New Jersey might call itself the Garden State, but for Director of Special Education Kim Murray and 619 Data Coordinator Jennifer Nicosia, every day is not a mere skip down flowered paths. This garden needs tending, specifically LEAs who need a hand submitting accurate or complete 619 data. In this week’s A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman digs into this state story about New Jersey’s efforts to help LEAs grow connections between data quality and program improvement. Grab your big sun hat...

A key aspect of any state’s SPP/APR is stakeholder engagement, but in a state with as many seats around the table as Texas, bringing people together and keeping them there can require no small measure of special planning. On this episode of A Date with Data, our Ace in the Hole Amy Bitterman is all in with Susan Bineham, Texas Education Agency’s SPP/APR coordinator and manager of the Office of Special Populations and Student Supports (OSPSS). They’re putting their cards on the table to talk...

And we're back! Last time on A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman discussed IDC's annual review of state SPP/APR submissions with TA specialists Rachel Wilkinson and Nancy Johnson. Now for the big finish. Join us for part two of this illuminating conversation full of insights into the patterns, trends, and tips that your own state might find invaluable during its next SPP/APR period.

Every year, IDC reviews and offers feedback on dozens of state SPP/APR submissions. From that vantage, our TA specialists gets a unique view of national patterns and trends. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman sits down with our own TA specialists Rachel Wilkinson and Nancy Johnson to share a glimpse of this perspective, offering invaluable insights, advice, and tips that you might be able to use in your own SPP/APR.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: Three former state data managers walk into a U.S. Department of Education-funded data center. Not ringing a bell? Relax. It’s no joke; it’s this week’s episode of A Date with Data. Join host Amy Bitterman as she sits down with former data managers-turned-IDC’s own Kelley Blas, Kristen DeSalvatore, and Austen Ferrier. They’re discussing how they made the transition from working for states to working with states building their capacity to improve the quality of...

Utah: land of bees! In our last episode, we learned more about how the state is prioritizing general supervision as part of Differentiated Monitoring and Support or DMS 2.0. On this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman brings it all home with Leah Voorhies, assistant superintendent of student support and state director of special education, and LauraLee Gillespie, special education coordinator of the Utah Program Improvement Planning System (UPIPS). They’re talking about...

Utah: the Beehive State. With Differentiated Monitoring and Support or DMS 2.0 in full swing, general supervision is a high priority area for every state, and Utah is no exception. In fact, you might say they’ve been as busy as bees. On this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman sits down with Leah Voorhies, assistant superintendent of student support and state director of special education, and LauraLee Gillespie, special education coordinator of the Utah Program Improvement...

In data as in dating, the proper response can make all the difference. Nonresponse, and the bias it may create, remains a challenge for state staff charged with gathering reliable survey data with generalizable results. That’s the call. What’s the response? On this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman will find out as she sits down with Heather Dunphy, Lead Education Program Specialist from the Arizona Department of Education, and IDC TA specialist Tamara Nimkoff to learn more...

The turn of a new year is the perfect moment to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going next. We might even wish to share with others a few of the things we've learned along the way. On this inaugural 2024 installment of A Date with Data, we’re doing just that as host Amy Bitterman sits down with Amy Patterson, data manager with the Kentucky of Department of Education, and Alisha Fewkes, data manager with the Idaho Department of Education, to contemplate lessons learned and to offer...

Thoughtful planning and data use go together like a hand in a mitten…or a Mitten State. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman bundles up and heads north to learn more about Michigan’s data use and action plan process with the state Department of Education’s Jessica Brady, Aaron Darling, and Julie Trevino. They discuss the eight-step procedure Michigan designed to help districts reach their own unique data goals. So, put on your mittens and hop on the toboggan; you don’t want...

Don’t want to go out? No problem. Sometimes you just want a date closer to home. In this cozy episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman is doing just that, welcoming our very own Terry Long and Chris Thacker to learn all about IDC’s edit check tools, an online resource that allows users to visualize and review SEA and LEA EDFacts 618 data files. From Child Count and Educational Environment to Discipline and Personnel data, they’ll cover it all. Join them to get close (to the edit check...

In a state the size of California, implementing systems for change requires a whole lot of teamwork. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman heads to the left coast to find out how Jack Brimhall, Interim Associate Director of the state’s Special Education Division, and Kishaun Thorntona, Education Program Consultant, team up with local districts to address issues of significant disproportionality with robust data and a model system for monitoring and tracking progress. Tune in...

One thing we appreciate: A good friend who has our back, keeps us on the right track. In the Indiana Department of Education, that’s Angela Vaughn, Assistant Director of Monitoring and Compliance. In that role, Angela helps oversee her state’s annual LEA determination process, and, in her role, host Amy Bitterman is eager to learn more. Join us for this week’s A Date with Data where Angela describes how she and her office help Indiana LEAs use data elements and apply criteria to the...

Deep canyons. Soaring mountains. Red rocks. Neighboring Utah and Arizona have plenty of landscape in common, but what about their data landscape? What role does data play in their state initiatives and priorities now and in the future? On this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman takes it all in as she concludes her conversation with guests Arizona State Director of Special Education Alissa Trollinger and Utah State Director of Special Education Leah Voorhies. Don't miss part two...

Canyons, plateaus, the Colorado River, good data. These are just some of the things that neighboring Arizona and Utah have in common. Host Amy Bitterman packs her bags and heads west to take it all in with guests Arizona State Director of Special Education Alissa Trollinger and her northerly neighbor Utah State Director of Special Education Leah Voorhies. Join us for a neighborly chat about these states’ data-quality landscapes.

The Princess Bride, Finding Dorie, The Goonies, data. Stories are everywhere you look, and this week A Date with Data is looking in the state of Maine. Join host Amy Bitterman for the second part of her conversation with even more members of the team from Maine’s Department of Education's Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education: Colette Sullivan, Mary Adley, Dr. Roberta Lucas, and more. We’re talking about sharing data and using that data to tell a story about inclusive education....

There are many ways to tell a story: words, images, and, yes, data! Join host Amy Bitterman as she sits down with Erin Frazier, the Maine Department of Education’s Director of Special Services and Inclusive Education, Birth to 22, and her team as they talk about how they use data (and movie references!) to tell a story about inclusive education and least restrictive environments in their state.

Lights, mics, action…one more time! We return to Charlotte, North Carolina, for IDC's Interactive Institute 2023, where we grabbed some quality time with OSEP's Gregg Corr, Christine Pilgrim, and Richelle Davis to discuss how states can interact, influence, and improve their way to higher quality IDEA data. Join host Amy Bitterman and our very first studio audience for a lively episode of A Date with Data.

Lights, mics, action! In dating, as in life, it's important to keep things fresh and lively. That's why we took advantage of our time in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the IDC Interactive Institute 2023 to sit down with OSEP's Gregg Corr, Christine Pilgrim, and Richelle Davis. Join host Amy Bitterman for this national perspective on how states can interact, influence, and improve their way to higher quality IDEA data. It's the very first episode of A Date with Data recorded before a live...

In our last episode of A Date with Data, we got to know the Ohio IDEA Data Team. Now it's time for a deeper dive. Join host Amy Bitterman as she continues her conversation with this innovative octet as they cover strategies for the collection, analyzation, reporting, improvement, and use of IDEA data. Pull up a chair; there's room for one more.

Dates are one thing, but sometimes it’s fun to bring along the whole gang. In this week’s A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman does just that, sitting down with the entire Ohio IDEA Data Team to talk strategies for the collection, analyzation, reporting, improvement, and use of IDEA data. Things are getting crowded in the Buckeye State, but there’s always room for you to come along.

In Delaware, they're doing it different, at least when it comes to Indicator 6. In our second date in the First State, our own Amy Bitterman sits down with Cindy Brown, 619 Coordinator, and Bob Sabolcik, Part B Data Manager with the Delaware Department of Education, to talk about changing trajectories on pre-school environments data, asking districts that are doing well to share their strategies with others, and just generally saying no to the status quo. Res ipsa loquitur, no?

When you learn a new dance, you don’t learn it all at once. It’s a process. It’s one step at a time. Left, right, left, right. In the second of this two-part A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman continues her discussion about how North Carolina is engaging its stakeholders through a measured, step-by-step process that leaves no partner behind and creates poetry in motion. Tune in for the big finish.

Leading a dance is a lot of responsibility. You must send clear signals to your partner, keep the rhythm, and make sure not to step on anyone’s toes. Similarly, even for experienced practitioners, the pace and rhythm of incoming data can feel a lot like a complex and delicate dance. For stakeholders, it can be positively overwhelming, leading to confusion, frustration, and a lack of engagement. In the first of this two-part A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman learns more about how North...