“Data meetings? We’re doing data meetings?” “What’s a data meeting?” Yes, that was pretty much the range of responses from colleagues when our district announced late this past summer that we’d be embarking on a new journey — data meetings. One more thing. Ugh!
Last week I attended my first data meeting…ever. I know for some of you this is a regular routine, but in our district it’s something new. Sure, we’ve always assessed kids (have we ever!), discussed results in grade level meetings, and the odd Child Study Team meeting. We’ve implemented interventions here and there, but what’s different this time is that everyone is coming to the table. And I mean everyone. It’s no longer just the grade level teachers, an administrator or two, and a service provider that happens to be available after school. In these meetings we are looking at the whole child, not just one area of need. Our team consists of:
- Principal (meeting convener)
- School Adjustment Counselor
- Team Chair/SPED Coordinator
- Occupational Therapist
- Physical Therapist
- Speech/Language Pathologist
- Math Curriculum Specialist
- ELA Curriculum Specialist
- Science/Social Studies Curriculum Specialist
- Instructional Coach
- Math Interventionists
- ELA Interventionists
- Grade Level Team Members
The team is enormous I know! Everyone on the team, apart from the grade level teachers, attended for the entire day — from 8:00 AM-4:00 PM. Grade level teams attended for 90-minute blocks, a team of substitutes moving from grade to grade providing classroom coverage. It really was quite something.
Prior to the meeting, each classroom teacher filled out a Google Sheet with required assessment data and additional information for each child we had concerns about. By the end of our team’s 90-minute block, we left with a plan for each child we had concerns about. In January, we’ll return to share updates and make new plans. The cycle will continue two more times as the school year progresses. Fingers crossed, we can make a difference and support students better than we have in the past.
Does your school conduct regular data meetings? I’d love to learn about your process!
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Wondering and Wandering 
Our data meetings focus on our interventions for reading and math, creating and changing groups, looking at MAP and our state assessment data, and talking about student concerns. We’ve gone from every other week to twice a quarter during our prep. Do we see it as helpful? I’m not sure. I know with our strategies, our scores have gone up considerably, but at the same time, there’s a lot of work involved.
What kind of plans are put in place for your students?
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Yes, Darin. Time will tell if it all works or not. I walked away with commitments in writing from others to support my students, which is new. That’s a good thing!
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Christie, data meetings have been a topic in NYS for years but in all my years of teaching and administration, I have never been involved in full-day meetings like you note. I certainly hope that the results you get will help students succeed. I do like the idea that the team serves the whole child. I am definitely going to miss your presence at our Wonder Team presentation.
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Thanks, Carol. I will miss all of you, too. What I like about our data meeting process is there is a lot of accountability built in and a true sense of shared ownership of our student’s success.
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Meeting like this exist in theory where I teach, though in practice lack the wide-ranging personnel commitment described in your slice. Some sense of an emerging system that benefits from follow-through emerges in your slice.Thanks for the perspective.
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