Episode 34
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(June 3, 2008) With schools losing one-third to one-half of their students, schools and communities around the country are looking to new ways to understand the obstacles to school success and to work together to address them. Gathering quality information is a first step. To meet this need, IDRA has developed a prototype school holding power portal that places accurate, high quality information in the hands of people at the leading edge of systems change. Anna Alicia Romero and Hector Bojorquez describe components of this portal, challenges families and others face in accessing useful data, and how communities are using IDRA’s School Holding Power Portal. Anna Alicia and Hector are interviewed by Aurelio Montemayor , M.Ed., director of the IDRA Texas Parent Information and Resource Center. Send comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or fill out form online at www.idra.org/Podcasts.

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See resource links and show notes. (18.9 MB; 00:20:29 min.)

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Resources

School Holding Power Portal
IDRA online portal helps community and school partners examine their school data and plan joint action to improve school holding power.

"Knowledge for Action – Organizing School-Community Partnerships Around Quality Data"
By Laurie Posner , M.P.A., and Hector Bojorquez , IDRA Newsletter

"New Online Tool Gives Actionable Data for School-Community Teams to Improve Texas Schools"
IDRA Newsletter

"A Quality Schools Action Framework – Framing Systems Change for Student Success"
By Dr. María "Cuca" Robledo Montecel, IDRA Newsletter

Show Notes

* Host Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed., director of the IDRA Parent Information and Resource Center, welcomes guests Anna Alicia Romero, IDRA education assistant, and Hector Bojorquez, IDRA education associate and web specialist and trainer, for a discussion of IDRA's School Holding Power Portal, challenges families and others face in accessing useful data, and how communities are using data to improve their schools.

* Anna Alicia and Hector discuss why data are important for schools, and why data must be presented to families and communities in an easy-to-understand form.

* Hector explains why a data point from a single test isn't sufficient for understanding a student's readiness for college.

* Hector summarizes the data used in IDRA's School Holding Power Portal.

* Anna Alicia talks about presenting and demonstrating the IDRA portal to families.

* Hector talks about using the IDRA portal to start critical conversations with families and schools.

Show length: 20:29

Related podcasts
School Holding Power for Every Child – January 4, 2007

Framing Systems Change for Student Success – March 2, 2007

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