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Directors Update

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES TO ENHANCE DISTRICTS’ DATA ECOSYSTEMS IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE PRIORITIES

This month saw the CNYRIC facilitating professional development and supporting data-driven instruction for our educational partners. During conference days, we provided extensive AIMSWeb Plus training, delivering specialized sessions on progress monitoring and reporting. We also co-presented comprehensive sessions on attendance reporting. We guided leadership teams and teachers in exploring attendance reports, helping them effectively drill down into data elements to better understand attendance codes.

We’re also supporting educators in interpreting recent state exam data by providing item analysis reports from the 2025 and 2026 testing cycles. Using data analysis protocols, we helped teachers identify areas of student success and areas needing improvement, which empowered them to begin targeted action planning.

We’ve also been providing strategic support for the STAR assessment system. Following implementation and staff training at the elementary and intermediate levels of one of our districts, we are launching a middle school pilot program for the remainder of the academic year to evaluate the product's effectiveness for those teachers. In other STAR districts, we are analyzing software usage data to affirm alignment with academic goals, helping ensure that platform renewals for the 2026–27 school year will be streamlined and precisely tailored to evolving district needs. 

As state testing approaches, we have been working to help our districts resolve system errors and clean up data, ensuring that information is completely accurate and reporting correctly to state education departments. Recently, we have assisted with verifying and fixing records related to student enrollments, specialized student programs (such as English Language Learners and Pre-K), course mappings, and teacher certifications.

Upcoming training opportunity: Virtual Regional Data Analysis and Facilitation Spring User Group. This session is designed to support the development of effective data teams by covering essential topics such as team creation, the structuring of data meetings and agendas, and proven strategies for facilitators. Please see the link for more information, and to register!

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES TO ENHANCE DISTRICTS’ SECURITY POSTURE IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE PRIORITIES

At the March Data Privacy Officer monthly meeting, the CNYRIC hosted cyber insurance experts who presented on the current marketplace, the 2026 outlook, and key coverage considerations. To determine risk and district premiums, insurance companies evaluate several critical cyber controls: Backups, secure email gateways, multi-factor authentication (MFA) for staff, vulnerability management, disaster recovery and business continuity plans, and endpoint detection and response (EDR). Additionally, due to a significant rise in fund transfer fraud, dual authorization protocols for all financial transactions are a new requirement this year. The presentation slide deck is available here.

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES TO ENHANCE DISTRICTS’ TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE PRIORITIES

Reminder: Shaping the 2027–2030 WAN Renewal

Following up on our recent email announcement that went out on March 25, 2026, planning for the next Wide Area Network (WAN) service cycle is officially underway! To ensure the 2027–2030 renewal reflects your district’s specific needs, we are hosting two virtual informational sessions this April.

What to expect: We will review the current WAN, review the survey and define key networking terms to prepare your team to complete the survey. This survey is vital for identifying regional priorities like scalability, security, and redundancy.

Save the Date (Attend One):



• Tuesday, April 7, 2026 | 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
• Monday, April 20, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Next Step: Register Here to choose your session and receive your Zoom calendar invite.

Note: We recommend attending as an administrative team to ensure instructional, technical, and fiscal perspectives are all represented.