369: Data Symplifyed with Jessica Lane & Jenelle McClenahen
Data can feel overwhelming in education—assessment scores, progress monitoring, intervention tracking, attendance trends, and classroom performance. In this episode, we’re joined by Jessica Lane and Jenelle McClenahen from Data Symplifyed to talk about how educators can make data more manageable, meaningful, and useful in their daily work.
https://alwaysalesson.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/355-Open-to-Learning-with-Jennifer-Burns.jpgQUOTABLES
**All quotes are from the interviewees**
* "The point is to test something and see if it's really making an impact."
* "It [collecting data] doesn't have to be fancy."
* "If you don't have the consistency and routine, then you don't have anything."
ABOUT JESSICA LANE & JENELLE MCCLENAHEN
Jessica Lane is an educator and former school leader with a career rooted in supporting teachers and students through practical, meaningful systems. She is the founder of Data-Informed Impact and serves as the Tech Cofounder of Symplifyed, where she helps design human-centered data tools that support real classroom and school-level work. She is the author of the forthcoming book Data-Informed, People-Driven, which focuses on using data to strengthen culture, align goals, and drive sustainable improvement in schools. Jessica believes data should serve people first and lead to clear, actionable, and lasting change.
Jenelle McClenahen is the CEO and Founder of Symplifyed, delivering decision infrastructure for every K–5 classroom. Symplifyed turns fragmented classroom data into real-time guidance that supports diverse learners and unlocks capacity for the entire classroom. A former inclusion educator with a Master’s in Education from Santa Clara University and training in Universal Design for Learning, Jenelle combines systems design, educator training, and mindset shifts to strengthen how schools collect and use data. Her work is deeply informed by both her classroom experience and her journey as a parent of a neurodivergent child, reinforcing her commitment to building data practices that are clear, affirming, and truly supportive of all learners.
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
* symplifyed.com [http://symplifyed.com]
* Vanessa Vakharia, known as@TheMathGuruon X [https://x.com/TheMathGuru]
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