Ep 9: A Conversation about Data and Coaching with Reyna Lazarou and Jordan Benedict

Data in schools is everywhere. But how often do we slow down long enough to let it actually change anything?In this episode of Data Talks, Jordan and Reyna, both instructional and learning coaches, take us into what they call "the messy middle" — that space between big-picture school goals and the day-to-day reality of classrooms. Together, they explore what it really means to be a conduit for data: translating, facilitating, and sometimes just sitting alongside teachers as they make sense of what the evidence is telling them.The conversation moves through rich territory — from the risks and rewards of giving students ownership of their own data, to the confirmation biases that shape which data we trust and which we quietly push aside. Jordan shares how a simple stopwatch transformed a music teacher's rehearsal practice, while Reyna describes the lightbulb moment when a teacher rethought how students receive feedback. Along the way, both make a compelling case for slowing down in a profession that always seems to want everything done yesterday.At its core, this is a conversation about people, not numbers. About the courage it takes to let data ask uncomfortable questions, and the relationships that make it safe enough to sit with the answers. Whether you're a coach, a teacher, or a school leader, you'll walk away rethinking what data really means — and what it could mean — in your own context.