Tom Kaster Email & Phone Number

I've been a high school math teacher for the last 17 years and have taught pre-algebra to calculus, AP Statistics and AP Calculus AB, and most frequently IB Standard Level (SL) Math. I have taught in 6 different countries around the globe. During my teaching career I have been Head of Department at multiple schools and have also led professional development sessions at my last two schools. Most recently, I have started looking at the external IB exam test results for our recently graduated seniors and led a training for all of the IB teachers on how to use a data dashboard that I created that provided in depth analysis for teachers to dig into their predictions for students compared to the actual marks earned by the students on the IB exams and internal assessments. This was well received by teachers and administration and provided insights to teachers who have been teaching IB courses for years, but never truly understood how to analyze the results effectively.Prior to teaching, I worked in benefits administration, specifically within the defined benefits sector. Here I managed a call center and also analyzed and streamlined processes to make the workflow from plan participant initiating their benefits request to payment more efficient. I also created a backup benefit calculator in Excel to support the building of a proprietary calculator system that was behind schedule. Merging these two careers and a passion for bringing data to life, I am looking to find ways to use data to assist teachers in the classroom and streamline some of the day to day processes and information about students that we (as teachers) know in our heads, but often don't have readily available to present to students, parents or administration. I believe there is untapped opportunities to incorporate common business practices (like data dashboards, data visualization and data literacy in general) into classroom settings.Data is the future and those people who have most contact with the future leaders of the world are often ill-equipped to provide real world examples of how to understand and apply data in their day to day lives. I am hoping to bridge that gap.