Category: Reports Publications

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.

Project CLEAR’s Two-Unit Graduate Assessment Course

The two-unit graduate assessment course provides an overview of early literacy assessments in phonics, reading, and writing. For those who are considering the Teacher Leader or Teacher pathways, this course would offer an introduction to the opportunities sponsored by Project CLEAR, along with allowing time for district and school leaders to develop, or redesign, a literacy acceleration plan to incorporate into their Local Control and Accountability Plan.

California Collaborative for Learning Acceleration – Math and Literacy Communities of Practice (CoPs)

The California Collaborative for Learning Acceleration (CCLA) in partnership with the CCEE and six County Offices of Education (COE) will be creating an inclusive space for collaboration and learning for educators across the state through a Community of Practice (CoP). 

You can find more information using the flyers below: 

Literacy

Mathematics

In Case You Missed It

Direct Technical Assistance Request for Proposal

CCEE is looking for respondents who can support partner LEAs in implementing State priorities. Further information is included in the Request for Proposal.

Universal PreK Resources

• UPK Key Information Flyer
• UPK Resources & Materials
• Great StartCalifornia: Advancing the California Department of Education’s P-3 Vision

Looking AHEAD

Winter/Spring 2024 Courses Toward the  21CSLA UTK Leadership Certificate 

The next no-cost, university credit-bearing course toward the UTK Leadership Certificate will be Equity Centered Leadership Practices to Support, Integrate, and Align Transitional Kindergarten (TK).

This course will investigate and understand the instructional leadership practices related to preschool through third grade (P–3) education, including how to develop and enact a PK–3 vision, align and integrate Universal Transitional Kindergarten into the CA educational system, and implement strategies to build professional capacity through a culture of continuous improvement. With a focus on issues of educational inequality, course content and assignments will focus on ameliorating and improving public education with a P–3 focus.

For more information or to enroll, visit: https://21cslacenter.berkeley.edu/utk-leadership-certificate Questions? Email us at [email protected]

California Collaborative for Learning Acceleration Summit

Save the Date for the CCLA 2023-2024 Summit! This year’s theme is Students First: Every Moment Matters and will feature virtual and in-person options.

Tuesdays @ 2 Webinar Series

Following the adoption of the 2024–25 LCAP template and instructions the CDE will be providing a series of training webinars. For information, please visit the Tuesdays @ 2 Webinar Series web page.

November Resources

• National Native-American Heritage Month
• American Education Week (Nov 13-17)
• World Children’s Day (Nov 20)

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.

Executive Director’s Corner

How Do We Fix Schools?

By Matt J. Navo, Executive Director, CCEE

This is a question that has plagued educational practitioners and policymakers alike for years. The answer in short…we don’t! We don’t fix schools, we don’t fix people, and we don’t fix students. There’s not a compliance document, accountability document, or strategic plan that I have met that can fix schools. Rather, I would argue we help schools learn to improve, we help people to learn to improve, and we help students learn to improve. The only thing that can address the issues public schools are facing is the people in the buildings coming together for deep collaboration and problem-solving.  

In this newsletter, you will read about how our Teaching, Learning, and Leading Center (TLLC) is working with County Offices and state lead partners to support LEAs in learning to improve.

It’s Fall! A Time for Reflection and Planning

By Stephanie Gregson, Ed.D., Deputy Executive Director, CCEE

The fall is a time for us to cozy up in our sweaters and have our hands wrapped around warm beverages. I would also say the fall is a time to reflect, especially for district and school site teams.  The school year is well underway and spring is just around the corner. How can your school team come together in an authentic way to reflect on all they have accomplished and where they want to continue to improve?  As Executive Director, Matt Navo, shared we don’t fix schools, we don’t fix people, we don’t fix students. We do, however, help school teams learn to improve, we help people learn to improve, and we help students learn to improve. How do you want to improve? 

This fall is a time to reflect and start planning for the next Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) cycle. The new three-year LCAP cycle planning begins this year, and it is the time to bring your school community together to reflect and identify where you want to improve together. This is the time to have open conversations about what’s working and what isn’t. Reflection and planning are the cornerstones of a successful Local Control Accountability Plan. They enable schools to learn from the past and strategically navigate the future. Through these practices, schools and districts can create a comprehensive LCAP that meets the unique needs of all students fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

Our team is here to support and you’ll find this newsletter includes various resources and support on reflection and the upcoming changes expected for the LCAP.

The Power of Reflection, Together

By Jennie Wright, Ed.D., Assistant Director of the Teaching, Learning & Leading Center, CCEE

A reflection on applying system improvement levers to the LCAP

By Matthew Roberts, Ed.D., Senior Advisor, CCEE & Joshua Strong, Administrator of the System of Support Office, CDE, Instruction & Measurement Branch

“Every system is perfectly designed to achieve exactly the results that it gets” is a phrase commonly used in system(s) improvement language. The words imply that design has more to do with system outcomes than simple intentions for system outcomes. Designing transformation in a district requires leaders to consistently think, reflect, and act in ways that drive continuous improvement across the entire organization. Getting to that point though takes reflection on current district priorities. How many priorities does your district have? Are priorities designed to solve problems rooted in the local data or do we stay flat in the data and act like it somehow moved? Do they fit an overall design for success in student outcomes? Do priorities capture the voice of those closest to students?

As districts measure the impact of current LCAP goals and begin engagement for the new LCAP cycle, consider applying the Carnegie Foundation’s Four Levers of Transformation (2020) to help inform the development of goals for the new LCAP cycle beginning 2024-25. The Four Levers include: 1) promote radical alignment across goals and plans to create a coherent, holistic design that places student success at the center, 2) build an improvement culture that opens voice and agency while holding everyone to high expectations, 3) develop everyone’s improvement capabilities to build the collective muscle that it takes to urgently do the hard work, and this means investing in people and building collaborative time, and 4) invest in improvement infrastructure that promotes collective learning, increases analytic capacity, and empowers decision-making.

In November 2023, the State Board of Education will consider revisions to the 2024-25 LCAP template including the following:

• Streamlining of the Plan Summary and Engaging Educational Partners sections of the LCAP
• Inclusion of tables in the Engaging Educational Partners and Increased or Improved Services for Foster Youth, English Learners, and Low-Income Students sections of the LCAP
• Addition of a requirement for school districts, county offices of education and charter schools that receive Local Control Funding Formula Equity Multiplier funding to include one or more goals within the LCAP
• Addition of a requirement for school districts, county offices of education and charter schools that are eligible for technical assistance and/or that have received the lowest performance rating on one or more state indicators on the California School Dashboard for (1) a school within the LEA, (2) a student group within the LEA, and/or (3) a student group within any school within the LEA to include specific actions in the LCAP

References

Berwick, Don. (March 3, 2015). [Keynote Speaker Presentation]. Carnegie Foundation Summit on Improvement in Education. San Francisco, CA, USA. https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2015_Summit_Program.pdf

Dixon, C.J., & Palmer, S.N. (2020). Transforming Educational Systems Toward Continuous Improvement: A Reflection Guide for K–12 Leaders. Stanford, CA: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Intensive Assistance Model

We invite you to hear the reflections of the Federal Terrace Elementary team in Vallejo City Unified School District and their journey with the Intensive Assistance Model. They are deepening their understanding and practices of authentic collaboration focused on student results.

News & Announcements

Earn a berkeley UTK Leadership Certificate!

Open to candidates currently in a Preliminary ASC or Clear ASC program, or who hold a Certificate of Eligibility

New opportunity for future school leaders: As California rolls out its Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) program, 21CSLA is offering future school leaders a new opportunity to develop their skills and leadership capacity. 

The UTK Leadership Certificate is a 4-unit online and synchronous program offered through UC Berkeley Extension (UNEX) and developed by the UC Berkeley-based 21CSLA, in partnership with the California Department of Education, State Board of Education, and California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. Those who complete the two 10-session courses will receive a UC Berkeley UTK Leadership Certificate. Due to funding from the California Department of Education, this program is available at no cost to eligible participants through June 2026.

• Enroll in no-cost, university credit-bearing courses
• Learn about UTK policy and instructional leadership in California
• Network and collaborate with other leaders to advance equity
• Cultivate skills and knowledge to prepare for job searches and interviews

Access more information via this website

In Case You Missed It

Leadership Institute

New participants and mentors gathered in Newport Beach to kick-off the 23’-24’ Leadership Institute (LI). The LI is a collaborative effort between CCEE and the Small School Districts Association (SSDA) to support networking and learning opportunities for new and aspiring small school district leaders. This experience was enhanced by the participation of Dr. David Arencibia from Jimmy Casas and Associates who guided us through identifying our leadership strengths. This year-long institute will pair participants with mentors who will walk alongside them through their leadership journeys.

Looking AHEAD

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.

Register for upcoming Open Door sessions by clicking on the links below:

• Empowering Success: The Path of Transparency, Data-Driven Decisions, & Student Ownership (9/13/23)
• Graduate Profiles: Redefining Student Success (9/27/23)

To view archived materials from past Open Door sessions, please visit our Open Door Sessions Google Site. You can also check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on upcoming Open Door sessions.

Equity Corner

Reasons to Celebrate in the month of September:

• National Hispanic Heritage Month
• Māori Language Week (September 11-18th)
• Saint Teresa Canonization Day in Albania (September 5th)

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.

Executive Director’s Corner

Inspiring Change for One System:

By Matt J. Navo, Executive Director, CCEE

The use of the term “Statewide System of Support” (SSOS) to describe California’s state educational system that supports Local Educational Agencies, has been difficult to  understand for educational practitioners. The SSOS has been one that has been largely mis-understood, highly debated, largely confusing and in many cases mis-represented. The idea that California, as complex as it is, can organize ALL organizations, associations and legislative educational initiatives into ONE coherent system is a daunting task.  However, there is hope! We aren’t a system yet, but we are moving closer to that vision as all statewide partners, including County Offices, Geographic Leads, CCEE, State Board and the California Department of Education work to integrate and create a sense of interdependence in a system that has largely been independent. This newsletter highlights inspiring work to move our SSOS into ONE Coherent System that works for ALL students.

“One System for All Students”

By Dr. Chris Hartley, Deputy Executive Director, CCEE

Starting a new school year is  filled with excitement, promise,  sense of renewed energy,  and an unwavering commitment to provide the absolute best care and support for the children and youth we collectively serve.  In order to give our best for all students, it is important to also commit to the level of transformational change necessary to implement whole child initiatives, while staying focused and committed to continuous improvement processes and local implementation.  The Statewide System of Support (SSOS) has a myriad of resources and services that range from universal, targeted, and intensive that are available to support all Local Educational Agencies (LEA’s).  

The SSOS is rich with incredibly talented, resourceful, and experienced educators who provide relevant and meaningful services and support for LEA’s.  While tremendous support exists, the SSOS still lacks full coherence and clarity around services available and how districts can directly access the assistance that meets their unique needs.  SSOS lead agencies, statewide partners, educational and community partners have made tremendous progress in building coherence and setting the stage for the 2023-24 year as being pivotal in continuing our focused effort to collectively operate as “one system.” 

Being committed to a “one system” approach means remaining intentional around collaboration, while staying focused on making systemic connections between  programs, services and people.   A one system design is simply what is best for students and CCEE is a committed and excited partner and looks forward to an outstanding year!

A Different Way to Lead: System Improvement Leads Networked Improvement Community

By Sandra Park, Co-Founder, Improvement Collective

Implementing UPK in your ELO-P Program

By Julie Boesch, Assistant Director, CCEE

Districts are seeking support on how to implement Universal Pre-Kindergarten and integrate this age level into Expanded Learning Programs, presenting new opportunities and challenges for districts to continue to learn and grow. 

CCEE in collaboration with numerous partners including CDE, Department of Social Services, multiple County Offices of Education, non-profit organizations, and community partners, came together with a shared vision and specific tasks to create tools to communicate to the field in a cohesive, impactful, and practical way. This work included three teams:

Physical Spaces:

Objective: Identify existing resources to support the design and development of early learning spaces in expanded learning programs. This team has created a video as well as an environment checklist to support districts and those who support them. (These items will be released soon.)

Staff Capacity:

Objective:  Provide a curated and manageable set of training opportunities and resources for Expanded Learning Opportunities Program staff and the System of Support for Expanded Learning to build their capacity to serve TK-K students and families.

This group has created a slide deck which can be used for informational meetings, staff training, and communication. It will also support an improved understanding of play-based learning among ELO, some background on UPK and ELO-P, the science of learning, foundational elements of learning through play, and connections between the ELO Quality Standards and the key elements of play-based learning. They have also created an infographic which specifically highlights the importance of play-based learning and all of the learning that is going on that may not be evident to the casual observer. 

Education Code:

Objective: This group was tasked with Providing clear and concise information and guidance to the field interpreting Education Code related to health, safety, and licensing requirements.

This group has taken the Ed Code which has been emerging and created user friendly language and will be producing short videos as well as infographics and additional professional learning opportunities to both highlight and disseminate this information.

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.

California Collaborative for Learning Acceleration – Math and Literacy Communities of Practice (CoPs)

The California Collaborative for Learning Acceleration (CCLA) in partnership with the CCEE and six County Offices of Education (COE) will be creating an inclusive space for collaboration and learning for educators across the state through a Community of Practice (CoP). 

You can find more information using the flyers below: 

Literacy

Mathematics

California Mathematics Framework 

The California State Board of Education approved the 2023 Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools at their July 12th meeting. You can read more about the new Framework by visiting the California Department of Education’s Mathematics Framework web page.

In Case You Missed It

UPK Key Information Flyer

UPK Resources & Materials

UPK Toolkit 

2022-2023 CCEE Annual Report 

Looking AHEAD

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.

Register for upcoming Open Door sessions by clicking on the links below:

• Fresno CSS’s Tools for Navigating the Plan-demic (8/22/23)
• Graduate Profiles: Redefining Student Success (9/27/23)

To view archived materials from past Open Door sessions, please visit our Open Door Sessions Google Site. You can also check our Events Calendar or follow CCEE on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on upcoming Open Door sessions.

August Resources

• 21CSLA Regional Academies (Coaching)
• Women’s Equity Day
• International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
• National Vision & Learning Month

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.

Executive Director’s Corner

Why is Coaching So Important?

By Matt J. Navo, Executive Director, CCEE

Why is coaching in education so important? Coaching provides opportunities for educational organizations and professionals to focus on the right work. Too often educational professionals are focused on the wrong indicators. For example, when schools and leaders focus only on test scores, we risk failing to comprehend the actual causes of those results. Coaching helps to uncover what we can control and/or influence that may be causing or have caused a potential result. Doug Reeves and Michael Fullan say it this way, “The number of priorities is inversely proportional to gains in student achievement” (Reeves, 2013). They go on to say, “while leaders and policymakers are often seduced by the promises of vendors that programs will solve educational challenges, the evidence is clear that it is practices, not programs that have the greatest impact” (Reeves 2023). 

Only through coaching can we focus on the practices that achieve better outcomes.

Effective Coaching Benefits Everyone

By Stephanie Gregson, Ed.D., Deputy Executive Director, CCEE

Being an educator today, and even before today, is extremely hard. We are in the midst of the highest rate of educator burnout and fatigue causing many veteran and new educators to leave the profession. For this reason and many others, it is important we engage in practices that create spaces of community, belonging, vulnerability, and learning allowing educators to fill their buckets, rejuvenate, and reinvigorate their passion for education.

Effective coaching is one of those practices we should all be engaging in as individuals, as teams, and as an education community. Effective coaching isn’t just about achieving organizational goals, student achievement, and collaborative learning cultures, it is also about higher levels of emotional and physical well-being. We are in an era of initiative fatigue that can cause burnout and increased turnover in staff. Effective coaching can help peel back layers of initiatives as individuals and teams ask themselves, why?

There are more than 40,000 books on coaching showing the profound amount of research on effective coaching. Yet has it become common practice in our education community? When individuals and teams participate in effective coaching practices, they see an increase in psychological well-being, self-regulation, and self-insight. The teams benefit from gains in goal attainment and solution-focused thinking (Grant & Atad, 2021).

This month’s newsletter highlights some of the coaching embedded in the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence work with districts and county offices of education. We invite you to learn more and to consider how you can engage in effective coaching practices to find rejuvenation in your work.

Internal Coaching Cycles for Quality Improvement

By Rocio Gonzalez-Frausto, Assistant Director, CCEE

The Role of Coaching in Accelerating Learning

By Stacey Wedin, Assistant Director, CCEE

Learning acceleration doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Supporting the rapid progress of students toward mastery of content requires a comprehensive, systemic approach to rethink the way we teach and learn. The CCEE’s Playbook for Accelerating Learning underscores this point by outlining the necessary conditions to accelerate learning, which includes having a system aligned to the tenets of learning acceleration in both mindset and practice. Professional learning and coaching for educators to deepen understanding of learning acceleration and embed evidence-based strategies into practice is paramount to a sustainable system.

With this knowledge, Learning Acceleration System Grant partners have designed their professional learning offerings centered on systems of coaching and mentoring. This affords educators valuable opportunities to collaborate, share, learn, and provide feedback while incorporating new strategies into their practice. Coaching is one of four prongs of support offered by the Rural Math Collaborative (RMC) where participating counties receive targeted assistance around using TOSAs and instructional coaches to improve math instruction. Working with the California Math Project and drawing from the work of Jim Knight, the RMC is working to build sustainable networks of effective coaching teams throughout the region. As another example, Project CLEAR offers job-embedded individualized coaching while participating educators complete the training offered through the program. Once certified, Teacher Leaders coach educators in their respective school/district on early literacy intervention strategies to accelerate reading.

Coaching is integral to a robust system of professional learning and plays a critical role in accelerating learning. As the Learning Acceleration System grant grows in future years, the use of effective coaching to support teachers will continue to grow with it.

21st Century California School Leadership Academy

Are you a current or aspiring California school or district leader looking for

free professional development and coaching?  

Find your 21CSLA Academy HERE. 

All Academies include:

Communities of Practice

A space for leaders in similar roles to come together and work on equity-centered problems of practice using continuous improvement while championing transformational leadership.

Localized Professional Learning

Leaders participate in a process of practitioner inquiry that advances educational equity for a specific context around leadership, equity, and continuous improvement. Problems of practice are situated in and arise from the regional communities and are determined through an extensive needs-assessment process.

Leadership Coaching

Coaches provide job-embedded coaching built on relational trust and focused on equity-centered problems of practice using continuous improvement. They also support leaders with system transformation to ensure all children fulfill their potential to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.

21CSLA UTK

The 21CSLA Alameda Regional Academy, in partnership with 21CSLA UTK and the Solano County Office of Education, is launching Envisioning Equitable TK Classrooms on August 24–25. 

New UTK Leadership Certificate and Courses

Starting this fall, 21CSLA is offering UTK Leadership Certificate courses to any current Preliminary or Clear Administrative Services Credential candidate. These are free, online, synchronous courses offered through UC Berkeley Extension. Receive 4 units credit along with a certificate upon completion of the two-course series. To learn more, download the UTK Certificate flyer or visit 21CSLA’s website.

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

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.

Register for upcoming Open Door sessions by clicking on the links below:

• Fresno CSS’s Tools for Navigating the Plan-demic (8/8/23)
• Graduate Profiles: Redefining Student Success (9/27/23)

To view archived materials from past Open Door sessions, please visit our Open Door Sessions Google Site. You can also 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.

Cajon Valley USD embraced its multicultural and multiethnic district composition, leveraging its diversity to serve all community members and improve its community outreach and engagement with “families in need.”

Salinas City ESD uses data to drive collaboration, critical reflection, and action to improve attendance practices at all of their school sites.

Da Vinci Schools cultivates an inclusive learning environment that promotes real-world learning to prepare students for college, career, and life. However, it is their ability to gather and effectively use data that maximizes their impact on teaching and learning — ensuring students thrive as lifelong learners.

Project clear

Project CLEAR (California Literacy Elevation by Accelerating Reading) 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, please visit Project CLEAR’s webpage on the Learning Acceleration System Grant website.

July Resources

Supporting Better Attendance Practices: The Evolving Role of COEs (5/31/23)

System of Support Updates (June/July 2023)

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.

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.

Executive Director’s Corner

By Matt J. Navo, Executive Director

“Every road will get you there if you don’t know where you are going” is a quote I heard from a school leader talking about the absence of data in their instructional teams. So often, school teams avoid the use of data to avoid the harsh realities around student, school, or district performance.

We (educators) sometimes find it easier to play “poker” with data. Meaning, I show you my two aces, hoping you think I have a three- or four-of-a-kind when in reality I have nothing more. Playing poker with data is a sure-fire way to avoid the tough conversations and reality of our efforts. IF we (educators) are going to move our networking, collaboration, convenings, and gatherings of expertise to the next level, we have to show all our cards—no poker, just raw data.

This newsletter by the Innovation, Instruction, and Impact (I3) Center describes examples of networks using data to improve student outcomes and address ineffective practices.

What Do We Learn When We Learn Together?

By Sujie Shin, Deputy Executive Director

For any of you who have had the privilege of attending workshops with Peter Senge, you know that a core tenet of his philosophy of learning is that “[S]haring knowledge is not about giving people something or getting something from them…Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes.”

We know that to be a learning organization, it’s not enough just to acquire knowledge, but to share in that space with others, and find the opportunities to learn from each others’ successes and challenges. This is the philosophy behind our learning networks—creating safe spaces for local educational agency (LEA) teams to come together around similar problems of practice and share lessons learned as they try approaches to improving school and district systems to support student achievement.

One of our networks has been focused on academic outcomes for African American students, a group that has been disproportionately negatively affected by the pandemic and related challenges. Black students have experienced higher increases in chronic absenteeism and other measures of disengagement, and greater drops in English Language Arts (ELA) and math scores. Over the past year, this network of five LEA teams have each identified a key area of improvement to focus on for improving student outcomes. One team is testing the impact of regular check-ins with a school counselor on student attendance and course completion. Another is focusing on improving their implementation of their multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to reduce the overidentification of Black students in special education in particular categories. Still another looked at the impact of personal learning plans to reduce the overrepresentation of African American male students receiving non-passing grades in core classes. The problems of practice are as diverse as the student bodies these LEAs support.

What is not varied is our approach in collecting data to examine change over time and progress towards our goals on a regular basis. This gets to another key principle of our work, which is, to again quote Dr. Senge, that “Learning cannot be disassociated from action.” And how we learn is to measure the progress from our action, through interim metrics such as attendance, test results, check-in data as well as direct input and feedback from the students and families we serve.

This framework of action research means that we can investigate problems of practice that LEAs are facing while supporting them in immediately addressing the issues they are facing.

Learn more about the work of our partner LEAs by clicking on the buttons below.

Lessons Learned from the Planning Phase of the Data Research Learning Network

By Ingrid Roberson, Assistant Director of Research Learning and Dorcas Kong, Senior Specialist of Executive Projects

In January 2023, the I3 Center launched the Data Research Learning Network (DRLN) as a three-phase initiative to support local educational agencies (LEAs) in transforming their data and assessment practices to accelerate student learning. As we close out the Planning Phase, CCEE is pleased to share the first DRLN Research Brief summarizing the lessons learned that came out of this learning community. The DRLN recently concluded the Planning Phase with the DRLN Showcase highlighting each LEA’s Action Plan for the 2023-24 school year. Over the past six months, DRLN participants conducted data dives to better define their problems of practice and develop their action plans, identifying goals and strategies that would move the needle on aligned progress measures. But what truly elevated their innovation ideas was the way they tapped into the wealth of collective knowledge and expertise within this learning network. LEAs were able to harness the power of collaboration in this shared learning space to exchange innovative ideas, explore different avenues of addressing their problems of practice, and ultimately, build their data capacity to support student outcomes.

In preparation for the Implementation Phase, CCEE will be hosting two summer workshops to guide DRLN participants in the progress monitoring and evaluating the impact of their Innovation Projects. The DRLN team decided to tailor these workshops to LEAs’ Action Plans, with a focus on designing effective surveys, collecting feedback/attendance data for trainings and professional development sessions, and measuring user statistics (e.g. website/dashboard analytics). By building the capacity of DRLN participants to develop and implement effective progress monitoring processes with tools, they will be prepared to embark on their Innovation journeys come August, with an understanding of how they will be engaging in continuous improvement cycles to enhance their data practices, programs, and systems.

Interested in learning more about each LEA’s innovation idea and action plan? Take a look at our DRLN Overview Handout or check out CCEE’s Learning Networks Google Site to explore the problems of practice identified by LEAs in not only the DRLN, but across all of I3’s learning networks. As our networks progress, the I3 Center will be updating the Google Site with measures of impact, as well as shareable resources that come out of our work. Aligned to I3’s goal of improving LEA capacity by collaboratively developing, delivering, sharing, and spotlighting research-based practices, we hope this Google Site can serve as a learning hub for California’s broader educational community.

Supporting Educators Through the Development of the California Educators Together Repository for High-Quality Online Instructional Materials

By Allan Taing, Senior Manager of Research & Impact Analysis

The CCEE, working with our partners at the California Department of Education (CDE) and the State Board of Education (SBE), are supporting Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) as they serve as the project lead for the High Quality Online Instructional Materials project (HQOIM), as defined in Section 144 of AB 130 (Chapter 44, Statutes of 2021) and revised in Section 41 of AB 167 (Chapter 252, Statutes of 2021). This three-year $15 million dollar project is designed to enhance the educator professional learning infrastructure within the Statewide System of Support. The goals of this initiative are to develop and curate easy-to-use resources for local educational agencies (LEAs) and educators, establish a transparent process for vetting materials to ensure quality and alignment with state academic standards, and provide guidance and resources regarding the implementation and use of open educational resources.

During this first year of the project, KCSOS developed the California Educators Together High-Quality Lesson Design Rubric (CaET Rubric) to evaluate high quality materials and hosted two virtual Lesson Design Institutes in February and March, and one in-person Lesson Design Institute in May to train more than 100 educators to design rubric-aligned lesson plans. To further develop and promote the California Educators Together repository (CaET), KCSOS presented at 12 conferences and implemented a vetting collaborative to train evaluators to vet resources on the CaET repository using the CaET Rubric, resulting in 307 new rubric-aligned lessons, 304 new standards-based lessons, 779 new resources, and 2,938 existing lessons vetted. As a result of KCSOS efforts, the California Educators Together portal now has more than 25,000 users, including 6,832 new users over the past year. During the second year of the project, KCSOS will continue to offer virtual and in-person Lesson Design Institutes, continue efforts to disseminate high-quality rubric-aligned lessons and resources, and vet existing materials. KCSOS will also focus on potential partnerships to increase visibility of the CaET repository and new users.

WestEd is leading the external program evaluation of the HQOIM project. Key findings from the formative evaluation of the first year indicate that Kern County has built a team that is focused on educators, learns and adapts, listens to feedback, and is focused on key issues of sustainability, partnerships, and scaling up. Feedback from teachers attending the Lesson Design Institutes are overwhelmingly positive; in focus groups and interviews, educators are excited for the CaET Rubric and praised the quality of the institutes. In addition, the California Educators Together repository contains a wide variety of high-quality resources and capabilities, and the program team and educators are excited about the potential of new and different capabilities for this platform to further support effective teaching and learning.

To learn more about this evaluation, as well as evaluations for other statewide professional learning initiatives launched in 2021, please visit the CCEE Statewide Program Evaluation website.

News & Announcements

New State Funding for 21st Century Skills Academy (21CSLA)

Read more at the Berkeley School of Education’s website.

Universally Designing Systems of Support: Webinar Series
Alternative Dispute Resolution

Presented as part of the California Coalition for Inclusive Literacy Spring Learning Series

More information, including registration is available here.

Registration is Open for the 2023 Spring ELO-P Academy!

The California AfterSchool Network (CAN) in partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE), Expanded Learning Division (EXLD), and members of the System of Support for Expand Learning (SSEL), are excited to offer a free virtual Expanded learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) Academy! 

Register Here

In Case You Missed It

System of Support Updates (March 2023)

Looking Ahead

Universal Pre-Kindergarten

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) has partnered with the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) to host two workshops on Universal Pre-Kindergarten Blending, Braiding, and Layering for districts, county offices, charter schools and community partners.

Workshops will be structured around guided working sessions in which LEA teams will use strategic planning tools, with the help of expert coaches, to generate solutions and strategic action plans that are specific to each LEA’s circumstances. For the best results, LEA’s are encouraged to bring a multi-disciplinary team to the workshop.  There is no fee to attend the workshops.

An information session was held on February 27, 2023, with a registration application available to all LEA’s and other entities, that was due March 10, 2023.

Workshop sessions will be held: April 18, 2023 (virtual) and May 4, 2023 (hybrid- virtual and in-person)

For more information, contact CCEE Assistant Director, Julie Boesch [email protected]

Equity Corner

Women’s History Month

Gender Equality Month

March 13 – National Good Samaritan Day

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.

Executive Director’s Corner

Investing Time in Exploring Tools

By Matt J. Navo, Executive Director, CCEE

I am always amazed by just how much we (educators, researchers and policy makers) do in efforts to improve public education. I am also reminded that we can, at times, try to do too much. The biggest threat to public education is not allowing educators time to understand, provide professional training and use the tools, resources and support being provided.
This March 2023, Transformative Systems for Equitable Education Center (TSEE) is taking time to remind us of all the resources being provided through the Statewide System of Support (SSOS) that are designed to enhance Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in accomplishing their Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and ultimately improve public education.

A Shared Journey to Support Student Achievement

By Chris Hartley, Ed.D., Deputy Executive Director of the Transformative Systems for Equitable Educational Outcomes Center

It is hard to believe that we are well into the month of March 2023! All of us in the CCEE Transformative Systems for Equitable Educational Outcomes (TSEE) Center, want to express our gratitude to the many partners throughout the state that are all pulling together to support student achievement and growth. The Statewide System of Support (SSOS) is on the move with a multitude of programs and projects in full swing.
At the core of our collective work is the fact that collaboration, cooperation and communication are critical to aligning our work, fostering cohesion, building relationships and ultimately aligning support to assist districts and schools in meeting the needs of our students. Our partners throughout the state understand what it means to maximize leadership to give support where it is needed the most, inside our schools directly supporting students. No one agency can do this important work alone.
From our Community Engagement Initiative, the Leadership Institute, UPK Workshops, to the hard work of lead agencies like Geographic and SELPA Leads, we are focused on providing a through line between state initiatives and implementation at the school site level. It is critical that we keep this momentum going within the SSOS. Thank you to all the incredible partners both in the field and at the state level, who are actively engaged in aligning systems and committed to using the same compass on our collective journey to serve students.

CEI Updates: Fostering Stronger Relationships Between LEAs, Students, Families, and Community Partners

By Steven Sterling Mitchell, Assistant Director, Community Engagement & System of Support

The Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) fosters stronger relationships between Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), their students, families, and community partners to support student success. Now in its fourth year of operation, the CEI has expanded its reach in the 2022-23 school year and now represents 36 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) across California, ranging from as far north as Shasta County to as far south as Imperial County. This growth demonstrates the increasing recognition and importance of community engagement in education systems across the state.

A major milestone for the CEI was the All-Cohorts Peer Leading & Learning Network (PLLN) meeting held in January. Over 400 educational partners from diverse communities across California attended the event to share promising practices and strategies for promoting equity and inclusion in schools and communities. Attendees had dedicated time for teams and role-alike groups to share experiences and ideas about effective approaches to community engagement.

Dr. Karen Mapp, a senior lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of the Dual Capacity-Building Framework, was the keynote speaker at the event. She emphasized the importance of building strong relationships between schools, families, and communities and discussed strategies for effective communication and collaboration between them.

Our peer leading and learning model recognizes that our districts/LEAs who are new to the work, will learn best from their peers who are further along. Because of this our January event was dedicated to peer-led learning opportunities. The event provided foundational CEI districts in Cohorts I & II a platform to share promising practices and their own strategies for overcoming barriers to strengthen relationships within their communities. By working collaboratively with families and community partners, LEAs are helping to create more equitable and inclusive education systems across California. The work of CEI cohorts demonstrate that partnerships between educational institutions, families, and communities can positively impact student outcomes.

In February, our Cohort III teams convened in Sacramento where team members from our Peer Leading & Learning Exchange (PLLX) (Comprised of members of our foundational Cohorts I and II teams) introduced them to improvement science concepts and how to develop their initial community engagement problems of practice (PoP). This PoP will inform their site-level work in the coming year and lead to transformational outcomes for their campuses and students in the months ahead. After our March PLLNs that included capacity building and work around data and metrics with our foundational districts earlier this month, we are well poised for our next All-Cohorts PLLN in-person in San Diego on April 26.

The CEI is part of the Statewide System of Support and is a collaborative effort led by CCEE, the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS), the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE), and Families in Schools (FIS). The commitment to authentic community engagement is helping to empower educators and communities to build a more equitable and inclusive education system in California, focused on student success.

CCEE & SSDA Leadership Institute

By Dr. Julie Boesch, Assistant Director, State System of Support

The Leadership Institute is a collaborative effort between CCEE and the Small School Districts Association (SSDA) to create a safe space for new and aspiring small school district leaders to learn, grow, highlight areas of needed support, share successes, and build relationships with other small district leaders.

The ultimate goal of the Leadership Institute is to empower educational leaders in an authentic environment of learning and grace to grow in service to their students, staff, and communities.

Current Active Participants: 38
Coaches: 11
Facilitators: 5
These participants represent numerous districts and counties across the State.

We are planning monthly 90-minute virtual sessions as well as two in-person sessions to align with the dates of the two annual SSDA conferences in March and July. The scope and sequence includes topics such as leadership, communication, governance and finance, human resources, community engagement, and vision and goal setting. Our goal is to create a valuable learning experience that is driven by the field for the field and to be highly responsive to participants needs and requests.

Cohort One will wrap up in July and we will kick off cohort two. We already have participants on the waitlist for our upcoming cohort.
We are excited to announce that our Leadership Institute will be kicking off cohort II in San Diego in July! This collaborative effort between CCEE and SSDA is a great growth opportunity for new and aspiring small school district leaders. This Institute has been designed for small district leaders by small district leaders and experts in the field! Reserve your spot now by emailing [email protected]

Collaboration, Cooperation, and Communication

An example of the Riverside County partnership between the County Office of Education (COE) and Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA)

By Dr. Melissa Bazanos Hutton, Executive Director of Accountability, Assessment, and Continuous Improvement &

Leah Davis, Executive Director, Riverside County SELPA

The Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) and the Riverside County Special Education Local Plan Area (RC SELPA) exist as two separate entities in the CA education system, yet their cooperative support of Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) within their region, demonstrates their shared dedication to collaboration in support of all students in Riverside County. Team members from the RCOE and RC SELPA recognized many years ago that each educational organization provided a variety of supports to LEAs that periodically overlapped, yet each agency also possessed additional unique resources and services that benefitted districts, schools, and students. In order to better align supports and to maximize resources, RCOE and RC SELPA representatives established a collaborative structure to build coherence across agencies to support LEAs, schools, and students.

In addition to regular standing meetings between the Executive Director of RC SELPA and the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, monthly meetings were initiated in 2017-2018 to bring together teams from both agencies. The teams developed purpose statements to guide their frequent collaboration which include:

• Provide consistent communication to each other and to school districts
• Align services and support to districts
• Model collaboration between COEs and SELPAs
• Connect to Statewide System of Support

To guide collaboration sessions, standing agenda items were established. Each month team members from both organizations coalesce around the following topics:

• CA System of Support. RCOE Educational Services Division provides Geographic Lead Agency updates. RCOE Student Programs and Services Division provides Supporting Inclusive Practices (SIP) Project updates. RC SELPA provides SELPA System Improvement Leads (SIL) updates. Together the teams determine how these CA System of Support opportunities may support the unique needs of the region’s individual LEAs.
• Level 1 Support. RCOE and RC SELPA staff provide updates on services currently offered to LEAs. Opportunities for cross-agency collaboration are discussed.
• Level 2 Support. RCOE and RC SELPA staff discuss support for LEAs eligible for Differentiated Assistance and opportunities for alignment with Special Education accountability support through Compliance and Improvement Monitoring.

Over the past five years, opportunities for collaboration have evolved and expanded. For example, RC SELPA presents information at RCOE’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) workshops and Instructional Leaders Network (ILN) including updates such as requirements for consultation with SELPA in LCAP development along with facilitating differentiated assistance inquiry sessions with LEA teams. RCOE and RC SELPA team members join district teams in analyzing student data, identifying potential root causes for student outcomes, and determining high leverage practices to address student needs. RC SELPA has co-presented with RCOE staff regarding opportunities for plan alignment between the LCAP and and the Special Education improvement activities as required by the Compliance and Improvement Monitoring (CIM) process (previously the Performance Indicator Review (PIR) and Special Education Plan (SEP). RCOE and RC SELPA staff have co-presented to Riverside County English Learner Directors regarding resources and services for English Learners with Disabilities.

During school closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, RCOE and RC SELPA continued to collaborate virtually. Staff supported LEA teams with strategic plan alignment as part of the Differentiated Assistance process in 2020-2021 and are exploring how to further this support in recognition of Special Education technical assistance requirements. RCOE and RC SELPA staff continue to collaborate when providing Differentiated Assistance support to LEAs, specifically those meeting DA eligibility criteria based outcomes for Students with Disabilities.

While a common purpose and structured agenda have supported the collaborative efforts of RC SELPA and RCOE, the success in providing high quality technical assistance to our local LEAs evolved through building the trust and shared commitment of individual team members. Relationships matter and are critical to the success of Riverside’s collaborative support structure. Team members from both RC SELPA and RCOE took great interest in each others’ expertise and found opportunities to highlight and complement each others’ work. Monthly collaborative meetings were prioritized and time to meet was protected. Ultimately by leveraging the strengths of each organization, focusing on relationships, trust, and camaraderie, RCOE and RC SELPA have been better able to serve Riverside County LEAS as they strive toward improved outcomes for students with disabilities.

Steven Sterling Mitchell, Assistant Director, Community Engagement & System of Support

Steven has worked in public education for over 25 years. He joined the CCEE team over 4 years ago, and has supported the growth and development of the Community Engagement Initiative.  

Fun Fact: Steven’s favorite foods are Mofongo and Pozole, and he searches the world to try and find the best one.

Mayra Mendoza-Flores, Administrative Assistant II

Mayra recently joined CCEE. She previously worked for Twin Rivers Unified School District as an Administrative Secretary for the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Department. Her focus with CCEE will be to help provide administrative and program support within the Community Engagement Initiative. 

Fun Fact: Mayra enjoys mini family getaways. Her favorite place is anywhere where there’s a beach.