SDP Winter Workshop 2025

**Open to both C15 and C16 Fellows for scheduling.**

Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/93607364078?pwd=yune0btAXiCjLicdqECodT2wgPkr4f.1
Passcode: 420706

SESSION RECORDING: To Be Posted

PREWORK:

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Within the public sector, there is a responsibility to do the most good possible with the limited resources available. To support this mission, this session will introduce cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analysis, demonstrating their application for educational agencies and decision-makers through real-world examples.

SESSION MATERIALS:

** Session open for C15 and C16 Fellows **

Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/92069619131?pwd=ZICpLeoFgasOP8k4Rphh7aZMxX6xpJ.1
Passcode: 226219

SESSION RECORDING: To Be Posted

PREWORK: ** No Submission Required ** 
1) Please be ready to discuss at least one situation/audience/context in your experience, where discussing the use of data to promote equity can trigger pushback or be misunderstood
2) Please be ready to discuss how/whether a change of governmental Administration, at the national or state level, can make your job harder or easier.
3) Please think about how you would describe your work and its importance, in two sentences, to a friend or relative who is not in your field and literally knows nothing about it.

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
In this session, Joe Grady, Co-founder of the Topos Partnership, will present insights and recommendations from a number of research efforts looking at how audiences respond to ideas about using data to promote more equitable outcomes. The session will help participants craft communications that bring broader audiences into a constructive dialog about the topic – avoiding common pitfalls inherent in this complex and potentially fraught topic.

SESSION MATERIALS: 

• Slides to be posted

SESSION RECORDING

PREWORK: ** No Submission Required **

Complete the Manager's Profile worksheet (estimate 30 minutes to complete)
This session will offer you the opportunity to workshop your real or anticipated “managing up challenges” (either with a direct or indirect supervisor, a lateral colleague, or another senior leader in your organization). Please note that this does not assume that you have a serious or egregious challenge, or that anyone with whom you work with is terrible. On the contrary, most people with whom we work are competent and talented in particular ways, and our job is to figure out how to optimize your collaboration and lend the most value. We are asking you to come prepared to share:

• Identify a specific person or group of senior persons to reflect on in this session.
• What obstacles or challenges have you faced in working with senior leaders that directly or indirectly manage you or with whom you collaborate that will have an impact on the success of your work?

SESSION DESCRIPTION: In this session, fellows will identify obstacles to working with senior leaders and learn strategies to effectively work with supervisors or other senior colleagues. We will workshop current or past challenges in executing impactful data projects and getting them to influence organizational decisions. Primarily, we will focus on individual leaders with whom you have worked or are currently working, and we will generate next steps to ensure that you are optimizing your collaboration and moving the work forward together.

SESSION MATERIALS:

SESSION RECORDING

PREWORK: ** No Submission Required **
Write 1-3 paragraphs about an upcoming data opportunity that feels “high-stake” for you. What and when is it, and what about it feels high-stakes or high profile?
Alternatively: Write 1-3 paragraphs about the type of high-profile data opportunities you aspire to in your career. How is that different from what you’re doing now, and what do you think it might take to get there?

Submission not required. If you would like to share your work, please upload here. 

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
 In this dynamic workshop, guided by a seasoned education sector leader, SDP Fellows will learn how to maximize their opportunities and manage risks in high-stakes situations representing their organizations alongside or in partnership with senior leadership. Through interactive exercises and real-world examples, participants will learn strategies for tailoring their messaging to align with organizational priorities, enhancing their ability to capture executive attention, and navigating their unique institutional contexts effectively. With a focus on risk management, attendees will be equipped with the tools to anticipate challenges, mitigate potential setbacks, and leverage their "at bats" to drive meaningful progress in their organizations.

SESSION MATERIALS:
View the video of DC's 2023 Statewide Assessment Results

** This session is open to both C15 and C16 fellows **

PREWORK: None

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Managing your own data projects is challenging, but as your career progresses, you may also take on the responsibility of managing people within data teams. This adds a new layer of complexity, particularly in the K-12 education sector, where navigating union and non-union employer groups can present unique challenges.
This session focuses on the strategies, tools, and leadership skills needed to build and lead high-performing data teams that consistently deliver impactful results. It is designed to help early-career data professionals gain a clear understanding of the tools, approaches, and mindset required for supervising staff effectively. By the end of the session, attendees will be better equipped to transition into leadership roles and set themselves—and their teams—up for success.

SESSION MATIERALS:

** This session is open to both C15 and C16 fellows **

PREWORK: None

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Clustering is a fundamental component of data science’s machine learning toolbox. This session will explore the foundational concepts of clustering, and, through practical examples, provide insights into how it may be useful for analyzing education-related data. As part of this session, an R-based Jupyter notebook will be provided to participants as a reference if they wish to implement k-means clustering in their work.

What is clustering?

• In which situations would clustering be helpful/appropriate?
• How do you conduct a clustering analysis and interpret the results?
• Use some examples from ETSU’s work to walk through the process

SESSION MATERIALS:

** This session is open to both C15 and C16 fellows **

PREWORK: ** Submission Required ** 

Submit your own data or problem prior and we will pick a couple to use as a walk-through example of the process. submit your work to this folder here by January 31.

Those interested in walking through the process of narrowing their data focus can submit their data set, or a description of what their data is, along with anything they are being asked to do with the data, or any information they have about why they are using the data.

SESSION DESCRIPTION:

This session invites participants to submit their data sets or describe their data challenges, providing a hands-on experience in narrowing down data focus effectively. Learn the importance of honing in on the right data parameters before diving into analysis, and discover the research-backed 6 Steps to streamline your data focus for more impactful results. Additionally, explore why data literacy and strategic thinking are crucial components to implement alongside data tools. Join us to enhance your data strategy and make informed, data-driven decisions with confidence.

SESSION MATIERALS: See below

** This session is open to both C15 and C16 fellows **

PREWORK: ** No Submission Required ** 

Come with access to your LLM of choice. A paid account is not required for most use cases.

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
This workshop showcases the many ways that other fellows are integrating LLMs into their day-to-day work right now. This session pushes beyond abstractions and demonstrates practical applications proven effective by fellows in our cohort. We will highlight applications across quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods work. Examples include named entity recognition for user tracking, developing evaluative rubrics aligned with standards, and theorizing counter-arguments for high-stakes presentations. Participants will learn practical techniques to adapt LLMs for automating processes, generating insights, and enhancing workflows, while small-group collaboration will provide support for brainstorming and developing personalized use cases. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas and a clear starting point for leveraging LLMs in their own work.

SESSION MATIERALS:

** This session is open to both C15 and C16 fellows **

SESSION RECORDING: To Be Posted

PRE WORK:
Participants should complete the brief pre-session survey here by January 29th. Responses will help inform facilitation of the session. 

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
The journey to impactful change begins with the end in mind, and it's helpful to have a map to guide the way. Learn about how Guilford County Schools developed and applied the Roadmap to Success framework to systemically support strategic implementation and progress monitoring. Participants will leave with proven tools and processes, including Theories of Change, Logic Models, and Progress Monitoring Plans, to foster continuous improvement. Grounded in implementation science, the session emphasizes strategic alignment and data use to prevent "initiative-itis" - a focus on busyness over productivity. Through interactive discussions and reflection, participants will explore practical applications and uncover opportunities to build systemic progress monitoring in their own contexts, ensuring meaningful and sustainable results.

SESSION MATERIALS:

** Session open to both C15 and C16 fellows **

SESSION RECORDING: To Be Posted

PREWORK: https://forms.gle/4CmDgUvecHxg4q5d8 (submit by Friday 2/7) 

SESSION DESCRIPTION:

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

This quote from Henry Ford summarizes well the challenges and payoff to working on or leading an exceptional team, even though a lot has changed about the way we work since the assembly line days. In this session, you’ll learn about several frameworks for cultivating a high-performing team and practice applying them to your own team management, through both positional and personal power. The session will focus on developing a clear "diagnosis" that will position you to better understand and address challenges your team is currently facing and will help you think through next steps to determine possible "treatments". This session is appropriate for anyone who wants to take a more active role in leading their team, regardless of role: team members, soon-to-be managers, or new and existing team managers.

SESSION MATERIALS:

SESSION RECORDING: To Be Posted

PREWORK: None

SESSION DESCRIPTION:

This session is designed to help support and empower fellows who are committed to reducing identity-based aggression in the workplace. Microaggressions, which constitute subtle, everyday acts of discrimination, and macroaggressions, involving overt and explicit acts of prejudice, are both forms of identity-based violence that harm us all. By participating in this session, you will learn from a senior leader about the role we each play in building a workplace with high levels of fluency and awareness in how to navigate identity-based obstacles across lines of difference.

You will also learn:

1. Practical techniques for deciding how to respond to tensions caused by identity-based lines of difference. 
2. The important role of being an ally in spaces where you are in the majority and 
3. How to use these moments to push beyond the impediment or obstacles they pose, towards the collective learning and growth of your colleagues in the workplace.

This session is for:

• Fellows who may be experiencing obstacles in their agency that are based on their identity.
• Fellows who are allies and champion inclusive workspaces for the overall enhancement of the work environment.
• Leaders interested in creating equitable environments and growing their teams’ fluency in navigating lines of difference.

SESSION RECORDING: To Be Posted

** This session is open to both C15 and C16 fellows **

SESSION RECORDING: To Be Posted

PREWORK: **No submission required**

Approximately 30 minutes
The pre-work presents an opportunity to reflect on the transitions taking place or upcoming within your organization. This pre-work is best done over time, with a period of at least two days between journaling your reflections (to promote passive processing between and during reflection time).

If spacing your pre-work out in this way is not possible, given other demands of your time, here are the three prompts you will consider during this workshop. Each prompt should take no more than 10-15 minutes to reflect on. Your reflections are your own, you will NOT turn your reflections in to SDP. Instead, bring your reflections with you to the session at Winter Workshop.

1. Take 10 minutes in a quiet spot to sit down with your notebook and pen. Write down the organizational transition challenge you are facing. Write down what the transition means for you. Write down how you feel about that transition.
2.  Take 10 minutes with your notebook. Re-read the sentences you wrote about the transition challenge you are facing. Re-write the challenge in 1-3 sentences so you may explain it in about 1 minute to a trusted friend. Re-read your feelings about the transition. Has anything changed since you wrote your challenge and your feelings two (or so) days ago? Have you learned anything new about what this transition could mean for you?

If you finish before 10 minutes has passed, add any additional thoughts you have related to this organizational transition.

3. Finally, please take 10 minutes to read the attached article- Six Strategies for Leading Through Uncertainty

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Working together and in organizations gives us the knowledge, resources and motivation to accomplish the ambitious data work we undertake. It’s also true that working with others or in organizations can be the source of many of our biggest barriers (personal or otherwise) to achieving our goals.

The session for fellows in their first year is designed to help you weather the changes and challenges that may arise in your respective organizations, irrespective of the forms they take. We will offer you our advice for staying anchored in the midst of challenges, will collectively action plan around some common challenges fellows face, and we will workshop some of your own challenges with your peers.