NorCal Educator's Digest
Now Recruiting for Year 2 Programs!
The Northern California Educational Leadership Consortium (NorCal ELC) is now recruiting school and teacher leaders for the new 2021-2022 cohort. The consortium provides professional learning and coaching to advance leadership knowledge and skills. There is a team strand that supports work on local educational problems and an individual leadership coaching strand.
Visit our "How to Participate" page to explore program details and application materials.
For a brief presentation followed by Q&A, attend a Zoom info session May 11th or May 18th @ 4 p.m(opens in new window).
(View Announcements on our " Home Page" for updates on alternate info-session dates).
NorCal ELC Spotlight
Glenn County Collaborates to Improve Math Achievement, By Sandra Azevedo
As participants of NorCal ELC's Year 1 Program, a team of Glenn County administrators initially joined forces to explore and measure anticipated learning loss experienced by their students as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, in refining their team's problem of practice during the early stages of the program, they soon realized that a lack of specific data and common benchmarks made it difficult to identify, measure, and address learning gaps.
Says Kendra Tyler, Glenn County Office of Education Ed Services Coordinator and NorCal ELC Team Lead, “You have to know who isn’t learning and what they are not learning before you figure out why they aren’t learning it and how to fix it.”
Convinced that a collaborative approach was needed to address this barrier to optimum student learning, the ELC Team, that includes Orland High School Principal Victor Perry, Willows Unified School District Superintendent Emmett Koerperich, Princeton Joint Unified School District Superintendent/Principal Korey Williams, Orland High School Assistant Principal Alex Mercado; Willows High Principal David Johnstone and Assistant Principal Greg Kitchen, and CK Price Middle School Principal Ryan Bentz, set about to find ways in which they could work together to measure and improve student learning in 6-12 grade students. They would test new strategies in a single subject area before broadening the strategies to address all subjects.
Schools on the Team started collecting and analyzing data, with a focus on student learning in math. They are working collaboratively to identify strategies that lead to improved learning outcomes. An example of the data they are collecting for analysis can be found here (Google Sheet)
Says Tyler, “We now know what they don’t know and we are moving into what to do about it.”
The Team is currently discussing the possibility of a unified process for utilizing countywide benchmark assessments and the feasibility of a continued focus on specific targets through the creation of a math-focused county-wide professional learning community. Limited opportunities for collaboration and peer support previously have hindered identification of strategies that can be shared to strengthen student learning. In very rural Glenn County, some school districts have a single staff member teaching math to all 6-12 grade students. Joining with others to examine data and consider strategies is particularly valuable. Two other Glenn County teams are collaborating on processes and areas such as English Language Arts and equity to find ways to improve student achievement across the County.
The work of this, and two other, NorCal ELC Teams is connected to a larger Glenn COE equity-oriented mission called Glenn Lead (opens in new window) . Looking ahead to fall 2021, the action steps and team collaboration occurring with help from NorCal ELC will be key in building on momentum around equity and shaping the next steps for Glenn County Office of Education’s 2021-2022 continuous improvement efforts.
Resources
New WWC Practice Guide: Helping Struggling K–6 Students in Math
The What Works Clearinghouse™ has released a new practice guide on assisting students struggling with mathematics in grades K-6. A panel of experts including educators in both mathematics and special education distilled recent, rigorous intervention research into six practice recommendations for educators. The guide can help educators tailor their math instruction approaches and small-group intervention programs. The guide is useful to math specialists, math coaches, district and state personnel, and parents.
View the WWC Practice Guide Here(opens in new window)
Upcoming Events
CA Rural Ed Network Summit 2021
Wednesday, May 12, 1PM
Rural educators across California are addressing inequities. Join us to engage in discussions about the importance of improving equitable practices. The keynote speaker is Dr. Sharroky Hollie who focuses on cultural responsiveness. Registration is free.
21CSLA -- Risk Communication in Schools During COVID-19
Friday, May 7, 9AM - 12:30PM
The UCLA School of Public Health is offering a live 3.5 hour training for school leaders on communication during COVID-19.
Chapman University Inclusive Principal Leadership Series
Foundational Structures to Support Inclusive Practices (e.g. UDL, MTSS)
Thursday, May 6, 4 - 5:30PM
Structures to Support Inclusive Practices for Students with Extensive Support Needs
Thursday, May 27, 4 – 5:30PM
California Alliance for Inclusive Schooling (CAIS) Info page(opens in new window)
NorCal ELC Summer Institute 2021, June 28 - 29
Save the date! This virtual Shasta GeoRegion conference will highlight the work accomplished by NorCal ELC Year 1 participating teams and provide opportunities for networking with educators across our region.