AEM is passionate about using data… which means we are excited about the Head Start data tours and want you to be as well. I’ve worked with Head Start programs for over 20 years and I know that Head Start programs collect a LOT of data. Now, it’s time to show how you use that data.
What is a Head Start Data Tour?
The FY 2018 Head Start Focus Area 2 Monitoring Protocol requires a Data Tour for all Head Start and Early Head Start grantees. Data tours are a new part of the monitoring protocol. Data tours are directors, mid-management, and center or site leader. These tours allow grantee staff the chance to show the reviewers the data they collect, analyze, aggregate, share, and use to make data-informed program decisions.
So, the monitoring team arrives and says, “Take me on a tour of your data and show us how you use your data.” You might be thinking: What?! A data tour?! I can barely give you a tour of the building. I certainly can’t give you a tour of my data and show you how we are using our data!
But, yes, the Office of Head Start is requiring an on-site data tour. Head Start programs have plenty of data - enough to fill 75 billion iPads, in fact. Now the big question is: How can you use it?
The key is to plan your journey for a successful data tour. Notice the term is a data “tour”, not “expedition”. You might be thinking, what is the difference between a tour and an expedition? The Oxford English Dictionary defines a tour as "A journey for pleasure in which several different places are visited." Whereas, an expedition is "A journey undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, especially that of exploration, research, or war..."
So, the monitoring review team likely wants a data tour… not a data expedition! “Data tours are an opportunity for you and other staff to show the data they collect, analyze, use, and share to make informed program decisions.”
Think back to Kindergarten. It will be like Show and Tell for grown-ups! You know the best day of the week in Kindergarten was Show and Tell day. You might be just a tad more nervous than you were when you were five years old showing your classmates your pet turtle. But, with the proper planning you should feel ready to lead a data tour.
Let’s see what the HSPPS say…
“Data” and “use of data” are sprinkled throughout the Head Start Program Performance Standards. As a matter of fact, the word “data” is used 60 times in the Head Start Program Performance Standards on 27 different pages, from pages 1 all the way to page 107. Here are some examples:
- Page one of the Head Start Program Performance Standards, 1302.2 (b)(2) states “The governing body must use ongoing monitoring results, data on school readiness goals, other information described in 1302.102 and information described at section 642 (d)(2) of the Act to conduct its responsibilities.”
- On the very next page, 1301.3 (c)(2) states the policy council and the policy committee at the delegate level must use the same information to conduct their responsibilities. Can you show how you are using attendance data to identify children with patterns of absence that put them at risk of missing 10% of program days per year? Can you show how you use these data to develop strategies to improve attendance among these identified children?
- Section 1302.31 (b)(1)(iii) states that “Teachers must integrate child assessment data in individual and group planning.”
- And, finally, one more example, 1302.101 (b)(4) states that, “At the beginning of each program year, and on an ongoing basis throughout the year, a program must design and implement program-wide coordinated approaches that ensure: The management of program data to effectively support the availability, usability, integrity, and security of data. A program must establish procedures on data management, and have them approved by the governing body, and policy council, in areas such as quality of data and effective use and sharing of data, while protecting the privacy of child records in accordance…”
Are Your Plans, Policies, and Procedures Ready?
One of the Head Start Program Performance Standards I just mentioned was about attendance data. 1302.16 (a)(2)(iv) asks, “What are your plans, policies, and procedures for collecting, analyzing, aggregating, and using attendance data?”
Let’s take a moment to think about your program’s plans, policies, and procedures for systematic use of data to improve service delivery, child outcomes, and school readiness.
That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?! Think about a successful tour, what do you need?
- A plan
- Policies
- Procedures
I recently took a 10-day, 3,000-mile car trip with two grown daughters and a four-year-old granddaughter. What did we need?
#1 A plan: See the beach!
#2 Policies to govern that plan: Our number one policy: We will have a safe, enjoyable family vacation in which everyone’s voice is heard and everyone’s opinion is valued. That’s a tall order for a group of four independent women.
#3 Procedures to ensure that we adhered to the policy to accomplish our plan.
Procedure number one: Switch drivers every two hours so no one is over-burdened by that task.
Procedure number two: When switching drivers, also switch the person in charge of entertaining the four-year-old, so no one is over-burdened by that task.
Finding Your System
Of course, there were more procedures to ensure that policy was successfully adhered to, but you get the point. We had a plan. To accomplish that plan, we needed policies. To ensure those policies were enacted, we needed procedures. Thus, we had a system.
Part of our system for our big beach trip included having a tour guide – for us, one element of our tour guide was our trusty GPS system. As you are preparing for your program’s Data Tour, you might think of getting a tour guide to help you get ready. That tour guide may be in the form of seeking the help of a technical assistance specialist.
So, how do you gain confidence about leading a data tour? Plans, policies, procedures. You have a system. You execute that system. You re-evaluate that system. Then, you will confidently lead a data tour.
Thinking of your attendance data, the Head Start Program Performance Standards state that “a program must implement strategies that promote attendance.” Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:
- What policies and procedures do you have in place to collect data that “identifies children with patterns of absence that put them at risk of missing 10% of program days per year…?”
- What are your policies and procedures for using these data?
- Can you and your team articulate these plans, policies, and procedures during a data tour?
If your plan includes developing an attendance data team:
- Who should be on this team?
- How often should the team meet?
- What are the team members’ roles and responsibilities?
- What are your procedures for identifying children at risk of missing more than 10%?
- What data do you need to collect, analyze, aggregate, and use to address this policy?
You can see that a myriad of questions must be answered to develop plans, policies, and procedures around the collection and use of attendance data. This is true for all of the data that you collect – child screening data, child assessment data, family engagement data, health data, classroom observation data, and so forth.
A Tour Guide
Once these policies and procedures are developed, you will need a system in place so that the policies and procedures are adhered to. A tour guide, in the form of a technical assistance specialist, can help you to develop plans, policies, procedures, and a solid system.
In this blog, we have touched upon several hot topics: Data Tours, Head Start Program Performance Standards, and Policies and Procedures. Are you ready to plan your data tour? Do you need a tour guide?
If you would like to learn more about how AEM can help you plan a successful data tour, please contact earlychildhood@aemcorp.com.
We know that you need knowledge to build confidence. Once you are confident, you will be able to lead a successful data tour. AEM leads the nation in education data management. AEM staff have in-depth knowledge, experience, and success across all aspects of data management. We deliver innovative solutions and specialized expertise to meet our client’s unique data management challenges and objectives.
