Using Data as a Flashlight

The Louis Riel School Division (LRSD) is committed to using data for progress monitoring and decision making. Data involves a growth mindset and a solid grounding in data ethics as much as it involves proper tools and processes. In line with goal 3.2 of the Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP), LRSD’s Data Literacy Initiative was originally launched in the 2019/2020 school year. After a pause due to the pandemic, this important initiative was officially restarted in January 2021.  

The Data Literacy Initiative is directly tied to the MYSP’s focus on creating a culture of inquiry and responsibility that has all learners demonstrate the aptitudes, skills and knowledge to be autonomous and confident in their innate ability to achieve goals and become life-long learners. This is a culture in which all parents/guardians demonstrate support for the MYSP and help nurture inquiry and responsibility in their schools. Staff create and foster this by demonstrating they are members of on-going cycles of collaborative evidence-informed inquiry to improve practices and systems. 

This important initiative involves four commitments. On behalf of the students and communities it serves, LRSD strives to be:

1. Data informed;
2. Data ready;
3. Data literate;and
4. Ethical data stewards.

One valuable tool in LRSD’s data literacy journey is Microsoft Power BI, an analytics application by Microsoft. Power BI helps create a visual display of data and helps staff easily interact with data while quickly gaining insights. 

At the end of the 2020/2021 school year, LRSD launched its Data Discovery Dashboard that allows the public to interact with data on student achievement. The public-facing web-based tool attempts to make data accessible and understandable to everyone in the LRSD community. It illuminates the effects of socio-economic status (SES) and the division’s Greatest Areas of Need (GAN).  

“Understanding where gaps exist directly impacts our decision making,” said Christian Michalik, Superintendent. “Looking to the current data, one can deduce that our work to provide equitable access to supports has been helping improve student outcomes; however, more work is clearly necessary to ensure all students can thrive and flourish in LRSD.”   

While the public Data Discovery Dashboard provides a snapshot of high-level data, LRSD also launched more detailed divisional and school-specific reports that allow staff to quickly gain insight into student achievement and engagement, recovery learning, attendance, technology deployment, and more. The Data Literacy Leadership Team, which is a group of administrators, teachers, and divisional staff, helped champion the launch of locally focused Power BI reports through Collaborative Learning Cycles and training sessions.

“More than 90 per cent of classroom teachers, student services teachers, and school administrators agreed that Power BI reports will be helpful in supporting tasks such as planning for instruction, identifying students in need of extra supports, making recommendations for class placements and supporting report card writing,” said Clarke Hagan, Director of Information Technology Systems. “The hope is that Power BI reports become commonplace in classrooms throughout the division.” 

LRSD will continue its focus on data literacy to effectively identify improvement, successes and needs. Further developing and implementing research-informed teaching practice and learning theory will also be important to remaining responsive to students’ specific needs. 

“This journey to improvement must be co-created alongside students to ensure they are empowered to self-monitor and adjust their pace and path,” said Michalik. “If this work is connected to the development of greater intercultural understanding, compassion, and mutual respect, then our most vulnerable students will experience positive changes in achievement, engagement, and well-becoming.” 

Co-Authored by Taylor Fenn, Former Communications Manager, and Marnie Wilson, Data Literacy Coordinator