Client: The State of Vermont Department of Education
Dates: 11/2004 - 7/2005
In November 2004, the Vermont Department of Education awarded a contract to MSF&W to assess the technical capacity of school districts and supervisory unions to provide data to the Vermont Department of Education and to evaluate the feasibility of collecting school-level fiscal data. MSF&W prepared a Best Practices Guide to instruct Vermont school districts and supervisory unions in the data collection and reporting process. The ultimate goal of the project was to improve school, school district, and supervisory union capacity to report data electronically, while reducing the burden on school and state personnel and improving reporting capabilities.
MSF&W assembled a team of experts from various disciplines, including education data systems. The project team worked with the Vermont Department of Education information technology staff and the Data Collections Advisory Committee (DCAC), which acted as the review board for the project deliverables and provided input throughout the project. The team conducted site visits to select supervisory unions, school districts, and schools in Vermont and interviewed superintendents, technical staff, business managers, school registrars, and others. MSF&W conducted a web-based survey to obtain additional information from all reporting entities in Vermont. As well as the delivering the Best Practices Guide, MSF&W also presented an assessment report to the Vermont Department of Education.