On November 16th, Katherine Thrash, Cole Elementary's numeracy coach, and Denise Brown, Cole's data coach, co-facilitated a collaborative inquiry session.  Taking the teacher recommendations for the math BHAG from the Oct. 26th grade level meetings, the leadership team established a math BHAG for Cole Elementary.  The outcome for this meeting was to share the math BHAG and have grade level teams develop action plans for achieving the math BHAG.

To learn more about their work and action plans, check out www.mnpscollaboration.org/cole-elem-bhag-fall-2017.html

OTHER GOOD NEWS
On December 4, 2017, Dr. Shelly Dunaway and Dr. Margie Johnson shared about MNPS' Collaborative Inquiry practices in a 3 hour workshop at the 2017 Learning Forward conference.  The session was entitled, Fostering a Culture of Collaborative Professionalism.  Approximately 20 educators from across the US attended the session where the collaborative inquiry process was modeled and best practices in facilitating collaborative teams were shared.

To access the workshop materials, go here: http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/2017-learning-forward-workshop.html

If you have a collaborative story to share or would like to request assistance, please contact Margie Johnson at margie.johnson@mnps.org.

On November 16, 2017, Margie Johnson and Brad Redmond shared MNPS' Data-Informed Decision Making Ecosystem and how it was used to improve how MNPS uses attendance data for making informed decisions.  To teach participants about the heart of the ecosystem, which is a culture of collaborative inquiry, participants engaged in the collaborative inquiry process by looking at attendance data and making recommendations for improving it.  Using this process, data conversations were fostered and several departments approached us about having continued conversations for supporting student success. 

If you'd like to learn more about the collaborative inquiry process used during this meeting, check out the video recording at: https://youtu.be/j-MtCuusP3Q.

You are also welcome to access the resources, such as the PowerPoint, used during the meeting at: www.mnpscollaboration.org/metro-data-coord-meeting-nov-16-2017.html

If you have a collaborative story to share or would like to request assistance, please contact Margie Johnson at margie.johnson@mnps.org.

References:
Johnson, M. (in press). Empowering educators to make data-informed decisions: A district’s journey of effective data use.  In E. Mense and M. Crain-Dorough (Eds.), Data leadership for K-12 schools in a time of accountability.  Hershey, PA: IGI Global. 

Johnson, M. (2016).  Experience from the field. In J. Rankin, How to make data work: A guide for educational leaders (pp. 171). New York City, NY: Routledge.