Date of Award
6-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Selected Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities
Department
Education
School
School of Education and Human Services
Abstract
Public school districts face growing expectations to advance educational equity while operating within accountability systems that often prioritize measurable performance outcomes. Despite these expectations, less is understood about how central office leaders use data to support equity-focused systems change across schools. This critical exploratory case study examined how central office leaders in one public school district with an explicit commitment to equity used data to advance equity-focused improvement efforts. Guided by culturally responsive school leadership, coherence, and infrastructure of accountability frameworks, the study explored how leaders established a districtwide vision for equity, built capacity for data use, and used data to inform improvement efforts across the district. Data sources included interviews with district and school leaders, a focus group with school-based equity leaders, observations of district meetings, and district artifacts. Findings showed that equity-focused data use extended beyond technical analysis and involved ongoing efforts to reinterpret inequities, contextualize student experiences, and create more reflective approaches to district decision-making. Leaders engaged with disaggregated data, student and family perspectives, collaborative inquiry, and evolving data systems to develop deeper understandings of inequities across schools. Organizational dynamics, varying understandings of equity, and accountability shaped how leaders prioritized and interpreted this work. Ultimately, equity-focused data use involved more than moving from data to action. It required leaders to slow down, engage in collaborative reflection and inquiry, and rethink district improvement practices within educational systems shaped by urgency, accountability pressures, and longstanding inequities.
Related Pillar(s)
Study
Recommended Citation
Sánchez, Nadine, ""What is That Data Really Telling You?": How Central Office Leaders Use Equity-Focused Data Practices to Rethink District Improvement" (2026). Theses & Dissertations. 249.
https://digitalcommons.molloy.edu/etd/249
