Just north of Fort Worth, Texas, Keller Independent School District (ISD) serves over 33,000 students on 39 campuses. The district wanted to make student data more accessible for administrators, teachers, and other staff and determined that a data warehouse would give it the "one-stop" solution that stakeholders needed.
At first, Keller ISD explored the possibility of developing its own custom data warehouse. The staff did research and spoke with other districts that had already tried to tackle the problem internally. They found that building a simple data repository seemed feasible, but taking the next step to make the data easily viewable and accessible to end-users was a much tougher challenge. Ultimately, Keller ISD decided against an internal custom built data warehouse.
The staff eventually came across a study done at Pasadena ISD, Texas by the Institute for Research and Reform in Education as part of a high school reform project and became interested in the Mizuni Data Warehouse and Dashboard Suite Solution. After extensive research, Project Manager Cinnamon Skewes learned that districts found Mizuni's customer service "exemplary" and that the data warehouse product was well-accepted by teachers and administrators.
In the fall of 2010, Keller ISD chose the Mizuni Solution to implement the "one-stop" solution to access student data. In one month, Mizuni implemented the Mizuni Data Warehouse, Mizuni Dashboard Suite, Mizuni Integration Server and Mizuni Data Adapters for Keller ISD and integrated with existing systems, such as Sungard K12 Education's eSchoolPLUS student information system.
Teachers are now using the dashboard to access real-time information. "Teachers now have access to all their student data in one easy-to-access location breaking down the data silos that existed prior to implementing the Mizuni Solution," reported Ms. Skewes. The district is also rolling out access to other staff such as Gifted and Talented Coordinators, Intervention Specialists, and Security Specialists, who are eager to see and use the information.
The implementation process and the district's greatly expanded use of data created the desire for more and better quality data. Keller ISD staff is now working to improve the accuracy and completeness of the district's data, which will provide better information for decision-making.
With a large amount of data at their users' fingertips -- attendance, assessments, grades, behavior, enrollment, and demographics -- Keller ISD is now working to streamline processes throughout the district to provide more timely data.
"We plan on being more proactive in the use of data by using predictive analysis to anticipate student outcomes rather than simply being reactive," says Joe Griffin, Chief Technology Officer at Keller ISD. "Predictive analysis should now be possible to help us generate expected performance on State Accountability ratings and other student performance indicators."
