In 2016, the Data Collaborative community was initiated by a request from the County of Charlotte-Mecklenburg for two summer programs to pilot i-Ready, a literacy common assessment tool. As Read Charlotte assumed responsibility for the pilot program, we realized the opportunity and value to spread the pilot to additional organizations. The initial pilot informed the full Data Collaborative community rollout.

Read Charlotte identified additional gap areas from the initial pilot. As a result, Read Charlotte expanded the Data Collaborative community’s scope to focus on system-wide gaps. We adjusted the focus to support organizations to continuously improve outcomes. The core aim of the Data Collaborative community is the following:

To create a community of practitioners that depend on, understand and use data to continuously improve student language and literacy outcomes.

Read Charlotte uses the common aim to galvanize participating Partners to develop their organization’s ability to continuously improve outcomes. The purpose of this document is to answer the following questions:

• What value does the Data Collaborative community add?
• What does the Data Collaborative community do?
• Who is the Data Collaborative community?
• How does the Data Collaborative Team implement this model?
• What is the current financial investment of the Data Collaborative community?

Timeline

What value does the Data Collaborative community add?

Read Charlotte’s initiation of the Data Collaborative community raised the standards of quality in the early literacy system by influencing Participants to adopt four behaviors to use data for continuous improvement. Read Charlotte facilitates and supports a community of Partners to use a common assessment tool to change the way Partners use data. The Data Collaborative community aspires to create the following shifts to raise the standards of quality in the early literacy system (birth-3rd grade):

• Track and understand community trends and patterns.
• Act as a catalyst for the implementation of best practices and the spread of successful change ideas.
• Test and refine products and services that address gap areas in the system.
• Increase connections and learning across community of Partners.

In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community, we are the only neutral, backbone organization supporting the early literacy system of Partners to create a community of Direct Practitioners that depend on, understand and use data to continuously improve student language and literacy outcomes.

What does the Data Collaborative community do?

Read Charlotte initiated the Data Collaborative community to focus on shifting four behaviors to continuously improve. We support Partners to adopt four behaviors required for organizational change. Read Charlotte accomplishes this by offering Partners a Suite of Supports: training, coaching, tools and technical assistance.

These four behaviors include:

1. Use a common assessment to measure Reading Success Pathway skills.
2. Identify evidence-based practices to target the Reading Success Pathway skills.
3. Create and sustain evidence-based practices with implementation drivers.
4. Individually, and collectively, refine and constantly evolve practices and implementation with improvement science.

Read Charlotte facilitates a community-based model, instead of a consultant-based model, to ensure the four behaviors are maintained. First, the model allows Read Charlotte to monitor Partners across the community for negative patterns and share out bright spots. Second, it allows for cross-organizational learning and accountability that influences Partners to maintain their four behaviors long-term. This would not be feasible in a consultant-based model.

Who is the Data Collaborative community?

The Data Collaborative community is an initiative made up of three groups of stakeholders. When described as the Data Collaborative community, it includes all stakeholders. Otherwise, we refer to the individual stakeholders by the following:

1. Data Collaborative Team: Is a team of Read Charlotte staff members who act as the backbone organization. Generally, DC Staff is responsible for the following activities:
   • Establish shared measurement practices.
   • Guide vision and strategy.
   • Support aligned activities.

As the Data Collaborative Team, Read Charlotte is responsible for the maintenance of existing Partners, onboarding (training and integration) new participating Partners and communicating the work of the Data Collaborative community to Supporting Organizations. Read Charlotte accomplishes this by maintaining and training to the three activities above.

2. Partners: Our community currently includes 10 nonprofit organizations, who work directly with students.

• Early childhood providers (birth to 5 years old)
• After school programs (Kindergarten to 3rd grade)
• Summer programs (Kindergarten to 3rd grade)

All of the participating Partners agreed to the common aim and received the Suite of Supports to adopt four targeted behaviors.

3. Supporting Organizations: Include investors in the project currently, influencers and nonparticipating Partners. Supporting Organizations support the Data Collaborative community by providing resources, influence and suggestions.

The stakeholders directly participating in the Data Collaborative community include:

Data Collaborative Team:

• Read Charlotte

Partners:

• Above and Beyond Students
• Ada Jenkins Center
• Bethlehem Center
• Charlotte Bilingual Preschool
• Freedom School Partners
• Lakewood Preschool
• The Learning Collaborative
• Thompson Child Development Center
• YMCA
• YWCA

Supporting Organizations:

• Mecklenburg County
• Skeebo Foundation

Organizations who indirectly influence the Data Collaborative community’s work:

• CCRI (System Level Partner)
• Smart Start (System Level Partner)
• CMS (System Level Partner)
• Nonparticipating nonprofits (Partners)
• Greater Funding Community (System Level Partner)
• System at large (System Level Partner)

Below is a representation of how the three groups interact in the Data Collaborative community

How does Read Charlotte initiate and maintain behavior change?

Initiate Four Behaviors

Partners must master four key knowledge areas and skills, and implement seven routines to practice the four behaviors. Read Charlotte has designed a Suite of Supports that includes training, coaching, tools and technical assistance to develop these knowledge areas, skills and routines.

The Data Collaborative community’s Suite of Supports is executed over a three-year timeline. After three years of participating in the Suite of Supports, the participating Partners will graduate the core program and remain in the Data Collaborative community. The Data Collaborative Team believes that we can support Partners to adopt these four behaviors, but they will need additional, but less intensive, support to maintain these behaviors over time.

Future Behavior Maintenance

Partners require support to maintain four behaviors over time. The system map on page 6 illustrates how the different stakeholders will interact within the Data Collaborative community. Specifically, it demonstrates connections when the first cohort of Partners transition to maintenance, and the Data Collaborative community adds new Partners. The difference between the two types of Partners reflected in the model below is the following:

1. Direct Practitioners in Maintenance (M)- Direct Practitioners who graduated the core program and remain in the Data Collaborative community. Read Charlotte will provide less intensive support to sustain their four behaviors.
2. New Direct Practitioners (N) - New Direct Practitioners who would receive the full Data Collaborative community Suite of Supports outlined on page 5. They would transition to maintenance after three years.

Both sets of Partners will work toward the same common aim.