What’s your hygge (pronounced hue-guh)? Hygge is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cozy, charming, or special. While there’s no one English word or simple definition to describe hygge, several can be used interchangeably to describe the idea of hygge such as coziness, charm, contentedness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, kinship, and simpleness. My hygge is pozole. It’s a family favorite when it gets cold outside and I get a warm feeling thinking about sharing this tasty soup with family and friends.
As the weather changes, local educational agencies (LEAs) focus on completing the ESSER III Expenditure Plan and planning for the Educator Effectiveness Funds (EEF) Grant. At the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), we continue to gather the most up-to-date information to support your Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) needs.
Our SDCOE leadership team has completed the majority of this year’s After Action meetings with districts. These collaborative conversations have been invaluable and have provided insight and guidance on how we can best support local needs.
SDCOE is committed to supporting LEAs in developing and maximizing the impact of their plans. This monthly communication is intended for anyone who is involved in the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan (LCP) and LCAP process. Information will be provided to keep readers up-to-date with recent legislation and deadlines, and to support technical assistance.
Director
858-295-8827
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Update on Required Revisions to the LCAP Template and Instructions
The State Board of Education met on Nov. 3 and approved the following:
- Revision of the term “stakeholders” to “educational partners”
- Requirement to complete by Feb. 28, 2022, the one-time Supplement to the Annual Update to the 2021-22 LCAP
- Requirement to include specific goals in the LCAP
- Requirement to calculate carryover for increased or improved services
- Requirement to use concentration grant add-on for increased staffing
Adopted templates are currently being revised for typographical errors and to change the term "stakeholders" to "educational partners." The draft templates and other information are available in the following links:
Implementation Timeline
- The supplement will be used by LEAs to implement Section 124(e) of AB 130, which requires LEAs to present an update on the annual update to the 2021-22 LCAP and budget overview for parents on or before Feb. 28 at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board or body of the LEA.
- The revised LCAP template and instructions will be used by LEAs in the development of the 2022-23 LCAP.
Educator Effectiveness Funds (EEF) Grant
The EEF 2021 Block Grant Program was established by Assembly Bill 130, Chapter 44, Section 22, Statutes of 2021. The law specified that EEF may be used to support professional learning for certificated teachers, administrators, paraprofessional educators, and certificated staff.
- The EEF Program provides one-time funds to county offices of education, school districts, charter schools, and state special schools to provide professional learning and to promote educator equity, quality, and effectiveness.
- Funds are allocated on the basis of an equal amount per certificated and classified full-time equivalency as reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) and the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
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The EEF allocations for all local educational agencies (LEAs) are available on the Educator Effectiveness Funding Results webpage. To view each LEA funding level, please go to the webpage and click the link to the Excel file under the heading "Allocations."
- California Education Code (EC) 41480(d)(1): The local plan for EEF needs to be heard in a public meeting of the governing board of the school district, the county board of education, or governing body of the charter school, before its adoption in a subsequent public meeting. This must take place on or before Dec. 30.
- If scheduled board meetings will not work, LEAs may want to consider holding special board meetings to meet this essential deadline.
- EC 41480(d)(2): A final report must be submitted on or before Sept. 30, 2026.
- Funds may be expended during the fiscal years between 2021-22 and 2025-26.
- An annual data and expenditure report will be due each year on or before Sept. 30.
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For more information pertaining to allowable usages, please visit the EEF 2021 Home Program webpage.
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Please visit the EEF 2021 FAQs webpage.
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For fiscal information visit the EEF funding webpage.
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LCAP Implementation and Development
The LCAP is the document that communicates to internal and external educational partners how the LEA plans to operationalize equity.
- Educational equity means that each child receives what they need to develop to their full academic and social potential. - The National Equity Project
- Equity holds the promise of making our educational systems work for every student. - Dr. Paul Gothold, The Equity Blueprint for Action
Consider to what degree the LCAP is used as a guiding framework for equity in your system.
LCFF Priority 1: Basic Services
This LCFF priority includes: (1) teachers are assigned and fully credentialed, (2) students have access to the standards-aligned instructional materials, and (3) school facilities are maintained.
Issues of Equity:
- We must reformulate our concept of "basic services" to mean the things our students require and deserve.
- That includes, for example, fully credentialed teachers who understand and represent the community.
- Having access to services is not the same as being engaged in those services with joy and criticality.
- School facilities should be maintained and be beautiful and worthy of our children.
Hiring and Assigning Fully Credentialed Teachers
Local educational agencies (LEAs) must address the needs of historically marginalized communities.
- Recruit, hire, and retain highly qualified administrators, teachers, psychologists, counselors, school social workers, certified interpreters/translators, paraeducators, and staff members who are representative of student demographics.
- Ensure human resources employees engage in equity work for practices and policies including:
- Knowledge and experience of working in multicultural settings
- An asset-based new hire system to support and retain new employees
- Ensure active promotional pathways and supports for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) staff members.
Ensuring Students Have Access to Standards-Aligned Instructional Materials
School systems actively motivate, engage, and teach students to be critical thinkers.
Ensure culturally and linguistically responsive instruction for all students by providing a space and structure for teachers to:
- Engage in dialogue and dynamic learning with students.
- Explore their own identities, mindsets, and skills (mirror work) as they simultaneously seek to understand and affirm their students’ backgrounds, cultures, and languages (window work).
- Cultivate restorative, student-centered classroom cultures.
Maintaining School Facilities
School leaders and LEA administrators should question whether their schools create the environment students deserve and ask themselves if they would send their own children to the school.
- Include beautiful, child-friendly, clean spaces that welcome students and families.
- Ensure classroom libraries are open to families and have rich texts that represent the community it serves.
- Provide access to all school buildings within walking distance.
- Require high standards of cleanliness, including immediate removal of graffiti.
In response to LCFF Priority 1, we might ask:
- As student demographics shift, how are we actively recruiting?
- As we hire a more diverse workforce, are we open to diverse perspectives and viewpoints?
- Are our schools with a primarily white student population also benefiting from diverse leadership?
- How are we creating pathways for employee engagement and promotion?
- What is our process for welcoming new recruits?
Building and Sustaining a Data-Driven District or School
For data to inform decisions about policy, programs, practice, and student placement, three critical factors need to be taken into consideration: data quality, data capacity, and data culture (Ronka, Geier, Marciniak, 2010). Promoting systemic data use where data is routinely and collaboratively used at all levels improves student outcomes.
At our Putting It All Together session on Nov. 9 we discussed data culture. A culture of data use can only develop if data quality and capacity are in place. A strong data culture results when an organization believes in continuous improvement and regularly puts that belief into practice.
Schools and districts that have a strong data culture emphasize collaboration as a keystone for success and they empower teachers and administrators to make decisions for which they are held accountable. This Data Culture Self-Reflection Resource is available for download.
Elements of a strong data culture include:
- Commitment from all stakeholder groups to make better use of data.
- A clearly articulated vision for data use.
- Beliefs about the efficacy of teaching and the value of data in improving teaching and learning.
- Accountability for results coupled with empowering teachers to make instructional changes.
- A culture of collaboration at all levels.
- Modeling of data use by school and district leaders.
- Commitment to making ongoing instructional and programmatic improvements.
Questions to think about when considering data culture:
- Is there commitment by all key stakeholders to use data for continuous improvement?
- Is collaboration among staff highly valued?
- Do school leaders model data-driven decision making as a key aspect of their roles and responsibilities?
- Do teachers believe that data can and should be used to inform instruction?
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LCAP Professional Learning Series
This year, we are creating multiple professional learning opportunities for our LEAs. We appreciate the feedback that we received and have developed multiple pathways for San Diego County’s LEAs to engage.
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Putting It All Together Professional Learning Workshops, Network Style
These monthly 2.5-hour sessions are designed to provide a space and time for participants to interact with others from around the county, learn about LCAP requirements, and explore promising practices. Register for the next session on Dec. 7 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Participants need only register once for all sessions. Once registration is confirmed, a corresponding reminder and Zoom link will be sent prior to each session.
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Upcoming Workshops
2022-23 LCAP Template and Instructions
There have been many updates to the 2022-23 LCAP template. This 90-minute workshop will focus on the changes to the LCAP template and instructions.
Community Engagement
Community engagement is an essential and required element of the LCAP. This workshop will focus on promising practices outlined in the SDCOE Equity Blueprint for Action document for engaging vital community educational partners with LCAP development.
Dashboard Local Indicators
This workshop will focus on collecting essential local indicator data and ways to include them in the 2022-23 LCAP.
Increased or Improved Services, Part 1
This workshop will focus on essential components of the increased or improved services section of the LCAP. It is one of two sessions. Session 2 will focus on the new requirements for this section.
Increased or Improved Services, Part 2
This workshop will focus on the new requirements for the increased or improved services section of the LCAP.
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Small District LCAP Support, Based on Feedback
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Individualized District Support, Based on Local Context and Need
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Resources from Past Offerings
Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) 101
This free workshop was developed for anyone new to the LCAP process. During the session, participants learned about important timelines, the LCAP template, and planning essential engagement opportunities for stakeholders.
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ESSER III Template and Instructions Workshop
This one-hour workshop focused on ESSER III Expenditure Plan requirements and provided a walkthrough of the ESSER III Expenditure Plan template and requirements. The deadline for completing a governing board adopted ESSER III plan has moved to Oct. 29. The plan must go to your October board meeting for adoption. This is a requirement of all LEAs and charter schools receiving ESSER III funds.
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One Time Supplement to the Annual Update to the 2021-22 LCAP
This one-hour workshop was developed for anyone who is supporting the completion of the
one-time supplement to the Annual Update to the 2021-22 LCAP. During the session, participants were informed about important timelines, the template, and instructions.
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Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) to Third Grade (P-3) publication
We invite you to sign up for the SDCOE Universal PreKindergarten to Third Grade (P-3) newsletter. This e-newsletter is designed to provide LEAs and schools with the most up-to-date information pertaining to the implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) as it relates to the CDE requirements. The goal is to provide LEAs with the most current and relevant content for the implementation of UTK and establish a network across San Diego County to support one another through the establishment of creating a new grade level. This publication will be released monthly or as needed.
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Alternate ELPAC Administration Window Opened Nov. 1
The administration window for English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) administration is from Nov. 1 through Feb. 15. More information about the Alternate ELPAC is located on the ELPAC website. We thank all the LEAs that have worked so hard to prepare for the administration of this important assessment for English learner students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
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New CAASPP and ELPAC Checklists for 2021–22
New CAASPP checklists and ELPAC checklists are now available. The checklists are available for many of the roles in the assessment process, including LEA coordinator, site coordinator, test examiner, test administrator, and technology coordinator.
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“Alt for All” Reflected in Updated Decision Worksheet
- The student has a significant cognitive disability and an IEP.
- This student is or will be learning content aligned with the California Standards, the California Next Generation Science Standards, or, as applicable, the 2012 California English Language Development Standards.
- The student is or will be receiving extensive direct individualized instruction and substantial support to achieve measurable gain.
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Save the Dates: SDCOE Social and Emotional Learning Community of Practice
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Get up-to-the-minute information about what's happening at SDCOE and in our districts across the county.
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