Describing the data gathering and reporting methods employed by Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez over the last 7 years as “inefficient,” Deputy Superintendent Paul Foster (“New Deputy in Town”) used a recent Board of Education meeting to introduce a new player into the data game at Hartford Public Schools.

At the cost of $139,000 a year, HPS will be hiring Massachusetts based Open Architects (OA) to build and maintain a new data collection and reporting system throughout the district.  HPS currently employs at least 5 different data collection and reporting systems that are scattered, do not talk to each other, and ignores data requests by BOE members.

Mr. Foster told the board that the new OA system will create a central hub for all district school data.  Student, finance, human resource, and other data and reports will now be accessible via a central reporting dashboard with current, up-to-date data (I’m sure there will be some central office smoke delay built in).  The system will even include a “hiring tracker” – so that’s the reason Dr. Curtis and the folks at the Office of Talent Management have appeared so incompetent, no hiring tracker!  In 1985, a little company called Microsoft released a piece of data software called Excel, available now for $160.00.

Aside from all data being delivered to one grand central station for analysis and reporting, Mr. Foster said the system will save time and money by freeing up staff in the Performance Accountability Department (HPS has such a thing?) and by allowing HPS to ditch some of the current data reporting systems being used.  When asked to detail what time savings would be realized by the folks in the PAD, the board was not given any specifics (maybe the OA system will provide that data in the future) but was pretty much told that you can imagine how much more time these folks will have on their hand when they’re not constantly skewering data for the superintendent.  And how much money will the district save by getting rid of some of the other systems?  $30,000 a year.  Outstanding.

Mr. Foster said that “other vendors and options were considered” before the district settled on OA.  No other vendors were named and none of the other options considered were brought up during this meeting with the board.  Deputy Fife…I mean Foster, stated that one of the reasons OA was chosen was that they company was run by former school district personnel, “people who have lived and sat in the seats” of a school district.  Mr. Foster mentioned OA’s ability to build the system and manage the data as being an important consideration.  Also, OA’s experience in working with data systems which the district already uses was important.

A cynic would follow the career trail of Mr. Foster and Open Architect’s CEO, Seth Racine, and think that this contract may have more to do with nepotism than ability or level of proposal.  While Mr. Foster was serving as Policy Analyst for the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center in Boston, Mr. Racine was serving as Assistant Budget Director for the City of Boston.  Mr. Foster became director of the data management system for the city of Springfield, Massachusetts in September of 2007.  In October 2007, Mr. Racine became a financial analyst for the City of Springfield.  And here we are in Hartford.

Mr. Foster writes that while in the employ of the City of Springfield, he “was responsible for designing and implementing a citywide” data management program, CityStat.  While in the employ of Springfield Public Schools, Mr. Foster managed the Office of Information, Technology, and Accountability (OITA).  With his data and IT background, and his history of “designing and implementing” a data system for a city the size of Hartford, did HPS consider tasking him with developing a new and improved data management system for the district?  I mean, his HPS salary is almost double what the district is paying OA, may have been an opportunity to save more than the thirty grande OA is saving them.

During the July 12th BOE meeting introducing OA, Board Member Browdy stated that “Every year there is a new idea with data collection and here we are again.”  Ms. Browdy may have been thinking of the $140,000 given to DilingerRAD for a 2-year contract in November of 2021, expiring in June of 2023 with no renewal.  This is what the Superintendent stated about DilingerRAD at the issuance of that contract:

“Over the past 3 years, the Hartford Public School system has invested an immense amount of time, money, and resources to implement the Data Wise Improvement Process throughout all of its schools and data teams. This collaborative process will provide a long-term impact to both students and staff across the district if it continues to be utilized as intended. Currently, the Office of Performance and Accountability lacks the time or resources to develop and implement a centralized system to help manage the district Data Wise process, monitoring school and department data teaming. Dillinger Research and Applied Data can help to ensure the right system and processes are implemented.”

Apparently DilingerRAD couldn’t produce the “right system and processes.”  I wonder what the Vegas odds are on Open Architects?  When asked by a board member what “is the confidence rate of pulling this off?”  Mr. Foster said he was “very confident.”  Mr. Racine was “extremely confident.”  He stated that he had “the best team lined up.”  When Mr. Foster was asked if there was a written guarantee of OA’s proposals, he stated that would have to be another conversation involving OA.

The new system being designed, built, and managed by OA is supposed to be up and running by June of 2024.  Watch any BOE meeting after that date.  If Ms. Browdy asks for data during the meeting and receives the normal district reply of, “we don’t have that with us, but we will get it to you,” you will know that Open Architects was, like DilingerRAD, unable to supply HPS with the “right system and process.”  Or, it could also mean that the folks in central office are just incompetent.