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Reporting to the Board & Data Driven Decision Making

About the Instructor

Dr. Jeff Lind is the Assistant Superintendent for the Mandan School District in Mandan, North Dakota and have been in this role since 2012. Previous professional experiences include: Superintendent of the Rugby Public Schools, Rugby ND (11 yrs) Superintendent of the Milton-Osnabrock (ND) Schools (2 yrs), Secondary Principal in Rock Lake ND (2 yrs), and Science Teacher in St. John ND (10 Yrs). He currently serves as a member of the North Dakota State Board of Public Education and North Dakota State Board of Career and Technical Education. 

Contact Information:

Email: jeff.lind@msd1.org
Mailing address: 901 Division St. NW, Mandan, ND 58554

 

Important Course Dates

Course meeting date: April 15, 2016, 8:30 am to 12:00 pm, Radisson Hotel, Renoir/Russell Room (breakfast will be served from 8:00 to 8:30 am)

Due Date for Assignments : May 15, 2016

Syllabus & Course Resources

Syllabus

Course Toolbox

Useful Data Site Links:

Assignments

1. Complete one of the project scenarios listed below. (30 points)     

  • In preparation for negotiations, your school board has requested salary and benefit information from 9 comparably sized North Dakota school districts along with your own.
    • Identify the data sources that you would use to secure the following: K-12 enrollment, # of teacher FTE’s, Average year’s of experience, Average salary, Average benefits, Average total compensation, # of contract days, total comp/day, total district expenditures for teacher salary & benefits, teacher salary & benefits per student, total general fund expenditures, and % of general fund budget dedicated to teacher comp.
    • Prepare an Excel spreadsheet report for the Board that provides a breakdown of the data for each district, including your own district.
    • Formatting and style should be appropriate for public presentation. The creation of charts and graphs is encouraged when appropriate for presentation.

OR

  • Your superintendent has requested that you assist with preparing a “State of the School District” report for your board and community. For this task you should:
    • Identify and compile the data you are responsible for in your district that you believe should be included as part of this report to constituents.
    • Prepare your section of this report in a Powerpoint or other presentation format.
    • In the presentation notes, include a narrative of your explanation of the data in each slide and its implications for your school district.

OR

  • A participant may propose a project of interest that relates to data collection, reporting, and decision making for their district. This request must be submitted to the instructor by April 22, 2016.

 

2. Read the articles listed below before class meets on April 15, 2016.

The articles located in the course toolbox.  Write a 1- page reflection on each of two articles, discussing your perceptions and takeaways. You may also substitute with any course relevant articles of your choosing to write your reflections.  Reflections are not due until the May 15, 2016 assignment deadline.  (20 points)

  • Burckbuchler, S.A. (2009). School District Budgeting & Student Achievement, School Business Affairs, May 2009.  Retrieved from: asbointl.org
  • DeAngelis, Karen J. (2011). Seek and You Might Find: Sources of Education Information. School Business Affairs,  v77-7, p18-20 Jul-Aug 2011
  • Van Clay, M. (2008). Which Data Should You Put in Your Board’s Hands, The School Administrator, v.65-1, January, 2008. Retrieved from: http://aasa.org/schooladministratorarticle.aspx?id=6056

All assignments must be completed and returned via email to jeff.lind@msd1.org by May 15, 2016.