Charter Schools

Eric Cronstrom | How we made the switch: a case study on automating a complex report | RStudio

The Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University produces annual reports for about 60 schools. The reporting process used to be a cumbersome blend of many technologies. The Center used to use a blend of SQL, Excel, inDesign, and VBScript that would all culminate in a nice looking, branded report for each school. 2 years ago, staff turnover allowed the data team to rethink the process, having had experience in R from graduate work the team at the Center decided to go all in on R Studio and R Markdown for report production a mere 1 month before the reports were due to be published.

This talk will be a case study of how we as an organization adopted RStudio tools to streamline a cumbersome process to fantastic results.

About Eric: Eric is responsible for administering a wide range of day to day program functions associated with the performance and accountability of CMU partner schools. He ensures that the data the Center utilizes to evaluate school performance is accurate and stored within a sound data infrastructure. He also leverages his wide range of technical skills to lead the development and production of reports and respond to questions regarding school performance and demographic context. Prior to joining the Center, Eric was a database administrator for Central Michigan University Libraries. He has also served as a lecturer at Central Michigan University teaching courses in web design, database design and programming. He earned a master’s degree in information systems management and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Central Michigan University. He is also pursuing an additional master’s degree in applied statistics at Central Michigan University