District data lead demonstrates Tableau to board; highlights access, filters and masking for student privacy

Adam McMickle, the district's data lead, demonstrated the district's Tableau data platform, walking the board through navigation (projects, workbooks and views), interactive filters and tabs, and application of masking rules to protect small student-group counts.

McMickle showed sample workbooks (Acadience reading historical reports and graduation dashboards) and demonstrated how to apply and reset filters, how tabs and buttons navigate between views, and how dashboards can be made interactive (clicking on a segment to filter other views). He emphasized how the platform can bring multiple data sources together to answer operational and instructional questions in meetings.

McMickle also reviewed data-privacy safeguards. He said dashboards intended for board use may include unmasked aggregated statistics for informed oversight but warned that filters can reduce group sizes to a point that would require masking. "I just would ask you to exercise caution," he said, explaining district rules to mask percentages or counts when the underlying student group becomes small (under district/state thresholds).

He said board members can request custom reports but that building new dashboards requires staff time; the district does not have a dedicated full-time report developer. McMickle encouraged board members to submit report requests through the superintendent so staff can scope and prioritize them.

Ending: Board members were given login instructions and told the platform is available for authenticated access; staff will roll out more workbooks and provide short explanations when accountability reports are published.