# Boston Public Schools & Minneapolis Public Schools receive 2022 Strategic Data Excellence Award from Harvard’s Strategic Data Project May 13, 2022 - [ News ](/news-categories/news) BOSTON, MAY 13, 2022 — This year, Boston Public Schools used data to keep schools open even as the Omicron wave of Covid cases sidelined teachers and staff. Minneapolis Public Schools used data to design an equity-centered reorganization of the district that centered the voices of families and students and improved outcomes. The Strategic Data Project, based at Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research, announced today that these districts received the 2022 Strategic Data Excellence Award. The Strategic Data Project (SDP) created this award in 2021 to recognize that while strong data work is critical to successful strategy, innovation, and improvement, this work is too often taken for granted and goes uncelebrated. In May 2021, the award honored actions taken to address the urgency of the moment with fast and accessible insights. “The teams in Boston and Minneapolis used data in truly heroic fashion to create a better educational experience for students and families,” said SDP Director Miriam Greenberg. “These are inspiring examples of how school leaders can use data to address large challenges like staffing needs and racial equity gaps.” In January, Boston Public Schools leaders were concerned that a rising number of teacher and staff absences due to Covid-19 would force them to move schools online as they had done earlier in the pandemic, often leaving the most high-needs students unable to access learning. The Office of Data and Accountability, working with departments across the district and the Boston Public Health Commission, quickly created a series of data tools that pulled together different quantitative measures, such as staff absentees. These tools allowed BPS central office teams to prioritize outreach among 120 schools and reallocate resources and staff as needed. “We were able to target where there were gaps in services for students because we were looking at real-time data,” said Drew Echelson, BPS Deputy Superintendent of Academics. “These tools, leveraged with a keen eye toward racial equity, allowed us to be very strategic in leveraging the right supports at the right time for the right schools.” While BPS designed these tools to respond to Covid, Greenberg said districts could use the same approach to handle other staffing and resource challenges in the future. Minneapolis Public Schools had tried piecemeal measures to address racial and economic equity gaps without creating meaning or lasting change. Beginning in 2015, the district took a bolder approach by creating the Comprehensive District Design, which used participatory evaluation structures focusing on youth, parent and community voice to restructure Minneapolis public schools around the three areas of Academics, Equity, and Sustainability. In year one of the plan, the number of segregated schools as defined by the state dropped 40 percent and district student placement policies were changed to increase the proportion of families of color and low income families having access to centralized magnet schools. “What our division is seeking to do is to get real feedback from our students and our families about what’s working and what’s not working,” said Sarah Hunter, MPS Executive Director of Research, Evaluation, Assessment, and Accountability. The award was presented at SDP’s 2022 annual spring convening in Boston. Honorees are selected by a panel of practitioners and researchers from across the SDP Network. Factors considered in our decisions include evidence of early success; impact on students and stakeholders; and technical sophistication. Contact: Lindsay Blauvelt at [lindsay\_blauvelt@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:lindsay_blauvelt@gse.harvard.edu). Learn more: sdp.cepr.harvard.edu/award **About the Strategic Data Project** Harvard's Strategic Data Project (SDP) works with education agencies to find and train data leaders to uncover trends, measure solutions, and effectively communicate evidence to stakeholders. SDP’s network of system leaders, fellows, and faculty come together to share how to best use data to make a difference in the lives of students. SDP Fellows are driving data-informed change in over 215 school systems and organizations. Learn more at [sdp.harvard.edu](http://sdp.harvard.edu./). **About the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University** The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, seeks to transform education through quality research and evidence. CEPR and its partners believe all students will learn and thrive when education leaders make decisions using facts and findings, rather than untested assumptions. Learn more at [cepr.harvard.edu](http://cepr.harvard.edu/). Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)