Eric is a middle school principal who wants to make accessing health services and other resources easier for his students. Jasmine is a district superintendent who wants to develop and maintain policies that help students thrive within and out of school, and be successful after graduation. Both K–12 leaders need access to data to ensure their students thrive.
Everyone should have access to the information they need to ensure that K–12 students receive necessary support in and out of school. But right now, state data systems provide insufficient access to the data that helps individuals, the public, and policymakers answer their questions and make decisions that support student success. Our latest resource dives deeper into what becomes possible when state data systems are designed to connect school and district leaders to the information they need.
When states transform their data systems so that they enable access to data, school and district leaders like Eric and Jasmine will be able to use data to prioritize programs and interventions that best support students, facilitate student and family access to services, and advocate for access to varied academic, economic, and social supports. But the need for data doesn’t stop at school and district leaders.
School-based support staff need access to data to:
- Help students and their families identify, assess their eligibility for, and enroll in public benefits programs;
- Refer and enroll students into appropriate support programs;
- Monitor changes in eligibility or enrollment for various services; and
- Coordinate with external state agency staff to facilitate services for students and families.
The public needs access to data to:
- Hold the government accountable for providing access to services that students and families need to thrive;
- Identify and learn from areas of promising growth in supporting student needs; and
- Answer questions about different school-based youth programs and their impact on long-term outcomes.
Policymakers need access to data to answer questions such as:
- How do school-based support services and programs affect comprehensive student growth?
- What health care services do students have access to in schools and how can states assist in providing additional health care services to fill in gaps?
- Which support services and out-of-school programs should have additional resources directed toward them to account for increased demand and positive outcomes?
To learn more about the data access needs of K–12 leaders like Eric and Jasmine, and the needs of other data users like high school students, college students, job seekers, and researchers, visit DQC’s website.
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