If you’ve ever wondered what a “business analyst” does, you’re in the right place. Our Internal Data & Systems Services team members are the ultimate number crunchers, and they’re sharing all of their spreadsheet secrets to shed some light on what they do and how their roles function in an organization like Visions.
“We have a small but mighty team of four Business Analysts who provide a variety of technical and analytical support to Visions,” explains Soren Gutierrez, Director of Accountability & Data Services. “They provide support to our Special Education Department, Instruction, Student Services and even some of our business departments like Assessments. All the analysts also support ad hoc analyst support requests to help our staff get the data they need!”
These four analysts include Saige Miranda, Spencer Summerhays, Christie Benavides, and Angelica Gallardo. Each with their own bodies of work, all the analysts strive to tell a larger story with their data.
“Ultimately, our goal as analysts is to transform data into valuable information that supports our students’ education and well-being. We play a crucial role in gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data to help guide decision-making processes for all departments within Visions,” says Saige.
Although it may seem like just facts and stats, the data that this team assembles, disaggregates, and communicates impacts how we serve our students, the areas for improvement that we identify, and the changes that we ultimately implement.
“I feel that our work greatly helps staff plan, organize and analyze areas where they can support students better,” says Spencer. “This has a trickle down effect on students and families. When their data is consistent and we make it meaningful, it adds context to our areas of opportunity.”
In Practice
On paper, it may not be totally clear how this team’s findings impact the organization. In practice however, it’s evident how their work supports student success and Visions as a whole.
“For example,” Spencer begins, “when we create trackers that help the Assessments Department and staff plan for events and upcoming assessments, we are able to achieve higher completion rates, eliminate scheduling confusion for our teachers, and remove any unnecessary barriers to the student’s testing process. Maybe we include 504 accommodations or SPED information that helps the teacher identify special needs unique to each student. When our processes and systems create an organized workflow, it instills confidence and trust families have in our staff and removes excess questions or confusion.”
Not only does their work impact our students, it makes our organization 1% better by bridging staff, teams, and departments. For example, as a former Administrative Assistant for our Student Services Department, Angelica has garnered a better understanding of the needs of our families through layering her business and instructional experiences.
“I’ve been able to enhance trackers that I originally created as an Administrative Assistant by incorporating an analytical perspective,” says Angelica. “Many of the projects I currently work on as a Business Analyst are for the Student Services Department, which gives me a unique advantage in understanding and supporting their needs.”
