Do you enjoy podcasts? Are you a fan of data? How about podcasts about data? IDC's monthly A Date with Data podcast might just be for you. Join host Amy Bitterman as she chats with state and district special education staff, who, just like you, are dealing with IDEA data every day. Real experiences. Real talk. Tune in today.
Dates are one thing, but sometimes it’s fun to bring along the whole gang. In this week’s A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman does just that, sitting down with the entire Ohio IDEA Data Team to talk strategies for the collection, analyzation, reporting, improvement, and use of IDEA data. Things are getting crowded in the Buckeye State, but there’s always room for you to come along.
In Delaware, they're doing it differently, at least when it comes to Indicator 6. It’s our second date in the First State, and on this episode, Amy Bitterman is talking with Delaware Department of Education’s 619 coordinator, Cindy Brown, and Part B data manager, Bob Sabolcik. Listen in as they discuss changing trajectories on preschool environments data, asking districts that are doing well to share their strategies with others, and just generally saying no to the status quo.
When you learn a new dance, you don’t learn it all at once. It’s a process. It’s one step at a time. Left, right, left, right. In the second of this two-part A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman continues her discussion about how North Carolina is engaging its stakeholders through a measured, beat-by-beat strategy that leaves no partner behind and creates poetry in motion. Tune in for the big finish.
Leading a dance is a lot of responsibility. You must send clear signals to your partner, keep the rhythm, and make sure not to step on anyone’s toes. Similarly, even for experienced practitioners, the pace and rhythm of incoming data can feel a lot like a complex and delicate dance. For stakeholders, it can be positively overwhelming, leading to confusion, frustration, and a lack of engagement. In the first of this two-part A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman learns more about how North Carolina is trying to be a good dance partner to its stakeholders by putting in place a structured process for engagement, responding to feedback, and learning the value of taking things slow. So put on your dancing shoes and join us, won’t you?
Georgia, Georgia, the whole podcast through. In this second segment of our two-part A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman continues her exchange with Part B data managers Dawn Kemp and Dominique Donaldson about their ongoing efforts to keep stakeholders on their minds by evaluating progress toward targeted goals and creating spaces for consequential partnerships. It's the end of that old sweet song, so don't miss out.
New relationships are great, sure, but what most of us strive for are long-lasting, meaningful connections. That’s the goal in Georgia anyway, where Part B data managers Dawn Kemp and Dominique Donaldson are keeping stakeholders on their mind as they implement strategies to improve and expand stakeholder engagement. In part one of this two-part A Date with Data, they share all with host Amy Bitterman, including their strategies for maintaining stakeholder feedback, evaluating progress toward targeted goals, and creating spaces for consequential partnerships. Join us to hear Georgia's sweet song about building stakeholder connections that last.
Flustered by EDFacts? Mystified by modernization? If so, this episode of A Date with Data is for you. Join host Amy Bitterman as she sits down with IDC’s own Audrey Rudick to talk about the facts, the EDFacts that is. Audrey gives listeners a broad overview all things EDFacts modernization, including what it is, what’s about to change, and what’s ahead with the upcoming EDPass system. Join us, and by the end of the program, all you'll know are the facts.
Support is a critical component of success. In practice, support means having a group of trusted partners who are there when you need them and who provide help and insight when asked. On this very special episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman sits down with her IDC colleagues Mary Watson and Amber Stohr, who share their experiences as TA providers supporting Cohort 1 states through DMS 2.0. Join us as Mary and Amber share tips, perspectives, and a thought or two about how IDC supports states, helping prepare for onsite or virtual visits. This is one support group you’ll definitely want to join.
Dateline Arkansas, the Natural State: As a member of Cohort 1, Arkansas is among the first in the nation to complete the first two phases of OSEP’s Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) 2.0. Naturally, Arkansas education officials have stories to tell and insights to share, and naturally, they sat down with host Amy Bitterman to discuss the crucial steps of their DMS 2.0 experience. This included pulling together an effective team, updating state procedures (and online information), and working with technical assistance (TA) experts to ensure the most successful possible outcomes. It’s an insider’s look you’ll only find on this episode of A Date with Data, naturally enough.
Sometimes an up-close perspective requires us to step back and take in the long view first. That’s what happened in New Hampshire, the Granite State, where Mary Lane, Education Consultant with the New Hampshire Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education Support, and Michelle Lewis, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Parent Information Center, were on a mission to improve the quality of their state’s Indicator 8 data. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman learns more about how their process of capturing the close-up family perspective first required them to step back to consider the “why” behind this indicator.