A Culture of Data: Three Perspectives Fueling Change in Bulloch County

If you ask almost any school or district leader about their biggest challenges, the answer often sounds the same: important data lives in too many places. From assessment scores to attendance records, teachers and administrators find themselves juggling multiple platforms and spreadsheets, struggling to spot trends, target interventions, or even have productive team meetings. Everyone knows the data is crucial, but getting it in one place can feel impossible.

Bulloch County Schools in Georgia found themselves facing this exact problem. They needed a system to streamline how educators track student progress, identify needs, and collaborate. Along the way, they also wanted to strengthen their Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and empower teachers to make data-driven decisions—without adding complicated tools to an already busy workload. 

Their search led them to Otus and, ultimately, sparked a significant culture shift in how teachers and administrators use data.

Shifting Toward Clarity and Consistency

Dr. Kristi Kaiser, Director of MTSS, brings 28 years of experience in education, including nearly 16 years in school and district leadership, to her role. She ensures that Bulloch County’s plan for providing high-quality Tier 2 and 3 interventions is strong. This includes delivering and tracking progress monitoring interventions, as well as managing the data from those efforts. One assessment top of mind for Dr. Kaiser and her team is the district’s dyslexia screener—required in Georgia under the Georgia Literacy Act (2023) and Senate Bill 48 (2019).

With Otus in place as its data hub, Bulloch County Schools made a district-wide push to centralize student information and cut down on siloed data. 

Having every major data source—pre- and post-assessments, reading scores, math growth, and behavior trends—flowing into Otus has helped the district move toward greater clarity. Instead of guesswork, teachers know exactly which students need reteaching, which need tiered interventions, and which can be challenged further.

Empowering Elementary ELA: Assessments and “Data Digs”

As a fifth-grade teacher, Summer Bishop has a wealth of data at her fingertips, which she uses to guide decisions for individual students and her class. In PLC meetings, she and other educators collaborate to analyze real-time progress and determine the next instructional steps as part of the district’s “data dig” process. While this process benefits all grade levels and content areas, it’s especially valuable for Summer in ELA.

For Bulloch, having one system to build and monitor assessments has made it easier to identify which students have mastered standards—and which need more targeted support.

Running these assessments in Otus streamlines Bulloch’s discussions about reteaching or regrouping. Teachers can quickly see who’s at mastery, who’s getting close, and who might need a fresh intervention strategy.

Powering PLCs with Advanced Assessment Tools

Brandon Poole, a seventh-grade science teacher, has found that having multiple data points makes his job significantly easier. While the district’s strategic plan focuses on English Language Arts and Math, Brandon often asks, “In this supporting content area, how can we help our students meet expectations?” This wrap-around approach to instruction—recognizing that subjects like science play a critical role in student success—makes all the difference.

Brandon’s ability to create standards-aligned questions and assessments in Otus allows him to incorporate deeper question types and access robust analytics. For secondary teachers like him, this combination of rigor and ease of use is key. With Otus, collaborative teams can create common exams, share them quickly, and break down results to identify who needs reteaching.

This level of flexibility has allowed Bulloch to streamline PLC discussions and pinpoint learning gaps faster than before.

Smooth Implementation and Ongoing Support

Adopting new software can feel overwhelming, but Bulloch County Schools credits in-district training and a responsive support team for helping educators embrace Otus without the usual growing pains. Quick access to Otus representatives means issues get resolved fast, and ongoing guidance—both live and online—ensures teachers have what they need when they need it.

Beyond personal communication, the Bulloch team has tapped into Otus’ evergrowing library of tutorial videos, allowing staff to reinforce what they’ve learned in trainings, especially when they’re not actively using certain tools every day.

And for other K–12 leaders considering Otus? The team at Bulloch offers this advice.

Ultimately, feeling supported and empowered can be the difference between just “adopting” a new tool and truly reimagining how a district uses data to drive student growth.