01
Intake and calendar lock
We confirm the board or visit date, the registers you can share, and who signs off wording. No work starts until both sides agree what “done” looks like for this cycle.
Working method
How an engagement unfolds
A practical sequence we use for annual reports, enrollment briefings, and mid-year checks — adjusted to your board calendar.
02
Indicator agreement
Together we write definitions for attainment clusters, attendance thresholds, and enrollment stages. Ambiguous house terms get a glossary before charting begins.
03
Register reconciliation
We check totals, duplicate rows, and year-on-year breaks. When numbers refuse to reconcile, we stop and ask rather than invent a bridge.
04
Draft narrative and charts
Commentary leads; charts support. Each figure carries a source note and a caution when samples are thin. You review two rounds on the annual package.
05
Walkthrough and handoff
We rehearse the verbal delivery, leave you the editable working files, and close the engagement. Optional mid-year checks can reuse the same indicator sheet.
What you prepare
Prior-year results extracts, current enrollment census tables, any board targets already approved, and a list of phrases your governors dislike. That last item saves awkward revisions.