Strategic Data Project Celebrates Graduation of 30 New Fellows

While many students are just starting their school year, 30 Strategic Data Project (SDP) fellows gathered at the Sheraton Commander last week to celebrate completing a two-year professional development program.

“Graduation is a celebration of the promising analytic work our SDP Fellows have led to improve outcomes for students,” said Patty Diaz-Andrade, director of education and outreach at SDP. “By showcasing the projects they’ve led over the last two years, fellows contribute to a growing body of knowledge on important topics such as teacher evaluation and effectiveness, early warning indicator systems, and what it means to be college-ready.”

This is the fourth cohort of data strategists, who aim to make an impact in education and improve student outcomes, to complete the SDP Fellowship Program. Fellows are carefully recruited based on strong quantitative analytic background and experience in education. Throughout the two years, under SDP’s guidance, fellows conduct analytic project within their placement agencies that are high priority for the agency, and contribute to contribute to policy and decisionmaking.

This current group of fellows collaborated across 15 partnership organizations including Ohio Department of Education and Achievement First, and had access to SDP’s growing national network of more than 60 education agencies. The graduation is an opportunity for all the fellows to come together and present their work to each other and partnership organizations before earning a certificate acknowledging their completion of the program.

In the coming month, SDP will welcome the sixth cohort of fellows to the program.