Announcements

Jason Martinez, a Denver Public Schools (DPS) leader, was nationally recognized today for providing educators with greater access to critical data that empowers them to make improved decisions about individual students and increases their day-to-day efficiency. The award was announced at Data for Action 2010: DQC’s State Analysis release event.

The Data Quality Campaign’s (DQC) Recognition Program Award honors state and district leaders who have led remarkable efforts to collect and use education data to improve student achievement. In Martinez’s role as Director of Assessment Technology and Accountability (D.A.T.A.) at DPS, he ensured that teachers and principals have the information they need to make instructional decisions that improve achievement for all students.

His approach was not just about building a better data system but collaborating with teachers every step of the way, building trust, offering training and seeking valuable feedback from educators throughout the school system to ensure what he built met their needs.

“The Data Quality Campaign recognizes Jason Martinez for working with principals and teachers to ensure they have access to the lesson planning, curricula, and assessment data they need,” said DQC Executive Director Aimee Guidera. “Ultimately, it’s about getting the right data to the right people at the right time, and Jason listened to his stakeholders to make this a reality for educators in Denver.”

The Digital Door Project, the new DPS-designed technology supported by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, includes data about each student's past Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) scores and provides comparisons to students in other schools in the area. The Digital Door also houses lesson planning and curricular materials that help teachers plan their day-to-day activities, tailor instruction, and much more. To ensure educators also have the capacity to use data, Martinez worked with a teacher in each school to roll out The Digital Door Project, and teachers shared training and the benefits of using data with teachers in their own schools.

Additional portals that provide access to key information to parents and students are in development for next year, making high-quality education data available to families for the first time.

”Building a data system is the easy part,” stated Martinez. “With any initiative, once the tool is built, implementation becomes your focus. We quickly learned to engage teachers in the development of the Digital Door to ensure the system made their jobs easier, fully knowing if teachers found immediate value they would spread the word to their peers.”

Because of Jason’s leadership, educators in Denver can do their jobs more effectively and make decisions based on data. They have access to the information they need, including other forms of data beyond test scores, to make decisions aimed at improving achievement for all students.

Each year, the DQC Recognition Program Award is given to leaders in three categories: State Policymaker, State Data Leader and District Data Leader. The other 2010 winners are:

• State Policymaker: Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley for his efforts to lead stakeholders in building robust statewide data systems that span early childhood to the workforce and protect data privacy, helping to ensure students graduate college and career ready and;

• State Data Leader: Georgia Department of Education’s Chief Information Officer, Bob Swiggum for developing an integrated, cost-effective statewide education data system that allows teachers and principals to easily access and use data to make informed educational decisions.

For more information on the Data Quality Campaign and the Award Recognition Program, please visit our website at: http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/.

The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the availability and use of high-quality education data to improve student achievement. The campaign provides tools and resources that will help states implement and use longitudinal data systems, while providing a national forum for reducing duplication of effort and promoting greater coordination and consensus among the organizations focused on improving data quality, access and use.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is DQC´s founding funder; additional support has been provided by the Casey Family Programs, the Lumina Foundation for Education, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and The Pew Charitable Trusts.