The 21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) is reaching leaders across the state while staying grounded in local context. In 2024–25, 13,324 leaders from 95% of California’s counties enrolled in 21CSLA offerings provided at no cost to Title II–funded schools and districts. That scale matters because it builds common language and shared improvement routines across roles and regions.
What the evaluation found: leaders are changing practice
The external evaluation provides consistent and concrete evidence of changes in leadership practice tied to 21CSLA participation. Most survey respondents (70.9%) reported adjusting at least one leadership practice as a result of their 21CSLA offering, and 16.5% reported adjusting practices across all nine practice areas measured. The most common shifts were:
• Discussing equity-focused leadership perspectives or strategies with colleagues (75.9%)
• Creating a shared purpose/vision among multiple stakeholders (72.1%)
• Leading the identification of root causes of an equity-related problem of practice (62.6%)
These are not small moves, and reflect the day-to-day behaviors that create coherent systems of support and sustain improvement over time.
Attendance matters and so does sustained learning
The evaluation also found a statistically significant relationship between participation and reported change: respondents who attended all of an offering were more likely to report adjusting at least one leadership practice than those who attended half or less (coefficient = 0.62, se = 0.30, t = 2.09. p < .05). This reinforces a familiar lesson for districts: sustained professional learning, paired with practical application, drives stronger transfer into practice.
Why leaders say it worked: collaboration + usable improvement routines
Participants rated 21CSLA offerings highly across features of effective professional learning, with an average usefulness rating of 4.26 out of 5 across nine domains. The highest-rated feature was opportunities to collaborate with colleagues (mean 4.43). In other words, leaders valued learning that was interactive, job-embedded, and connected to peers, conditions that mirror how change actually spreads within and across districts.
What “changes in practice” look like on the ground
Open-ended responses bring the numbers to life. Across roles, leaders described using cycles of inquiry, strengthening data routines, widening staff voice in decision-making, and redesigning systems with an equity lens. The examples below illustrate how 21CSLA supports leaders to strengthen and integrate their local systems of support, so that improvement efforts become coherent, not fragmented.
Leaders’ voices
“One clear example of how I adjusted my leadership practice was in supporting a school site to redesign their Student Support Team (SST) process with an equity lens. After engaging in 21CSLA coaching, I facilitated a cross-site leadership learning session to explore how current practices might unintentionally contribute to disproportionality in intervention referrals, especially for English Learners and students with IEPs.
I used that learning to coach principals through a revision of our SST protocols. We implemented a policy requiring all SST conversations to include an analysis of culturally and linguistically relevant data (e.g., ELPAC levels, prior interventions, instructional access), and provided professional development on distinguishing between language acquisition needs and learning differences. I also co-facilitated training sessions with site leaders to unpack bias in placement decisions and ensure alignment with the CA EL Roadmap and UDL principles.
In doing so, I created opportunities for teachers and specialists to lead the work, positioning them as content experts on inclusive practices and forming cross-role school teams to co-lead implementation. This shifted our approach from compliance to shared leadership and from deficit-based to asset-based decision-making.”
— District office leader
“One way I’ve adjusted my own leadership is by initiating and facilitating regular equity-focused discussions with colleagues across my district. For example, after engaging with 21CSLA, I connected with a district leader colleague to examine how our district policies were impacting historically marginalized student groups. Through these conversations, we analyzed student data through an equity lens and identified disparities in disciplinary actions and access to advanced coursework. As a result, we recommended revising our placement criteria to be more inclusive and implementing restorative practices to address behavior more equitably. These ongoing dialogues have not only influenced my leadership decisions but have also helped build a shared commitment to equity across a number of our schools.”
— District office leader
“One example of how I adjusted my leadership practices was by creating structured opportunities for teachers to take on leadership roles focused on equity. After engaging in 21CSLA coaching, I facilitated professional learning communities (PLCs) where teacher leaders examined school-level data related to English learners and co-developed strategies to improve academic outcomes. I also supported staff in identifying and challenging instructional biases through reflective discussions and collaborative planning. Additionally, I shared key insights from the 21CSLA sessions with other site and district leaders, helping expand our collective understanding of asset-based practices and more equitable instructional models. These efforts helped foster a more inclusive school culture and built capacity among staff to lead with an equity lens.”
— Site leader (school leader)
Bottom line for districts
The external evaluation shows early evidence that 21CSLA is moving beyond awareness to action: leaders report shifting how they collaborate, build shared vision, diagnose root causes, and run improvement cycles, the practical work of strengthening an integrated system of support. As districts continue to navigate complex improvement needs, 21CSLA offers a scalable model for building leadership capacity that can translate into more equitable, coherent supports for schools.
For additional updates, visit the CCEE website, events calendar, Resource Center, and the Statewide System of Support Website.
