Clarity, Connection, Momentum with Jenelle McClenahen - Ep 13

Sep 18

🎙️ Who's on the Mic?

This week’s episode is a little different, and I am (as my dad loves to point out) super excited about it. I was joined by the incredible Jenelle McClenahen, the CEO and founder of Symplifyed.

Jenelle’s story is amazing. She was a teacher who, after her son was diagnosed with autism, saw the power of breaking down big milestones into tiny, measurable steps through his ABA therapy. She had a lightbulb moment and thought, "Why aren't we doing this in the classroom?" She started revamping her entire curriculum with "I can" statements, built a spreadsheet (you know I love a good spreadsheet), and accidentally created a startup.

Oh, and there’s one other thing: I’m joining her.

💬 Episode Snapshot

Yep, you read that right. After dropping more hints than a Taylor Swift album, I’m making it official: I’m joining Symplifyed as the Director of Analytics and Integration. It was an immediate "yes" for me, and in this episode, Jenelle and I unpacked exactly why.

We talked about how we were first connected by a mutual friend (shout out to Chris Graves!) and bonded instantly over our shared mission: to make data useful, humane, and empowering for teachers. It was never about creating another platform to check a box. It was about solving real problems.

Our entire conversation really boiled down to the three core values we’ve decided to center all of our work around: Clarity, Connection, and Momentum. It’s about cutting through the noise to see what matters, breaking down the silos that keep educators struggling alone, and building the kind of energy that makes real change happen.

💡 Key Takeaways

Clarity Cuts Through the Chaos: We’ve all seen the dashboards that look like the cockpit of a fancy plane. When I first started building them, I was guilty of it, too, throwing in every scatter plot and waterfall chart I could find. And guess who looked at them? Nobody. Jenelle and I talked about the crucial difference between "just in case" data (overwhelming) and "just in time" data (actionable). It’s not about having all the numbers; it’s about having the right numbers at the right time.
Connection is a Human Need (Especially in Education): For too long, teachers have been forced to work in isolation, struggling with the same problems in separate rooms. Connection is about building a village. It’s about creating systems where the teacher, the para, and the specialist are all on the same page without needing a 30-minute meeting. It’s also about fostering a broader community where educators can share what’s actually working, just like in those super-active principal Facebook groups.
Momentum is the Engine of Change: This is a big one for me. Looking at data once and then letting it collect dust on the corner of your desk (I've been there) does nothing. Real change comes from a cycle: look at data, create an action plan, come back to that same data to see the impact. When teachers see that their actions directly led to a positive result, that’s the dopamine hit. That’s the "quick win" that builds momentum and makes them want to use data.

🎬 Actionable Insights

Find Your "Quick Win" Data Point: The next time your team meets, resist the urge to pull up the entire diagnostic report. Instead, identify one small, specific skill for one small group of students. Track just that one thing for two weeks. The goal isn't to solve everything at once; it's to make the impact visible and build that crucial momentum.
Break Down a Goal into "I Can" Statements: Take one big, overwhelming goal for a student ("Writes a narrative story") and break it down into the smallest possible steps, just like Jenelle's kindergarten team did. Start with "I can hold a pencil." Then, "I can draw a line." Celebrate and track progress on those tiny steps first. You can’t get to the top of the staircase without climbing the first step.
Ask "What's the Purpose?" Before You Collect: Before you create one more Google Form or tracking sheet, stop and ask your team two questions: 1) What is the one core purpose of collecting this? 2) What will we do once we have the answer? If the answer is vague or just "to have the data," scrap it. This is your defense against decision fatigue and collecting data just to check a box.

Request more information on Symplifyed here: https://www.symplifyed.com/pricing

Commit before October 31st, 2025, and enjoy a 10% discount.

This week’s episode is a little different, and I am (as my dad loves to point out) super excited about it. I was joined by the incredible Jenelle McClenahen, the CEO and founder of Symplifyed.

Learn more about Jenelle McClenahen at www.symplifyed.com

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Connect with Jenelle McClenahen

Email: jenelle@symplifyed.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jenelle-mcclenahen-67a75570/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563494914023

https://www.instagram.com/symplify.ed/

Data in Education: A Podcast