Five Next-Level Data Tactics
For School Leaders

How did Target know a high school girl was pregnant before her parents?  

In brief, Google collected enough data from that girl’s online behavior (when you think about it, we type much of our lives into the Google search bar…) to discover reliable signals that she was pregnant, Google sold those insights to Target, then Target, well, targeted her with coupons for baby products that Dad did not appreciate.

All the data that Google collects about us means nothing without the tools to find the meaningful trends buried in that data.

The same can be said about our Student Information Systems.  We have loads of data about our students - attendance, grades, behavioral records, course histories, standardized test scores, health screenings, and more.  But how can we discover the meaningful trends in all that data to reveal:

• Who does not feel a sense of belonging?

• Whose low-level behaviors are escalating towards suspendable offenses?

• Who is showing early signs of chronic absenteeism?  

At Spreadsheets for Schools, we believe that Educational Technology sells too many shiny silver bullets that do not meaningfully move the needle on student outcomes.  There is no silver bullet in education, but the closest we can come is utilizing our greatest resource more effectively - our human staffs.  That’s why we develop applications that automate time-consuming tasks so staff can get out from behind computer screens and focus on human connections, understanding students’ stories, and providing just-in-time support when students need it most.  

Modern spreadsheets offer far more robust data processing and automation capabilities than what most people know about spreadsheets - far beyond basic tables and charts.  Here are 5 Next-Level Data Tactics that every school can use to turn the data they already collect into actionable intelligence:

1. Spreadsheets Can Send Personalized Emails

Frequent and targeted communication with parents is one of the fastest ways to strengthen student success. However, manually composing personalized messages for hundreds or thousands of students is impossible for busy staff.

The Tactic: With automation running in the background, modern spreadsheets can send tailored emails and text messages - complete with student-specific details - to parents, staff mentors, and other stakeholders.  Custom personalizable messaging shifts the focus from generic notification to strategic collaboration.

Actionable Next Steps:

• Time Your Outreach:  Utilize data to send messages during peak engagement times: 8 AM and between 2 PM and 4 PM.  This timing aligns with natural transition points in a family’s day.

• Intervene Early:  The highest leverage point for intervention is when a student has missed only 3–5 days.  Use automated reports to identify students in this window, draft custom messages, and deploy the first intervention.

• Frame Positively:  Ensure communication is short, supportive, specific, and actionable.  Lead with partnership rather than penalty, celebrating a strength or progress while providing one clear next step.

  • 1. • For example:  “We noticed that Kayla missed 3 days last week.  She’s doing great in English.  How can we help her return to school be seamless?” is positive, supportive, and invites an actionable response from the parent.  

2. Spreadsheets Process Large Data Faster than Humans

Manual data processing consumes valuable staff time.  How can we unlock their most effective superpower - their humanity - to build supportive relationships and problem-solve the root causes of students’ challenges?

The Tactic: Let customizable spreadsheets handle routine-heavy tasks so staff have time to meet with students.

Actionable Next Steps:

• Automate Tardy Enforcement:  For high-volume issues like tardies, automated systems allow for a standardized tracking system across all classrooms and consistent enforcement by staff.  This consistent enforcement is key to sustaining success and reducing total tardies by significant margins.  Our clients have reduced tardies by 36% to 75% by using our spreadsheet applications.

• Prioritize Human Skills:  By automating early Tier 1 interventions, like sending personalized emails, text messages, and notification slips, staff time is recovered and can be reinvested into support teams that focus on the root causes for the smaller number of students who require deeper Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports.

3. Spreadsheets Track Changes in Data Over Time

Looking at a single data snapshot - such as 12 tardies in 3rd period - does not tell the whole story.  Were those 12 tardies from the first month of school and the student has been tardy-free since then?  Were those 12 tardies an atypical trend that can be attributed to a specific moment or trigger in their lives?  Late identification forces staff to be reactive instead of proactive, waiting until challenges have set root and are more difficult to resolve.

The Tactic: Utilize next-level spreadsheet applications to curate historical data, giving you a time-series view of trends in attendance, grades, and behavior. 

Actionable Next Steps:

• Spot Trends Early:  Examine data consistently - ideally daily but no less than twice weekly - to act before minor problems become chronic.  Tracking data over time helps leaders quickly identify which students are trending in the wrong direction and intervene before problems calcify into more difficult habits to break.

• Monitor Interventions:  Use the time-series data to monitor and track interventions, identifying which specific interventions are successful and which need to be modified or abandoned.  

4. Spreadsheets Can Scan Student IDs 

Students are significantly more likely to show up when they feel a sense of belonging and connection to the school community.  One major cost of chronic absenteeism is the loss of a supportive peer group and the sense of purpose that engagement provides.

The Tactic:  Implement applications that can scan student IDs in real-time at club meetings, concerts, sporting events, and other campus activities.

Actionable Next Steps:

• Identify the Disengaged: Use this data to identify students who are at risk due to lack of connection, making it easier to provide targeted, Tier 2 interventions earlier.

• Targeted Outreach: Proactively target these students for involvement opportunities through staff mentors, peer buddies, and weekly check-ins.  Provide "just-in-time support" before challenges escalate.  This student involvement tool reveals which students are actively involved and, crucially, which students lack an extracurricular connection to their school.

• Drive Positive Interactions: Tools like our Who I Am application automates daily personalized check-in prompts for staff, ensuring teachers initiate personal conversations with every student about something they care about within the first two months of school.

5. Spreadsheets Are More Customizable than Your SIS

Your Student Information System (SIS) is essential, but it is often rigid and expensive to customize to fit your school’s unique policies.  This lack of flexibility can lead to inconsistent data collection and enforcement if school policies don't fit into the system's one-size-fits-all capabilities.

The Tactic:  By exporting your raw data into a flexible spreadsheet environment, you can build live dashboards and automated workflows that are specifically customized for your school’s unique needs and policies.

Actionable Next Steps:

• Enforce Consistent Definitions:  Ensure that attendance definitions (like how tardies are marked) are consistent across all classrooms and grade levels.  Defining success is crucial for data integrity and accurate trend comparison across the district.

• Tailor Interventions:  Use the customizability to design intervention tiers that meet the unique needs of your community.  For instance, this high school implemented a progressive tardy discipline system where tardies one through four received preventative messaging and smaller consequences, then the 5th tardy triggered a mandatory administrator meeting which they found was highly effective at ending most remaining tardies cases.

• Unlock Flexibility:  Data-driven leaders design solutions that are grounded in the specific barriers students and families face, and the flexibility of customized tools allows leaders to create solutions that are truly aligned with the local context.

When school leaders embrace these next-level data tactics, they move beyond simple data storage to transform data into actionable intelligence.  When technology automates the routine tasks, it empowers your staff to prioritize the human element that actually moves the needle on student outcomes.