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. It’s the Maine narrative, so don’t miss out.

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 studio audience!

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 Carolina is trying to be a good dance partner to its stakeholders by putting in place a structured process for engagement, responding to feedback, and learning the value of taking things slow. So put on your dancing shoes and join us, won’t you?

Georgia, Georgia, the whole podcast through. In this second segment of our two-part A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman continues her exchange with Part B data managers Dawn Kemp and Dominique Donaldson about their ongoing efforts to keep stakeholders on their minds by evaluating progress toward targeted goals and creating spaces for consequential partnerships. It's the end of that old sweet song, so don't miss out.

New relationships are great, sure, but what most of us strive for are long-lasting, meaningful connections. That’s the goal in Georgia anyway, where Part B data managers Dawn Kemp and Dominique Donaldson are keeping stakeholders on their mind as they implement strategies to improve and expand stakeholder engagement. In part one of this two-part A Date with Data, they share all with host Amy Bitterman, including their strategies for maintaining stakeholder feedback, evaluating progress toward targeted goals, and creating spaces for consequential partnerships. Join us to hear Georgia’s sweet song about building stakeholder connections that last.

Flustered by EDFacts? Mystified by modernization? If so, this episode of A Date with Data is for you. Join host Amy Bitterman as she sits down with IDC’s own Audrey Rudick to talk about the facts, the EDFacts that is. Audrey gives listeners a broad overview all things EDFacts modernization, including what it is, what’s about to change, and what’s ahead with the upcoming EDPass system. Join us, and by the end of the program, all you'll know are the facts.

Support is a critical component of success. In practice, support means having a group of trusted partners who are there when you need them and who provide help and insight when asked. On this very special episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman sits down with her IDC colleagues Mary Watson and Amber Stohr, who share their experiences as TA providers supporting Cohort 1 states through DMS 2.0. Join us as Mary and Amber share tips, perspectives, and a thought or two about how IDC supports states, helping prepare for onsite or virtual visits. This is one support group you’ll definitely want to join.

Dateline Arkansas, the Natural State: As a member of Cohort 1, Arkansas is among the first in the nation to complete the first two phases of OSEP’s Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) 2.0. Naturally, Arkansas education officials have stories to tell and insights to share, and naturally, they sat down with host Amy Bitterman to discuss the crucial steps of their DMS 2.0 experience. This included pulling together an effective team, updating state procedures (and online information), and working with technical assistance (TA) experts to ensure the most successful possible outcomes. It’s an insider’s look you’ll only find on this episode of A Date with Data, naturally enough.

Sometimes an up-close perspective requires us to step back and take in the long view first. That’s what happened in New Hampshire where Mary Lane, Education Consultant with the New Hampshire Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education Support, and Michelle Lewis, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Parent Information Center, were on a mission to improve the quality of their state’s Indicator 8 data. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman learns more about how their process of capturing the close-up family perspective first required them to step back to consider the “why” behind this indicator.

How states go about data informed decisionmaking is as diverse as the states themselves. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman chats with Julie Dean, Early Childhood Special Education Inclusion Specialist; Ryan Guzman, 619 Coordinator and SSIP Lead with the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Kathy Lenihan, Inclusionary Projects Coordinator with Educational Service District 105. Join them to learn more about their State Systemic Improvement Plan’s (SSIP) unique focus on social emotional learning in early childhood and how they worked with partners across the SEA, districts, and the community to build a culture of data informed decisionmaking. Now that’s evergreen.

Nebraska. The Cornhusker State. Where wide-open spaces and big ideas go hand-in-hand. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman has a heartland heart-to-heart with Kelly Wojcik, Director of Accountability, and Jamie Chambers, Part B Data Manager, with the Nebraska Department of Education. Join us to learn more about their hopes and dreams for the state’s data processes and their plans for moving beyond a “that’s how it’s always been done” mentality to one as wide-open as the Nebraska plains.

One thing we’ve learned: The search for high-quality data is bound by no border, no distance, no ocean. In this far-flung episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman travels to the heart of Oceania to sit down with the American Samoa Department of Education’s Herbert Boat and Jessica Tuu for a chat about challenges, triumphs, and their own unique journey toward becoming data-quality influencers.

"Data is everything and everywhere," and to prove it this installment of A Date with Data travels to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Join island-hopping host Amy Bitterman as she sits down with the CNMI public school system's Donna Flores and Nora Fujihira to talk about their journey to improve data quality; support students, teachers, and families; and work with their SEA to develop ever improving data governance policies. Pack your bags; you've got a date tonight.

Collaboration. Communication. Continuation. These are just a few keystones of improvement. In this second part of our deep dive into Pennsylvania’s SSIP journey, guests Dr. Laura Moran and Barbara Mozina share how they helped develop the ability of stakeholders—especially families and students—to provide feedback by creating and maintaining a continuous flow of information and by hosting focus groups dedicated to creating resources to boost graduation rates. It’s the culmination of our double date in the Keystone State, so don’t miss out.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A state wishes to increase graduation rates and decrease drop-out rates. That’s what happened in Pennsylvania, where Dr. Laura Moran and Barbara Mozina applied lessons learned to the second iteration of their state’s SSIP. In the first episode of this two-part A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman hears all about it, including their efforts to move districts beyond being “data rich and information poor,” developing an online “early warning” data platform, and protocols for creating and sustaining data teams. You’ll be the richer, too, for tuning in.

At some point, every one of us has been new at something. A hobby. A job. A relationship. On this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman talks about first steps and initial impressions with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction’s Alyssa Kramer and Part B data management coordinator with the West Virginia Department of Education, Traci Tuttle. From internal data collection and reporting to strategies for other new data managers, together Alyssa and Traci discuss tips, resources, and EDFacts file specifications, all from the newbie perspective. Whether you’re a rookie listener or seasoned veteran, this is one play-by-play you won’t want to miss.

“Improvement begins with data.” These are words to live by and a philosophy held in common by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Brian Coonley and the Kentucky Department of Education’s Jarrod Slone. In this episode of A Date with Data, host Amy Bitterman gets to the bottom of these two commonwealths' not-so-common strategies to support districts, which include a focus on increased transparency and data stewardship. Jarrod and Brian also discuss how root-cause analyses and long-term strategic planning can lead to meaningful, substantive improvement.

When it comes to high-quality data, there are some questions we all ask ourselves. What does it mean to be a data-quality influencer? Am I a data-quality influencer? And, if not, what must I do to become one? To unearth the answers, our latest episode of A Date with Data visits the Gem State, where host Amy Bitterman discusses this multi-faceted issue with the Idaho Department of Education’s Alisa Fewkes and Debi Smith. They talk about polishing up a school’s and district’s ability to read and analyze data through drill-down trainings that the department offers around the state. Can you see yourself reflected in their strategies of creating strong partnerships between data staff and program staff? Or of making certain that general education staff is part of important team-making decisions? What about holding meaningful reviews to discuss enhancements going forward? Join us to find out. This one’s invaluable.

On the newest episode of A Date with Data, we “Wander Indiana” as Host Amy Bitterman sits down with Brandon Myers, Part B Data Manager with the Indiana Department of Education. Listen in as they discuss Brandon’s work as a data-quality influencer: collecting, organizing, monitoring, and communicating information about data. Brandon also shares how he ensures that schools and stakeholders understand how the data they are required to report get used. Join us in the Hoosier state, won’t you?

Welcome to Nashville, Tennessee, home of country music, hot chicken, and southern hospitality. In this episode of A Date with Data, we’re on stage at the 2022 IDC Interactive Institute in Music City, USA. Join us as host Amy Bitterman performs a duet with Amy Patterson, IDEA Part B Data Manager with the Kentucky Department of Education, to learn more about her role as a data-quality influencer. Up next, Amy two-steps with Richelle Davis from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs for her perspective on the importance of states and districts understanding the “why” behind collecting high-quality data—including how the data drive policy and decisionmaking. Be sure to join us, won’t you? This one’s going Platinum®.

It's the age-old question: What’s the secret to a long-lasting, meaningful relationship? For Episode 5 of A Date with Data, we travel to the first state to find out. For 20 years, the Delaware Department of Education has partnered with the state’s Parent Information Center to better facilitate family engagement. How do these partners maintain their strong bond? Host Amy Bitterman sits down with Mary Ann Mieczkowski, Barbara Mazza, and Meedra Surratte to talk about collaboration, specific programs, and the importance of creating spaces where family voices can be heard. You don’t want to miss this engaging conversation.

Wisconsin is striving to embed IDEA data culture throughout the state’s Department of Public Instruction. Learn how Wisconsin is working to achieve a strong, shared data culture through initiatives such as collaborating with Title I and Every Student Succeeds Act staff to create joint federal notification reports and creating dashboards for districts to drill down into their data.

Amy chats with Ginger about building the capacity of districts and other stakeholders in Oklahoma to understand the changes to the SPP/APR and stakeholder engagement requirements. Ginger shares key strategies for engaging stakeholders in target setting.