TASB Launches New District Data Overview Reports for Members
Having informed conversations with lawmakers and community members is essential to a trustee’s role in advocating for their school district. Now, TASB is providing members with another tool to help them do just that.
TASB recently unveiled its newest member resource for school board trustees and superintendents in the form of customized District Data Overview reports. These reports, available for each of TASB’s member districts, are designed to provide trustees and superintendents with key data and insights about the communities they serve.
“We hope this new resource will serve as a foundational tool for members as they communicate their district’s successes and challenges with key stakeholders during the legislative interim and beyond.” said Kelly Rasti, associate executive director of Governmental Relations. “The goal is to offer a starting point for important conversations with some key data points.”
The idea for the District Data Overview reports was years in the making and was top of mind as TASB developed its Toolkit for Community Advocacy earlier this year, Rasti said.
The Governmental Relations team partnered with TASB Planning and Research to develop the unique reports, which are based on publicly available sources. They include data on student populations, district budget allocations, and staff, and list the names of each district’s board members, superintendent, and state legislators.
A key reason for creating these reports was to provide trustees with a printable resource they can use when meeting with their local legislators or other community members.
“We feel the data points we selected for the reports not only provide the broadest overview for each district, but also help tell a real story,” Rasti said. "Whether it’s understanding the students a district serves, the educators and staff supporting them, or how resources are directed to meet local needs, this information will help policymakers and communities recognize the important, often complex work that public schools do every day.”
Rasti said the response to the District Data Overview reports, which will be updated quarterly to help ensure the latest information is being shared, has been overwhelmingly positive so far.
“It’s been encouraging to see how eager school leaders have been to see them,” Rasti said. “We’re hoping our members are finding them helpful."
TASB is proud to offer the District Data Overviews reports as another part of the TASB Advantage. Trustees and superintendents can access their district-specific report today by logging into their TASB Member Dashboard.
Matt Mitchell
Matt Mitchell serves as senior communications specialist for the Communications, Marketing, and Events team. He contributes to TASB.org and Texas Lone Star magazine, hosts the TABS Talks podcast, and creates and manages content for TASB social media.
Mitchell previously served as a communications specialist at The University of Texas at Austin, where he focused on internal communications and staff-focused content for the web. He also previously worked for KXAN-TV as social media manager, where he managed the station’s daily social media content and long-form marketing campaigns.
Mitchell is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
