When we talk about working with data, many people still associate it with cold, hard numbers and reports that are out of touch with reality. School administrators often have difficulty accessing information about their students—such as their academic trajectories and needs—due to the demands of their jobs.

Furthermore, these professionals are generally isolated from day-to-day interaction with students in the classroom and are often responsible for a large number of children and adolescents during a given period. Technology, when used effectively, can transform this reality and make school management more humane.

Throughout my career, I have served both as a school principal and as a teacher, and I can say that the experience in the classroom, with the students, is completely different from that of an administrator’s office, which is filled with documents and records. Signing official documents, for example, serves almost exclusively one purpose: to legally protect the institution in the event of potential problems. Why and when do we reach the point of using bureaucracy as a shield, rather than seeing these records as a tool for understanding our students?

It is important to shift the perspective. The file cabinet can stop being just a place for storing old records and become a powerful tool for educational management. To achieve this, technology must be supported by three pillars: clear processes, a shift in mindset, and the development of solutions that can be implemented in everyday school life.

See also:

• Challenges and Opportunities of AI in Education
• Educational Assessments in a World Dominated by Artificial Intelligence
• Beyond the Hype: How Technology Can Make a Difference in Education
   

After talking with some colleagues who worked at the same school as me, I conducted an informal survey and realized that the coordinators in that school district interacted with an average of 80 students per week. In a school with 1,000 students, this amounts to just 8 percent, which means that the vast majority—at least 90 percent—remained invisible. In other words, their needs were not being heard, and administrators did not even have concrete information about them.

Students who are overlooked are at the greatest risk, whether due to declining grades, signs of emotional distress, or even truancy. Without this information, it is impossible to identify the root cause of their problems or the solution needed to retain and educate these students.

We decided to open the doors to the coordination office and collect data from all the students who passed by—the good old pen-and-paper way. We started with a specific question to find the answer to a problem we were facing: at what point does interest in math decline?

The response we received from the students was: starting in the third year of elementary school. And, in the curriculum, that is when they learn about variables—an abstract concept. Based on this experience, we were able to conclude that this was what was causing the students difficulty.

Raw data does not equate to information. In schools, we accumulate records in spreadsheets, journals, and systems that rarely translate into practical knowledge. But when we manage to organize this information in an intelligible way, we transform data into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom to guide our decisions. This cycle fosters a more balanced school community, capable of acting with humanity.

Technology plays a facilitating role here. Software powered by artificial intelligence can build a database that managers can use to analyze data and develop solutions. It is true that many people are still wary of algorithms and digital tools. Therefore, it is necessary to simplify them, make their operations transparent, and, above all, show that the goal is not to replace human relationships, but to enhance them.

At one of the school systems where I worked, we tested the creation of behavioral protocols in partnership with families, based on the students’ profiles. We started with a prototype, but after receiving feedback from educators, we continued to refine it until it became the software now used by thousands of professionals.

Simply collecting data in rarely used folders in offices and archives isn’t enough to make a difference. School attendance, student requests, parental participation in meetings, and requests brought to the administration are data points that can be transformed into useful information, helping administrators and educators see each student beyond grades and reports. And technology is the tool that can restore our ability to look more closely at each and every student.

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