VALLEJO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

BACKGROUND

CCEE and VCUSD began working together through a joint request made by the Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) and VCUSD in 2018. Additionally, in October of 2018, a statute was passed by the State Legislature (AB1840) that restructured support for districts with outstanding state loans and automatically referred the district to the CCEE for technical assistance around their instructional systems.

Under the Differentiated Assistance (DA) process VCUSD met the criteria for the 2017 through 2019 school years whereby at least one student group met criteria in at least two different LCFF priority areas. The table below indicates the student groups performance in comparison to the average statewide performance for that student group (the most recent year data are available).

The graphic below shows the enrollment percentage of these student groups relative to the district’s entire student population.

Vallejo City USD serves a diverse student population, with nearly half of its students being Hispanic, and nearly one-third of the student body being African American, as reported on the CA Dashboard.

SYSTEMIC INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW THEMES

The Vallejo City USD SIR report and VCUSD SIR report executive summary were completed in early February 2020. Four themes emerged from the SIR report, identifying the need for: 1) effective communication systems, 2) a coherent continuous improvement framework, grounded in data analysis, to organize the work, and 3) a comprehensive, multi-year professional learning plan grounded in the district’s strategic vision, and 4) establishing a culture of accountability to achieving stated goals.

PROGRESS UPDATE

Throughout the disruption to schools caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, VCUSD continued their implementation of SIR recommended actions. They worked to improve communication to their parent and family community by providing weekly updates from site leaders and regular updates from the superintendent. VCUSD created instructional and social-emotional learning (SEL) guardrails to ensure consistent expectations across the system in distance and hybrid learning. Additionally, ELA and math instructional priorities were identified and sites began implementation. VCUSD provided ongoing and professional development opportunities to staff on new initiatives and programs for example in the areas of support to students with disabilities, English Learners, SEL, and student engagement.

CCEE held a progress monitoring quarterly update of Vallejo USD in mid-June 2021, making note of progress in the areas of communication within and across the system launching structures like Parent Square, Peach Jar, and the use of YouTube videos in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data protocols that were constructed collaboratively with the Solano County Office of Education include a uniform data management system – 5Lab – to house multiple data sets into one warehouse for easy access. In addition there has been continued development of a framework for multi-tiered supports, primarily at the elementary level.

Several opportunities were identified during the June 2021 progress monitoring cycle. One opportunity is expanding the work around Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) across the entire system using the newly hired Assistant Superintendent of Student Services to keep moving that work forward. This will further ensure implementation of the work at the secondary as well as the elementary levels. Another opportunity is filling the position of a full-time employee to focus specifically on communications to further engage the community around the work being done in VCUSD. Lastly, there is an opportunity to continue and expand the work of the improvement science training and connect that with the use of the data protocols and the new data warehouse to ensure consistent implementation of the instructional and social-emotional learning guardrails system-wide.


The threats and weaknesses surrounding implementation of the SIR recommended actions in VCUSD include practices around data done as a simple compliance activity rather than as a best practice for moving forward and developing a culture of continuous improvement, implementation of MTSS is solely occurring at the elementary level with secondary not fully engaging in this work yet, and there continues to be a lack of clarity and consistency of expectations and implementation across the system.


During this cycle CCEE provided ongoing support to VCUSD with several different support providers. There was a coach providing support and working to build the capacity of principals, assistant superintendent and the superintendent to further implementation of SIR actions. Pivot Learning, an educational nonprofit focusing on systems implementation was brought in to support the development and implementation of an MTSS framework, the implementation of MTSS best practices along with the use of data to improve student outcomes. Lastly, CCEE has funded a District and School Improvement Liaison located at the Solano County Office of Education who supports and regularly engages with district leaders to build the capacity of the central office in the implementation of SIR recommended actions.

NEXT STEPS

CCEE has advised VCUSD to create a clear prioritization plan that highlights which SIR actions are the priority areas with metrics to analyze for the cycle that can clearly define expectations for consistent use and implementation of district goals. Also, VCUSD would benefit from delineating the roles and responsibilities of the Assistant Superintendents of Teaching and Learning and Student Services to provide clarity of expectation, leverage resources, and avoid fragmentation and duplication of work. Additionally, continue to provide on-going professional learning to administrators and instructional leadership teams around data analysis using continuous improvement cycles and how to incorporate multi-tiered (Tier 1 and Tier 2) practices that address learning acceleration and disproportional rates of suspension and academic achievement between student groups.

SALINAS UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

BACKGROUND

Salinas Union HSD was referred to CCEE for assistance in 2019 after the 2018-19 California School Dashboard results showed the district failed to meet priority outcomes for a third year in a row. This year marked the third year for the CA Dashboard, which enacted Education Code subdivision (g) of Section 52064.5 (CA School Dashboard) that if three or more pupil groups identified pursuant to Section 52052, in three out of four consecutive school years, the district is eligible for support from CCEE. The student groups identified for SUHSD are English learners, students experiencing homelessness and students with disabilities. The table below indicates the student groups performance in comparison to the average statewide performance for that student group (the most recent year data are available).

The graphic below shows the enrollment percentage of these student groups relative to the district’s entire student population.

The vast majority of Salinas UHSD students are Hispanic, with other races and ethnicities represented by smaller percentages of students, as reported on the CA Dashboard.

SYSTEMIC INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW THEMES

The SUHSD SIR report and SUHSD SIR report executive summary were finalized in late June 2020. Three themes emerged in the SUHSD SIR Report as a result of data collection raising concerns about: 1) clarity and coherence, 2) accountability and 3) communication which also refer to the work being done by the district around Fullan and Quinn’s (2016) Coherence Framework.

PROGRESS UPDATE

Through the summer of 2020, SUHSD prioritized their SIR recommended actions and assembled a team that includes stakeholder representation (e.g., principals, teachers, union leaders, paraeducators) to work with CCEE, in partnership with Monterey County Office of Education, to plan and implement the SIR recommendations actions. During this time, SUHSD worked to develop their Distance Learning Plan and resources for its implementation. Throughout the disruption to schools caused by the COVID-19 pandemic SUHSD worked to increase parent communication and find methods that improved the two-way communication between the community and SUHSD. This work will serve as a base for their ongoing improvement communication efforts.

CCEE conducted a progress monitoring quarterly update with Salinas Union HSD and Monterey County Office of Education in early June 2021. The areas of strength included the leveraging of SIR recommended actions to narrow the district’s focus. The district team has aligned their new LCAP, professional development, and professional learning networks (PLN) to increase coherence and clarity. Additionally, a 2021-2022 assessment calendar is in place that includes data chats from district leadership to students and parents.

The district has implemented weekly community communications and clear communication to steering committees that have allowed for the selection of the High School ELD curriculum with teacher input. There is an opportunity to include principal and teacher representatives when designing communication to the field, such as the why, what, and how of co-teaching at SUHSD.

The threats and weaknesses surrounding SUHSD revolve around the need for further clarity, coherence, increasing the depth of implementation at the school site level, and how the central office will support schools using a multi-tiered approach. While general plans and policies are in place, there is no single district instructional plan that includes: focus, expectations, goals, etc., around academic outcomes. Further clarity is needed on the expectations and purpose of classroom visits, setting incremental targets as part of their cycles of improvement and how the cycles being implemented are connected to principal evaluations. These connections and deeper work will allow for further coherence across the SUHSD instructions systems and processes to improve pupil achievement.

During this cycle, CCEE supported the leadership team by providing CCEE professional experts to assist in narrowing the instructional focus areas for the year and developing the assessment calendar for 2021-2022 aligned to these. The district has also identified a process for engaging school principals and school leadership teams in cycles of inquiry to respond to instructional needs and pupil achievement. Additionally, CCEE engaged the SUHSD instructional team in reviewing existing documents, policies, and artifacts that could serve as the basis of the district’s instructional plan. We further supported leadership in connecting the SIR recommendations with the LCAP plan and engaged in learning walks with site leadership teams and provided feedback to site administrators and district leadership. Lastly, we collaborated with Peter DeWitt, a nationally distinguished leadership coach, to align the district’s coaching work with him to the SIR recommended actions

NEXT STEPS

To further build clarity and strengthen the implementation of instructional practices, we recommend developing a district instructional plan with stakeholders that bring together existing practices, instructional documents, connect indicators for engagement and teacher clarity to student outcomes. Adopt the communications strategies and lessons learned during the pandemic to define SUHSD two-way communication and the objectives and indicators of success. Additionally, support principals and assistant principals in implementing quality instruction by codifying the expectations of cycles of improvement and enveloping them in the leadership evaluation process. This will set up school sites to address pupil achievement and hold them accountable to district expectations. Lastly, the district can further build coherence by selecting a couple of elements from their existing Gradual Release of Responsibility(GRR)/ Constructing Meaning (CM) rubric that align with student engagement and teacher clarity to have a common way of measuring implementation and noting the impact of these practices on student learning.

SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

BACKGROUND


CCEE received a request for assistance in July of 2019 by the Sacramento County Office of Education and Sacramento City Unified School District pursuant to Education Code 52074(g)(1)(A), which allows for referrals to be made to CCEE for support by the local county superintendent of schools. Sacramento City USD was also referred to CCEE for assistance in 2019 after the 2018-19 California School Dashboard results showed the district failed to meet priority outcomes for a third year in a row. This year marked the third year for the CA Dashboard, which enacted Education Code subdivision (g) of Section 52064.5 (CA School Dashboard) automatically referring the district to CCEE when three or more pupil groups are identified pursuant to Section 52052, in three out of four consecutive school years. The student groups for SCUSD identified are Foster Youth, students experiencing homelessness and students with disabilities. The table below indicates the student groups performance in comparison to the average statewide performance for that student group (the most recent year data are available).

The graphic below shows the enrollment percentage of these student groups relative to the district’s entire student population.

Sacramento City USD serves a diverse student population, with Hispanic students representing the largest portion of the student population, followed by Asian, White and African American students, as reported on the CA Dashboard.

SYSTEMIC INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW THEMES

The Sacramento City USD SIR report and SCUSD SIR report executive summary were released to the school district and county and posted on the CCEE website on January 12, 2021. Six distinct themes emerged in the SCUSD SIR report along with 79 recommended actions: 1) central office leadership, organization, and systems, 2) assessment and accountability, 3) communication and engagement, 4) instructional practice and strategies, 5) professional learning, development, and support, and 6) continuous improvement and data use.

PROGRESS UPDATE

Prior to the formal SIR process, CCEE provided various resources and support to the district. Specifically, SCUSD and Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) requested that CCEE provide SCUSD with a professional expert that provided central office leadership with facilitated support. The support requested from the district was to restructure the office that oversees special education including the creation of new job descriptions for an Assistant Superintendent of Special Education and Innovation, administrators of teaching and learning (formerly coordinators of special education) and a Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) director. In addition, support requested was provided in accordance with the district’s request to develop a three-year implementation plan for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) that was initiated in Spring 2019. The Distance Learning Plan that integrated Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was also reviewed and feedback provided in November 2020. On-going individualized support was provided to the Chief Academic Officer (CAO), who was new to their role in September 2019. Data and system reviews across the CAO office/ departments have provided a foundation upon which an instructional vision and framework can be built. PreCOVID school visits were regularly conducted with the CAO.

The SCUSD SIR was largely conducted during the disruption to schools caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the CCEE professional expert continued to support the restructure of the office that oversees special education including the transition of the soon to be retired Director of Special Education. The professional expert who had been providing support to SCUSD was a part of the team that conducted the SIR.

Since the delivery of the SIR report in January 2021 the CCEE met with SCUSD leadership on four different meeting dates to provide guidance and feedback on identifying, prioritizing and developing an implementation plan for integrating district and SIR priorities. CCEE conducted the first progress monitoring quarterly update of SCUSD in early June 2021 where the SCUSD team shared a plan to align the SIR actions to the 2021-22 LCAP. SCUSD also provided a timeline of when they will provide CCEE with a SIR implementation plan for feedback. SCUSD reviewed how the newly revised office that oversees special education organizational structure, that has developed Key Performance Indicators for the office of student support services and created targeted efforts to strengthen the development, implementation, and monitoring of the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) have all intended to pave the way for increased focus on the SIR recommended actions. Additionally, a strength for SCUSD is in the various data systems available in the district that could be built upon and utilized to improve student outcomes for students. All of these lend themselves to move systemic and organizational processes forward in the 21-22 school year.

The identified weaknesses for this cycle of implementation, from March to June 2021, largely result from a lack of evidence submitted across each SIR domain that demonstrate development, implementation or monitoring of effective instructional practices identified in the SIR recommended actions. The evidence provided did not address key areas such as central office leadership, organizations and systems, and items therein (e.g., key next steps for the development of the roadmap, the identification of a cross-functional team to support implementation).

Identified threats to the SCUSD SIR recommended action implementation, therefore, revolve around the lack of an organized approach to instructional improvement efforts and a lack of a clear instructional vision with aligned, accountable and clearly articulated expectations. The district also lacks the structures/ metrics for integrating current efforts across the district, including MTSS and SPSAs are a threat to improving student outcomes in SCUSD. While there was evidence submitted for the district’s theory of action, evidence is lacking that would indicate it lives across the central office department and current efforts underway. These continue to be a threat to systemically organizing all central office leadership in a manner that intentionally facilitates the implementation of the theory of action. For example, the lack of operationalized written processes for the expectation and use of available data, protocols, including accountability reports aligned to district goals and benchmarks for teaching and learning, is a threat to the operationalization of the district’s theory of actions and improving student outcomes.

SCUSD has many opportunities to develop and implement written uniform expectations and support to build the capacity of district and school leaders to use data to drive decision making. This includes but is not limited to processes and protocols for the use of data and regularly scheduled reviews of data to monitor implementation of the SIR, LCAP and SPSAs. Tied to this is the opportunity to address data governance priorities by increasing the district and site leadership’s skill, capacity and data expertise. CCEE remains prepared to build from these opportunities and assist the district in being able to prioritize SIR priorities based on their LCAP and instructional strategic efforts but believe the fundamental threats to progress must first be addressed.

NEXT STEPS

The CCEE shared concerns on the lack of evidence provided for the implementation of SIR actions and the need to continue developing a plan of action for the execution of district instructional improvement strategies and theory of action. To aid this work, CCEE reinforced the SIR action recommendation that SCUSD establish a cross-functional team to comprehensively address the district’s instructional priorities, including the LCAP and Differentiated Assistance process, and actions aligned with district priorities. Furthermore, CCEE reiterated the role of the key actions within the SIR to develop an instructional roadmap that clearly communicates the vision, strategies, tools, and practices, with clear expectations and accountability for implementation. The roadmap should include how cycles of improvement will be utilized for professional learning for school site leadership and central office to increase their knowledge and skills on data-based decision making to monitor continuous improvement at the district, school and classroom levels. These data are critical to the district’s progress toward improving student outcomes, including students with disabilities, homeless and foster youth, and accountability for teaching and learning. CCEE remains committed to assisting the district with additional supports that are aligned to the district’s instructional priorities and SIR actions. CCEE will continue to follow up with the district based on the presented timelines to help deepen district engagement in SIR recommended action implementation.

OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

BACKGROUND

Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) became eligible for CCEE assistance in late 2019 after 2018-19 California School Dashboard data showed the district failed to  meet state priority outcomes for a third year in a row. This year marked the third year for the CA Dashboard, which enacted Education Code subdivision (g) of Section 52064.5 (CA School Dashboard) for three or more pupil groups identified pursuant to Section 52052, in three out of four consecutive school years, the district is eligible for support from CCEE. The student groups for OUSD are English learners, students experiencing homelessness and African American students. The table below indicates the student groups performance in comparison to the average statewide performance for that student group (the most recent year data are available).

The graphic below shows the enrollment percentage of these student groups relative to the district’s entire student population.





Oakland USD serves a diverse student population, with 44 percent of its students being Hispanic, and nearly one-fourth of the student body being African American, as reported on the CA Dashboard.

SYSTEMIC INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW THEMES

The OUSD SIR Report and OUSD SIR Report executive summary were finalized in late January 2021. Three themes emerged in the OUSD SIR Report as a result of data collection: 1) coherence, 2) autonomy, and 3) accountability.

PROGRESS UPDATE

CCEE conducted the first progress monitoring quarterly update of Oakland USD implementation of the SIR recommended actions in early June 2021. From the implementation data gathered, areas of strength included instructional priorities being identified and all sub teams within the OUSD Continuous School Improvement team (CSI) working to build coherence through defining Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), e.g., what does Tier 1 instruction look like at OUSD for all students and for particular student groups, and identify foundational professional development to support the implementation of instructional priorities. Additionally, the superintendent deepened strategic partnerships with local advocacy groups to address the developing OUSD strategic plan, including its alignment to the LCAP and SIR actions.


A threat to OUSD building coherence is the need to build from the Instructional Focus Plan and focus on implementation at the school and classroom level. This should include agreement between the central office and school site, on specific expectations for classroom, school, and district instructional practices, curriculum assessment, professional development, and inquiry cycles aligned to pupil achievement targets. In addition to this, OUSD will need strategic planning to address the sustainability and impact of the positions and support provided through short-term funding.


Areas of opportunity that were identified include broadening and growing instructional alignment and accountability through cross-departmental collaboration to networks and school site teams; continuing to use the developing 2021-24 LCAP as a guiding document to create alignment of the Instructional Focus plan; and provide non-negotiable expectation on instructions and assessment to Network Superintendents as they directly support schools. Lastly, OUSD is primed to deepen the collaborative work with the Alameda County Office of Education focused on creating clear short and longterm metrics for measurement of student improvement that is built from the Instructional Focus Plan (e.g., LCAP, Focus Priorities, MTSS).


CCEE has provided support to OUSD by funding the position of a SIR Program Director. The Director works directly with OUSD on a daily basis to support OUSD as they work to implement the recommendations from the SIR. This position is a partnership between Alameda COE, OUSD, and CCEE and works directly with the OUSD Chief Academic Officer and Alameda COE’s Executive Director of Research, Assessments, Accountability and Partnerships. There have been ongoing, frequent meetings between the new SIR Program Director, the CCEE Lead Professional Expert, and Alameda COE’s Executive Director of Research to advise and assist the SIR Program Director in supporting OUSD in implementing the recommendations from the SIR, including supporting progress monitoring conversations and collecting evidence for the quarterly update.


These efforts demonstrate how the SIR actions are also being leveraged within Alameda COE’s Differentiated Assistance support and in alignment with OUSD’s strategic efforts to improve pupil achievement.

NEXT STEPS

Once the OUSD LCAP is finalized we recommend mapping the Instructional Focus Plan back to the new LCAP priorities, including focus priorities and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), and established pupil achievement targets. As the OUSD team continues to focus on its instructional priorities, implementation at the school level and by school instructional teams will be critical. To support this implementation we recommend increasing Network Superintendent meeting times to address common school site expectations based on OUSD goals, such as foundational professional development and MTSS development, that include steps for cycles of inquiry to drive decisions, and progress monitoring to address pupil achievement needs.

MT. DIABLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

BACKGROUND


Mt. Diablo USD became eligible for CCEE assistance in late 2019 after 2018-19 California School Dashboard data showed the district failed to meet state priority outcomes for a third year in a row. This year marked the third year for the CA Dashboard, which enacted Education Code subdivision (g) of Section 52064.5 (CA School Dashboard) for three or more pupil groups identified pursuant to Section 52052, in three out of four consecutive school years, the district is eligible for support from CCEE. The student groups for MDUSD are foster youth, students experiencing homelessness and African American. The table below indicates the student groups performance in comparison to the average statewide performance for that student group (the most recent year data are available).





The graphic below shows the enrollment percentage of these student groups relative to the district’s entire student population.





Mt. Diablo USD serves a diverse student population, with Hispanic students representing the largest portion of the student population, followed by White and Asian students, as reported on the CA Dashboard.

SYSTEMIC INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW THEMES

The MDUSD SIR report and MDUSD SIR report executive summary was completed on March 31, 2021 and posted to the CCEE website. Four themes emerged as a result of data collection: 1) coherence, 2) equity, 3) accountability, and 4) autonomy

PROGRESS UPDATE

CCEE has met regularly with the MDUSD and Contra Costa County Office of Education teams to receive updates on their progress towards prioritizing SIR actions for their first cycle of improvement. CCEE has provided MDUSD leadership with tools and resources to engage in a prioritization process as well as tools to document their priority actions. CCEE has provided a part-time professional expert who engages regularly with MDUSD’s Chief of Educational Services on the process and to provide input and coaching to further narrow down the actions, identify the needed supports to successfully implement the SIR actions, and outline the progress monitoring cycle that they will engage in beginning Summer 2021. The MDUSD team has engaged in a prioritization process with a district team and initially identified 16 priority actions. Through coaching and guidance the team has further narrowed their priority actions to six, with a focus on the development and implementation of an instructional plan to guide the improvement work throughout the district.

NEXT STEPS

CCEE has advised MDUSD to create a clear action plan that highlights the SIR recommended actions that have been identified as focus areas for the upcoming cycle of improvement. In this plan we have advised that MDUSD identify the steps to achieving the action and the metrics that will be used to determine if progress and actions are met. We have also advised that this plan be communicated to all stakeholders to provide clarity on the direction and focus of the district. CCEE continues to work with the MDUSD and Contra Costa COE leadership teams to identify needed supports for the successful implementation of the prioritized SIR actions.

Conclusion

Across the six districts, CCEE has advised and assisted districts to create systemic coherence by supporting a strong focus on instruction, developing collaborative cultures, enhancing deeper learning, and utilizing continuous improvement cycles to address pupil achievement and growth, and engage in accountability throughout the system. These recommended actions are intended to serve the district as a roadmap to systemic instructional improvement, and serve to address the common themes and areas of need presented in the June 2021 progress monitoring cycle.


Four of the six LEAs completed their SIR during the COVID-19 pandemic and all six LEAs continued engaging in their SIR process despite school closures and constant pivots in response to student needs. The disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic required CCEE and the four LEA’s (SUHSD, SCUSD, OUSD, MDUSD) to adjust SIR activities in response to the crisis, such as pivoting to virtual stakeholders input sessions, interviews, and classroom observations.


From the SIRs, common themes and areas of need emerged across the six districts:

1. The need for coherence building to advance achievement, through foundational structures like instructional plans that include common instructional expectations, identified instructional strategies, and clearly defined student learning targets




2. The need to engage in data-driven discussions and decisions through short cycles of continuous improvement to inform instructional decisions




3. The need for two-way communication structures that provide clear and efficient implementation of guidelines, progress updates, and ongoing opportunities for stakeholder input and engagement.




4. Lastly, it is important and necessary to define the parameters of the connected/bounded autonomy that is given to school sites in order to define and connect how the district and schools are operating towards common outcomes.

The key that allowed LEAs to continue to examine teaching and learning needs amidst the pandemic is fostering relationships grounded in the use of cycles of continuous improvement, and a focus on instructional priorities to address student needs using Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).


Additional learnings include the importance of matching the right supports with the right expertise and personality to meet district needs. Using the findings from the Systemic Instructional Review, CCEE will utilize the resources available through California’s Statewide System of Support, including county offices of education, and its own resources to support implementation of the SIR recommended actions to accelerate pupil achievement. This matching of resources primarily took the form of CCEE professional experts, partner agencies, a bench of experienced educational professionals, and content experts. The partnership with the county offices of education throughout the SIR and progress monitoring process has been extremely beneficial to the local education agencies and CCEE. When this partnership is utilized as part of the System of Support it has allowed an opportunity to leverage the resources from the county offices of education and inform the Differentiated Assistance process to further advance pupil achievement. CCEE looks forward to directly advising and assisting these districts in 2021-22.