The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host professionals from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation for an instructional seminar in data management review on Monday, February 7, in the Campus Center. The visit is part of the ongoing collaborative Partnership for College Success project between the University Caribou High School.

The presenters will be Dr. Bonnie Gordon, from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation in Quincy, MA; Gary Silverstein, from Westat Research Corp in Rockville, Maryland; and Rex Bolinger, from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, NJ.  The presenters will meet with representatives of UMPI and Caribou High School from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The agenda will cover several items:

• Role of data
• Common barriers to collecting data
• Communicating results to the community
• Examination of the current data management systems at Lowell HS and UMASS-Lowell  and UMASS-Boston & Dorchester Education Complex, two  partners in the New England partnership Cluster
• Data commonly used to assess the implementation and impact of educational reform efforts
• Identification of data that should be used to assess the implementation and impact of the partnership for College Success Initiative.
• Discussion of site-based issues on data collection land management
• Preparation for the March New England cluster meeting in Quincy, MA

"The supporting foundations provide much technical support in the design and implementation of programs that will help underserved students gain access to college and experience success once enrolled," stated Mike McCormack, project coordinator. "The two foundations will also provide ample opportunities for the other three partnerships in the NE cluster, all located in MA, to network with the UMPI-Caribou Partnership. This intensive on-site training session in multiple aspects of data management and interpretation, including data-driven decision-making, is one example of the technical assistance that the foundations will provide over the five-year life of the grant.  

"Education is just beginning to realize the value of data as a friendly tool to assess student learning," according to McCormack.  Extensive data gathering has been underway at both Caribou High School and the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The Nellie Mae Foundation, with the technical assistance of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, will help the UMPI-Caribou partnership place data at the center of program design and implementation.  This is a major focus of the first year's work. Data analysis will inform the best possible programming for our students and at the same time, assist educators at both institutions in curriculum review," added McCormack.