Author: Dorcas Kong

News & Announcements

Open Door Sessions

CCEE, in collaboration with LEAs and partner organizations, is hosting “Open Door” sessions to share best practices, tools/resources, and strategies to support student learning. These sessions provide opportunities for county office and/or district staff to listen and learn from other LEAs across the state.

Click on the links below to register for upcoming Open Door sessions.

• Leading with Clarity: How Health and Attendance Guidance Drives School Success (11/19/24 at 3:30pm) – Register here!

Missed a session? Below are links to archived materials from past Open Door Sessions:

• The Role of Social-Emotional Learning in Boosting School Attendance

• Elevating School Attendance Through Meaningful Engagement

• Mitigating Outdoor Extreme Heat: How Schoolyard Greening is Critical for Resilience

• Energy and Grid Resilience: Mitigating Risk through Climate Adaptation

Please check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on all our offerings.

LEA Spotlights

The Spotlights Project aims to celebrate some of the innovative, inclusive, and shareable practices that LEA teams have implemented to improve outcomes for students across our state. Each Spotlight organizes the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in a way that calls attention to emerging practices, reproducible strategies, and applicable resources, in hopes of introducing accessible points of conversation for other LEAs looking to resolve similar issues.

Below are recently published Spotlights. Click on the links below to learn more about the innovative practices taking place in these LEAs.

Santa Barbara USD installed solar panels and microgrid systems to strengthen its resilience against wildfires, mudslides, and earthquakes.

Da Vinci Charter Academy in Davis JUSD integrated its graduate profile with project-based learning for real-world success.

Rincon Valley USD prioritizes formative assessment and mathematical learning progressions to answer three questions: 1) Where are our learners? 2) Where do we want them to be? 3) How do we get them there?

San Carlos SD partnered with a community-based organization to mitigate and prepare for storm-based flooding.

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Featured Resources

• Local Assessment System Review learning path & accompanying tool – Developed in partnership with the Center for Assessment, these resources guide school/district teams in conducting a review of their assessment system.

• Listen to the most recent episode of CCEE’s Rising from the Margins Podcast! Through heartfelt stories and powerful examples, this episode highlights how Bakersfield City School District is leveraging the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI)’s resources to not only meet LCAP goals but to transform the educational experience for students and their families.

• The UDL Data Toolkit was developed from the insights and recommendations outlined in the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) memo, emphasizing the need for comprehensive data collection and evaluation to enhance the effectiveness of UDL practices. One of the core concepts highlighted is the importance of gathering data at different levels—referred to as large, medium, and fine grain data—and triangulating this information to gain a holistic understanding of the impact on students, educators, and the broader educational system. This toolkit was collaboratively designed with educators and experts from organizations like Supporting Inclusive Practices (SIP), the California Coalition for Inclusive Learning (CCIL), and Open Access, ensuring it is grounded in practical experience and research. It offers a structured approach with guidance, tools, and resources to support local education agencies in tracking progress, making data-driven decisions, and continuously improving UDL implementation to foster inclusive and effective learning environments.

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About the I3 Center

The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center implements a statewide approach to improving LEA capacity by collaboratively developing, delivering, sharing, and spotlighting practices that have demonstrated the power to improve outcomes for students.

About the CCEE

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence is a statewide leader delivering on California’s promise of a quality, equitable education for every student.

Chronic absenteeism is a significant barrier to student success, impacting academic achievement, engagement, and overall well-being. Schools and districts can address this challenge by implementing actionable strategies that foster student attendance and improve outcomes. By creating a supportive school environment, engaging families, and using data to identify and address attendance issues early, school and district teams can make meaningful progress in reducing absenteeism. This approach not only drives students to attend school regularly but also sets the foundation for long-term academic success and positive student outcomes. The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center led by Deputy Executive Director Sujie Shin, is sharing the findings that can help you decrease chronic absenteeism rates in your local educational agencies (LEAs).

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I don’t think any of us who work with schools disagrees that chronic absenteeism continues to be a challenge for our schools, especially for students who have additional challenges–learning, economic, socioemotional, and family. What we continue to struggle with is what we can do to increase attendance, especially for students and families who may appear to be disengaged. A lot of commentators in the media and in our communities have reflected that “parents/families’ relationships with schools has changed” since the pandemic, and thrown up their hands at the idea that a school or district system can change the outcomes of a broader sociological shift.

There is truth to the idea that our relationships with in-person schooling have shifted since the pandemic–the rise of remote work and learning environments attests to this. But we also see a correlation to decreases in socioemotional well-being as a result. Our Chronic Absenteeism Bright Spots project aimed at looking at those communities where we saw not just a decrease in chronic absenteeism, but an increase in socioemotional well-being, community engagement, and even academic success as a result of the work that school and district teams were doing to redefine what the relationship between school and families looks like in 2024. Join us as we continue to navigate this space with our partners.

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By Hedy Chang, Executive Director &
Catherine Cooney, Director of Communications, Attendance Works

As the new school year gets underway, getting kids to attend school regularly is more important than ever, especially with today’s high levels of chronic absence. New research reveals that very high absenteeism doesn’t just impact individual students, it impacts everyone in the community by interfering with a school’s overall functioning as well as teaching and learning. Listen to the podcast.

Our work shows us how vital relationship building – with families and students – is to making progress on absenteeism. In a podcast, Learning Heroes’ Eyal Bergman explains how family engagement can build relationships with families who then feel a part of the school community. We’ve collected a variety of resources for educators that promote positive engagement, relationship building and a sense of community that leaves everyone feeling like school is a place they belong.

Communicating clearly and often with families is essential. A new study from the Ad Council finds that parents/caregivers responded more favorably to messaging with a positive tone and a focus on the benefits of consistent in-person attendance. Read our blog post about the study takeaways and find a new messaging toolkit.

We just wrapped up the 2024 Attendance Awareness Campaign with the slogan Be Present, Be Powerful! The AAC’s four webinar series focused on the role everyone can play in creating positive conditioning for learning – teachers, principals, community partners and superintendents. If you missed a webinar, plan a gathering with colleagues and download the webinar recording, presentation slides and discussion guide. And don’t overlook our posters, badges and social media materials that are available for use throughout the school year.

News & Announcements

Open Door Sessions

CCEE, in collaboration with LEAs and partner organizations, is hosting “Open Door” sessions to share best practices, tools/resources, and strategies to support student learning. These sessions provide opportunities for county office and/or district staff to listen and learn from other LEAs across the state.

Click on the links below to register for upcoming Open Door sessions.

• 4/9/24 at 3pm (TODAY!)- The Power of Data Partnerships: District Data Sharing Through the Local Assessment Project

• 4/26/24 at 2pm – Schools and Climate Impact Disasters

• 4/30/24 at 3pm – Strengthening Coherence Across Initiatives: A Whole-Child Lens

• 5/8/24 at 3pm – Empowering Rural Math Education: Strategies and Resources for Success

Missed a session? Below are links to archived materials from past Open Door Sessions:

• Reimagining Education: Insights from the Frontlines of School Transformation (3/4/24)

• Guiding AI in Education: Collaborative Leadership for Ethical Integration in LA County (3/6/24)

• Increasing Intervention Efficacy Using Data Dashboards (3/14/24)

• Balanced Assessment Systems in Action: Fostering Formative Assessment Practices With Mathematical Learning Progressions (3/26/24)

Please check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on all our offerings.

LEA Spotlights

The Spotlights Project aims to celebrate some of the innovative, inclusive, and shareable practices that LEA teams have implemented to improve outcomes for students across our state. Each Spotlight organizes the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in a way that calls attention to emerging practices, reproducible strategies, and applicable resources, in hopes of introducing accessible points of conversation for other LEAs looking to resolve similar issues.

Below are three recently published Spotlights. Click on the links below to learn more about the innovative practices taking place in these LEAs.

Miwok Middle School, located in Sacramento City USD, harnessed the power of student survey data to cultivate a culture of belonging and connectedness — with an explicit focus on equity.

Lost Hills UESD leveraged community schools as a catalyst for collaboration among neighboring small districts, focusing on shared learning and resource pooling to enhance student outcomes.

Los Angeles USD launched its Black Student Achievement Plan, a comprehensive initiative that aims to address the need for culturally responsive curriculum and instruction, community-based partnerships within the Black community, and increased staffing to support the academic and social-emotional needs of Black students.

2024-25 Leadership Institute

Register for the 2024-2025 Leadership Institute! The Leadership Institute will kick off in person on July 21, 2024 in Newport Beach, CA.

The ultimate goal of the Leadership Institute is to create networks and support systems for small school district leaders so they can gain the skill set and confidence needed to effectively lead their districts.

Click here for a flyer.

21csla research-practice webinar

Mark your calendars for the upcoming 21CSLA webinar scheduled for May 15th from 3:30-4:30 PM PT via Zoom. Join us as we welcome Professor Tyrone Howard from UCLA School of Education & Information Studies. Dr. Howard will delve into the themes of his recent publication, ‘Equity Now,‘ providing invaluable insights on fostering equity and inclusivity in educational settings. Register for the webinar today!

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About the I3 Center

The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center implements a statewide approach to improving LEA capacity by collaboratively developing, delivering, sharing, and spotlighting practices that have demonstrated the power to improve outcomes for students.

About the CCEE

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence is a statewide leader delivering on California’s promise of a quality, equitable education for every student.

Learning is the cornerstone of growth and progress in education, shaping individuals, communities, and organizations alike. Within our Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center’s learning networks, leaders from local educational agencies (LEAs) share invaluable insights on the transformative power of learning.

From collaborative intelligence to hands-on experiences, they emphasize the profound impact of continuous learning. Partners echo this sentiment, emphasizing the crucial role of education in fostering climate sustainability. Spotlighting institutions like Miwok Middle School, Lost Hills UESD, and Los Angeles USD underscores the tangible results of prioritizing learning initiatives. As we anticipate upcoming Open Door sessions and reflect on past ones, we’re reminded of the ever-evolving journey of knowledge acquisition and its endless possibilities for improvement and innovation.

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Harnessing the Power of Collective Learning to Foster a Culture of Inquiry and Innovative Change

Most educators, if not all, have come into this profession because they recognize the value of learning. Whether they’re teaching in bustling classrooms or engaging in virtual learning spaces for their own professional growth, educators are continuously enriched by the collective knowledge and experiences of their students, colleagues, and the many voices shaping their educational journey. Through CCEE’s learning networks, we strive to create intentional learning communities where these educational leaders can lean into the power of learning as active learners who are committed to improving the practices, programs, and systems in their local educational agencies (LEAs). District and county office leaders learn with and from one another, as they embrace each other’s diverse perspectives and experiences to shape innovative solutions that continue to be refined through data-driven iterative processes.

We asked LEA leaders in each of our learning networks to reflect on their own journeys of learning and leading to ultimately improve outcomes for students. They share their thoughts below.

I’m delighted to announce that the partnership between the San Diego County Office of Education, Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) team, and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) has proven immensely valuable to our organization, particularly in our efforts with the county’s most marginalized students. This enriching journey has highlighted the critical need to not only analyze and discuss data but to also utilize these insights to create meaningful change. Participation in this network and collaboration with local educational agencies (LEAs) statewide have provided our team with vital support, leadership, and encouragement from colleagues facing similar challenges and sharing the same goals. While we recognize the importance and tremendous opportunity presented by this partnership, we also understand the struggle, especially when progress is slower than anticipated, necessitating pivot and persistence. We’ve discovered this partnership to be a safe environment for honesty, courage, and continual growth, benefiting our students and society as a whole. While acknowledging that change takes time, we’re reassured that we’re not alone, and meaningful progress relies on our collective action.

Participating in the Data Research Learning Network (DRLN) has been incredibly rewarding. The focused and action-oriented process by which the CCEE/DRLN conducts research is evidence-based and results-driven. My work was pushed so much further under the guidance of the network team. Beyond that, the collaboration across the network elicited new thinking and new direction in my action plan. The opportunity to collaborate and present with team members further broadened my own research and affirmed the efforts driven by our plan. I most enjoyed learning from my colleagues about data literacy tools created within the network. My focus was wholly on dashboarding for the purpose of intervention tracking. Seeing the tools developed by my colleagues to increase data literacy pushed my thinking and allowed me to design some staff professional development differently.

Being part of the UDL network reinforced the value of collaborative support among leaders, emphasizing the need for a collective effort in driving effective change. This has been a pivotal lesson in understanding the multifaceted nature of educational leadership and the importance of shared experiences and strategies among peers. My key takeaway is the realization that there’s no singular method to effectuate significant change. The diversity of approaches, enriched by the collective wisdom and creativity of the network, underscores the dynamic nature of educational leadership. This collaboration offers a unique opportunity for mutual support, allowing us to share insights and challenges. Moreover, it prompts us to ask targeted questions that lead to the refinement and improvement of our practices.

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As Earth Day this April 22nd reminds us of our rapidly changing climate, CCEE has partnered with UndauntedK12 and Ten Strands, two organizations dedicated to assisting K-12 public schools in acting on climate adaptation, mitigation, and education. UndauntedK12 and Ten Strands are currently conducting a statewide survey to gather model tools and resources aimed at supporting school infrastructure, climate resilience, adaptation, and decarbonization.

The initiative will kick off with the first of three Open Doors sessions scheduled on April 26th, focusing on “Schools and Climate Impact Emergencies” (registration link). Additionally, for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, CCEE, UndauntedK12, and Ten Strands plan to share stories and resources from school communities across California. These tools will aim to empower schools, districts, and counties to drive action towards climate adaptation, mitigation, and education. A policy and practice brief will accompany the toolkit, featuring a summary of findings, resource links, spotlight stories, and policy recommendations.

News & Announcements

Open Door Sessions

CCEE, in collaboration with LEAs and partner organizations, is hosting “Open Door” sessions to share best practices, tools/resources, and strategies to support student learning. These sessions provide opportunities for county office and/or district staff to listen and learn from other LEAs across the state.

Below are archived materials from past Open Door Sessions:

• Fostering Educational Excellence: A Model Partnership Between an LEA and Their COE (12/7/23)

Please check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on upcoming Open Door sessions.

LEA Spotlights

The Spotlights Project aims to celebrate some of the innovative, inclusive, and shareable practices that LEA teams have implemented to improve outcomes for students across our state. Each Spotlight organizes the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in a way that calls attention to emerging practices, reproducible strategies, and applicable resources, in hopes of introducing accessible points of conversation for other LEAs looking to resolve similar issues.

Below are three recently published Spotlights. Click on the links below to learn more about the innovative practices taking place in these LEAs.

Districts across California are partnering with Scaling Student Success to develop graduate profiles that more equitably and holistically redefine student success, transforming how they support students in developing the skills, competencies, and mindsets needed to thrive in college, career, and life.

Hope ESD‘s commitment to transparency and data-driven decision-making is empowering students to own their educational journey, nurturing a community of lifelong learners.

Federal Terrace Elementary School participated in CCEE’s Intensive Assistance Model Project, receiving intensive onsite support from Solution Tree to redefine collaboration and transform their Professional Learning Community.

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About the I3 Center

The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center implements a statewide approach to improving LEA capacity by collaboratively developing, delivering, sharing, and spotlighting practices that have demonstrated the power to improve outcomes for students.

About the CCEE

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence is a statewide leader delivering on California’s promise of a quality, equitable education for every student.

Having a statewide view helps our organization better understand what’s working and what’s not working. This is particularly important when it comes to how educational professionals engage best for professional learning. Time and time again, we hear two desires: 1) we want to learn from our peers and 2) we want to see how others are doing “it” – “it” being whatever it is we are trying to learn. This newsletter explores the various learning networks and peer-to-peer learning opportunities being used to support educators’ desires to learn.

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By Ingrid Roberson, Assistant Director of Research Learning

On November 15th, the Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) team hosted our first Cross-Network Convening, bringing together 19 districts and counties from across the state who are engaged in our African American Student Success Network, Data Research Learning Network (DRLN), and our newly added Universal Design for Learning Network. The theme for the convening was Street Data: Making Data Meaningful to the Lives of Students, Teachers, & Families.

At the start of the Convening, participants listened to district and county experiences with street data from Dr. Kimberly Hendricks-Brown (Fresno USD) and Fawn Nielsen (Imperial COE). Attendees then had network-specific time to learn more about Street Data in the context of their network learning. For example, in the DRLN, districts and counties conducted a data inventory at the satellite, map, and street data levels for their Innovation Projects. The event culminated in a showcase where each district and county shared their Problems of Practice, highlighting ideas and insights on how street data might enhance progress monitoring and measuring impact.

To foster continued cross-network connections, I3 is excited to launch the I3 Learning Networks Resource Hub. The Hub provides a one-stop shop for resources emerging out of learning network projects from districts and counties representative of the state of California. For example, the Hub includes teacher and student surveys created by the Center for Assessment focused on formative assessment practices that foster student agency from the DRLN’s Rincon Valley Union School District. As one learning network member shared at the convening, “Cross networks are the safety nets we all need when we work to lead,” capturing the supportive spirit of collaboration.

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Amidst the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, district leaders are grappling with its disproportionate impact on minority and at-risk student groups, notably exacerbating the pre-existing achievement gap for African American students.

Examining these challenges is the focus of the African American Student Success Network (AASSN), who, in collaboration with the California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) is engaging in shared cycles of inquiry to better understand the gaps in access, opportunity, and outcome for African American Students. The participating district and county office teams have come together around a common area of focus, collectively addressing implementation challenges, and distilling and disseminating lessons learned and best practices.

LEA Learning Networks: Recognizing and Amplifying Success

The seven Local Educational Agency (LEA) teams have been testing systems change processes over the past two years to improve learning, achievement, and educational attainment outcomes for Black students. 

By establishing deep trusting relationships with partnering school district, and county office leaders to participate in shared cycles of inquiry, the networks create a platform for collaborative problem-solving centered on a common area of focus. This collaborative approach aims to address specific problems of practices (PoP) in our African American Student achievement and related strategies to improve student outcomes and reduce the achievement gap. For instance, the AASSN participants are actively working on strategies such as improving career and college readiness for Black students in the Central Valley, decreasing the overidentification of African American students in Special Education, enhancing Math CAASPP standards for African American students in the 6th grade, and mitigating the overrepresentation of African American male students receiving non-passing grades in core classes. 

During this second-year cycle, participants have focused on delving deeper into implementation and data monitoring to study the effects of the proposed strategies and learning from it. Some LEAs already show promising signs of their implemented strategies coming to fruition. For example, Lynwood USD is showing a 17% reduction in Ds and Fs in core classes for male African American students in grades 9 to 12 (2023-24 AASSN Handout) from their baseline in SY 2021-22. The San Diego County Office of Education has seen a promising 19.8% reduction in chronic absenteeism rates among African American/Black students across the four Community Schools Program sites tested (CCEE & San Diego COE, CERA 2023) in the same period. We are excited to continue partnering with our network leaders as they actively contribute to dismantling systemic barriers and fostering a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable educational landscape for African American students.

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California’s LCFF Priorities/Whole Child Resource Map illustrates how the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) priorities align with whole child resources and supports to “ensure that ALL students are healthy, safe, engaged, challenged, and supported.” However, to create comprehensive, integrated systems of support that effectively serve the needs of the whole child, local educational agencies (LEAs) require the partnership and support of the broader educational community. It’s through their collective purpose and responsibility to support students’ learning, development, and well-being that drive the transformative changes needed to better serve its students, families, and communities.

Check out the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI)’s learning module on
Community Partnerships for Systems Change!

LEAs across California are modeling how to meaningfully engage their communities in developing and implementing a graduate profile, also known as a learner portrait, to serve as a locally-defined whole child vision that:

• redefines student success in a way that promotes equitable student outcomes,
• cultivates student agency, and
• prioritizes the skills and competencies to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.

By centering the voices of students, families, educators, and community members in the design of what will eventually become the LEA’s guiding compass, the graduate profile becomes a community-driven promise to its students. It begins to serve as the “why” behind decisions to determine what they’re doing and how they’re helping students foster the skills, competencies, and mindsets articulated in the graduate profile — placing students at the center of all their efforts. 

Scaling Student Success has partnered with several California school districts through its Reimagining California Schools Innovation Pilot to develop and operationalize a “unique, locally-developed graduate profile,” guiding them through the journey of moving from “poster to practice”. As these districts embark on their graduate profile journeys to transform student learning, CCEE will be capturing their stories through our LEA Spotlights series, capturing their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned, in hopes of inspiring other LEAs to join the movement in redefining what it means to be a college- or career-ready student in California.

If you are interested in learning more about this work, or would like to share your LEA’s story, please contact Dorcas Kong at [email protected].

News & Announcements

Request for Proposals

Development and Delivery of Resources and Services to Support Professional Learning Activities for Local Educational Agencies

• Proposals Accepted Through: October 30, 2023 at 4:00pm PST

Balanced Assessment System pilot

In January 2024, CCEE will be launching a Balanced Assessment System Pilot, where selected LEAs will pilot a micro-course and toolkit, designed to support them in creating balanced assessment systems. This opportunity is a right fit for LEAs wanting to conduct a review of their current assessment systems, especially if deciding whether to make further investments in interim and/or curriculum-embedded assessments.

Interested in learning more? Register for a virtual informational session on Monday, October 16 from 1-2pm PST. If you’re not able to make the informational session, the archived recording will be posted on CCEE’s website following the session.

Open Door Sessions

CCEE, in collaboration with LEAs and partner organizations, is hosting “Open Door” sessions to share best practices, tools/resources, and strategies to support student learning. These sessions provide opportunities for county office and/or district staff to listen and learn from other LEAs across the state.

Below are archived materials from past Open Door Sessions:

• Simplifying LEA Compliance: How Our County Office Streamlines Support for LEAs (8/22/23)

• Empowering Success: The Path of Transparency, Data-Driven Decisions, and Student Ownership (9/13/23)

• Graduate Profiles: Redefining Student Success (9/27/23)

Please check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on upcoming Open Door sessions.

LEA Spotlights

The Spotlights Project aims to celebrate some of the innovative, inclusive, and shareable practices that LEA teams have implemented to improve outcomes for students across our state. Each Spotlight organizes the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in a way that calls attention to emerging practices, reproducible strategies, and applicable resources, in hopes of introducing accessible points of conversation for other LEAs looking to resolve similar issues.

Below are two recently published Spotlights. Click on the links below to learn more about the innovative practices taking place in these LEAs.

To recruit and retain a teacher workforce that better reflects their student population, Pittsburg USD employed a multi-pronged set of strategies anchored around collecting input and feedback from the broader school community, grounded in data, and focused on creating an inviting culture that celebrates the community and the students they serve.

Fresno CSS sought to alleviate the burden on their LEAs that resulted from the influx of plans and deadlines in response to the pandemic and its relief efforts by rooting their work in improvement science to address a specific problem through smaller, measurable changes to make a meaningful impact.

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About the I3 Center

The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center implements a statewide approach to improving LEA capacity by collaboratively developing, delivering, sharing, and spotlighting practices that have demonstrated the power to improve outcomes for students.

About the CCEE

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence is a statewide leader delivering on California’s promise of a quality, equitable education for every student.

In 2021, in response to the needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Legislature funded Assembly Bill (AB) 86. The purpose of AB 86 was to provide support to local educational agencies (LEAs) in maximizing positive pupil outcomes and most effectively using funds. Basically, maximize the most effective use of funds to support students and see a return on investment (ROI).

CCEE is responsible for providing support to LEAs in maximizing positive pupil outcomes with the most effective use of funds to implement learning recovery programs. We do this by designing and implementing initiatives that explore problems of practice and emerging/best practices in the field to develop and share high quality, relevant, and usable lessons learned to support sustained improvement for students by June 30, 2024.

Under the direction of Sujie Shin, Deputy Executive Director, and Dr. Ingrid Roberson, Assistant Director of Research Learning, CCEE has elevated the work of LEA best practices to identify and share the best investments for the return on the investment of student outcomes.

This newsletter highlights some of this work and how to get involved.

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In education, we talk a lot about “data.” We espouse “data-driven” decision-making, have an abundance of data walk protocols; we spend much of our collective time and effort in collecting and reviewing data – test results, attendance files, disciplinary records, survey responses…it goes on. But what we don’t often ask ourselves is, “Is this the right data?”

When I was a classroom teacher, I started the year with my student roster, which was always accompanied by the final grades and their standardized test scores from the prior year. We sat in grade-level teams, sorting our students in reading/math groups according to their annual test results, and started developing our instructional plans around this data.

What I soon realized was that those standardized test results often had little relationship to what kind of support my students needed, what literacy or numeracy concepts they understood or were struggling with, and definitely showed me nothing about who they were as people. I got that through my classroom tests, formative assessment practices, getting-to-know-you interviews, and watching them interact with each other and their work.

We are so privileged to be working with a cohort of school district and county office teams who are tackling these questions of “what data?” and “for what purpose?” as they look at their internal systems for reducing chronic absenteeism, improving access and outcomes for Black students, developing internal progress monitoring dashboards, and implementing the principles of Universal Design for Learning across their classrooms.

Join us as we continue to learn with them!

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By Ingrid Roberson, Assistant Director of Research Learning

Data dashboards represent a significant investment in educational technology by districts and schools. Data dashboards promise enhanced data for real-time discussions and decisions by end-users, that is, educators. CCEE’s Data Research Learning Network (DRLN) includes three districts engaged in innovation journeys with the adoption and implementation of data dashboards.

The DRLN promotes the progress monitoring of data dashboards through user statistics, that is, map data that provides a more focused direction for inquiry and action. In August, Dr. Allan Taing and Dr. Nhi Hang conducted a User Statistics Workshop for DRLN districts, covering such topics as active vs. passive use measures, as well as web traffic measures (e.g. page views, total visits, length of stay, file downloads, traffic sources, etc.). The Measuring User Statistics: Tracking Engagement of Data Dashboards resource is a good example of tools shared with districts. All three districts are now progress monitoring data dashboard use on a monthly basis.

One example is Sanger Unified School District (SUSD). Assessment leaders are collecting and analyzing user statistics such as login counts, average logins, and percent of users logging in as a measure of uptake over the last three years. SUSD is complimenting this map data with street data by conducting empathy interviews with end users to better understand their experiences with data dashboards. Through a combination of map and street data, SUSD is customizing additional supports based on trends across the district, school, and grade-levels. Given the incredible amount of investment in Data Dashboards, DRLN districts, such as Sanger Unified, will be sharing lessons learned at upcoming conferences in November and December (see below for conference list).

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It’s no secret that the work of advancing equitable education opportunities for students is hard, lengthy, and often messy work. The opportunity to collaborate, share ideas, get feedback, and draw strength from a like-minded community can be a powerful force — for students, for teachers, and for school and district leaders. That’s why CCEE has expanded its support of learning networks to the work of implementing, and measuring the student impact of, Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Working with partners in three state grant initiatives — the California Coalition for Inclusive Learning (CCIL), Open Access (OA), and Supporting Inclusive Practices (SIP), we have gathered three districts, diverse in demographics and geography but united in the pursuit of inclusive education for all. These districts are:

• Davis Joint Unified School District
• Nevada Joint Union High School District
• Poway Unified School District

Over the course of the 2023-2024 school year, these districts will examine problems of practice related to the implementation of Universal Design for Learning. Engaging in data-driven collaborative inquiry, they will implement initiatives to address these problems and take formative and summative data to monitor and evaluate impact. These indicators include benchmark assessments, student engagement, teacher efficacy, teacher practice, and more. We look forward to sharing their journey with you in our June summary report.

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Program evaluations employ social science research methods to assess the design, implementation, and effectiveness of social programs (Rossi et al., 2019). In 2021, the state invested $75 million to establish three grant programs led by county offices of education to enhance the educator professional learning infrastructure within the Statewide System of Support. External program evaluations are embedded in these professional learning initiatives for learning acceleration, literacy, and open educational resources to support an innovative, rigorous, and analytical examination of these projects to determine the impact and effectiveness of these investments on educator practice and student outcomes. In other words, these program evaluations are trying to measure the return on investment (ROI) for these three projects.

The three program evaluation teams are moving into the second year of their evaluations, concluding their initial planning evaluations and moving onto formative evaluations for these projects. Investigating and determining the impact of these projects on educator practice and student outcomes requires a “Street Data” research approach. Measures of student impact — including results on the California School Dashboard — are satellite data answering the “what”. In addition, program evaluators leverage map data and street data through surveys, focus groups, document reviews, and observations, to answer the “why” and “how”. CCEE has created a Statewide Evaluation webpage to serve as a repository as program evaluation teams release their findings and recommendations.

To support program evaluation teams in this work, CCEE hosts bi-annual evaluation convenings to bring program evaluation teams, state agency partners, and other evaluation, program, and policy stakeholders and experts together to share findings, best practices, and lessons learned for ongoing development. The most recent evaluation convening on September 27 focused on developing a shared vision and common language across teams for evaluation approaches and methods for measuring student impact. Materials from this convening and prior convenings are available on the Statewide Program Evaluation Convening website.

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Let’s Connect Beyond the Virtual Realm!

This fall, CCEE staff will be presenting at various conferences. If you will be attending any of the conferences below, we would love to see you there! Please let us know if you would like more information about any of these sessions.

Conference/ Presentation	Session & Presenter(s)
California Teachers Association (CTA)’s 2023 Special Education Conference (October 6-8)	Foundations of Universal Design for Learning – James McKenna, Assistant Director of Professional Learning & Leadership Development
California Assessment Conference (CAC) (October 9-10)	Balanced Assessment Systems: A Case Study of One District’s Journey to Rebalance their Assessment System for Improved Student Math Outcomes – Ingrid Roberson, Assistant Director of Research Learning and Dorcas Kong, Sr. Specialist of Executive Projects
California’s Coalition for Adequate School Housing’s 2023 Fall Conference (October 12-13)	The Practice of Educating Very Young Children: Curriculum Drives the Built Environment – Julie Boesch, Assistant Director of the System of Support
Ventura County Superintendent of Schools (October 19)	Transforming Schools – Matt Navo, Executive Director
What’s Right in Education (October 24-26)	State and National Leaders Panel: Current and Future Trends in Education – Chris Hartley, Deputy Executive Director
2023 Charter School Development Center (CSDC) Conference (November 8-10)	Shifting Mindsets, Changing Culture: Systems that Support All Students – David Toston, Sr. Advisor of Strategic Initiatives
2023 California Educational Research Association (CERA) Conference (November 13-15)	Supporting Black Student Achievement: Lessons Learned from Year 1 of the African American Student Success Network – Sujie Shin, Deputy Executive Director and Italo Ciccarelli, Program Specialist Balanced Assessment Systems: A Case Study of One District’s Journey to Rebalance their Assessment System for Improved Student Outcomes – Ingrid Roberson, Assistant Director of Research Learning and Dorcas Kong, Sr. Specialist of Executive Projects Guiding Our Schools Forward: Best Practices For Districts Utilizing Assessment Dashboards to Improve Data Literacy and Target Student Supports – Allan Taing, Sr. Manager of Research & Impact Analysis and Nhi Hang, Program Specialist Amplifying Community Engagement for Continuous Improvement – David Toston, Sr. Advisor of Strategic Initiatives
Breaking Barriers Integrated Care Symposium (November 14-16)	Stories from the Field: Applying the Ecosystem Recommendations to Regional & Local Implementation – Chris Hartley, Deputy Executive Director and Mindy Fattig, Sr. Advisor of the System of Support
California School Boards Association (CSBA)’s Annual Education Conference (November 30 – December 2)	Data Dashboards: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Ingrid Roberson, Assistant Director of Research Learning and Allan Taing, Sr. Manager of Research & Impact Analysis
System Improvement Leads (SIL) Summit (December 12-13)	CA Statewide System of Support: It is Us (Opening/Keynote) – Mindy Fattig, Sr. Advisor of the System of Support

News & Announcements

Request for Proposals

Development and Delivery of Resources and Services to Support Professional Learning Activities for Local Educational Agencies

• Review of Proposals Begins: May 1, 2023
• Proposals Accepted Through: October 30, 2023 at 4:00pm PST

CCEE hosted a Respondent’s Conference on Thursday, April 6, 2023. Please click on this link to view the recording of the webinar.

Open Door Sessions

CCEE, in collaboration with LEAs and partner organizations, is hosting “open door” sessions to share best practices, tools/resources, and strategies to support student learning. These sessions will provide opportunities for county office and/or district staff to listen and learn from other LEAs across the state, and connect further, if interested. Those who express interest in connecting further will be invited to join a smaller, more intimate “Special Interest Group” session, in which the presenting LEA will be available to listen, share, and help participants with more specific questions.

Check out the “In Case You Missed It” section of our newsletter to view materials from past Open Door Sessions.

To stay up-to-date on upcoming Open Door sessions, make sure to check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn!

2023-24 Leadership institute

In collaboration with the Small School Districts Association (SSDA), CCEE is excited to bring to you the 2023-24 Leadership Institute, which will kick off in July 2023 during the SSDA Superintendent and High School Leaders Conference in Newport Beach. Please click on this link to register for the conference.

This year-long institute will provide high quality professional learning, partnerships with a community of other small district leaders, and seasoned leaders to help increase your network of professional and support. For more information about the institute, please click on this flyer.

In Case You Missed It

Open Door Sessions:

• Student Learning Communities (Fairmont Elementary, 3/30/23)
• A Tale of Two Systems: Responding to Unexcused and Excused Absences (Attendance Works, 4/3/23)
• One County’s Journey to Improve Mathematics at Scale (Merced COE, 4/4/23)

System of Support Updates (April 2023)

April Resources

Microlearning Modules – CCEE has partnered with content experts and experienced educators to develop short videos sharing and explaining concepts, tools, and resources for a wide range of topics to support substitute teachers, paraeducators, and other instructional staff in the classroom. All microlearning modules are accompanied by easy-to-follow instructions, downloadable handouts, and additional resources to support immediate implementation. New videos are added periodically, covering various topics, tips, and strategies.

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About the I3 Center

The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center implements a statewide approach to improving LEA capacity by collaboratively developing, delivering, sharing, and spotlighting practices that have demonstrated the power to improve outcomes for students.

About the CCEE

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence is a statewide leader delivering on California’s promise of a quality, equitable education for every student.

Research continues to show that when educational practitioners have time to share insights, ideas, practices, and research with one another, they learn more and improve more. The CCEE is focused on bringing educational practitioners and partners together to share and highlight evidence-based practices and research that will help them improve student outcomes. The bulk of how we do the work is by convening and gathering professional learning networks (PLNs) and Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs). This newsletter highlights a number of opportunities for educational practitioners to engage in partnerships where they can learn from each other.

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The Data Research Learning Network (DRLN) consists of seven select districts and counties engaged in innovating data and assessment practices to accelerate student learning. DRLN districts and counties have discovered a deep need for data and assessment literacy across all levels in the education system, including analyzing data, discussing data, and decision-making or as the network likes to say, “Data, Discussion, and Decisions.”

As a Research and Development (R&D) network, these seven districts and counties are designing innovations to be piloted in the 2023-2024 school year.  For example, Imperial County Office of Education (ICOE) is developing a data literacy learning series for their districts with special attention to the context of small districts (i.e. districts with enrollments less than 2,000 students). Already a leader in creating data tools for the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), ICOE’s data literacy learning series will focus on data for instructional and curricular decision-making.

Another example is Rincon Valley Union School District (RVUSD) who is exploring the role of formative assessment in accelerating student learning. Informed by research from the Center for Assessment on a Balanced Assessment System, Rincon Valley USD seeks to leverage the power of curriculum-embedded, unit-based assessments that are instructionally useful to classroom teachers. RVUSD will be piloting a Math Formative Assessment, enhancing teacher assessment literacy and promoting student agency in the assessment process.

As DRLN districts and counties represent small to mid-size local educational agencies (LEAs), this emerging trend is one that CCEE’s Center for Innovation, Instruction and Impact (I3) intends to address through statewide data literacy resources in partnership with recognized experts and practitioners in the field (see current Request for Proposals).

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With the launch of CCEE’s Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) initiative, five of our original PLN partners have rejoined the network to continue their work to support Black student achievement through their LEA-specific problem of practice, focusing on progress monitoring activities to support the measurement of student outcomes in the coming year.

Our five partnership teams and their areas of focus include:

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CCEE has partnered with educators in the field to create our newest learning path, UDL for Educator Empowerment. This learning path aims to empower California educators with the needed knowledge and skills to apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) holistically to their practices as professionals. Designed in partnership with teachers, for teachers, this path contains six modules of multimedia content, opportunities for reflection and community, and links to resources to deepen participants’ learning and practice.

This learning path was authored by a team of subject matter experts and professional learning providers: Karen Taylor, MA.Ed., Zach Smith, Ed.L.D., and CCEE’s own James McKenna, Ed.D. Together, and with the support of an advisory panel of educators from across the state, they created this learning path to honor and empower teachers, showing how the UDL framework equips them for the work of teaching in today’s modern equity-focused classroom. Through each of our six course modules, educators are invited on a path of professional self-discovery that equips them with the skills for creating inclusive and equitable lessons and learning environments. Embedded within these learning experiences is the knowledge for diagnosing learning barriers in real time.

The UDL for Educator Empowerment learning path is open to all, on-demand, at no cost, and is the latest in a series of resources created by the CCEE, in collaboration with local and national partners, in order to support the implementation of UDL in schools and districts across the state. Other UDL resources include the UDL for School and District Leaders learning path, the Why UDL video series, and the UDL Journey Guide, a comprehensive resource for district leaders and teams seeking to implement Universal Design for Learning.

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Over the past couple of months, the Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center has been curating stories that “spotlight” innovative practices implemented by local educational agencies (LEAs) across the state to improve educational outcomes for students. After interviewing various district teams and learning about how they tackled challenges particular to their local contexts, we’re excited to announce that we have finally launched the Spotlights Project. Each Spotlight organizes the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in a way that calls attention to emerging practices, reproducible strategies, and applicable resources, in hopes of introducing accessible points of conversation for other LEAs looking to resolve similar issues. 

While these Spotlights may focus on different domains (i.e., student academic outcomes; student/family engagement and well-being; staff and community supports; and systems, policies, and governance), they all place an emphasis on improving practices, programs, and systems to provide each and every student in California public schools with the access, opportunities, and supports to thrive (CCEE Mission & Vision). We hope the Spotlights Project can serve as a hub of inspiration and innovation where LEAs can build off these successful models to amplify their impact in the classroom, school, district, and community. Click on the links below to learn about these LEAs’ success stories.

We are continuing to develop Spotlights that shine a light on innovative educational practices in California. If you would like to share emerging practices that have improved outcomes for students in your LEA, please share it with us by submitting this Spotlight suggestion form.

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As we head into our final quarter of the 2022-23 school year, schools are continuing to rethink how we define and address chronic absenteeism. The 2022 Dashboard results saw a huge spike in chronic absenteeism rates across the State, with almost a third of our students in California missing 10% of more of their instructional days. And while the flattening of COVID rates has improved chronic absenteeism rates somewhat, the data show that schools are still struggling with student engagement and attendance. 

Shifting our collective mindsets about chronic absenteeism requires a reenvisioning of what an absence means and therefore changes how we deal with it and who gets to decide. To date, our processes for addressing chronic absenteeism are built around mental models about “truancy” that set schools and families up as adversaries–the definition of truancy is “the act of staying away from school without a good reason.” But who judges what reason is good enough? And who is responsible for providing the remedy?

There are no ready solutions, and in the meantime, children have missed millions of instructional hours. Over the next several months, join us as we navigate some of these questions with local educational agencies and partners and highlight challenges, emerging best practices, and opportunities to learn from each other.  

CCEE is hosting a series of Open Door sessions on chronic absenteeism. On Monday, April 3, 2023, Attendance Works started off the series by sharing the findings of a new PACE report, Examining Disparities in Unexcused Absences Across California Schools. If you weren’t able to attend this session, webinar materials are available on CCEE’s website. Please see below for upcoming sessions. Additional information (e.g., date/time, registration links) will be available in the coming weeks. You can always check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay updated on upcoming sessions.

• Shifting Mindsets on Chronic Absenteeism with Salinas City Elementary School District
• Supporting Better Attendance Practices: The Evolving Role of COEs

News & Announcements

• System of Support Updates (December 2022 / January 2023)

January Resources

• Microlearning Modules – Designed to support substitute teachers, paraeducators, and other instructional staff, these short 5-8 minute videos share immediately applicable tips, strategies, and tools. Microlearning modules are also supplemented with downloadable handouts, instructions, and other materials and resources.

• UDL Journey Guide – This digital travel companion guides district leaders and teams through four stages of implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), with connections to state and national supports along the way.

• Dashboard Communications Toolkit – This toolkit provides materials to support LEAs with sharing the 2022 California School Dashboard data to parents, community members, and educators, along with additional resources for analyzing Dashboard data.

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About the I3 Center

The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center implements a statewide approach to improving LEA capacity by collaboratively developing, delivering, sharing, and spotlighting practices that have demonstrated the power to improve outcomes for students.

About the CCEE

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence is a statewide leader delivering on California’s promise of a quality, equitable education for every student.

CCEE uses data to improve and deliver its statutory and improvement obligations across the state. The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center is the backbone of data for CCEE. They support the agency in analyzing the organization’s effectiveness and in identifying “bright spots” in the state that other local educational agencies (LEAs) can learn from.

Under the leadership of Deputy Executive Director Sujie Shin, the goal of the I3 Center is to support the work of the CCEE, collaborate with state lead agencies, and use data to improve. This month’s newsletter highlights ways you can work with the I3 Center and other LEAs on various improvement initiatives related to improving outcomes for students through the use of data in your organization.

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During the 2021-2022 budget cycle, the state invested $75 million across three grant programs to enhance the educator professional learning infrastructure within the Statewide System of Support. Through the Education Omnibus Trailer Bill of the 2021 State Budget Act, CCEE is working with our partners at the California Department of Education (CDE) and the State Board of Education (SBE) to support the county offices of education that have been selected as program leads for these grants to develop professional learning opportunities for learning acceleration, literacy, and open educational resources. The four-year $50 million Learning Acceleration System Grant Program will be led by Lake, San Diego, and Santa Clara County Offices of Education; the four-year $10 million Reading Instruction and Intervention Grant Program will be led by Contra Costa Office of Education; and the two-year $15 million High-Quality Online Instructional Materials Initiative will be led by Kern County Superintendent of Schools. 

In addition, evaluation leads have also been selected to lead rigorous program evaluations to determine the effectiveness of these professional learning initiatives. Education Northwest and Social Policy Research Associates will lead the evaluation of the Learning Acceleration System Grant, while the American Institutes for Research (AIR) will evaluate the Reading Instruction and Intervention Grant Program, and WestEd will evaluate the High-Quality Online Instructional Materials Initiative. 

An important component of these program evaluations is the connection of these professional learning initiatives to supporting system transformation, improving tiered supports, and measuring impact. To support larger statewide coherence, CCEE, CDE, and SBE are coordinating the work of these evaluation teams to develop a common set of data metrics across evaluations and to support alignment not only across these evaluations and other related programs, but also within the System of Support. These evaluation teams are convening on a recurring basis with the CCEE, CDE, SBE, representatives of the Statewide System of Support, designated county offices of education, and other selected partners in support of this coherence effort.

The first gathering was a “data boot camp” in July to support the evaluation teams with the data and resources available to them as they launched their evaluation projects. The second gathering in August brought in program evaluation teams conducting ongoing statewide system evaluations to share their lessons learned to the new evaluation teams. Moving forward, these convenings will occur on a bi-annual basis and the objective of these convenings will be to discuss data collection, analyses, interim results, and implications for ongoing development. The goal of this work on coherence and alignment is to uncover the evidence-based practices that promote educator professional development and ultimately support transforming education for all students in California. 

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The Center for Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) is excited to announce the I3 Data Research Learning Network (DRLN). The I3 DRLN brings together select districts and counties to innovate around data and assessments, focusing on one of two areas: Balanced Assessment Systems or Balanced Data Systems. To promote deeper learning, districts conduct a Balanced Assessment System review, ensuring that supportive policies, programs and practices are in place for formative assessment practices that promote student agency in the classroom. For more Balanced Data Systems, districts assess their current data systems through an equity lens, identifying opportunities for innovation. Districts can also capitalize on the latest data visualization technology for continuous improvement and community engagement.   

The I3 DRLN is a timely opportunity, especially for small to mid-size districts and counties, to leverage their data and assessment systems (and investments) to accelerate learning. According to Hilary Kjaer, Director of Teaching and Learning at one of the selected districts, “Rincon Valley Union School District is excited to embark on this journey with the I3 DRLN team! As we strive to develop a strategic plan for accelerating student learning, we know this is the perfect collaborative partnership.” The DRLN is a three-phase initiative with the Planning Phase starting in January 2023 and running through June 2023. To learn more about this innovative initiative, please see the I3 DRLN website which will be updated throughout the year.

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is the bedrock of best first instruction; it’s in every state curriculum framework and is the only framework required by the Every Student Succeeds Act. However, that’s not necessarily a compelling argument to engage educators to begin their implementation of UDL. They’re working hard as it is, and no one has time for “one more thing”. 

Except UDL isn’t one more thing. It’s a way to better achieve the things educators are already working hard to do — support language acquisition, engage students socially and emotionally, implement multi-tiered systems of support, and more. 

That’s why CCEE has partnered to develop the “Why UDL?” series of videos — to connect UDL to the work that people are already doing and to show how UDL can help them in those efforts. Working with our friends at TextHelp, we’ve recruited state and national experts to engage in conversations and presentations to better communicate how UDL connects to a variety of key initiatives. Housed on the Why UDL page of the UDL Journey Guide, these videos serve as learning opportunities for leaders and teams seeking to implement UDL who can then leverage them as part of their communications and stakeholder engagement efforts. 

CCEE is tremendously grateful for the collaboration provided by TextHelp and our speakers, all of whom volunteered their time and contributions to be able to offer these resources to educators across the state at no cost. 

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The Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center is excited to soon be launching what we’re calling the Spotlights Project. Aligned with the goal of the I3 Center, the Spotlights aim to curate stories that identify and amplify emerging practices from school and district teams to collaboratively provide students in California with what they need to thrive. 

In the coming weeks, the I3 Center will be publishing Spotlights on different local educational agencies (LEAs) that have implemented innovative and inclusive practices to improve 1) student academic outcomes; 2) student/family engagement and well-being; 3) staff and community supports; or 4) systems, policies, and governance. The Spotlights will shine a light on not only the successes, but also the challenges, pitfalls, and lessons learned to serve as blueprints for other LEAs facing similar issues. Although LEAs across California vary in size and demographics, we hope these documented success stories can pave a way for LEAs to become learning organizations — absorbing the lessons learned, leveraging those perspectives to create accessible points of conversation, and generating ideas around other innovative pathways to replicate some of these successes across the state.