and I'm paraphrasing a bit here,"The data is not right or wrong.  It makes no judgments. You have to look at it and make judgments for yourself about your school." So take a look.  Discover the needs of your students and your school and create a goal.

Want more information about the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge?
Check it out HERE.

Day 8 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

Day 8 was great! Today we were collecting any kind of climate survey data. It was easy, easy, glitch.

When I asked my administrators for the School Improvement climate surveys I got the results immediately and went right to the copier and made copies.  I already had my student bully/cyberbully survey results, now all I needed was teacher PBIS survey data.  Only none of us knows where it is, or can  think of what it would have been called and saved as on our computers.  I see I need to create a special data folder on my computer for the future.

Maybe our Behavior Leadership Team (BLT) just talked about doing it in the fall, but never really got around to making it happen.  I know I don't remember filling out the survey, but after all that was September and A LOT has happened since then.  So we will search some more tomorrow and perhaps do the survey before the year is over.  I think that would be just as a valuable. Checking to see where our staff feels we stand with our PBIS program at the end of the year will give us a better idea of the kind of plans we need to make for next year.

Tomorrow is Day 9 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge.  It is the day you collect any other data that is unique or relevant to your school.  What sources of data will you be adding to your data notebook tomorrow? If you can't think of any other data you need, use the day to organize the data you've gathered. I have to confess my data is not hole punched yet and just stuffed in the front of my notebook. But I have all the tabs ready to go, all I have to do is put it in. Tomorrow.

If you are interested in learning more about the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge you can read more about it HERE.  Be sure to check out the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page to share your data gathering experiences.

Day 7 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

Hey, hey, hey, it's Day 7 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge!  How are you doing?  Have you been able to do one small task each day?  We are one-third of the way through!

Today's challenge was to find your Early Warning System data. For anyone unfamiliar with that term it is describing students who will need extra attention and support from the School Counselor.  These students may also be referred to as students at risk or in danger of dropping out. County by county state by state, each one has a a different name and different criteria for identifying this group.  In my county students with excessive discipline referrals, suspensions and absences are on this list.  As are students who are over age for their grade, have been retained, receive ESE or ELL services or scored a 1 or 2 on state standardized testing.

The good news is I found the Early Warning System data with no problem.  However there were 2 report options distinguished only by a numerical code.  So I just chose one and printed it.  It was not the report I have seen in the past, but it had all the data I needed.  I was satisfied. But then, being the curious type, I just had to go for the second report.  So I selected report #2, clicked to print, and my computer screen did a blip.  Anyone with an ancient school system computer knows that is never a good thing.  However, I was still at the same screen but now with a red lettered message that told me I was not authorized to view that report.  Okay fine, I had my data, but now I am locked out of  viewing or printing any reports at all. That's going to be a problem.  I don't know what was so super secret about report #2, but it must be a doozy and now I really want to know what I am not authorized to view!

Tomorrow is Day 8 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge. Our task is to locate Climate Survey Data of any and all types.  I know our School Improvement Committee did a climate survey with parents, teachers, and students. That means 3 separate sets of data.  As a Behavior Leadership Team (aka the BLT, not the sandwich) we are interested in surveying our faculty regarding our PBIS plan. That 's another set of data. And last of all, each year I like to survey my 3rd-5th grade students on their internet usage and their experiences with bullying and cyber-bullying.  What kind of data regarding school climate is available at your school?

Just a reminder if you would like to know more about the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge you can read all about it HERE.  There is still time to join!
Also please stop by the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page to give us a like or leave comments or photos related to your data round-up.

Day 6 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

Day 6 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge and I'm on the hunt!

Locating the report card data for D's and F's was easy. However, finding the conduct data on the report cards was a different story.  My search on 2 different platforms for housing data at my district were unsuccessful.  No worries though, my talented School Psychologist is great at pulling all sorts of data, so she will be my "go to" person on her next visit to my school.

The report card data I found is on an electronic grade book system we use in our district and approved staff are able to pull specific reports for grades, attendance, and behavior.  I found some cool reports I did not know existed, like a student profile report.  This report gives a student's attendance, grades, and any discipline referrals all in one personalized sheet.  What a great resource when meeting with students for any of these critical areas to show how one impacts the other.  I was excited to find this one!  It's amazing the helpful reports available on your district's computer platform if you just have the time and know where to look. Part of what I love about this data challenge is how it has gotten me looking at some resources I had not explored before.

I think the most shocking thing about today's data challenge was the number of students with D's and F's.  This will require some deeper digging and hopefully will correlate with the conduct/effort/social rating of each student.  I can tell already I have my work cut out for me with so many D's and F's.

Tomorrow is Day 7 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge.  The challenge is to locate Early Warning System data.  Just in case the term Early Warning System is not familiar to you, it is also called "students at risk," "drop-out prevention," or some other name that refers to students who may meet many of the following criteria: are over age for their grade, have been retained, receive ESE or ESOL services, have D's or F's, have standardized test scores below expectations, have excessive absences, and have excessive discipline referrals.  The criteria and name may be different in your district but I imagine you have something similar to this that helps identify those students who may need more of your services.

Please be sure to share your experiences on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page and please give it a LIKE.  If you are not familiar with the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge, you can read more about it HERE.

We're one third of the way through! (and it's still not to late to join) I hope you are learning where your data is located, and how you can access it for yourself.  This is an awesome thing you are doing to move your School Counseling program in a data driven direction. Data driven results not only show how students are different because of what School Counselors do, but it shows  your administrators the the value you can add to your school! Keep up the good work!

Day 5 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

It's Day 5 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge and today was about the discipline data. This challenge was particularly easy for me because I already had all the data on my computer in folders.  Somehow, about 7 years ago, I was fortunate enough to get in the email group of individuals who receive this data from the district each quarter. This is the data I have used most consistently for the last 7 years, but I realize now not as effectively as I could have. And that's okay, because this challenge is about learning and growing and making changes not just in how we use data, but in how we view the data we are using.

As I printed and reviewed  the multiple tabs included with my discipline data report, I realized I needed a form to summarize it all on one page. My discipline data comes in an Excel file with 9 tabs.  Each tab contains a page listing data and putting it in a colorful circle graph. This is all very nice, but I really think I need to get work on creating a summary page for a quick view and easier comparison. Maybe some of you feel the same way after looking at your discipline report data.   I plan to have a form ready by the time we start disaggregating discipline data on Day 11.

Monday will be Day 6 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge and we will be gathering report card data on the D's and F's and unsatisfactory marks in conduct.  This data can be a great source for study skills and social skills groups. Gathering the report card data is going to be difficult for me because these are reports I don't know how to run. I have a few ideas about who might be able to help and I'm not afraid to ask. Locating data is kind of like a Scavenger Hunt I think. The hunt can be frustrating, but the find is exciting.

If you are participating in the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge, please share your experiences on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page.  If you are hearing about the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge for the first time and interested in learning more, you can read more about it HERE.

Day 4 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

Welcome to Day 4 of the Daily Data Challenge.  Today's challenge was gathering attendance data.  So how did you do?

I ran the report for students with 15 or more unexcused absences year to date.  There were only a couple of surprises and I felt pretty good about that.  My School Social Worker and I have been working to keep tabs on these students and meet with their parents.  I also found a couple of reports I didn't know existed.  One is an attendance break down by number of students absent at 0-10 days, 11-20 days, and 21+ days.  Just by skimming it I learned my  biggest attendance problem is in first grade.

Another report I found was number students absent at 0-10 days, 11-20 days and 21+days broken down by race, gender, ESE, and ELL.  With just a cursory look, I could see my African-American students had the best overall attendance and my Hispanic students needed the most improvement.  I never knew about these reports and was excited to find them.  It's easy to see how they will be an important part of my data review.  As I am typing this I realize I got so excited about the 2 new reports I didn't run the reports for tardy students and those with 15 or more excused absences. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!

And speaking of tomorrow, our data challenge for Day 5 is discipline data.  My district provides a great report with some awesome breakdowns including gender, ethnicity, ESE, location and type of offense, day of the week, and time of day.  Be sure to get all the data you can, not just for the most recent grading period, but for the whole year.  You want to be able to look at trends.  And if your district is like mine, all of this year's data gets purged during the summer so gather all you can now!

If you are interested in joining the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge check out all the details HERE.  It's not to late to jump right in and join us.  Also, please stop by the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page and share how your challenge is going.

Day 3 of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge

It's Day 3  of the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge and it was about locating your School Improvement goals.  I am embarrassed to say, but I had only a vague idea of what the School Improvement goals were for my school (something about writing) and  I had absolutely no idea where to find them.  Luckily, I went to the source of all knowledge in our school, the Principal's secretary, and she located the School Improvement Plan with goals inside and I was set.  I discovered however, my school only has one goal. It was about writing and it was very generic. Maybe that's how School Improvement goals are supposed to be?  I was expecting it to be more specific, more quantifiable.  Our one goal goes like this: "All teachers will collaboratively establish expectations for high quality writing instruction and student feeback in the content areas, as they consistently meet those expectations in the classroom."  See what I mean?  Very generic.  I have been trying to incorporate more writing in my classroom lessons by using Interactive Student Notebooks (but that is another post).  I'm just not sure how we measure, as a school, if we met our goal.

How did your search go for your School Improvement goals?  Did you know what they were?  Were you surprised at their content?  Were yours more specific than mine?  Do you see how you could possibly support the School Improvement goals in your school counseling program?  Remember I am interested in hearing your experiences.  Please share them each day on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page or in the comment section below.

Tomorrow is Day 4 and it is about collecting attendance data.  I learned how to find this on our district's computer system last school year, but I've only ever seen it listed by name and number of absences and tardies.  I am hoping there may be a report by gender, grade and ethnicity  for my school or I'm going to be doing some calculating by hand!

If you are interested in the 21 Day Daily Data Challenge you may join us at anytime in the process. The idea is to get into the data for your school to enable you to make evidence based decisions that empower you and drive your school counseling program.  Go to the link HERE for all the details.

Happy Data Hunting!