Data-Driven Instruction is now being implemented in every BVSD school. What does that mean for our students?

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This year, following an independent review, the Boulder Valley School District relaunched its All Together for All Students Strategic Plan building upon the strategies and educational best practices that resulted in higher achievement, growth and graduation rates over the last five years. 

One of the core practices is Data-Driven Instruction (DDI), which is now in the process of being implemented at every school in the district. The work to take the successful practice and replicate it across the district has garnered the district some national attention.

What is Data-Driven Instruction?
If you immediately thought of spreadsheets and numbers at the mention of Data-Driven Instruction, you’re not alone. While it is true that gathering and analyzing data is a key part of DDI, the teachers at Kohl Elementary in Broomfield say the most important part of the process is the collaboration it creates between educators in BVSD schools.

WATCH: Kohl teachers share how Data-Driven Instruction changed the culture of their school

“Together we are taking a look at what differentiation do we need to do, what reteaching do we need to do, what interventions do we need to do to continue to grow our students?” said Kohl Elementary Kindergarten Teacher Racheal Edmonds. 

Now she and her colleagues gather regularly, sometimes with a coach, to discuss the data of the students in their classrooms, working together to identify the challenges students may be facing and potential ways to address them.

“I've always been kind of a data geek person, but it has been outstanding to see the whole school embrace that idea. It has been a big shift in our thinking. Now as the teacher, as the person delivering the instruction, we are thinking about what we can do differently to meet these kids' needs.”

It’s a different approach than she’s seen before in her 27 years of teaching. Before, discussions about data often felt degrading to teachers.

“Now it is all about what can we do better for the kids,” added Edmonds. “It's not a ‘gotcha.’”

Kohl Elementary Principal Geoff Sandfort says the school has been intentionally working to build a culture that ensures that everyone, including educators feel supported, while holding high standards.

“No one is going to learn if they're not in a place that feels safe and I think joyful. Now, when I come through the doors, that's what I sense, is that there is joy,” Sandfort said. “There's people doing really hard work. There's a lot of kids with a lot of needs, and it's a joyful place to be, and it's a place where every single person matters. It’s a good vibe when you walk in the building.”

Building upon success
Kohl was one of four schools selected to work with the University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE) in developing leadership capacity and a focus on key, foundational instructional skills, including DDI. 

All four – Columbine, Kohl, Pioneer and Sanchez showed tremendous academic growth, which lifted the schools from the bottom of the Colorado Department of Education’s performance framework to the top.

Seeing this success, BVSD has expanded the number of schools working with UVA-PLE, including some of its middle schools. Perhaps more importantly, the district has taken the lessons learned at these schools and has worked to share them widely, asking all schools to implement DDI and providing a system of support to help all educators embed these strategies in their classrooms. 

Schools and individual teachers are at different places in this instructional journey, but already the effort is garnering some national attention from our partners at UVA-PLE.

“We're so inspired to hear about how you're actually establishing some systems to spread this that the country can learn from, that we can learn from,” said UVA-PLE Executive Director William Robinson. “Boulder Valley is well positioned, thanks to each of you, to be a leader in the country to ensure that each school is taking their systems to the next level. And I cannot wait to see where you go next.”