This posting is the second part of a four part series, aimed at sharing high-impact ideas and practices for consideration in relation to Establishing a District Collaborative Response. The following blogs make up the series and should be explored in this order:
- Establishing a District Collaborative Response
- Using Data to Inform a District Collaborative Response
- Conducting a District Collaborative Team Meeting
- Creating a District Continuum of Supports
As part of our ongoing series on Establishing a District Collaborative Response, this blog focuses on the critical role of data and evidence in supporting schools. Building on the foundational concepts introduced in the first part, we explore how district teams can use data intentionally and systematically to drive meaningful school improvement. By identifying clear priorities, determining progress categories, and establishing indicators of success, districts can gather actionable insights that inform their support strategies. This blog outlines practical approaches for structuring data collection cycles, analyzing both lead and lag measures, and using this evidence to make informed decisions that directly impact student learning and school growth. Through this process, district teams become equipped to provide targeted, equitable support that meets the unique needs of every school community.
Data and Evidence
We begin with data and evidence to provide the foundation of our work as a district team.
The initial step is to identify the district priorities and the key areas of focus for system planning. These come in the form of Three or Five Year Plans, School Improvement Planning, Education Plans and/or Assurance Plans and the good news is that it is highly likely that you already have done the data analysis and overview to design these plans and your priorities are likely already established.
Establishing Priorities
When first beginning this work, we suggest that you choose one priority to work through prior to attempting to impact every target area all at one time. This will allow you to define and clarify your process within the narrowed focus of one priority. Over time, you will be able to map out your priority areas throughout the scope of a year to ensure you’ve had time to gather data on each area of improvement for the district.
Please refer to the Divisional Collaborative Response Workbook to reference the templates for Establishing Priorities and the Cycle of Data Gathering.
Determining Progress Categories
When analyzing and organizing data for students, a simple colour coding system allows teams to quickly identify where a student is succeeding and where a student may be challenged and requiring support. The same philosophy is used for schools when identifying the areas of need for each school in relation to the district priorities. Several school divisions have used various categories to identify areas of strength and need for schools. Here are a few examples, please note that the categories are similar to how schools report on student progress:
- Colour code - blue, green, yellow, red
- Number structure - 4, 3, 2, 1
- Keep it Up, Almost There, On the Road, Just Beginning
- Seed, Sprout, Sapling, Tree
- Emerging, Developing, Proficient, Extending
Identifying Indicators of Success
The next step is then to identify indicators that would demonstrate the level of proficiency for each priority established. This includes articulating the indicators that would lead to success in the priority area as well as clearly identifying statements for each progress category. This process is akin to building a rubric based on the number of indicators for a priority area.
The following is an excerpt from Grasslands School Division that demonstrates one of the indicators that the district team is striving to achieve.
Determining a Cycle of Data Gathering
Once we’ve established what we’re looking to achieve and have articulated that in clear and concise indicators, we’re then ready to begin gathering the data.
It’s advantageous at this point to reflect on lead and lag measures and the potential both types of data have in influencing our response and level of support. Lead measures are those sets of data that will be immediately reflective in the implementation efforts and are short-term indicators. A lead measure is gathered in the process of the work and is predictive of the outcome. Lag measures are those data sets that are consistently gathered but are not always immediately impacted by the desired changes. A lag measure is thought to be the result of a particular initiative or change.
In applying this idea to the implementation of any initiative, if our result is improved academic achievement then the provincial achievement tests (PATs) and Diploma results will indicate our success in the end (lag measure) but what predictive evidence (lead measures) are we gathering that would indicate we are moving in the right direction?
In designing a District-focused Collaborative Response, we focus on gathering data throughout the year based on our indicators (established earlier) that will provide us with the information we need to know so that we can support our schools to move in the direction of the outcome. This data gathering is in the form of lead measures and is typically qualitative in nature.
It may look something like this and could be a version of what you are doing to support your schools currently. A district team will typically go to schools in teams of 2 or 3, identifying who will be responsible for gathering data from which schools. They then will determine dates in which they will visit a school’s leadership team to determine where a school is within a particular priority. Questions are established as well as evidence that will serve as the lead measure for that priority area. Here are a few questions that serve as examples for various priorities:
In the workbook, there is a planning section established for identifying your priority of focus, planning for your questions or evidence and creating a timeline for gathering the data.
Gathering and Analyzing the Data
District leaders will visit school leadership teams and gather the information required to reflect on a school’s progress in terms of district priorities. Each team, using the consistent questions and methods for gathering data, records their responses to bring back to the full senior leadership team.
When the district leaders have completed their round of data gathering, they convene to determine where each school is according to the criteria earlier established. We’ve created a simple Google Sheet that provides for a review of those criteria and where a school is at this point in time. Our WeCollab software also includes a district functionality to record this information for schools as well. It is important to remind the district team at this point that the purpose for gathering and reviewing this data is to identify areas of support for the schools based on our priorities.
During this initial meeting, the district leaders share the information that they have gathered from the schools and then determine as a team, where they are in terms of the criteria and area of development. This will result in each school documented in the spreadsheet followed by an overall discussion in regards to their achievement on that particular priority. For example, in the established priority of Wellness after a year of data gathering and documenting progress, we can see the overall progress is noted for particular schools in relation to that priority.
The district team is now prepared to engage in a Collaborative Team Meeting. We have our data to inform what is needed for each school and the next step is to formulate our response as a district team in regards to supporting schools in progressing toward the district priorities. Please access Conducting a District Collaborative Team Meeting blog to support you in the next steps of Establishing a District Collaborative Response.
The intentional use of data and evidence is a powerful driver in establishing a District Collaborative Response that truly supports schools. By clearly defining priorities, identifying meaningful indicators of success, and implementing consistent data collection cycles, district teams can make informed decisions that lead to targeted, equitable support. This data-informed approach not only enhances school improvement efforts but also strengthens the alignment between district goals and classroom outcomes. With a shared commitment to using evidence to guide actions, districts can foster a culture of continuous growth, ensuring that every school receives the support it needs to be successful.
In part three of this blog series, we will explore a step by step process for Conducting a District Collaborative Team Meeting with the intention of supporting schools through the foundational components of Collaborative Response.
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WeCollab empowers schools and districts with powerful tools to streamline Collaborative Response. From organizing student data and managing team meetings to tracking interventions and aligning supports, WeCollab simplifies collaboration, enhances visibility, and ensures every learner gets what they need to thrive.