In recent weeks, the Fulton County School System has received some much-deserved national notice for its culture of data-driven decision-making and its willingness to innovate in everything from construction management to fast-track committees.

Education Week

Education Week, the leading national weekly newspaper covering news and trends in K-12 education, says that in the Fulton County School System, “it’s not enough to think a strategy is working; you have to have the data to back it up.” The full-page article called Fulton County Schools “a leader in data-driven decision making.” 

Martha Greenway, deputy superintendent for Organizational Advancement, notes that a data-oriented outlook in Fulton County did not happen overnight. “Over the last 10 years, a combination of focused leadership, an eye toward continuous improvement, and an emphasis on open communication has led to a culture that focuses on putting usable information in to the hand of those closest to instruction – the teachers.”

Urban Advocate

Urban Advocate, a publication of the Council of Urban Boards of Education, an affiliate of the National School Boards Association, singled out the Fulton County School System’s cross functional action teams – or “XFATs” – for the Best Practices feature of their current issue. 

“Not just another committee, these teams tackle issues with the clock ticking,” says the magazine. XFAT teams, with wide-ranging members, address specific problems or opportunities, such as timely textbook delivery, feasibility of more online courses, or the accuracy of the grading system, and come back with three or four recommendations within 90 days. Superintendent Cindy Loe, Ph.D., says she is committed to bringing recommendations to the school board, moving forward with implementation and does not want good ideas “to sit on the shelf.”

Digital Directions

Digital Directions, a magazine produced by the publishers of Education Week, reports on news and trends in educational technology. The magazine recently featured the Fulton County School System, noting that the district is so well known for its data management system and data-driven decision-making techniques that it has been named a best practice district by two high profile non-profit organizations. Deputy Superintendent Greenway explains that teachers “for the first time, could see data in an integrated way, which gave them the ability to easily judge whether their students were on track…making the teacher’s work more efficient and effective.”

The School Administrator

Finally, the October issue of The School Administrator, the monthly magazine of the American Association of School Administrators, profiled Fulton County Schools for its innovative step of outsourcing facility work – managing construction through professional program management.  Patrick Burke, the school system’s chief of operations, profiles the program and explains how the change reined in spending and added forecasting, scheduling and accounting oversight. School Board President Linda Bryant says outsourcing “has given the system more bang for our buck…we are now on time and on the money or even under budget.”

Read More:

·         Education Week

·         Urban Advocate

·         Digital Directions

·         The School Administrator