Client best practices: Making data-driven decisions with Xello Reports
Insights from Xello use has allowed Port Byron Central School District to design and optimize tailored CCR programs
Port Byron Central School District is part of a small, rural community in upstate New York. Its 850 UPK-12 students attend either the elementary school or the high school, which are connected and sit on the same campus.
Although college and career readiness (CCR) was a priority for the district, it lacked a robust, all-encompassing program that could move with students as they progressed from elementary to high school.
“We do our best to provide [CCR] resources and opportunities for our students and we were looking for something to help us do that in a more intentional way,” said Katie Naples, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.
With a large proportion of students of a lower socioeconomic status, the district feels particularly compelled to demonstrate the wide array of career opportunities available to them.
When the district introduced Xello in 2023, they began rolling out lessons to all age groups. In the elementary school, their youngest students immediately responded.
“Students look forward to Xello lessons. When given an academic choice of what to work on, sometimes the younger grades will choose to play in Xello’s Career Town. It’s easy enough for kids to go in and do on their own, and the teacher can enhance the experience with the lesson plans provided,” said Naples.
“At the elementary level, it’s important to have intentional conversations about the future. Xello expands students’ view of careers beyond what their parents do, hopefully broadening their perspectives when it comes to college and careers.”
Naples says Grades 3-5 are equally interested in Xello as they complete missions designed to uncover their interests. “The conversation changes a bit. It’s not just about careers, but exploring different opportunities based on their personal interests.
“The ease of use and the flow of the platform makes it enticing to elementary school students. They like going on Xello.”
Xello Reports offer data that shapes CCR programming
High schoolers have also embraced the program in their advisory periods. They complete grade-appropriate lessons with the guidance of their advisory teacher. Kim Brown, the Junior/Senior High School Principal, says he appreciates the additional value that comes from the insights guidance counselors can gather from their explorations.
“Our guidance counselors can go into Xello and see what students’ interest levels are based on their Career Clusters. This can start conversations that can help inform the classes they want to take,” he said.
Kevin Barber, a Junior/Senior High School Guidance Counselor, says he’s used Xello data to design and invite the right students to field trips in the community.
“We had a heavy equipment field trip planned and we looked at Xello to see which students would be interested based on their Career Clusters. We were able to have more directed conversations with those students and invite them to participate in the field trip,” he said.
“Since then, we’ve been using this data to help organize experiences, programs, and college visits geared toward our students’ interests.”
Naples says this data-driven decision making has had an impact on students. “The more they hear how and why people are being chosen to go on specific field trips, the more they understand the importance of knowing their own interests and what they should take part in. There’s more of a reason for students to take it seriously.”
Using Xello 7-12 results to design distance learning pathways
The district collaborates with Cayuga Community College on distance learning dual enrollment classes for high school students. Among the offerings are criminal justice pathways, education, and advanced manufacturing.
“We use Xello data to identify and start conversations with students who may be a good fit for those classes. Knowing what the students are interested in also helps us develop which pathways we want to develop in the future.”
Katie Naples, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Encouraging students to keep records in Xello
High school guidance counselors are also using Xello to house scholarships so students and their families can easily access that information.
Barber says they’re encouraging students to keep track of their extracurricular activities, including sports and volunteer work, in the Experiences section of Xello. “When teachers are asked to write a letter of recommendation, it’s great to be able to pull up that information.”
Tracey Pirozzolo, Junior/Senior High School Guidance Counselor, says this habit is helpful for students as well. “Sometimes they’re asked to come up with a resume or they need to write a college essay. When they track their activities, achievements, and awards throughout the years, it’s so much easier to put it all together when they need to. We encourage them to keep it up to date in Xello.”
Encouraging students to keep records in Xello
High school guidance counselors are also using Xello to house scholarships so students and their families can easily access that information.
Barber says they’re encouraging students to keep track of their extracurricular activities, including sports and volunteer work, in the Experiences section of Xello. “When teachers are asked to write a letter of recommendation, it’s great to be able to pull up that information.”
Tracey Pirozzolo, Junior/Senior High School Guidance Counselor, says this habit is helpful for students as well. “Sometimes they’re asked to come up with a resume or they need to write a college essay. When they track their activities, achievements, and awards throughout the years, it’s so much easier to put it all together when they need to. We encourage them to keep it up to date in Xello.”
Data informs strategic plan revisions
Now that the district has more data about their students’ interests, they are using it as they revise their strategic plan. “A lot of ideas have been generated. We may create a career centre where high school students work on pathways. In the elementary school, we’ve discussed broadening their CCR experiences by bringing in more guest speakers and giving students more hands-on activities when it comes to careers,” said Naples.
“Now that we know the platform a little better and the data it’s giving us, it’s broadening the experience for kids and what that looks like in K-12.”
Internally, Xello’s Advisement Notes have also been helpful for elementary guidance counselors as they hand off students to high school counselors.
“When students come to the 7th grade, Kevin and Tracey will have the notes available and they can get an understanding of students’ interests before they even get to know them. We were using Google Sheets before and it’s much easier to have everything in one platform,” said Naples.
Xello Reports are useful for Naples when determining scheduling and classes. “I also use it to monitor lesson progress to see who’s completed what.
“It’s nice to be able to pull up the report and see student engagement at a glance. If there’s a grade level that’s lagging, we can investigate the hiccup. And pulling the Career Cluster reports with the bar graphs is a good big-picture view, but you can dig in even deeper to get targeted information and trends.”
For Brown, one of the most surprising benefits of Xello is that it helps him encourage his students to think bigger.
“Sometimes we have to push kids to get to a place where they didn’t think they could be. We want them to understand that there are no limits and that it may take a bit more effort to get there, but it pays off. Xello helps open their eyes to the possibilities.”
