(July 9, 2024) The Rochester City School District congratulates Dan Hurley, its Executive Director of School Innovation, for his recognition in a new book by Harvard Education Press. System Wise chronicles the DataWise improvement process, extending its impact from classrooms and schools to broader educational contexts. Through DataWise, the Office of School Innovation (OSI) has empowered school leaders to cultivate a culture where data-driven decision-making is pivotal for enhancing student outcomes.
Furthermore, OSI has tackled challenges related to data interpretation head-on. Historically, there was a belief that data summaries needed to be flawless quantitative presentations, leading directly to definitive actions. To shift this perception, OSI drew inspiration from Street Data: A Next Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation, a critical resource in the professional development of school leaders. In his contribution to System Wise, Hurley discusses OSI’s adoption of the Google Earth analogy to introduce educational leaders to street data, aiding them in crafting school improvement plans. This innovative method provides a detailed, ground-level view of students’ instructional experiences within specific focus areas. By leveraging street data, school teams identify key problems of practice and develop actionable improvement strategies through focused action planning.
OSI has also facilitated essential support mechanisms to advance this process in each school. They advocated appointing improvement specialists within schools, empowering them to lead data-driven meetings alongside school leaders. This initiative underscores the significance of collaborative planning and leadership in promoting a unified approach to educational improvement across the District. By sharing success stories and best practices from early adopters, OSI has encouraged other schools to embrace the DataWise framework, showcasing its feasibility and impact through tangible results.
OSI’s commitment to systemic improvement through data literacy and collaborative leadership has not only transformed how educators approach data but has also nurtured a culture of continuous improvement throughout the District.
