Data-Driven Leadership That Changes School Culture — Episode 960
Most principals say “data-driven” and mean test scores. Dr. Deborah Dennie means attendance, discipline, and climate too — and it changed her school.
Dr. Deborah Dennie has led Leonardtown Middle School in St. Mary’s County, Maryland for ten years. She’s Maryland’s Middle School Principal of the Year and one of three middle-school finalists for the 2026 NASSP National Principal of the Year. In this episode she walks Vicki through the data routine she runs every two weeks, why she spent her entire first year looking and listening instead of changing things, and how a classic car show and a 94% attendance goal did more for her building than another round of test-score analysis.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why her first year as principal was spent looking and listening, not changing anything
• The every-two-weeks data review she runs with her assistant principals and resource teacher
• How she identifies teachers above the building failure average — and the questions she sends them
• Why attendance and discipline data drive instructional data, not the other way around
• How her school hit the state’s 94% attendance number using community, not consequences
• What she tells teachers who are hurting and tired
Full show notes, free data drive resources, AI prompts, and the transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e960
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