A Partnership That Works
The goal of the System Improvement Leads Project is to provide SELPAs throughout the state of California with the resources and tools they need to serve as connectors, capacity builders, and facilitators within the Statewide System of Support. Areas of focus within the System Improvement Leads Project include improving the quality of data governance and use, building a culture and understanding of continuous improvement, and implementation of high-leverage and evidence-based practices for improving outcomes for students with disabilities.
High Leverage Practices: Improving Outcomes for Students with Disabilities
Building on the work of The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR), the System Improvement Leads have developed a resource highlighting the basic definition, criteria, and key components of High Leverage Practices (HLPs). This document outlines the 22 HLPs that are organized around the four aspects of practice: collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral, and instruction. This resource promotes the implementation of HLPs to support students with disabilities in various school settings and across all tiers of intervention and instruction.
Improvement in Times of Crisis
Brandon Bennett, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for Improvement Science, describes the challenge educational leaders are faced with in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Bennett suggests that educational leaders can use improvement science to manage their systems and pivot toward rapid learning. The utilization of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to test out and gain information can allow for a focus on investing in new resources or maintaining existing ones in order to meet the emerging needs in our current reality.
Distance Learning Resources
Distance Learning Resources for Parents and Educators
Access to video modules, slide decks, and documents to provide parents/guardians and educators with resources and supports for distance learning environments.
State Performance Plan (SPP) Indicator Guide
The SPPI Guide provides convenient access to information on the California State Performance Plan Indicators. This resource includes a collection of individual handouts for each of the 14 State Performance Plan indicators reported in the local-level Annual Performance Report (APR). Each handout will outline the essential elements of the specified indicator including definition, data source, calculation, targets, and connections to related processes. The goal of this guide is to support school leaders in analyzing the wide range of valuable data provided within the APR in order to improve the quality of education for all students, with an emphasis on students with disabilities.
Improving Performance of Students with Disabilities Handbook
A Handbook for Providing Technical Assistance to Local Education Agencies
The handbook is divided into four sections. Section One provides an overview of the key components of California’s accountability system with implications for Students with Disabilities (SWDs). Section Two includes background information on California’s Students with Disabilities. Models and frameworks for supporting SWDs are explored including Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs). Section Three offers specific guidance for developing leadership teams that use data to monitor progress, identify interventions, and adapt instructional practices and behavioral supports to promote success for all students. Section Four provides a toolkit that includes rubrics, templates, tools, and links to a variety of resources that support the technical assistance and guidance strategies presented.
Improving Performance of Students with Disabilities Web Modules
Web Modules for Providing Technical Assistance to Local Education Agencies
The Improving Performance of Students with Disabilities web modules are designed to provide a foundation for improving outcomes for students with disabilities. The modules are aligned with the Improving Performance of Students with Disabilities Handbook and provide: (1) an overview of California’s accountability system and the implications for students with disabilities, (2) background information on California’s students with disabilities and evidence-based practices within a multi-tiered system of supports, (3) guidance for developing leadership teams that use data to monitor progress, identify interventions, and adapt instructional practices and behavioral supports to promote success for all students, and (4) a toolkit that includes rubrics, templates, tools, and links to a variety of resources that support the technical assistance and guidance strategies presented. The training modules are on-demand and provide users with self-paced access to videos, the Improving Performance of Students with Disabilities Handbook, and handouts.
