Most educators are keenly aware of the public and highly visible markers for education performance. We certainly are used to hearing about the performance of various groups of students on state achievement tests. Everyone sees the data on the proportion of students who graduate from high school or the average pre-collegiate test results.
It is less easy to quantify and appreciate the impact of more personal acts that may affect students deeply. There are certainly no awards for referrals to human service agencies made by elementary staff when abuse or neglect is suspected. There certainly is no public log of calls to parents with news that a high school student has disclosed that he may be ready to harm himself. How do you capture instances such as a 4thgrade teacher baking a cake and having a birthday party for a 10 year-old who never had one?
There are thousands of such caring human interventions in schools every day. It would not be possible or appropriate to publicly catalogue these kinds of things. But, if school leaders and colleagues never acknowledge that they happen and never reinforce the good and caring intent behind these actions, it may tip the scales toward only doing the things that are visibly tracked. That would be a loss for everyone.
This is exactly the data that defines when a staff or school forms those relationships with students that make learning possible in less than ideal conditions. It is what we have not yet figured out in online education and what gets left off the plate when we load up instructional time with data collection that does not touch these intrinsic qualities of public education.
Well stated Ted.
You perfectly crystallized a thought that has been lurking with me for a long time. Thanks!
TrueSchool is working with schools in Nebraska, North Carolina, and Louisiana. Their most recent impact report suggests that focusing on teacher collective efficacy is one systematic way of addressing all of the issues that can impact student achievement, certainly including what the children and their families are experiencing. More info can be found here: https://www.trueschool.org/impact/