Resource Check: CA

There are a variety of opportunities for high-performing teachers to take on increased responsibility, both inside and outside the classroom, for increased pay.

Compensation increases are based on performance and/or leadership contribution, rather than simply on years of experience and educational attainment.

All core teachers participate in at least 90 minutes per week of collaborative planning time.

Teacher collaborative time is focused on using student assessment data to adjust instruction.

Teacher collaborative time is supported by trained teacher leaders/coaches to ensure time is used well.

All teachers in the district receive accurate and rigorous evaluations each year based on clear standards for teaching effectiveness and student performance.

New hires are deliberately selected to fill missing capabilities based on a rigorous interview process and hired in a timely manner.

The district has policies to deliberately assign its best teachers to its neediest students, or to avoid high concentrations of lower performing or new teachers to some schools. The district identifies schools with a high concentration of lower performing/new teachers and ensures additional support.

Professional development is primarily job-embedded rather than course-based.

Professional development is individualized based on teacher performance and learning needs.

The district bases tenure decisions on rigorous evaluation, promotes only those who are proficient, and efficiently exits consistently low performers.

The district actively plans school sizes, themed-schools, and grade configurations, balancing student needs for effective programs with available staff, facility and funding resources.

The district has a clear plan for cost-effectively staffing small (<350) schools and making full use of existing facilities to avoid having under-filled schools.

The district deliberately manages the assignment of special education and English learner programs to balance quality instruction and the need for inclusion with scale and cost considerations.

School plans allow equitable access to programs across neighborhoods.

The district offers a “menu” of innovative school design options for schedule, staffing, and intervention so that each school can choose the best plan for its size, priorities and instructional model.

Schools have the flexibility to increase or reduce individual class sizes (not exceeding a school average of 24:1 in K-3 -- unless collectively bargained otherwise) based on unique content area and student needs.

Schools are encouraged to create teacher teams with diverse experience to fully leverage combined skills and expertise.

The district helps schools maximize academic time for core subjects and extend learning time for students who need it, especially for English language learners, students from low income backgrounds, and foster youth.

Schools implement cost-effective early intervention and response models for at-risk children.

The district uses a leadership building strategy that provides intensive school leadership training, strategically places leaders in schools where they can have the biggest impact and professional growth, and provide leaders with appropriate instructional PD and significant operational support throughout the school year.

The district evaluates principals on clear and rigorous standards of performance and uses these evaluations to determine appropriate levels of support, compensation, and changes in job responsibility.

The district uses principal evaluations to determine assignments, strategically placing its best leaders in the toughest assignments (i.e., lowest performing/neediest schools).

The district tracks the costs and service quality for each central department and the district manages its spending in response to changes in key cost drivers (e.g., enrollment or funding streams).

The district periodically reviews all of its spending to ensure new programs added on are consistent in mission with existing programs and that all efforts are coordinated.

The district central office has a culture of support rather than a focus on compliance.

Support and resource allocations are based on each school’s academic performance, practice, and leadership capacity (as opposed to all schools getting similar support).

Data (financial, performance, etc.) is integrated using a system that is easy for administrators, teachers, and central office staff to access and use, and data is used to drive resource allocation and other decisions.

The district’s performance targets are easy to understand and broadly communicated.

The district’s performance targets are used to drive instruction in the schools.

The district has a deliberate turnaround strategy for persistently low performing schools. This would include:

• Diagnosing each school’s needs and resource levels
• Ensuring transformational leadership
• Assembling expert teacher teams
• Providing sufficient expert instructional support and planning time
• Providing targeted support for student in need of extra time or tutoring
• Additional problem-solving, support and monitoring from the central office

The district allocates funds across schools such that students with similar needs receive the same level of resources regardless of which school they attend. The district determine school budgets by:

• Allocating staffing and dollars through per-pupil formulas.
• Adjusting up and down based on actual enrollment.
• Ensuring small schools (<350) have sufficient, but not excessive, resources by deliberately considering school size in budget allocation formulas.
• Providing additional resources to support students with greater learning needs (e.g., Special Education, ELL, low proficiency).
Note: Districts below the target concentration threshold are required to distribute funds in the LCFF-specified amount based on their % EL, low income or foster youth.

Principals are empowered to make decisions on hiring, adjusting schedules, trading resources, etc., without requiring a full faculty vote or having staff they would not have selected placed in their building.

District budgets are reported transparently, in a format that is easy to understand and compare across schools and includes all funding sources.

The district clearly publishes and consistently adheres to rules for how positions and dollars are allocated to schools.

Budgets and other key district documents are available in all relevant languages.

The district communicates progress of LCAP development to the broader community.

The district encourages and supports schools to partner with parents around meeting student learning goals. Note: This is separate from the district’s responsibility to engage stakeholders through Parent Advisory Councils (PACs), including an English learner PAC if the district exceeds 15% ELL, regarding feedback for the LCAP.

The district partners with community providers to offer enrichment and social service support.