How can you make data come to life? Share best practices across schools and departments? Have "accountability" be described as "fun" and "a celebration"? Over one hundred teacher leaders and administrators found out at Highline's first-ever "Data Fair" on June 1.

A data fair is like a science fair, but for adults. Participants created a three-panel display that shows their needs assessment, strategies and implementation data, and inferences and conclusions for one of their "STAR goals" (Strategies, Targets, and Results). All 33 schools and more than a dozen departments participated. Even the work of the school board, superintendent, and HEA president was represented on a data wall. The Data Fair caps a year of learning about creating and monitoring action plans through data. During the 2007-2008 school year, school and department leaders participated in five accountability trainings that followed the continuous improvement cycle.

Participant evaluations captured the enthusiasm of the Data Fair:

• "It was great to see what other schools/departments are doing. I'm excited about the possibilities for next year!" (elementary teacher)
• "I found it helpful to talk with different grade levels and see their strategies to solve similar problems." (secondary teacher)
• "While it was time consuming to put it together, it was great to see the 'story' of our work." (elementary principal)
• "I got some very useful ideas on simplifying data tracking." (secondary principal)
• "It required us to step up our examination of the results, to look beyond 'it feels like…' to actual hard data." (secondary principal)

After the fair, many data walls were displayed in the main hall at ERAC. On June 10, two schools and one department presented their work to the school board. Principal Deborah Holcomb shared Shorewood's work improving achievement through Response to Intervention (RTI). Principal Mark Demick represented Mount View's attendance letter initiative, which has dramatically reduced absenteeism. And showing that support services are also focused on improvement, Chris Neal, director of Child Nutrition Services, presented on CNS cost savings, an important Strategic Plan goal. The Data Fair will return next year, with a goal of involving even more Highline staff.

Photo caption for above photo: Daniel Yarborough, Madrona

Vicki Fisher and Patty Chin, Sylvester	Mary Carr, Transportation
Bernie Dorsey, School Board President	Lauren Wilson, Cascade
Marissa Gaalema, Cedarhurst	Johnathan Letcher (Hazel Valley), Kathy Anderson (Beverly Park), and Vic Anderson (AAA)
Tom Symons, McMicken Heights