More than 100 stakeholders from across Colorado joined The Attainment Network on August 27 for our State of the Data meeting. 

The meeting was the third session in our series highlighting the progress being made to build Colorado’s Statewide Longitudinal Data System – a dynamic, agile, and usable resource designed to help learners, families, educators, program managers, and policymakers make informed decisions about education and training. 

We are especially grateful to our colleagues at the Office of Information Technology – Dr. Heather MacGillivary, manager of the SLDS, and Brandi Wildfang, chief communications officer – for sharing updates on both the development of the system and the communications strategy to promote awareness and use. We also appreciate the participation of CEI and Colorado Succeeds, our partners in the Better Data for Better Decisions Coalition. 

Key Milestones Completed 

• Legal framework established to ensure privacy, security, and appropriate use—while allowing the system to evolve with new data elements and use cases. 
• Technical vendor selected after a rigorous process. 
• Key staff leadership hired, and additional positions posted for a data engineer and data analyst. 
• Phase I use cases, co-constructed with the advisory group, formally approved.