Making Meaning From the Numbers: A Spotlight on the Internal Data & Systems Services Department

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.”

Cell-ebrating the Team

As with many other departments at Visions, one of the team’s favorite parts about working here is the camaraderie and support they feel from one another.

“We have a great team of analysts. We frequently check in with each other and support each other with the projects we are working on, whether it’s to share expertise or just bounce ideas off of each other,” shares Christie. “We all work hard, but also find time to laugh and keep up with how everyone’s doing.”

“The best part of being an analyst is the variety of tasks I work on and being part of a fantastic team. Our team is small, but we work well together, and I love how we each bring something unique to the table,” adds Angelica.

Between all the functions and formulas, the group often reflects on the importance of their work and the impact they have on Visions, and in turn, the impact that Visions has on them.

“I have learned just how integral this team is in supporting student education behind the scenes. Everyone on our team is ready and willing to help each other or any department with a task or project, no matter how easy or challenging,” says Saige. “Although we are not student-facing staff, this team is always some of the first people to volunteer for Visions events like PFTs, graduation, etc. We love seeing our work behind the scenes become a reality!”

“Visions…cares about staff opinions and ideas. These efforts make me feel like Visions is investing in me as an employee. This in turn makes me want to invest in them,” Christie shares. “Visions…makes me feel like I’m a part of the whole and helps me see how what I do supports…staff, beyond just providing numbers on a spreadsheet. It is good to be Visions!”

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“Saige and Spencer provide a considerable amount of support to our Special Education Department specifically around invoices for the third party companies that provide the majority of services like Speech Therapy and Counseling to our students with Disabilities.”

“Angelica works with class registration workbooks that allow Counselors and Teachers to easily collaborate and select classes for students for the next semester, which in turn are data loaded in School Pathways and save everyone involved a lot of time.”

“Christie supports i-Ready and Ellevation by checking that the nightly data bridges from School Pathways are working so that all students are properly rostered. She also has created several workbooks to support Synchronous Instruction focused on students who are two or more grade levels below based on their i-Ready results.”