About Data Wise

The mission of the Data Wise Project is to support schools and systems in taking an equity lens when using collaborative data inquiry so each student thrives.

Since 1996 we have brought teachers, principals, central office personnel, university faculty, and graduate students together to develop and field-test resources that allow educator teams to engage with the Data Wise Improvement Process and ACE Habits of Mind.

Our experiences advocating for equitable schools has shown us that transparency about how an organization defines equity is critical for their work. At Data Wise, an equity lens involves:

  • Asking questions at each step of the inquiry process to reveal whose voices and stories are being heard and addressed
  • Making decisions and taking actions that work toward equitable schools

An equitable school is one where:

  • Student outcomes are not predictable by demographic data
  • Students feel respected and celebrated for who they are.

Our Team

Leadership Team

Kathryn Parker Boudett is a Senior Lecturer on Education and Director of the Data Wise Project. Her passion lies in supporting educators in working together effectively to improve learning and teaching. She leads institutes, online courses, and a coach certification program on collaborative data inquiry. Boudett is co-editor of Data Wise: A Step-By-Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning (2013); Data Wise in Action: Stories of Schools Using Data to Improve Teaching and Learning (2007); Key Elements of Observing Practice: A Data Wise Facilitator's Guide and DVD (2010), and Meeting Wise: Making the Most of Collaborative Time for Educators (2014) (all published by Harvard Education Press). She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard and a B.A. in Economics from Yale University.

Candice BocalaEd.D., is the Director of Data Wise Research, co-chair of the Data Wise Summer Institute, and a Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Since 2009, she has been working with educators to use the Data Wise Improvement Process, and she has directly supported school teams in districts such as Prince George’s County, MD to integrate Data Wise into their work. A former elementary school and special education teacher, her research and practice focuses on the connections between educator learning and organizational conditions that support collaborative work. As a Senior Research Associate for WestEd, she led and contributed to research and evaluation projects, including proposal writing and literature review, study design, data collection, data analysis, report writing, and dissemination. Her work has been published by the Institute for Education Sciences and Harvard Education Press, as well as the Journal of Teacher Education, Urban Education, and Teachers College Record. Candice holds a BA in government from Cornell University, an MA in policy analysis and evaluation from Stanford University, an MAT in elementary education from American University, and an Ed.D. in education policy, leadership, and instructional practice from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Cate GardnerEd.D., is Director of The Principals' Center at Professional Education (PPE). In this role, she supports PPE programs focused on K-12 school and system-level leadership, as well the Data Wise portfolio of programs. Before joining PPE, Cate worked for the National Partnership for Educational Access, an initiative of The Steppingstone Foundation, supporting schools, nonprofits, colleges, and academic enrichment programs that serve traditionally underrepresented students on a path to and through college. She also worked for the National Center on Performance Incentives, a U.S. Department of Education funded research center focused on teacher compensation reform. She began her career as a high school teacher and mentor. She received a B.A. in History and Political Science from Middlebury College, an M.A. in Education Leadership and Policy from Stanford University, and an Ed.D. in Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University.

Advisory Board

Penny Jayne is a passionate educator from Victoria, Australia. Her experience in state education spans seventeen years and includes time as an elementary teacher, a district instructional practice coach and a school vice principal. Penny's knowledge of assessment tools and practices is well-known across Victorian state schools, and she is regularly invited by the state Education Department (DET) to address state-wide coaching conferences in the area of Mathematics assessments. In 2010, Penny completed a Masters in School Leadership with a thesis investigating the assessment nexus; that is the extent to which a teacher's personal beliefs and pre-service experiences influences their evaluator practice in relation to data use; evaluative technique and the extent to which students are included within the assessment process. Much of her research was informed by her coaching work across school districts. Penny attended the 2011 Summer Institute, and returned in 2012 for the Data Wise Impact Workshop. Penny joins the Summer Institute teaching team, and has served as Teaching Fellow, Mentor and Presenter. 

Deirdra Aikens

Deirdra Joyner is the Deputy Superintendent, Chief Academic Officer in the Christina School District located in Wilmington, DE. Deirdra first learned of the Data Wise Improvement Process during the summer of 2010, when she brought her leadership team from Leasure Elementary School to Cambridge for the week long institute. As the former principal of Leasure, the concerns around student achievement and questions about how to use data wisely were burning issues for her school team. She now partners with other school leaders who share these same dilemmas. For the past seven years, she has coached several school teams through the process and is excited to share her journey. She has a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware. Her doctoral work is a documentary of the work Leasure Elementary conquered with Data Wise. Deirdra is a certified Data Wise Coach and respected champion for school improvement.

EvaMejia

Eva Mejia is the Chief Program & Strategy Officer at Big Picture Learning. In that capacity, she stewards strategic thinking and programs to maximize the impact that Big Picture can have on young people and the educators that serve them. Always seeking to learn and improve life outcomes for disenfranchised communities, Dr. Mejia has served in many capacities across pre-K-16 systems. She began her career in direct services as a social worker and coordinator for parent engagement, mentorship, and tutoring programs. During this time, she developed her skills as a strengths-based social worker, bridging divides across systems and communities to support young people and their families.

Prior to joining Big Picture, Mejia developed her skills in networked improvement and adult development. Most recently, she served as the Director of Networked Improvement Science for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. At Carnegie, she oversaw efforts to solve some of the most pressing problems in education through the use of networked improvement communities. She also served as an Improvement Coach for the Data Wise Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and as an institutional effectiveness consultant helping community colleges and university teams use data to inform their student success programing.

Dr. Mejia holds an Education Leadership Doctorate (Ed.L.D.) from HGSE, as well as a B.A. in psychology, and an M.A. in sociology from Stanford University.

Adam

Adam Parrott-Sheffer (Board Secretary): At the core, Adam believes the most important work to do in service of kids is to co-create systems and structures that unleash the potential of all. Environments of joyful and collaborative ways of being are the fuel this work requires. Ten years of service as an award-winning principal and district administrator for Early Childhood and English Language Learners in urban, suburban, district, and charter elementary and middle schools has fostered this belief. Adam most recently supported district and school-level leaders and teams building improvement networks as a senior advisor responsible for leadership coaching, strategy analysis, curriculum design, grant writing, impact evaluation, and technology enhanced learning initiatives at the national nonprofit, the New Teacher Center.  Adam is committed to the work as both a hands-on practitioner and a system-level thought partner, contributing to the sector by serving on the board of Playworks Illinois and the Harvard Principals' Center.  He advocates as a writer on education and a host of the education podcast, Pedagogy of the Obsessed. His work is grounded in his experiences teaching K-8 English, technology, and special education, being a father of two boys, and coaching youth swimming. 

JorgePena

Jorge Peña is the Andrew Greeley Endowed Research Fellow at the School of Education and the Director of Faculty Development and Engagement in the Office of the Provost at Loyola University Chicago. In these roles, Jorge conducts research on equitable school practices in Catholic schools, teaches graduate students in educational leadership, and supports faculty with the review, promotion, and tenure process. He coaches schools in the United States, Australia, and Chile on using the Data Wise Improvement Process. Jorge earned a B.A. from The University of Vermont, a M.S. Ed. from Chicago State University, an Ed.D. from DePaul University, the Certificate in Advanced Educational Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Certified Data Wise Coach.

David Rease

David Rease, Jr. is executive director of the Office of Continuous Systemic School Improvement in Prince George's County, MD. He began his career in education as a high school social studies teacher in Durham (NC). From there, he began working for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as an instructional facilitator for seventeen turnaround high schools throughout the state. Before becoming a student in the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Education Leadership Doctoral Program, Rease worked at Mid-Continent for Research in Education and Learning (McREL), based in Denver, on the Systems Improvement Team. David holds a B.A. from Columbia University, a M.A.T. from Duke University, and an EdLD from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Robert Wessman, Ed.L.D., Founder and CEO of Koru Strategy Group

Robert Wessman, Ed.L.D. is Founder and CEO of Koru Strategy Group, a mission-driven company that helps education systems around the world implement research-driven practices with three outcomes in mind: better schools for students, higher professional satisfaction for educators, and greater public value for communities. Dr. Wessman is a Data Wise Certified Coach and regular teaching team member at the Data Wise Leadership Institutes at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Koru works directly with school and system leaders on implementation strategies and on-location professional learning. He is a veteran teacher and former school leader at a Title I High School in Utah in the U.S. Dr. Wessman can be found on Twitter at @rwessman.

Program Leadership: Data Wise Coach Certification

Jaein Lee is a Ph.D. student in Education, with Cultures, Institutions & Society concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research interests focus on institutional supports for undocumented immigrant students. Previously, she worked as a research analyst at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, providing site-based research and technical support to school districts in projects related to college readiness and access, family and community engagement, and English Language Learners. Jaein holds a B.A. from Bowdoin College and Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard.

Penny Jayne is a passionate educator from Victoria, Australia. Her experience in state education spans seventeen years and includes time as an elementary teacher, a district instructional practice coach and a school vice principal. Penny's knowledge of assessment tools and practices is well-known across Victorian state schools, and she is regularly invited by the state Education Department (DET) to address state-wide coaching conferences in the area of Mathematics assessments. In 2010, Penny completed a Masters in School Leadership with a thesis investigating the assessment nexus; that is the extent to which a teacher's personal beliefs and pre-service experiences influences their evaluator practice in relation to data use; evaluative technique and the extent to which students are included within the assessment process. Much of her research was informed by her coaching work across school districts. Penny attended the 2011 Summer Institute, and returned in 2012 for the Data Wise Impact Workshop. Penny joins the Summer Institute teaching team, and has served as Teaching Fellow, Mentor and Presenter. 

Program Leadership: Data Wise in Action

At the core, Adam Parrott-Sheffer believes the most important work to do in service of kids is to co-create systems and structures that unleash the potential of all. Environments of joyful and collaborative ways of being are the fuel this work requires. Ten years of service as an award-winning principal and district administrator for Early Childhood and English Language Learners in urban, suburban, district, and charter elementary and middle schools has fostered this belief. Adam currently supports district and school-level leaders and teams building improvement networks through leadership coaching, strategy analysis, curriculum design, grant writing, impact evaluation, and technology enhanced learning initiatives. Adam is committed to the work as both a hands-on practitioner and a system-level thought partner, contributing to the sector by serving on the board of Playworks Illinois and the Harvard Principals' Center. He advocates as a writer on education and a host of the education podcast, Pedagogy of the Obsessed. His work is grounded in his experiences teaching K-8 English, technology, and special education, being a father of two boys, and coaching youth swimming.

Carmen Williams, Ed.L.D., currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Innovation in a Massachusetts public school district. Leading with her core values of empathy, equity, and community, Carmen has supported schools and districts nationally and internationally in developing communities of practice for continuous improvement and equitable student outcomes.  Carmen brings over 20 years of experience to this work as an elementary teacher, building principal, and central office leader.  She shares her story, experience, and training by coaching leaders at all levels as they pursue their personal and professional mission.  As a professor, she instructs and supports educators in developing mindsets that embrace the whole child in their identity as an asset to the learning community and enable collaborative work to advance academic and social goals.  Carmen successfully led her award-winning school by implementing Data Wise and welcomes the opportunity to share and scale research-based, data usage practices that empower educators and deliver desired student outcomes.  Carmen believes that quality education for each student is an act of justice and has committed to providing educators with structures and tools that advance equity.