Qualitative Data is Important Data

Last Monday our IBM Corp Service Corps team began the week touring Tarboro, Princeville and the general area that serves the students of North Edgecombe High School and North Philips School of Innovation. Our mission is clear: find a way to get from the data a method to track the qualitative  results into a view that teachers and administrators can see and make adjustments to learning. A challenging task but we’re willing to take a crack at it.

North Edgecombe High is ranked 448-532nd within North Carolina. The total minority enrollment is 94%, and 98% of students are economically disadvantaged.

North Edgecombe High is 1 of 4 high schools in the Edgecombe County Public Schools district.

With rankings like this the school challenges itself to work "outside the box" to find methods that work for all students. History has proven that the traditional methods have almost all failed here.

Qualitative methods the two schools are working to measure include: 

• Design Lab - where students pick a topic of study, research it to answer their own questions toward completion.
• Roses in Concrete - a model for urban education that prioritizes the needs of youth and families as the pathway to building healthy and sustainable communities

IBM launched the pro bono Corporate Service Corps in 2008 primarily as a vehicle for global leadership development.

IBM launched the pro bono Corporate Service Corps in 2008 primarily as a vehicle for global leadership development. Teams of from eight to 15 members partner with government, business and civic leaders in emerging markets to address high-priority issues such as education, health and economic development. The Corporate Service Corps gives employees the chance to spend several weeks helping others tackle complex problems.  This is the first time the CSC has been deployed within the United States.