Strategic Data Project Convening 2025

Districts often struggle to systematically connect spending decisions to student outcomes. Learn how Orange County Public Schools used outcomes based contracting (OBC) for English Learner services to tie provider payments to measurable student success and establish new practices that are transforming future procurement decisions district-wide. This session is particularly valuable for LEA and SEA leaders seeking to strengthen the connection between resource allocation and student achievement and anyone who wants to improve implementation fidelity.

At this time, data and evidence are under threat. Education leaders are, therefore, faced with the challenge of protecting valuable data infrastructure, safegaurding student privacy, and continuing to produce rigorous evidence to inform policymaking. In this session, education data centers from Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee will convene to discuss what’s led to their success thus far and how they are thinking about their role to help maintain data continuity during incredibly uncertain times.

Undocumented students are among the most vulnerable groups in today’s uncertain political climate. In this session, panelists from SUNY Old Westbury, TheDream.US, and SUNY System Administration, as well as one former undocumented student who is now a successful immigration attorney, will come together to discuss the key issues surrounding support for undocumented students, emphasizing data protection and empowerment grounded in law and trust. Educators, senior leaders, philanthropies and foundations, and data strategists are encouraged to attend to lend their perspectives to the discussion.

Chronic absenteeism is a growing challenge across the country, but a deeper understanding of its root causes is essential to effectively address it. This session features analysis from a research-practice partnership in Atlanta, Georgia, exploring the relationship between students’ perceptions of their schools and their attendance. Participants will also strategize on how to apply these findings to shift from chronic absenteeism to meaningful engagement in schools. District leaders and researchers are especially encouraged to attend.

While educational institutions often hesitate to share student outcome data, transparency is crucial for improving equity. Since 2014, the University of Chicago's To&Through Project's Milestone Tool has served as a public data backbone for Chicago's efforts to improve equitable educational attainment for Chicago Public School (CPS) students. This publicly available data tool provides educators, leaders, and community members with accessible and actionable research-backed data on CPS student outcomes from middle school to college completion. In this session, participants will: 1) Explore the To&Through Milestones Tool and understand our unique approach to helping practitioners use public outcomes data. 2) Examine the advantages and limitations of public data in understanding student experiences. 3) Learn about The To&Through Project's partnership approach with school districts and colleges that enables trust and collaboration to drive positive change for students.
This session will be particularly valuable for district leaders, researchers, and data professionals interested in developing transparent data-sharing partnerships to advance educational equity. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop (if possible) in order to participate in our interactive Tool demonstration! 

The ECE workforce is central to high-quality programs supporting young children and families, yet workforce data are often siloed and incomplete. This session offers actionable guidance to help participants define their workforce population, prioritize key data elements, and learn from state examples. Attendees will learn practical skills to enhance data systems, foster data-driven decision-making, and address workforce needs effectively. Join us to strengthen ECE systems through better workforce data collection, reporting, and usage.

This session will walk participants through the tradeoffs and wins faced by a large national organization through their collection of and implementation of a large data set of student and teacher outcomes throughout its network. What did they learn along the way and what is left to figure out? Most importantly, how can this help you in your organization or agency?

Ensuring the privacy of early childhood data can present unique challenges for data systems builders, stewards, and users. Join the Data Quality Campaign and South Carolina First Steps to discuss early childhood data privacy and dive deep into the privacy journey of First Steps as it builds its integrated data system across multiple state agencies. The presenters welcome the perspectives of anyone interested in data privacy, particularly those who interact with early childhood data.

Faced with limited resources and declining public school enrollment trends, K-12 districts are presented with a universal challenge: discovering and activating their competitive advantage. In this session, Guilford County Schools will share their systemic approach to identifying a “Hedgehog Concept”, inspired by Jim Collins’ Good to Great, to define the district’s strategic focus. In addition to exploring successes and challenges from the Guilford case study, participants will reflect on their own organizations’ competitive advantages. It is recommended that you attend this session with another colleague from your organization to collaborate with in the reflection exercises.

U.S. government leaders are responsible for over $2 trillion in annual spending. When leaders use evidence to spend those dollars, they increase impact, achieve better outcomes for all and advance economic mobility. Using high-impact tutoring as an example, this session will help state and local education leaders gain a deeper understanding of Results for America’s (RFA) six strategies for evidence-based spending, including defining and prioritizing evidence and addressing local needs through grantmaking and procurement.

Research suggests that underserved populations often face more obstacles to enrolling and persisting in college. Hope Chicago, a nonprofit organization providing debt-free education and wrap-around services to underserved college students in Chicago, used pulse survey data to identify and address student concerns and obstacles in real time. Come learn about how pulse survey data can transform your students’ experiences and help reach your organization’s goals.