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NSTogether
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North State Together: A Rural-Led Collaborative Effort |
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North State Together is proud to be a designated Lumina Talent Hub. We work collaboratively to enhance educational options and boost economic development. While our community is unique, it is not alone. Partnerships like North State Together have been leading collaborative efforts to change education and workforce outcomes for years. Read more below on rural-led capacity building efforts. |
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Rural Learning Systems Don't Need Saving
Partnerships like North State Together in rural northern California and RGV Focus in the Rio Grande Valley have been leading collaborative efforts to change education and workforce outcomes for years. A 2019 report from the Institute for Higher...
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medium.com
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Collective Action: Addressing Root Causes |
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Last week North State Together convened virtually with our national Cradle to Career network, StriveTogether. The StriveTogether convening, Roots to Rise (October 4 through October 8), allowed collective impact partnerships like ours to come together and learn about best practices taking place throughout the nation.
Sessions were held related to policy, advocacy and mobilization and the importance of community input. The themes throughout the sessions were clear - data is important, but data alone will not lead to change. We need to unwrap what the data are telling us through input from multiple stakeholders. It is the data, backed by lived realities, with clear connection to impact on individuals and communities that will motivate lasting action and change.
Whereas StriveTogether was a national convening, there is no better example of the above framework then what has recently happened in our own back yard.
The following article tells the story of the incredible work that was done in our own communities to address a significant challenge with direct impact on our students, families, schools and regional wellness and growth. It captures what happens when we use data to identify a challenge, but then use personal stories and multiple perspectives to understand the root causes. The tremendous work of our peers and colleagues has led to a new statewide policy that will impact the north state and California as a whole. Kudos to all involved and thank you for your commitment to collective action!
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American Indian Advisory in Shasta County Leads the Way...
Shasta County Office of Education's American Indian Advisory played a pivotal role in new legislation that provides excused absences for California students attending Native cultural ceremonies and events. The bill, sponsored by Assembly member...
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shastascout.org
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Elevating the Student Voice |
At the StriveTogether convening last week, we heard about the importance of young people sitting at the leadership table co-creating a future where all students are succeeding from cradle to career. In the past, students' perspectives have been largely unrepresented in the decisions and discussions that shape their lives. We know that students, as the recipients of education, are perfectly positioned to see problems and solutions. By harnessing the student voice, our county networks Reach Higher Shasta, Expect More Tehama, Advancing Modoc Youth, Trinity Together Cradle to Career Partnership, and Cradle to Careers for Siskiyou can achieve their goals while simultaneously creating young leaders.
Reach Higher Shasta recently announced the addition of a student representative to their executive table. Carly Tawney, pictured, is also a Student Board Member on the Shasta County Board of Education. A senior at Foothill High School, she has experience as the ASB Secretary and Junior Class President. Carly shared with the Shasta County Board of Education in her application the following:
"If I was awarded the honor of serving on the Board, I believe I would gain a better understanding of how I could serve my school, and my community, as well as valuable experience in the workings of local government. I have always been intrigued by how solutions and ideas are put into practical action, and how change can be made from the bottom up, rather than always from the top down. That is one of the biggest motivations behind me applying, as I believe that the best and most informed decisions can be made when you intentionally listen and involve those who will be affected by those decisions. When I heard that SCOE had Student Board Member positions, the existence of the position alone made me feel more represented in the decisions being made about my education and that of those around me."
In Carly's interview with the Shasta County Board, one of the questions asked was which program that the Shasta County Office of Education is involved in was she interested in learning more about. Carly's response was Reach Higher Shasta. She wanted to better understand how Reach Higher Shasta was supporting high schools and high school students as they make decisions about their future. After this interview, Judy Flores, Superintendent of Schools for the Shasta County Office of Education shared Carly's request with the Reach Higher Shasta Executive Committee who had discussed adding a student representative. Carly is the first to bring a student's voice to Reach Higher Shasta Executive Committee, and will be followed with a recruitment process this spring for identifying a student annually to bring this critically important perspective to our work. Carly joins a cross-sector Executive Committee that includes leaders from industry, public health, K-College education, health and human services, First 5, and workforce and economic development. Welcome, Carly, your voice is the most important! |
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Early Grade Reading in the North State |
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Literacy, across the cradle to career continuum, is critical to a child’s academic success. Early grade reading is a particularly crucial milestone, as basic reading skills are being reached and measured.
Though state indicators for grade level reading vary, data shows that disparities in literacy during the early grades are linked to persistent achievement gaps. If children are behind by third grade, they generally stay behind throughout school.
In the early grades, children begin to transition from learning to read to reading to learn. At these grade levels, the reading curriculum becomes more complex in both meaning and vocabulary. Historically, teachers and researchers have noticed that most children’s growth in reading skills tends to stall at third or fourth grade coining this phenomenon the “fourth grade slump.” Estimates from recent studies suggest that by third or fourth grade, 20% of children are dysfunctional readers, with a markedly higher incidence of reading problems in schools serving disadvantaged students. One national survey detailing reading achievement of fourth graders indicated that 44% of school children were reading below a basic level of achievement.
In the North State, less than 50% of all 3rd graders are reading at grade level. Our economically disadvantaged students are even harder hit with less than 37% of students assessing at a third grade literacy level.
Reading at grade level is one of the strongest predictors of later success in school. Students at or above grade level reading in earlier grades graduate from high school and attend college at higher rates than peers reading below grade level. One longitudinal study found that students who do not read at grade level by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers.
Click Here or on the Data Visualization above to learn more about how the North State counties compare to each other and to the rest of the state. Disaggregate local data further to see the populations and areas most hit. Use the disaggregated data at your collective network tables to begin to understand the root causes of disparities and identify and implement strategies to improve local outcomes. For local solutions, check out how Reach Higher Shasta is addressing early literacy in the articles below.
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How One Local County Network is Tackling K-3 Literacy
Because we want to give our students the best possible opportunity to read on grade level by the end of grade 3, the Reach Higher Shasta Task Force agreed to develop a county-wide plan with the following objectives: To provide consistency across...
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www.shastacoe.org
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Community Literacy - Reach Higher Shasta
Literacy is an important part of assuring that children have every opportunity. Research indicates that if a child is not at grade level reading by the 3rd grade, they will have a more difficult time attaining grade level standards later in life.
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reachhighershasta.com
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2026 Statewide Literacy Goal Set |
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State superintendent sets goal to get all California...
Credit: Ashley Hopkinson/EdSource After years in which reading scores throughout the state fell short, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced a new initiative Tuesday that would get all California third-grade students...
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edsource.org
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Models and Practices for Meaningful Community Engagement in Rural Places |
What does meaningful community engagement work look like for our rural communities? In this webinar you will learn engagement strategies and new ways to strengthen your community-engaged design work. The webinar addresses engagement in the context of COVID-19 and practices for building greater inclusivity. This webinar, hosted on September 15th, is available here for your on demand viewing. |
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October 20th - Systems Indicators Community of Practice
Our North State Together county networks are invited to engage in a demonstration of how to pull systems indicators data from the Civil Rights Data Collection Project. Key indicators include: school discipline, school expenditure, and....
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strivetogether.zoom.us
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Economic Overview and Recovery in the North State |
The North Far North Regional Consortia is hosting two webinars on the Economic Overview and Recovery of each region. Dr. Robert Eyler will be presenting on October 25, 2021 for both regions, the North (9:00am) and Far North (11:00am) in two separate webinars. The presentation will be about 40 minutes with Q & A at the end. Please register if you’d like to attend one or both. You will need to register for each one if you plan to attend both of them.
North Region
Date: Monday October 25, 2021
Time: 9:00-10:00 am
Far North Region
Date: Monday October 25, 2021
Time: 11:00 am-12:00 pm
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You are invited to join a webinar: November 3rd 1:00 PM PST
All Data is Local: How local data collection and sharing can impact and inform the Cradle to Career data system. California is in the process of establishing a statewide longitudinal data system...
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us06web.zoom.us
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Save the Date - STEM Career Day 2021
The North State STEM Career Day will be held on November 19, 2021.
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www.shastacoe.org
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