A December report summarizes the findings of a working group convened last year by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) to determine how effectively the Statewide System of Support’s (SSOS) current structure — including the layers of technical assistance embedded in it, such as differentiated assistance (DA) and direct technical assistance (DTA) — is supporting local educational agencies.
The group consisted of 25 individuals from across the state who serve as leaders of the CCEE, California Department of Education, State Board of Education and county offices of education and school districts. Together, they examined ways to make technical assistance more coherent, accessible and effective, and identified associated challenges and recommendations for improvement.
“Across conversations, there was strong agreement that the core ideals of the SSOS are right — a system centered on support rather than sanctions, responsive to local context, committed to resource equity, guided by continuous improvement, and built on trusting relationships,” according to the report. “Yet members also agreed that the system is not working as intended.
“Districts face a proliferation of initiatives and compliance requirements that dilute focus on teaching and learning. Identification for assistance is unstable, overly broad, and confusing,” the report continues. “Roles across state and county agencies remain fragmented, producing overlapping processes and unclear lines of authority. The quality and consistency of district support varies widely, and there is no clear statewide pathway for escalating intervention when persistent academic or governance dysfunction interferes with districts’ ability to serve students.”
Recommendations to address the concerns raised focus on reciprocal accountability and coherence and alignment. They include:
- Setting clear, nonnegotiable goals for the system
- Creating systemwide alignment and coherence
- Rethinking district identification and needs assessment
- Strengthening quality and accountability in school district support
- Establishing a clear escalation protocol for districts that are unwilling or unable to improve
- Building a systemwide learning and continuous improvement infrastructure
“The next phase of work will focus on how to bring this vision to life — mapping practical pathways forward, determining which elements may require policy or legislative action, and aligning roles across the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, CCEE, county offices of education, and districts,” the report states. “This implementation phase will draw on research, lessons from other systems, and the expertise of leaders within California’s education system to ensure coherence, learning, and reciprocal accountability remain at the center. Enacting these changes will require bold action and collaboration among educators, district and county leaders, families, students, and state policymakers working together to create a system capable of delivering the excellent education every California student deserves.”
According to the report, the SSOS’s ultimate goal is providing coordinated, needs-based and differentiated resources to help LEAs improve services for all students, “which will be evidenced by the closing of opportunity gaps and improved student outcomes.”
This call for more alignment and coherence echoes CSBA’s initiative calling on the state to create an operations and support plan specifying what it will do differently to support LEAs in closing student achievement gaps. CSBA has been vocal about the lack of a coherent plan to address the issue as well as the accountability gap as California has measured and monitored every LEA for decades while never holding itself accountable for determining whether its own policies, budgets and programs actually improve student outcomes. Learn more at csba.org/closethegap.
