News Briefs | FYI
March 11, 2024
SPI announces CA’s 2024 Distinguished Schools
On March 1, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced that 293 middle schools and high schools have been selected for the prestigious 2024 California Distinguished Schools Program, California’s school recognition program that recognizes two categories of exceptional schools: those closing the achievement gap and those demonstrating exceptional student performance.
The exceptional middle and high schools recognized this year are illustrative of the persistence and promise of California’s students, educators and schools. To select California Distinguished Schools, the California Department of Education uses multiple measures to identify eligible schools based on their performance on the state indicators as specified on the California School Dashboard.
Specifically, schools were selected by analyzing data reported through the 2023 Dashboard, with a focus on demonstrating excellence and growth in academic achievement and ensuring a positive school climate.
Schools are recognized for exceptional student performance based on achieving exemplary performance in English Language Arts and math, reducing suspensions, and demonstrating high graduation rates (high schools only).
Schools recognized for closing the achievement gap enroll at least 40 percent of their students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and, in addition to demonstrating exemplary overall performance in ELA and math, achieve accelerated academic growth for one or more historically underserved student groups.
“It is my pleasure to honor and recognize these 293 secondary schools for their efforts to provide exemplary public education to all students. Excellent middle schools and high schools play a critical role in the life outcomes of our young people,” Thurmond said, in a news release. “This year’s California Distinguished Schools celebration provides us with an opportunity to recognize the hard work of our secondary educators and school staff who help our young adults discover passions and access college- and career-ready experiences that will propel them through life.”
The 2024 California Distinguished Schools, along with the 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools, 2023 Civic Learning Award Schools, and 2023 and 2024 California Exemplary Dual Enrollment Award Schools, will be recognized at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim on May 3, 2024.
The California Distinguished Schools is an annual school recognition program of the California Department of Education. Elementary schools and middle and high schools are recognized in alternate years; therefore, awardees hold the title for two years. For the list of winners, visit https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr24/yr24rel09.asp.
Report: Guidance needed on pre-referrals for ML children
Developing state guidance for preschool providers on referring multilingual children for special education would help ensure that young children are referred to services in a timely manner, according to a new report from WestEd.
The report looks at the intersection of language and disability for multilingual children in California preschools, where nearly 60 percent of children from birth to age 5 live in households where a language other than English is spoken.
“Given the diversity of home languages and dialects and the variation in [multilingual] children’s language development, coupled with lack of guidance, distinguishing a language need from a disability-related need can be complex,” write the authors Elizabeth Burr, Jamey Burho and Alyssa Perez in the report published in December.
In the absence of state guidance for preschool practitioners to follow when determining whether to refer multilingual children for a special education evaluation — a procedure known as the pre-referral process — the report presents findings from a research study designed to better understand current pre-referral practices in preschools.
The following are some key findings:
- CSPP educators engage mostly in a pre-referral process that mirrors California’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework, which was designed for students in grades K–12.
- The pre-referral process did not appear fundamentally altered to address multilingual language development.
- Many interviewees emphasized their efforts to provide home language support as part of a robust early learning experience for multilingual learners.
- Interviewees highlighted the benefit of having bilingual staff for engaging with multilingual children and their families.
- Content experts confirmed WestEd’s analysis that administrators often conflate bilingualism with a comprehensive understanding of multilingual learners’ language development.
Among the recommendations, the authors contend that coursework about and clinical practice with multilingual children should be required for the Child Development Permit and for the Early Childhood Education Specialist Credential. They also suggest incentivizing bilingual individuals to become speech language pathologists and school psychologists, citing evidence that a majority of SLPs feel underequipped to work with multilingual children. They also suggest developing a short, user-friendly state guidance for preschool educators on pre-referral processes for multilingual children and for there to be incentives for LEAs to provide training on the implementation of the guidance to ensure its uptake.
Read more about the report at https://www.wested.org/wested-bulletin/insights-impact/new-report-highlights-need-to-attend-to-the-intersection-of-language-and-disability-for-multilingual-children-in-preschool.
Resources can help schools prevent the ‘spring slump’
Attendance Works is recommending a number of ways schools and districts can encourage attendance during what’s been dubbed the “spring slump.”
“In the weeks before and after a school’s spring break, drops in attendance are common,” according to the nonprofit initiative to improve attendance at our nation’s schools. “If your student attendance data shows a spring slump, plan something to counter that trend.”
One tip is to share guidance to prevent unnecessary health-related absences: “For example, remind students and families/caregivers that allergies are not a reason to stay home from school, and share how the school is prepared to help students with chronic illnesses like asthma.”
The Attendance Works webpage has several resources for schools to use, including a calendar of daily spirit activities, a sample letter to families, and blog posts describing spring slump attendance solutions used by other schools. Find more information at www.attendanceworks.org/resources/spring-attendance-slump.
FYI
SBE seeks advisory group applicants
The California State Board of Education is currently seeking applicants to fill positions on the California Practitioners Advisory Group to provide input to the SBE on ongoing efforts to establish a single, coherent local, state and federal accountability system. Applicants must currently be a superintendent or other administrator (COE) or a teacher/career technical educator from traditional public schools and charter schools. Apply by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024. Find more information at www.cde.ca.gov/be/cc/ab/cpag-invitation.asp.
NorCal computer science summit is March 16
The Spring into CS Summit will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 16 at the Sheraton Redding Hotel. This collaboration opportunity for K-12 principals, teachers, counselors and paraprofessionals will feature keynote speaker Adam Welcome and presenters Kat Goyette and Jacob Carr. Sponsored by CS4NorCal, Stanislaus County Office of Education and Butte County Office of Education, this event will promote equitable and scalable Computer Science learning in Northern California by leveraging the relationships and professional learning opportunities in Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen, Tehama, Plumas, Butte and Glenn counties, sharing the urgency for attention to Computer Science in K-12 education. Attendance is free; hotel accommodation and on-site parking will be covered, and participants will receive a stipend and mileage travel costs will be reimbursed. Space is limited. Apply at bit.ly/SpringCS-Summit.