Initiative/Report | Brief Summary |
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In 2015, SPI, Tom Torlakson, introduced A Blueprint for Great Schools 2.0 building on the 2011 report A Blueprint for Great Schools which helped guide in a new era in California schools that has included major increases in funding, more rigorous state academic standards, online student assessment testing, and greater support for the students and schools with the most needs. A Blueprint for Great Schools 2.0’s recommendations were made by a team of 29 education leaders and experts, and details next steps in five identified strategic priorities:
These five key recommendations are the basis for further strategic planning by CDE. | |
Reference: | The LCFF was enacted in 2013–14, and it replaced the previous kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) finance system which had been in existence for roughly 40 years. For school districts and charter schools, the LCFF establishes base, supplemental, and concentration grants in place of the myriad of previously existing K–12 funding streams, including revenue limits, general purpose block grants, and most of the 50-plus state categorical programs that existed at the time. For County Offices of Education (COEs), the LCFF establishes separate funding streams for oversight activities and instructional programs. The CDE has created a LCFF system of supports and an internal team made of division representatives to aid school districts, COEs, and charter schools in developing, adopting, and annually updating a required three-year LCAP. The LCFF team supports the SBE in adopting an evaluation rubric to assist LEAs and oversight entities in evaluating strengths, weaknesses, areas that require improvement, technical assistance needs, and possible interventions. In addition to the LCFF team and supports, the CCEE was established by the Governor and State Legislature to advise and assist school districts, county superintendents, and charter schools in achieving the goals set forth in their LCAPs adopted under the provisions of the LCFF legislation. The formation of the agency reflects a shift in California’s approach to improving student academic achievement—from the more punitive and compliance-based approach of the federal No Child Left Behind Act to directing focus on control and accountability on a local level. Guided by the five-member board that began meeting in February 2015, the CCEE will play a key role in supporting and assisting school districts with achieving their goals. |
On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the ESSA, reauthorizing the federal ESEA and replacing the NCLB, the 2001 reauthorization of ESEA. As part of California’s transition to ESSA, California must submit an ESSA State Plan to the U.S. Department of Education. The State Plan will describe the State’s implementation of standards, assessment, accountability, and assistance programs and will move us toward California’s goal of having a single, coherent local, state, and federal education system. The CDE is committed to ensuring a transparent transition to the new law and developing an ESSA State Plan that is informed by the voices of diverse Californians. | |
The ACITF, consisting of a team of education leaders, was convened to advise the SPI, Tom Torlakson, on his recommendations for a new California system of public education accountability and continuous improvement to the State Board of Education and the state legislature. The Task Force began meeting regularly in September 2015 with 25 SPI appointed key education leaders from throughout California to serve on the task force. After five in-person meetings as well as additional virtual meetings and small group work sessions, the Task Force completed their final report: Preparing All Students for College, Career, Life, and Leadership in the 21st Century. | |
SPI, Tom Torlakson, Transition Advisory Team included “providing comprehensive support for the development of the whole child” in the concepts of several key recommendations in Blueprint for Great Schools 1.0. The Blueprint also linked the whole child approach and community schools, noting that “Full-service community schools are one tested approach to addressing the achievement gap.” In 2013, The California Endowment provided funding to support the CDE to create a Whole Child Integrated Action Team (WCIAT) and plan for the integration of whole child and community schools approaches as part of the CDE’s service and support to the state’s education system. The WCIAT was comprised of Branch Deputies, Division Directors, and staff from across the CDE. During the planning process, the team sought feedback on the plan from the CDE Executive Team and the Leadership Team, representing 20 divisions throughout the CDE. In 2015, the CDE WCCS Strategic Plan was published by the CDE’s WCIAT. The CDE WCCS Strategic Plan represents the completion of the WCIAT’s work in creating a multi-year WCCS strategic plan that includes overarching goals and objectives. | |
The ELA/ELD Framework provides guidance to educators to help build this new depth of knowledge on a range of topics. It includes strategies to strengthen learning for every student, both in the English language arts classroom and in classrooms where students learn other academic content. It contains information on the qualities of effective professional development, strategies for incorporating technology into the classroom, and effective examples of using formative assessment to guide instruction. The ELA/ELD Framework also features helpful figures and descriptive snapshots that frame new ideas and practices for integrating the literacy demands of both the English language arts and discipline-specific classrooms, offering support to students who come to those classrooms with a wide range of language development needs. In June 2010, the State of California replaced its existing mathematics standards by adopting the CA Common Core State Standards (CCSSM) for Mathematics. In January 2013, in accordance with Senate Bill 1200, the California State Board of Education adopted modifications to the CA CCSSM, which included organizing the standards into model courses for higher mathematics. California’s new standards define what students should understand and be able to do in the study of mathematics. | |
Greatness by Design (PDF) | In 2011, a group of 48 California's leading education experts formed by SPI, Tom Torlakson, called for sweeping improvements to the way teachers are recruited, trained, brought into the profession, mentored, and evaluated. The Task Force was formed to address fundamental questions about the education profession: how to recruit the best people into the profession, how to develop their skills before they begin work and throughout their careers, and how to provide useful feedback, including using measurements of learning to improve teaching. In 2012, the Greatness by Design: Supporting Outstanding Teaching to Sustain a Golden State Report was released and addresses the recruitment of new teachers, including the need to develop a diverse, high-quality workforce of teachers and principals. It also examines quality induction programs that can help teachers improve early in their careers—often the key to keeping promising new teachers in the classroom. The report thoroughly examines how to provide a career development framework that fosters growth and leadership opportunities for teachers throughout their careers. It also takes a close look at how to improve the evaluation process, including how to collaborate with teachers and incorporate valid measures of student learning. |
In 2013, the SSETF was formed and charged with examining California’s complex systems for serving all students including students with disabilities and forwarding recommendations to the SBE, the CDE, and the California CTC for consideration. Members of the task force represented parents and advocates, teachers, administrators, and experts with deep knowledge of the issues. Convened by California SBE President Michael Kirst and California CTC Chair Linda Darling-Hammond, the task force evaluated the status of general and special education in the state, examined best practices here and across the country, and proposed recommendations for strengthening the educational system. In March 2015, the SSETF presented the findings and recommendations to the SBE and the SPI, Tom Torlakson. The bold ideas and recommendations in this report contribute to California's expanded educational mission for high-quality teaching and learning in every classroom. The overarching theme identified by the SSETF stressed the need for one unified system, grounded in expertise, responsive to students’ needs, and focused on results where all children, including students with disabilities, are considered general education students first and foremost. The SSETF report envisions general education and special education working seamlessly together as one system designed to address the needs of all students as soon as those needs are apparent, from the time they are born, through preschool, and until they reach the age of 22. | |
In 2015, the CDE’s Executive Team called for the creation of a Special Ed Task Force Recommendations Internal Ad Hoc Work Group (Work Group) to:
On March 11, 2016, the Work Group comprised of 16 division representatives met to continue building the basis for: “one” coherent system, “whole child” support systems, and CDE-wide integration of the “one system” concept. Meeting objectives included:
The group’s final report frames the Work Group’s primary recommendations, provides an overview of the current status of Task Force Recommendations relative to the work of the CDE, offers a LCFF/LCAP Priority and Special Education Indicator(s) Comparison, and compares Task Force and Blueprint 2.0 recommendations. The key recommendation is to form the One System Team to identify CDE-led initiatives, support internal CDE collaboration towards aligning initiatives and resources, and to provide field support. | |
DEVELOPING, ALIGNING, AND IMPROVING SYSTEM OF ACADEMIC AND BEHAVIORAL SUPPORTS: The national transition from the No Child Left Behind legislation to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides the context for weaving together multiple initiatives into a comprehensive Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework to improve student outcomes. This unification effort will address barriers to learning and re-engage disconnected students by creating a culture of collaboration among marginalized and fragmented support systems. The road to every child succeeding involves a statewide transformation that: 1) enhances equitable access to opportunity; 2) develops the whole child; and 3) closes the achievement gap for all students. To fulfill the California Department of Education’s (CDE) vision of “one coherent system of education”, SUMS will create a universal process for MTSS implementation. California’s vast and complex PreK-12 educational system requires a multi-faceted approach that is scalable and sustainable. By using the principles of Implementation Science, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and the Whole Child approach, the California SUMS Initiative will build the foundation for such a statewide infrastructure. | |
State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) References: | The SSIP contains broad strategies with detailed improvement activities related to data analysis, identification of areas for improvement, and infrastructure to support improvement and build capacity. It addresses plans for increasing student academic performance over a six-year period from fiscal year 2013-14 through 2018-19, as required by the US Department of Education Office of Special Programs (OSEP). The SSIP is to be developed in three phases over a three year period, with specific sections required to be completed in each year. Phase I was presented and approved at the March 2015 SBE meeting. On March 9, 2016, the SBE approved the Phase II SSIP proposal which contains specific plans for meeting the OSEP requirements and to begin aligning special education accountability with general education efforts. Phase 2 involves planning and bringing to scale a tiered system of strategically designed and researched-based technical assistance and supports for all districts—those that want to improve their currently successful programs and services and those that the evaluation process ultimately shows need help to meet their measurable targets. The Special Education Division (SED) is creating a robust, tiered system of technical assistance to contribute to the state’s overall system of continuous improvement. Much of what the state is doing to develop the SSIP complements and enhances the larger work of implementing the LCFF and LCAP. The CDE is developing an extensive tiered system of information, supports, and services to help LEAs improve the outcomes of all students. |
The CCELP provides key direction for the State in the development of a high-quality birth-to-age-five system that provides all children with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve long-term success. The Plan is based on extensive research and stakeholder engagement, and it suggests changes that, if implemented, would make California’s early learning system more coherent and effective. | |
Reference: | The overarching goal of the CRI is to build and sustain robust partnerships between employers, schools, and community colleges in order to better prepare students for the 21st century workplace and improve student transition into postsecondary education, training, and employment. |
approach is an effort to transition from a focus on narrowly defined academic achievement to one that promotes the long-term development and success of all children.
“I’m smart.”“I’m like a really smart person.”“I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world.”
