Continuous improvement · Evaluation · Responsible adoption
The analysis is the easy part. The harder work is asking the right question first, defending a decision made on imperfect data, and meeting an accountability demand without reducing the work to compliance.
Twenty-five years in public K‑12 across a single arc: a decade teaching in the elementary classroom, then program specialist, then Director of Research, Evaluation, and Accountability. That range means evaluation and accountability work stays anchored in how schools and classrooms actually operate.
The through-line is discipline, clarity, and learning-centered design at every increasing level of system complexity.
Rebuilt a district evaluation portfolio serving 100+ schools. Replaced an ad hoc selection process with a criteria-driven method that redirected review toward the district’s highest-cost, least-examined programs, leading a fifteen-person team.
First in the district to apply program evaluation methods to an operational department. Merged program evaluation and management consulting to extend the unit’s reach beyond academic programs, a first for the district and for its longtime evaluation partner.
Built early warning indicators for dropout prevention. Developed predictive analytics from longitudinal student data as a Strategic Data Project Fellow at Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research.
Moved practice and outcomes on a districtwide literacy initiative. More than 90% of principals reported stronger use of evidence-based literacy practices, and more than 65% of students improved in phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
Systems that balance rigor with usability and promote learning rather than compliance. Mixed methods throughout, including interviews, focus groups, and survey design.
Interpreting and communicating evidence with confidence and integrity where stakes are highest.
Assessing whether what a system adopted is actually being used as intended and whether it has the capacity to sustain it. Rubrics, scoring frameworks, and verification of vendor claims against source documentation.
Adult learning built around data analysis, data literacy, and instructional decision-making.
Building new capability where it is missing: improvement cycles, routines, and learning structures that transfer ownership to internal staff over time.
Before a team opens anything, three questions.
Improvement in a school system rarely arrives in a straight line. Year one often looks flat, sometimes worse, and flat is when good programs get cut. Further along, the curve levels off and spending continues after the gains have stopped. Much of the value in this work is knowing where on that curve a program actually sits, which is only possible if someone measured where it started.
Amanda was the first to request a research-based evaluation of an operational department … the first I had ever witnessed from a program evaluation unit.
Fulton County Schools
Earlier at Fulton County Schools: Humanities Program Specialist, literacy strategy across 20+ schools. Previously: classroom teacher, DeKalb County Schools.
Fulton County Schools · Harvard University, Center for Education Policy Research · Georgia Policy Labs, Georgia State University · ILO Group · Gibson Consulting Group · DeKalb County Schools
Districts, state agencies, education nonprofits and foundations, consulting firms, and ed-tech organizations, including as a subcontractor.
Reach out when you need an evaluation partner, an outside read on your data, or help vetting a high-stakes initiative.
amanda@swerdlowpartners.com