Category: featured posts

News & Announcements

Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) 2.0 Lead Agency RFA Announcement

The California Department of Education has released the results of the CEI 2.0 Lead Agency RFA. You can view the results on the CDE’s website.

In Case You Missed It

System of Support Updates (June 2023)

21CSLA Showcase in Sacramento

Our 21st Century California School Leadership Academy held a showcase in Sacramento on Thursday, May 11 to celebrate the first three years of supporting equity leadership in California! More than 90 people attended from across the state, including our state partners at California Department of Education, State Board of Education, and California Collaborative for Educational Excellence who have invested in and supported this important work. Read more and see photos.

21CSLA Practice Brief: Insights from California’s TK Educators and Leaders

In this practice brief, we underscore four key themes from UTK educational leaders as areas ripe for further research. These findings underscore current pressing challenges and dilemmas facing UTK leaders and speak to the larger context in which UTK expands. We draw from semi-structured interviews with four California UTK leaders to illuminate the challenges, opportunities, and ingenuity of educators and districts in supporting UTK implementation and/or expansion. Link to the brief.

Envisioning and Leading Equitable TK Classrooms

Alameda County Regional Academy in partnership with Alameda County Office of Education will offer UTK Professional Learning Envisioning and Leading Equitable TK Classrooms on August 1 and 2, 2023. Register here: https://bit.ly/41vU6JX

Equity Corner

Reasons to Celebrate in the month of June:

• African-American Music Appreciation Month
• Father’s Day
• Dragon Boat Festival
• Deafblind Awareness Week (starts 27th)

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About the Transformative Systems for Equitable Education (TSEE) Center

The TSEE team supports more than 20 unique statewide initiatives. Our Administrative Assistant II, Fiscal Analyst, and Program Specialists are the foundation of our team. They take care of all of our operational, administrative, and project management needs. The TSEE team takes pride in supporting our Deputy Executive Director, Senior Advisors, and Assistant Directors to collectively pave the way through communication, collaboration, and leadership to ensure our impact is far-reaching. While we all support different initiatives, we work together to deliver on our common goal of improving outcomes for all 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.

 “Sometimes it’s helpful to stop and be grateful for what we do.  Education in California, one of the largest states in the nation, is complex.  It can often make educators feel like we may never get to where we need to be, but I would like to share another perspective.  The CCEE is grateful to be part of such an incredible state when it comes to education.  Our organization has seen many other state education systems and in our opinion California is often miles ahead in both our approach to and innovation of our education systems.  

Our state board and state board staff are incredibly thoughtful and represent a great and diverse group of thinkers, led by one of the most notable researchers in Education, Linda Darling Hammond. Our California Department of Education and the State Superintendent, Tony Thurmond, are visibly traveling and engaging with parents, associations, and educational partners to figure out how best to support them.  Our associations, county offices, and state lead agencies are always willing to step up with grace and a willingness to serve.  

All these examples remind me that regardless of what we think the current state of education is, we can be grateful for the fact that everyone in this “system” has one thing in common…we all want what is best for our students, teachers and families in California.  Gratitude is something we can all benefit from once in a while.

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The school year is winding down, summer and planning for the next year is in full speed.  It is a natural transition in our system with educators across the state reflecting on the past year, while planning for a new one ahead.  During these times it is important to not only find time to enjoy a break for rejuvenation, but to also take a moment and recognize our partnerships and the relentless commitment to serving the students, families and communities throughout the state.

On May 12th the annual “All Leads” meeting took place and was in person for the first time since 2019.  The level of expertise, experience, creativity and innovative spirit among attendees was only surpassed by a deep commitment to serving all children and youth in our state.   Our teams at CCEE are extremely grateful for the incredible collaboration we have with all our partners and look forward to continually growing and expanding these relationships.  

When we organize, collaborate and deliver support together, a true system with minimal silos and thru line from state initiatives to direct district and school site support is magnified.  At the end of the day, there are many hands on deck, each embracing positive aspirations for developing and deepening a Statewide System of Support that is cohesive, clear and accessible.  My deepest gratitude to our many partners, let’s finish strong!

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It is said that it takes a village to raise a child.  For Upper Lake USD, we are blessed to have our whole community working together to create the best possible educational, social, and emotional support system for all our students. 

ULUSD’s participation and partnership with the CCEE “Continuous Improvement Model,” and for the last three years in the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI), has allowed us to sharpen the focus of our work and guide us through practices that have fundamentally changed our communication style and content with our stakeholders and the community at large.

Our introduction of the “The Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships” and our work with the “Root Cause Analysis” to identify our “Problem of Practice” has been an eye-opening experience.  Due to the current work in these areas in concert with our intentional focus on implementing with fidelity, highly effective academic and social programs, ULUSD has become a “Destination District.” 

Our “Responsive Leadership” created a culture and structure for system organization learning to include the different voices from our community in the design, development, and implementation of processes, programs, and services.  Today our local native Pomo Tribes leadership, philanthropic & service organizations, and business community are partners in shaping our organizational outcomes. This engagement raises the level of responsibility and accountability that we all collectively hold for the success of our students and youth population in general.

We believe that the absence of engagement limits growth and fosters a diminishing mindset. Gratitude for community partnerships moves educational organizations forward. 

CEI has been a catalyst on our path to success.

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Superintendents collaborating on and sharing best practices and strategies is the secret sauce to achieving exceptional results in public education. The Small School Districts Association (SSDA) and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) have partnered to develop the Leadership Institute, a community of leaders to collaborate, support and mentor new superintendents. The founding principle of the Leadership Institute is to empower educational leaders by providing access to the resources they need for exceptional student achievement.  The collaborative approach has resulted in statewide synergy in the field of public education. 

Small school district superintendents no longer need to feel isolated.  Within the Leadership Institute, participants are matched with a seasoned successful superintendent who serves as a trusted coach and mentor for a period of six months.  During this period, best practices are reviewed in the areas of Governance and Fiscal Management, Community Engagement, Vision and Goals, Human Resources and Effective Communication.  The purpose is to improve student outcomes and build a positive district culture and climate. 

As a coach, I value the time I spend coaching and mentoring my colleagues.  We all come to the table with unique strengths and talents.  During our time together, we tap into each other’s strengths to share best practices.   Often, I gain new knowledge from the stories and experiences shared in the group.  I also make myself available to the participants whenever they need my support or simply need a sounding board.

Unlike traditional professional development, this is not designed to add more to the plate of a superintendent.  It’s a time to support each other with the resources and knowledge we each possess.  Our conversations range from emergency recovery efforts to understanding the reading intervention strategies and programs that make a positive impact on student achievement.  We also share many of the state mandated plans and the process used to gather stakeholder input. 

The Leadership Institute is a great example of an effective means to bring equity to education.  Together, we are opening doors by providing resources that will drive the actions of all Superintendents to be effective for the students they serve.

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California policy makers have made historic investments over the last few years to bring the state closer to universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) for all 3- and 4-year-olds. This has come in the form of several new and expanded programs including TK expansion to all 4 year-olds by 2024/25, the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P), an additional 200,000 childcare vouchers, and more than 8,000 additional preschool slots.  

As local education agencies (LEAs) work toward implementation of this ambitious goal, many have expressed the need for technical assistance, tools, and training to help them address barriers and shortages in staffing and facilities. Small and rural LEAs are facing some of the most significant implementation challenges due to economy of scale issues. In response, CCEE has partnered with the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) over the last year to develop Tier 1 and 2 tools and trainings to add to the statewide system of support. To ensure that these resources support all schools, regardless of size or circumstance, the partnership has collaborated with LEAs throughout the state and with the Department of Education. 

Most recently, the CCEE/SCCOE partnership offered a UPK Blending, Braiding and Layering workshop in which LEAs were provided with a series of high-value tools that helped them identify mixed-delivery models to address their staffing, facilities, revenue, and/or cost shortage. These tools are now available online to all LEAs and include: 1) a resource hub with curated, summarized, and searchable resources for busy school administrators, 2) a planning tool to help LEAs project their staffing and facilities needs and identify issues with enrollment and costs, 3) an online technical assistance tool with AI features that provide tailored suggestions for LEAs based on their unique characteristics, and 4) a budgeting worksheet and accompanying costs/revenues template. To access these resources or learn more about how blending, braiding, and layering early learning and care programs can help your LEA address barriers to UPK implementation, please visit visit https://upktool.ccee-ca.org/. To view the workshop slide deck, visit https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kn4eHWv3LoOUCx5wFpd5eSwfiChMxGGb/edit#slide=id.p1

News & Announcements

Project CLEAR (California Literacy Elevation by Accelerating Reading)

Project CLEAR builds capacity in implementing and accelerating literacy development in districts across the state. Educators can participate in one of two levels of professional learning offered through Project CLEAR – Teacher Leaders and Teachers. Participation is fully funded through Project CLEAR! For more information, see Project CLEAR’s webpage on our Learning Acceleration System Grant Website.

In Case You Missed It

System of Support Updates (May 2023)

New 21CSLA Practice Brief: Insights from California’s TK Educators and Leaders

Drawing from interviews with California UTK leaders, this practice brief underscores key themes from UTK educational leaders as areas ripe for further research. These findings serve to illuminate the challenges, opportunities, and ingenuity of educators and districts in supporting UTK implementation or expansion. Read the brief

May Resources

• Mental Health Awareness Month – NAMI raises awareness and provides support to educate the public on mental health
• Healthy Minds Innovations – an easy to use app as a guide to well-being
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – Find ready use lesson plans, student activities, guides, and research aids in this selection of resources for teachers

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About the Teaching, Learning, and Leading Center (TLLC)

Our team works in alliance with educators to improve teaching, learning, and leadership so every student is inspired and prepared to thrive as their best self.

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.

What do we mean by wellness in education?  For us it means a myriad of support needed to address Social Emotional Learning (SEL), mental health, and well-being of students. If we can see how SEL strategies and practices impact the mental health and well-being of students, then it would allow educational practitioners to be more focused on how to utilize funding to support the wellness of students and educators. Measuring the impact of those supports and services as it relates to the education of the whole child requires an intentional awareness and design so that LEAs can efficiently and effectively address the needs of their students and the educators that support them. This newsletter highlights some resources, services, and supports that address wellness education for adults and students in education and the importance of wellness for teaching and learning.

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Executive Director Matt Navo started off his article with the question, “What do we mean by wellness in education?” I’d like to dive into this question a little more with adding what does wellness mean and what do we mean by wellness in education for students and educators?

In 1976, Dr. Bill Hetler released the Six Dimensions of Wellness Model. The six dimensions of wellness are: Emotional, Physical, Intellectual, Occupational, Spiritual, and Social. He defines wellness as functioning optimally within your current environment. So what does this mean for students? What does this mean for educators?

Diving into wellness just a little deeper, you find that wellness involves seeing our lives from multiple sides, a holistic view, and brings about an awareness that each dimension is interconnected and contributes to a healthy or unhealthy life. How does this translate into how we are providing an education grounded in wellness? From my experience, the first step is having self-awareness of how we are showing up for ourselves, our students, and our colleagues on a daily basis. How are you as an individual and as part of a collective enhancing your wellness and creating opportunities for students to enhance their wellness?

The National Wellness Institute developed three questions to help professionals and organizations to determine how successfully they are incorporating wellness into their strategies and initiatives:

1. Does this help individuals achieve their full potential?

2. Does this recognize and address multiple dimensions of wellness?

3. Does this affirm and mobilize an individual’s unique qualities and strengths?

I encourage us all to consider these three questions when we are developing programs, strategies, and initiatives for students and for each other.

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Tyler Hester spent his first year of teaching like many first year teachers – overwhelmed. Thanks to support from his colleagues, he made it through. During his subsequent years in the classroom and leading a teacher preparation program, he saw numerous early-career educators burnout and leave. He knew what so many of us know: it doesn’t need to be this way. There are predictable and preventable causes of educator burnout. We can and should be better equipping educators to thrive in the face of those predictable challenges. 

As a doctoral student at Harvard, Tyler worked alongside the Boston Teachers Union to pilot a well-being program open to all members – not just new teachers. Much to his surprise, the room the union had booked was too small to accommodate the number of people interested. Since then, Educators Thriving has served educators in over 26 districts and county offices across the country with demonstrated results: statistically significant reductions in burnout and increases in well-being. 

However, Tyler and our team knew that equipping individual educators wasn’t enough; we must also improve the conditions in which teachers work. Educators Thriving now offers measurement and strategic consultation to help school and district leaders improve well-being for all staff using a unique, educator-generated scale. We offer ongoing support to leaders and simultaneously address aspects of organizational structures or culture that detract from staff well-being. By equipping individual educators and enabling leaders to drive systematic change, we can help every educator achieve well-being and reach their full potential.

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When we attend meetings, whether in-person or virtual, we tend to follow a pattern or standard of behavior that determines how we interact with our teammates. This could be greeting others enthusiastically, being reserved and waiting to be called on, identifying more strongly with someone with similar experiences, or leaning in to support a teammate in need. While all of these styles can be effective in supporting our teammates, it’s important to consider whether they are effective in supporting the system as a whole.

To understand this better, we can refer to the “Ladder of Connectedness¹” graphic, which represents how our connections can either support or mute our ability to foster a generative social field. A space that can support all of our teammates and move the organization forward. The three empathic stances we can take – in-group empathy, cognitive empathy, and altruistic empathy – can definitely support our teammates. However, taking somebody’s side or their feelings and/or perspective doesn’t always allow us to remain neutral and see multiple perspectives, to see the entire system.

This is where neutral awareness comes in – the ability to remain non-judgmental and non-attached, in a state of equanimity and ultimate balance. By showing up with neutral awareness, we can influence the space to be more generative, and drive the system to better outcomes for students. This doesn’t require any extra professional development – just a different way of showing up that can make a big difference. So, try it out and see what you notice – how we show up really does matter.

1. Peter Senge & Mette Boell, Compassionate Systems Framework

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.