OCHO

Hello ACSA Region 8 Members-

I had the honor of taking part in two ACSA events this past month that inspired and motivated me to continue to work with all of you on behalf of our students in Santa Clara County.

ACSA State Leadership Assembly

Our Region 8 Delegates heard from our own Cheryl Jordan and Jonathan Brunson from the Milpitas Unified School District who presented "One Voice for Students" a lens and structure to guide our advocacy work for students. We also received an update on the State ACSA Strategic Plan. We will continue to align our regional goals with this document and will vote on the new version in May. We also heard from the candidates for ACSA Vice-President and one of the candidates, Dr. Daryl Camp, will be joining us at our next Executive Board Meeting. Stay tuned for an online candidate forum for both the Vice-President and VPLA candidates! In addition, we enjoyed an equity leadership presentation from Dr. Joseph Bishop, a budget update, and a report from our ACSA Executive Director, Dr. Edgar Zazueta.

1st Annual Bay Area Equity Symposium

Region 8 leadership partnered with Region 5 (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) and Region 6 (Alameda County) to hold this powerful event at the Ameswell Hotel in Mountain View on February 17-18. Through the powerful keynote speakers, student panel and workshop sessions, we were reassured to continue our critical conversations as leaders and to take action to achieve more equitable systems and experiences for the students we serve. The opportunity to network with colleagues across and beyond our region was immeasurable. Mark your calendars now for the 2024 Bay Area Equity Symposium on February 9-10, 2024. It will be sponsored by Region 5 and we most likely will partner as leaders again. Plan to attend, or better yet, plan to present a workshop.

Upcoming Events

The school year is beginning to wind down but there are opportunities to come together as leaders. I look forward to seeing you at our membership event, March Mingle, on March 24th and/or at our Women's Leadership Breakfast on May 12th.

Finally, I want to extend my congratulations to all our 2023 Region 8 Leadership Awardees! We have so many dynamic and inspirational leaders in our region (many of them I am so blessed to know personally) and they deserve this recognition! Please let this year's event on April 28th motivate you to nominate leaders in your organization or school district for next year!

We are excited to announce our 2022-2023 ACSA Region 8 Awardees! We look forward to honoring our recipients on April 28, 2023 @ Villa Ragusa. Please RSVP using this Google Form.

ACSA is preparing for this year’s Legislative Action (Leg Action) days scheduled for April 17-18. This event is a catalyst for the region and for individual charters to reach out to the local, state, and federal elected officials in order to make known the amazing efforts of students, staff, administrators, and families inspired by the strategic instructional practices in our schools. It is also an opportunity to highlight the obstacles that hinder the educational experiences of our students in Santa Clara county.

I recently spoke with several groups of our members to determine the issues they would like to see as areas of focus in Region 8. After thoughtful reflection, the following items emerged:

Region 8 Membership Recruitment, Retention, and Advocacy: It is important for the region to sustain its current membership through professional development and advocacy, while encouraging non-members to attend functions in an effort to have them experience the professional energy on display as an incentive to join their colleagues as Region 8 members.

Title IX Investigation Training: Members expressed the need for additional funded training to support the increased emphasis on the 2020 enhancements to the law, which broadens the investigative process when concerns are raised.

CTE Grant Fatigue: We applaud efforts of ensuring all students have the opportunity and access to programs that prepare them for college and/or career success. The issue facing our CTE members is that many of the grants they receive have annual renewals. We are asking for 3 to 5-year grant allocations so that the CTE staff can focus on students and programs - not reports.

New Board Wait-time for Superintendent Change: The recent events resulting in the immediate termination of superintendents as a result of the election of new board members has had a chilling effect on the stability of current superintendents. Advocates are requesting a 3-6 months wait time after an election, similar to the practice of many city council elections statues, before a superintendent can be terminated.

Administration Evaluation Best Practices: Administrators are continuous learners! Many are seeking evaluation models that are asset-based with meaningful feedback and supportive strategies that improve their leadership skills and actions.

Although Leg Action Day may start the advocacy efforts, advocacy is a year-round endeavor. Let’s tell our stories to our communities and legislators through multiple mediums so that everyone understands the context of our advocacy in order to make informed decisions related to educational issues.

Be Efficacious,

Eric Andrew

Region 8 Consultant

CIA meeting last month covered a lot of ground. Amongst other things, we had the chance to hear from the Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, Measurement and Administration, Cheryl Cotton. Here are some highlights from our meeting:

What’s on top for Cheryl Cotton, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, Measurement and Administration Branch and her team?

• CA Dyslexia Initiative, Funds available to support early interventions and supports for students with specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

• Prop 28 Arts education funding starts in the 2023-24 school year -- Requires an annual report to LEA Board, then submitted to the CDE; 80% of the funds must be used to hire additional staff in the area of Arts education; annual allocation will need to be spent within 3 years; teachers can be hired to be shared by schools as well as districts (small school districts strategy to maximize funding resources); FAQ coming from CDE in next month -- Pete Callas, Division Director of Career College Transitions

• English Language Learners Program -- Dual Immersion Language Grant program for expanding DIL, data demonstrates that this is an effective way for learners to develop second language skills; CDE English Learner page with valuable links;

• CDE needs teachers of all subjects/grades to field test new Observation Protocol for Teachers of English Learners (OPTEL) Contact Alesha Moreno-Ramirez, Director CDE Multilingual Support Division with questions

Did you know that the California Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (CASCD) and CUE have merged following the footsteps of ISTE and ASCD? Check out these CASCD upcoming events.

Have you dived into Science of Reading yet? Here are resources for understanding and sources for PD:

• Podcast: Sold a Story

• NWEA explains Science of Reading

• Hill Learning

• Readership

• Jan Richardson Guided Reading

• 95% Group

• CORE Learning

• LACOE’s Getting Reading Right

What is the State Board of Ed considering this month? Changing dates for CalPADS submission in order to move the Dashboard release to October over the course of a three-year transition. Overall this would be helpful for LCAP updates; however, ACSA advocate Diana Vu will push for consideration of the August 15th deadline for summer grads in order to assure districts have time to certify their data. In the past week it has been noted that districts throughout the state have had incorrect CalPADs data, which has been corrected, but the CDE currently doesn’t allow corrections to be reflected in the Dashboard. CDE Deputy Supt Cheryl Cotton will speak to her counterpart in accountability at the CDE about this issue and ACSA Advocate Diana Vu will include it in this month’s advocacy letter to SBE. We will be asking you for ideal benchmark dates of CalPADs data uploads throughout the year.

The Classified Educational Leaders (CEL) Council met on February 22 via zoom. Below are a few highlights of the meeting.

• The Council reaffirmed its committee/council purpose, which is, To build and maintain a vibrant network of classified educational leaders who share a commitment to excellence in the service and support of all California students and are valued members of their leadership team. To develop and enhance professional growth opportunities for classified educational leaders, promote the benefits of ACSA membership, encourage participation and involvement in all levels of ACSA.

• We discussed the Classified Education Leaders Institute, happening May 17-19 at the Embassy Suites Sacramento. This year’s theme is Collaborate Energize Lead (Leveraging Human Capital) and registration is now open! Please encourage your classified leaders to attend and feel free to use our promotional toolkit that contains sample language, graphics, and instructions for promoting this event with your fellow school administrators.

• Council members were offered the opportunity to be part of a planning team for a Classified Educational Leaders Academy for Fresno Unified School District. We are excited that ACSA is reintroducing this academy and I hope to bring it to Santa Clara County in the future.

Our next meeting is scheduled May 17 at the CEL Institute.

The Legislative Policy Committee discussed several education related items found in recently proposed bills; parental rights, climate change education, fentanyl overdose response and prevention, LEA accountability in relation to the Governor's budget proposal, and changes in discipline. The CA Student Council has sponsored a bill to create a LGBTQ+ Task Force. Operational and budget themes include; school bonds, menstruation product accessibility, Brown Act, electric vehicles, and school funding formula. Check out the proposals for legislation by CA lawmakers - Subcommittee 1 and Subcommittee 2.

The Oak Grove Management Association (OGMA) Social Committee hosted a Charter Meeting on March 8th followed by a “OGMA March Mixer” at The Creek Eatery in San Jose. During the meeting, we welcomed a new member to our team and discussed our upcoming OGMA Every Student Succeeding Awards (ESSA) Recognition scheduled for April 3, 2023. The Oak Grove Management Association is proud to honor our students and provide a scholarship to one lucky recipient!

Below are photos from our March Mixer at The Creek Eatery!

"One doubts as one breathes. If one is intelligent one sees that what one doesn't know is so much more - so infinitely more - than what one does know."

Pearl Buck