Coaching Support: Supporting PRDE Effective Data Use Guide Pilot Implementation
REL Northeast & Islands will work with a data use leadership team comprised of leaders from each of the seven regional educational offices, as well as leaders from the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE). The REL Northeast & Islands team will lead virtual sessions to support the data use leadership team as they work to implement best practices from the PRDE Effective Data Use Guide. The two teams will use iterative cycles to develop a set of strategies, using the REL Northeast & Islands newly published Continuous Improvement in Education: A Toolkit for Schools and Districts throughout the pilot implementation.

Capacity Building: Collaborating in the Development of a Data Use Guide
REL Northeast & Islands collaborated with Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) to assist them in developing a data use guide. To achieve this goal, REL Northeast & Islands presented a workshop series to build the capacity of key stakeholders in Puerto Rico to help them better understand best practices in data use to inform instructional decision making.

Session 1: April 30, 2020
Participants began developing different sections of the data use guide by determining roles and responsibilities for regional and school-based leaders. In between sessions, a small group of participants provided further edits to the various sections.

Session 2: May 14, 2020
Participants reviewed and provided feedback on the “Roles and Responsibilities” section of the guide with a small group of participants making further edits in between each virtual session.

Session 3: May 28, 2020
Participants reviewed and provided feedback on sections 1 and 2 of the data use guide.

Session 4: June 11, 2020
Participants reviewed and provided feedback and made revisions to sections 1 and 2 of the data use guide. Additionally, the participants identified tools and resources to include as part of the guide.

Session 5: June 25, 2020
Participants reviewed and provided feedback on tools and resources for section 4 of the guide. The plan for implementation and translation of the guide were also discussed.

Session 6: August 13, 2020
This session focused on identifying a plan to implement the Data Use Guide.

Coaching and Planning Sessions: Identifying Best Practices and Developing a Common Vision for Data Use Across the Island
REL Northeast & Islands conducted site visits with selected schools on November 20-21, 2019, in two regions of the island to identify best practices that were being implemented in the regions. Additional needs sensing was conducted to determine if any additional supports were needed to further the work of the data coaches in the seven regions. The REL Northeast & Islands team accompanied PRDE staff from the regional offices to observe data coaching sessions at schools in Arecibo and Moca, Puerto Rico.

Training Project: Data Use Workshop Series
REL Northeast & Islands partnered with the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) to offer a series of workshops for the department’s data coaches and the accountability officers who supervise their work. PRDE assigned data coaches to seven newly created regional educational units to support teachers in using data to inform instructional decision-making. View event details.

Learn more about this work in a blog post.

Session 1: April 20, 2018
Bayamón, Puerto Rico

This workshop focused on the role of a data coach. The PRDE data coaches learned about the research base for data coaching and examined best practices related to data coaching and how they can apply these practices to their own work. In addition, the coaches assessed their strengths as data coaches and set goals for growth. At the end of the session, they worked to identify and analyze factors that may drive or impede their work and created actions steps to move their work forward.

Session 2: August 1 & 2, 2018
Bayamón, Puerto Rico

This workshop focused on the culture of data use and the data inquiry cycle. Using materials from the REL Northeast & Islands resource, “Practitioner Data Use in Schools: Workshop Toolkit,” the data coaches explored the five elements of an effective culture of data use in schools and districts. They also used an inquiry framework for interpreting data for instructional change and used protocols to analyze data and generate possible root causes. At the end of the two-day session, they worked to connect data analysis to instructional action plans and considered how to support data inquiry routines in their own settings.

Session 3: December 4, 2018
Bayamón, Puerto Rico

This workshop focused on building the capacity of the data coaches to use data to inform instruction at the classroom and individual-student levels. Using materials from the REL Northeast & Islands resource, “Toolkit for a Workshop on Building a Culture of Data Use,” the coaches further explored the five elements that contribute to an effective culture of data use and considered how to support data inquiry routines in their own settings. They practiced a full data-inquiry cycle using their own data and learned how to use a consultancy protocol for problem-solving. They also shared some of their successes in their role as a data coach.

Session 4: April 5, 2019
San Juan, Puerto Rico

This workshop continued to build the capacity of the data coaches to better understand their roles and responsibilities and how they may work with teachers to use data to inform instructional decision-making. The data coaches developed a vision of their achievements, identified barriers that could impede their role, and determined solutions to those barriers. Additionally, REL Northeast & Island’s Governing Board members engaged in a discussion with the data coaches on best practices in the field related to data use and building a culture of data use.

Session 5: July 18, 2019
Manatí, Puerto Rico

This workshop continued to build the capacity of the data coaches to monitor and support their work with the data inquiry cycle across the regions and to build data literacy around the types of data to use in the cycle. Using their own state assessment data, the coaches engaged a data inquiry framework to set goals for the 2019/20 school year. Additionally, the coaches created data charts and other resources to use for the current school year.

Technical Support Project: Logic Model Technical Support
Using the REL Northeast & Islands resource, “Logic Models for Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation: Workshop Toolkit,” REL Northeast & Islands researchers partnered with PRDE to develop a theory of action and long-term plan for its data coaches and their role at the district and school levels. REL researchers helped PRDE to develop a protocol that the data coaches can use with teachers, in a continued cycle, to support them in developing lesson plans for differentiated instruction.