For many schools, midyear benchmarks land in December or January. The data arrives quickly, often alongside competing priorities, winter fatigue, and the pressure to “do something” fast. Midyear data isn’t just another checkpoint. It’s one of the most important leadership moments of the school year. Handled well, it can set the trajectory for the rest of the year. Handled poorly, it becomes another data report no one revisits and another compliance exercise that leads to init