Districts around the country are using data in powerful ways to support continuous improvement and achieve their educational goals – and we want to hear about your experiences and to share these results with others. We are interested in compiling information about best practices and developing case studies of school districts that are using data-driven decision making systems and posting these on www.3d2know.org.

Please take a moment to visit www.3d2know.org/ddmfeedback.cfm and complete the form posted. Tell us about your goals, process, technology tools and measurable results. We plan to put these stories on the website later this spring as a way of promoting dissemination of best practices and examples of excellence.

CoSN joined with the Alliance for Excellent Education, Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA), Schools Interoperability Framework Association (SIFA), Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services (S&P) and State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) in urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to support a proposed increase of funding for statewide data systems grants.

In an April 5 letter to Senator Arlen Specter, Chair, Senate Appropriates Committee, Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education and Senator Tom Harkin, Ranking Member the group urged increased funding for statewide data systems as part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the FY 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services as “ essential to help states improve student achievement and to meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act.” The letter goes on to note that “almost no state has a data system in place now with all of the essential elements to maximize its usefulness to educators and policymakers “ and urges Congress to approve increase funding of the statewide data systems program to $54.6 million in FY 2007 as a way of helping states move toward this important goal.

New Vision to Know and Do Presentations Available

We continue to do presentations at meetings around the country and place these on our website at www.3d2know.org/presentations.html as a way of sharing the knowledge and providing information about important activities in data driven decision making.

Check out the latest downloadable PowerPoint presentations available:

Vision to Know and Do: Helping Educators Use Data Effectively
FETC 2006
March 23, 2006
Orlando, FL

• Irene K. Spero, Vice President, CoSN and Project Director, Vision to Know and Do
• Marc Baron, Chief of Performance Accountability, Palm Beach Schools (FL)
• Russell Clement, Research Specialist, Broward County Public Schools (FL)

Data Intelligence: Empowering Teachers, Administrators, Students and Parents
CoSN K-12 School Networking Conference
March 7, 2006
Arlington, VA

• Irene K. Spero, Vice President, CoSN and Project Director, Vision to Know and Do
• Anthony Dragona, RSBA, School Business Administrator, Union City Board of Education (NJ)
• Deborah Gendreau, Supervisor of Technology, Springfield Public Schools (MA)
• Jim Hirsch, Associate Superintendent for Technology, Plano ISD (TX)

Vision to Know and Do: Helping Educators Use Data Effectively
2006 MIS Conference
February 24, 2006
Orlando, FL

• Irene K. Spero, Vice President, CoSN and Project Director, Vision to Know and Do
• Stephen Knobloch, Research Supervisor, Loudoun County Public Schools (VA)
• Pat Canavan, District SASI Program Coordinator, Pinellas County Schools (FL)

Hope to see many of you at future presentations around the country.

Are You Looking for Professional Development around Data-Driven Decision Making?

We have professional development materials to help you become more proficient in the use of data!!

As part of our Essential Leadership Skills (ELS) Series, CoSN released its offering on Data Driven Decision Making. Designed as professional development resources for district level technology decision makers, the materials include a comprehensive monograph (backgrounder book) and workshop CD with participant workbook to help use data effectively in the educational process.

The Data Driven Decision Making Essential Leadership Skills Series materials are available from the CoSN online catalog https://my.cosn.org/mycosn/store/. Members be sure to log in to myCoSN first to receive significant member discounts.

About the Data-driven Decision Making Initiative

The goals of the Data-driven Decision Making Initiative are to:

• Serve as a highly respected source of up-to-date, unbiased information for educators on collecting, understanding and effectively using data;
• Provide an easy-to-use mechanism for educating school leaders about data-driven decision making and its applications in elementary and secondary education; and
• Supply a nationally recognized framework for sharing knowledge among educators and transferring knowledge between the educational and vendor communities.

Data-driven Decision Making: Vision to Know and Do is made possible through the generous support of Educational Testing Service (www.ets.org), SAS (www.sas.com and www.sasinschool.com), Co-nect (www.co-nect.com), Dell (www.dell.com), Pearson School Systems (www.pearsonschoolsystems.com), SchoolNet (www.schoolnet.com) and Texas Instruments (education.ti.com). Scholastic Administr@tor (www.scholasticadministrator.com) is the media partner for the project.

About CoSN

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is the country’s premier voice in education technology leadership with a mission to serve as the national organization for K-12 technology leaders who use technology strategically to ultimately improve teaching and learning. CoSN provides products and services to support and nurture leadership development, advocacy, coalition building, and awareness of emerging technologies.

Other CoSN Initiatives

Accessible Technologies for All Students Project is a major new leadership initiative of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). The goal of this initiative is increased achievement and success for all students through the unlimited and effective use of accessible technologies. For further information go to www.accessibletech4all.org

Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom (TCO) is designed to help school leaders understand the range of costs associated with purchasing and maintaining technology within a school district. As part of the TCO project, CoSN provides the CoSN-Gartner TCO Tool, which enables administrators to easily assess TCO for their school district. Learn more at www.classroomtco.org.

Cyber Security for the Digital District is designed to provide education technology leaders and policy-makers with strategies and tools they can use to ensure the privacy of data and the safe operation of technology within their school systems. Learn more at www.securedistrict.org.

Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse enables educators to understand technical and non-technical options for Internet safety in schools. The project includes a range of information, checklists and resources, plus a complete Toolkit to guide school officials when they talk to parents and other community members about online safety issues. Learn more at www.safewiredschools.org.

CoSN's Chief Technology Officers (CTO) Council provides professional development and networking opportunities for district-level technology directors. The CTO Council meets three times a year at national education conferences. Learn more at www.cosn.org/resources/cto_council/.

The CoSN Compendium is an annual "must-read" for K-12 technology leaders. For more information, please visit www.cosn.org/resources/compendium/.

CoSN's Internet & Education Webcasts are 60-minute interactive professional development forums conducted via the Internet and designed specifically from a district technology perspective. To see the lineup for 2004-2005 or to register for a webcast, visit www.cosn.org/events/webcasts/.

You are receiving this e-newsletter because you visited www.3d2know.org and requested information about CoSN's Data-driven Decision Making Initiative: Vision to Know and Do. I hope you find this information interesting and useful, and I welcome your comments and suggestions. Please share this e-newsleteter with others who share your interest in this topic. If you have any questions, please contact me at: Irene Spero, Vice President, CoSN, irene@cosn.org or 866/267-8747 x112.