News Briefs | FYI | May 2, 2022

Association of California School Administrators

News Briefs | FYI

May 2, 2022

NCTQ: Four ideas for creating positive climate for teachers

School leaders can take certain steps to foster a positive school climate that will make teachers want to stay, according to a recent article from the National Council on Teacher Quality.

School climate’s positive effect on students is well known, but it is also “associated with teachers’ reported job satisfaction, sense of self-efficacy, and their likelihood of remaining in their job.”

In the latest District Trendline, NCTQ compiles research on how school climate impacts teacher retention.

“Improving the way teachers experience their school climate is just one piece of the puzzle in retaining teachers, but it is one that is deeply connected to other aspects of improvement that are likely self-reinforcing, helping to improve the quality of instruction, student achievement, and teacher well-being,” according to the article. In the article, NCTQ makes four suggestions:

Track climate data: Information from surveys can be analyzed to see if negative climate is contributing to attrition.
Foster principal leadership: Give principals the time and tools to create more effective relationships with teachers.
Foster collaborative relationships: School leaders can set aside more time to encourage collaboration among colleagues and in mentor relationships.
Support teachers of color: Administrative support and recognition leads Black teachers to want to stay in the profession longer, according to one study.

Read the full article at https://www.nctq.org/blog/Building-a-school-climate-that-makes-teachers-want-to-stay.

LAUSD installs largest school-based air monitoring network

Los Angeles Unified School District has installed the nation’s largest school-based air monitoring network that will give students, parents, teachers and the community important real-time data about their local air quality.

Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho unveiled the network April 22 as part of his 100-Day Plan.

The Know Your Air Network includes the installation of sensors at 200 school locations across LAUSD’s 710 square-mile footprint. Each school in the district has a sensor within a 1.6-mile radius.

“To ensure that our students reach their full potential, we must also ensure the safety of our schools,” Carvalho said, in a news release. “The launch of the Know Your Air Network provides us with an important tool to monitor air quality throughout the district, allowing us to proactively ensure student safety.”

Calibrated for the highest accuracy, the air sensors take a measurement of fine particulate matter in the air every six minutes. Measurable elements detectable by the network include smog, exhaust, industrial emissions, smoke and dust.

Data from the Know Your Air Network will be used during critical events, such as wildfires, allowing the district to proactively respond to ensure the safety of students. Members of the public may also view real-time data from the network online at achieve.lausd.net/knowyourairnetwork or through the AirVisual mobile app.

Relying on a unique public-private partnership, Los Angeles Unified partnered with Clarity Movement Co. to provide the sensors, software and networking infrastructure for the network. Additional partners include the Coalition for Clean Air, which provided experts and funding partners — including Wells Fargo and the Zolla Family Foundation — to design and operate the project’s pilot program.

Grants available for computer science authorizations, classified credential program The California state budget signed in July 2021 includes $15 million in funding for the Computer Science Supplementary Authorization Incentive Grant Program, which awards one-time funding of up to $2,500 per participating teacher to LEAs to support credentialed teachers to obtain a supplementary authorization in computer science and provide instruction in computer science coursework in settings authorized by the underlying credential. The request for application is now available and completed applications are due by May 20, 2022, by 5 p.m. Find information at www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/grant-funded-programs/cs-incentive-grant. The state has also allocated $125 million in one-time Prop. 98 General Funds to expand the Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program for five years. Grant awards of up to $4,800 per participant per year may be made to funded applicants. Eligible applicants are LEAs interested in securing grant funding to recruit and support classified staff who already hold an associate or higher degree to complete a bachelor’s degree and earn a California teaching credential. The request for application is now available and proposals must be received by 5 p.m. Friday, June 10, 2022. Visit www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/grant-funded-programs/Classified-Sch-Empl-Teacher-Cred-Prog.

FYI

ACSA seeking articles on staffing best practices

Leadership magazine is seeking submissions for its September/October 2022 issue with the theme “Staffing in Schools.” Topics include retention and recruitment; what we learned from COVID staffing shortages; principal pipelines; credentialing; teacher residencies; classified recruitment; planning for retirements; and diversity in hiring. Articles should be at least 750 words and include practical information written in an informal style. Email your article to Senior Director of Marketing and Communications Naj Alikhan. Find Leadership online at leadership.acsa.org. The submission deadline is June 13, 2022.

Golden State Teacher Grant applications open

The Golden State Teacher Grant Program awards up to $20,000 for students who are currently enrolled in an approved teacher preparation program. Students commit to teach in a “high-need” field at a “priority school” in California for four years and have five years, upon completion of the recipient’s preparation program, to meet that obligation. Find more information at https://www.csac.ca.gov/gstg.

Free toolkit has ideas for bolstering attendance

To help educators to continue addressing chronic absence, Attendance Works has created the Showing Up Matters for R.E.A.L. toolkit, which helps students and families build Routines, increase Engagement, offer Access to resources and support Learning. The toolkit offers a four-step approach, and free, ready-to-use messaging that can be used now through the fall. Find it at https://www.attendanceworks.org/resources/toolkits/showing-up-matters-for-real/.