Guam and CNMI educators, workforce professionals complete national research training in data analytics

The Hafa Team/Photo courtesy of ACTE

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

A team of local education and workforce professionals has completed a rigorous four-month research training program in Applied Data Analytics, joining state teams across the nation in an initiative focused on understanding long-term student outcomes from K-12 through workforce entry.

The Hafa Data Team, composed of seven experts from Guam and the CNMI, volunteered to participate in the comprehensive training program titled "K-12 and Beyond: Leveraging SLDS Systems to Understand Long-Term Outcomes."

"With this fine group of research-minded professionals, we were first in the region to participate in such training," said Dr. Sam Mabini Young, who led the team.

"This opens future opportunities for Guam and the region to engage in more 

relevant and impactful training and research on workforce development. As a

 result, there is subsequent training now underway in the CNMI and continued efforts to conduct more applied data analytics," added Mabini, co-chair of the Guam Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Committee.

The fully subsidized training program, which ran from July 10 through Nov. 6, 2025, was developed by the Coleridge Initiative, a nonprofit organization

dedicated to helping government agencies leverage data to inform public policy and improve social outcomes.

Also on the team were Dr. JaeYong Choi from the University of Guam, Jeaniffer Cubangbang from CNMI Public School System, Benny Pinaula from Guam Election Commission, John Christian Abedes Sual and Abigail Pobrea from GDOE and Dr. Zeny Natividad from GDOE, Research, Planning and Evaluation.

Designed specifically for state government employees and partners working on education-to-career pathways, the program recognizes the challenges of professional development for busy state agency staff.

The project required two to four hours a week, sometimes more. For the 

Hafa Data team, this meant live virtual classes during early morning hours due

to time zone differences. The training equipped participants with proven data analytic approaches, including record linkage, measurement creation and data

 visualization techniques.

Working within the Coleridge Initiative's award-winning Administrative Data

 Research Facility, a secure virtual laboratory, the team analyzed restricted-use linked K-12, postsecondary, and workforce data provided by the State of New Jersey.

The hands-on experience with real-world data systems provided invaluable insights into tracking student outcomes across educational and career transitions. The training was developed in partnership with the State of New Jersey, supported by the Walton Family Foundation and the Gates Foundation.

The Hafa Adai team presented their capstone project on Dec. 10, 2025, exploring patterns in average school attendance among Career and Technical Education students—research with significant implications for workforce

 development strategies in the region.

"The experience allowed us to analyze real education-to-workforce pathways using high-quality administrative data, which is critical for improving student outcomes," Choi said.

Natividad said the freshly trained professionals can now peer-train other data staff in GovGuam agencies to enhance their capacity to conduct research for data-driven decisions" with almost any type of quality public data, including education outcomes and workforce preparation.”

The successful completion marks a significant milestone for data-driven education policy in the region, establishing local capacity for  sophisticated 

longitudinal research on student outcomes and workforce preparation. (ACTE)