September 2022
Introducing the California Community Schools Partnership Program from CDE
This spotlight brings attention to the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) from the California Department of Education (CDE).
According to the CDE website, the CCSPP supports schools’ efforts to partner with community agencies and local governments to align community resources to improve student outcomes. These partnerships provide an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement.
Community school strategies can be an effective approach to mitigate the academic and social impacts of emergencies that affect local communities, improve school responsiveness to student and family needs, and organize school and community resources to address barriers to learning. Community schools often include four evidence-informed programmatic features, which are aligned and integrated into high-quality, rigorous teaching and learning practices and environments:
- Integrated support services;
- Family and community engagement;
- Collaborative leadership and practices for educators and administrators; and
- Extended learning time and opportunities.
Don’t miss out! Our rural NorCal region could really benefit from this opportunity. Join the CCSPP-Info Mailing List to be notified, via e-mail, when new or updated information is available. To subscribe to the CCSPP-Info listserv, send a "blank" message to join-CCSPP-Info@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
CA MTSS Phase 3 Grant Opportunity for Schools, Consortia, and County Offices — NOW OPEN
The California Department of Education, in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education and the Butte County Office of Education, is pleased to announce that their Phase 3 CA MTSS grant opportunity is now open. This grant will provide an opportunity for school sites, LEAs, and county offices of education to build capacity toward full implementation of the CA MTSS framework to improve outcomes for all learners. This grant is open to public schools and LEAs, public charter schools or County offices of education, and county-run schools in California.
Review the criteria for the application here.
Applications are due October 15, 2022, PST Preliminary Award Announcement will go out November 15, 2022. For questions, please email: camtss@ocde.us
Join a Multi-Grade Teacher Leader Community of Practice!
Teaching multiple grades? Consider this opportunity to join a virtual Multi-Grade Teacher Leader Community of Practice. (PDF) (PDF) We know that multi-grade teachers often work in small and rural schools, where there are few colleagues with which to collaborate regularly. Further, designing lessons for three or more grade levels for simultaneous instruction requires a unique set of skills and knowledge.
We welcome you to join other multigrade teachers across the state in a monthly Community of Practice to connect, network, and support each other on topics that are important to your leadership. Hosted by CA Rural Ed Network; in collaboration with the 21CSLA Mid-State Academy
Meetings: Every 3rd Tuesday, via Zoom 3:30-5:00 pm - September 20, 2022, to May 16, 2023
For more information, contact Rindy DeVoll at rdevoll@bcoe.org.
$2,500 Grants Available for Rural School Teachers
Rural Schools Collaborative is pleased to announce the 2022-23 Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows Program. Grants will be awarded to projects that will take place in the 2022-23 school year. Eligibility for this grant is extended to rural classroom teachers who teach in school districts that are located in one of the Rural Schools Collaborative's fourteen regional Hub areas and are for rural school teachers who engage their students in exemplary place-based learning.
Eligible applicants should propose a place-based project that will be completed by the end of the 2022-23 school year. Grant award amounts are $2,500 each. Applications are due October 14, 2022.
Proposed projects should address one or more of the basic tenets of place-based education. These include:
- Local to Global Context
- Learner-Centered
- Inquiry-Based
- Design Thinking
- Community as Classroom
- Interdisciplinary Approach
More information here(opens in new window).
NorCal ELC Webinar Series
We’ve sponsored a series of webinars that focus on increasing equity in education and social and emotional learning. The upcoming webinar will be held live cast on Zoom.
NorCal Equity Community of Practice
With Lily Chang - Coordinator of Continuous Improvement, BCOE
- Thursday, October 20th, 2022 @ 3:30-5 PM (Session 1 of 3)
Achieving equity in education is necessary to improve the outcomes for students and staff, especially those who have been historically marginalized. It’s imperative that educators come together to prioritize equity as it relates to race and culture, address systemic racism, forms of oppression and exclusion, and identify unfair practices and policies that contribute to inequitable outcomes. Participants will deepen their learning and awareness, share resources and tools, collaborate and network in order to move to action.
The Small School District Association (SSDA) Makes a Difference Advocating for Small Schools and Districts across California
The mission of the Small School Districts’ Association (SSDA) is to provide relevant information and proactive assistance to small school district governing boards and superintendents through legislative advocacy, collaboration, professional development, and support services.
School District Membership is available to school districts with an ADA under 5,000 students and includes the Superintendent, district Board Members, and district staff. It is also open to Charter Schools. Currently, SSDA is hosting a CA Small School District Leadership Institute in partnership with California Collaborative for Excellence in Education (CCEE). The Institute is built around three system pillars:
→ Transformational Leadership
→ High Impact Data and Instruction
→ Effective Governance
Through monthly newsletters, regional workshops, webinars, and conferences, SSDA supports “smalls” across CA. NorCal ELC appreciates a partner like the SSDA with rural advocacy.
For any additional questions on SSDA, please contact Tim Taylor at (916) 949-1601 or tim@ssda.org
Need Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Resources?
Are you preparing to scale up Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)? Curated resources may help. The Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) and PreKindergarten - Third Grade (P-3) Group was created to share resources and guidance for Local Education Agencies to use in preparation for the implementation of UPK. Documents in this group have been compiled by the California Department of Education (CDE) and its partners. This group is open to state and local implementers, leaders, and practitioners of UPK, including Transitional Kindergarten and early elementary school settings.
The resources are housed on California Educators Together.