These are all VERY REAL metrics for me right now! 

But of course, they don’t capture the full picture of my year or my experience as a new working mom.

It’s also important to consider how joyful we feel when our daughter breaks into a grin when she sees us, or the burning rage that comes with being woken from a much-needed nap (me, of course – not the baby), or the fear I have on a daily basis of exposing my child to one of the many diseases running rampant right now. 

All of these things are both valid and critical to understanding my experience and to uncovering unmet needs.

When we think of how to tell the story of our family engagement work during yet another challenging year, we need to consider how to quantify and qualify our efforts and impacts. 

Of course, we’ll want to know who we reached and track our efforts to do so.

But it’s also important to know how those people felt after that outreach and the ways in which their lives were (hopefully) made a bit easier as a result. 

Sometimes, we also need to know how we can do better and what else our students and families need.

It just takes a creative approach to data collection to capture the full story.

As you reflect on how 2021 went for you, both personally and professionally, how would you measure your year?

Leave a comment below and let me know what measures feel authentic to your year!