MD3 Dis1

Leading Change with Data and Collaboration

Katheryn Gonzales

Specialist in Early Childhood Education, Walden University

EDSD 7900: Capstone Project – Winter 2022

Dr. Sandra Johnson

December 18, 2022

Leading Change with Data and Collaboration

Data-informed decision-making and collaborative efforts can lead to positive change within a community. Grand City Task Force is an excellent example of teams working together to use longitudinal data to collaborate with community leaders to make a positive impact. Mayor Keller brought together a task force to acknowledge the growth and change within the city due to the number of refugees in the community. The growth that Grand City is experiencing has led to some challenges, like school crowding, the need for additional community services, and a more comprehensive range of educational approaches (Walden University, 2017a). Each task force member came to the table with longitudinal data for the team to interpret and analyze to make the necessary changes to improve Grand City. I am fortunate to work on this task force with Mayor Keller and other community members.

My name is Katie Gonzales. I am the Early Childhood Education Specialist working on Mayor Keller’s task force in Grand city. I am excited to work with Mayor Keller on this task force because I believe in offering early childhood education through quality preschool and childcare for the families in Grand City. Research suggests that children who attend high-quality early childhood education programs are more likely to be prepared for academic grades later, less likely to repeat a grade, be less likely to be identified with special needs, more likely to graduate from high school, and become higher earners in the workforce (Association, 2021). To properly understand what Grand City needs in terms of its youngest members, the task force must look at the data to determine how to impact the community positively. Data alone does not secure change. However, data in action has the potential to unlock positive change. To enact data in action, the task force will need to collect, analyze, and organize data, combined with stakeholder understanding and knowledge, to become actionable. The process of data in action is a continuous cycle of collection, interpretation, and synthesis to support ongoing change (March & Farrell, 2015). Actionable data alone is not the only aspect of data that works to create positive change. Communicating and becoming transparent about data and its use leads to building trust among stakeholders (Guidera, 2015).

Collaboration is also essential for making meaningful changes within a community. Collaboration allows diverse groups of people to come together, utilizing differing perspectives and skills to promote productivity to create change (Morel, 2014). Collaboration begins by improving relationships among different community groups, as in the Grand City Task Force case. Coming together to collaborate allows the task force to build trust, communicate about shared goals, and create social cohesion and capital among the community leaders (Fullan, 2016). Collaboration begins with strong leaders who exert influence amongst their peers. Strong leaders will encourage collaboration by frequently meeting to discuss positive outcomes and work to develop systems that will lead to organizational change.

Data-informed decision-making requires collaboration among all stakeholders invested in making a positive change in Grand City. To utilize data-informed decision-making, districts and communities must utilize data from cross-specialization groups and identify leaders within each group to use and analyze the data. After collecting data, the team will need to create tools to generate actionable data, create time for groups to collaborate to interpret and analyze data, provide professional development and technical support, and provide tools for acting on data (Means et al., 2009). By working with other specializations, Grand City will make a positive, lasting impact on the community while building trusting relationships that work together with a common goal.

To summarize, collaboration is one of the key elements in leading a change initiative. With collaboration tied with data-informed decision-making, Grand City and other communities can have a lasting positive impact. The team will collaborate to collect, analyze, interpret, and act on data while building a trusting relationship that creates social cohesion.

References

Association, N. E. (2021, December 2). Early Childhood Education | NEA. Www.nea.org. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/action-center/our-issues/early-childhood-education

Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers

College Press.

Guidera, A. R. (2015). Parents need access to education data - and need to know it’s secure.  PHI

DELTA KAPPAN, 96(5), 8–12.

Marsh, J. & Farrell, C. (2015).  How leaders can support teachers with data-driven decision making: A framework for understanding capacity building. Links to an external site.   Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(2), 269-289. doi:10.1177/1741143214537229

Means, B., Padilla, C., DeBarger, A., & Bakia, M. (2009). Implementing Data-Informed Decision Making in Schools—Teacher Access, Supports and Use. Ed.gov. https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/data-informed-decision/data-informed-decision.doc

Morel, N. J. (2014). Setting the Stage for Collaboration: An Essential Skill for Professional

Growth.  Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 81(1), 36–39.

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2017a).  Grand City opening task force meeting [Video

file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.