Learning Continuity & Attendance Plan, Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP)
What is the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF):
In June of 2013, the Legislature approved Gov. Jerry Brown's Local Control Funding Formula, the most sweeping education funding reform in decades. The LCFF represents a historic shift in how California funds public schools. With a focus on local decision-making, equity, accountability and transparency, it lays the foundation for local education agencies to improve student outcomes and close the achievement gap. The new system has an eight-year implementation plan, with 2013-14 as the transition year.
What is the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP):
The LCAP is a critical part of the new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Each school district must engage parents, educators, employees and the community to establish these plans. The plans will describe the school district’s overall vision for students, annual goals and specific actions the district will take to achieve the vision and goals. The LCAPs must focus on eight areas identified as state priorities. The plans will also demonstrate how the district’s budget will help achieve the goals, and assess each year how well the strategies in the plan were able to improve outcomes.
Educational Partners - LCAP Advisory Committee Meetings
Based on feedback from our educational partners, it was determined that all partners prefer to meet in a joint collaborative group rather than separately. Participants strongly believe that meetings are more productive and meaningful when we meet as a whole. All educational partner groups commented that hearing from different groups broadened their perspective and created space for more informed discussions. Thus, we have established our LCAP Advisory Committee (LAC). The LAC includes a representative group of members that includes: school administrators, parents representing all sub-groups, teachers, PTA leadership, Bargaining Unit leadership, district administrators, classified staff, board members, and students. LAC membership is open to all that are interested in participating. If you are interested in joining the LAC please contact your school's principal or the Office of Educational Services.
2024-25 LAC meeting dates are:
DATES COMING SOON
For meeting information please contact [email protected]
The 2024-25 APPROVED LCAP
SUPERINTENDENT'S RESPONSE TO EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS' QUESTIONS
August 29, 2024
Dear LCAP Advisory Committee Members and Educational Partners,
Thank you for your time and commitment to making the Arcadia Unified School District the best district in California and the nation. All of my staff and I value your comments and insight on our annual improvement plan. I will do my best to answer the questions that came up during the LCAP development process.
How is the district rolling out MTSS in all schools in the district?
Several years ago, the district chose to embrace the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework to help guide and provide a common language for our work. Our district-wide MTSS rollout and implementation process follows our philosophy of going slow to go fast. We have found that in AUSD, our principals and staff always strive for excellence. With that drive to do the best for students, comes pressure on themselves to begin implementing and trying new things. Therefore, we like to roll out significant initiatives in a slow, methodical process, allowing our schools to define where they are and what old things they can stop doing to start doing new things. We then undertake learning and deep understanding. In our MTSS framework, we utilize the three tiered model to help define our support for students academically, social-emotionally, behaviorally, and for attendance.
Elementary Schools have been rolling out MTSS components for the past four years. Again, we chose to start out very slowly with a small district group that had representation from the district and some elementary schools. The rollout has evolved to site-based MTSS teams with representation from each elementary school (Principal, two teachers, Academic Performance Coach (APC), and other staff members). These site-based teas meet as a group 4 times a year with district leadership. In addition, site-based MTSS teams meet after district meetings to plan specifically for their school, roll out information to staff, and provide training (when needed). The next phase of our MTSS rollout focuses on our Secondary schools. Middle Schools have been working on the MTSS rollout for the past year and a half. Our middle schools followed the elementary school model by setting up school MTSS teams with administrators, teachers, and counselors. Our first year's focus was tier-1 strategies in all classrooms. District leadership and coaches met at all three middle schools throughout the year. We discussed and defined MTSS and how it applies to our secondary schools. The middle school district team defined tier 1 strategies and what the implementation of those strategies would look like in classrooms. We also focused on how we use data to drive instruction and pinpoint struggling students who may need tier 2 support in the future. In addition, there is a 2-day summer institute to plan for the upcoming school year with each elementary school's MTSS team and the middle school MTSS teams. As a district, we will focus on MTSS at our staff development day in September, and once again, meet at each school throughout the year to observe instruction, monitor progress, and dive deeper into data analysis.
We have done great work around mental health. What are the district’s plans to incorporate social-emotional learning data into the MTSS plan?
Measuring Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is a complex undertaking. We value data in AUSD and understand the importance of “good” data. We have begun utilizing existing data and collecting survey data around SEL. We have not yet decided to use district-wide or school-wide SEL screeners, but we continue to research and evaluate the myriad of options available to schools. Our LCAP surveys collect data on feelings of safety, school connectedness, and peer and teacher relationships. We also administer the Healthy Kids survey to students. Additionally, elementary Counselors use Second Step Lessons with all classroom TK-5 students. They are currently working on a pre and post-survey for students. They are also looking for an appropriate SEL screener for elementary. Middle School counselors have taken an intense interest in the social-emotional health of their students coming out of the COVID pandemic. One of our middle schools, Dana, also uses Second Step with its students. The tier 2 screener has shown great promise for incorporating social-emotional learning into the MTSS plan. This year they will develop this theme as they move forward with MTSS both academically and socially-emotionally.
What is the district doing around the data action?
Our data action is a part of our 3rd goal “Through the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), meet the unique learning, cultural, and social-emotional needs of all students through world-class instruction and support.” Action #3 focuses on embedding the regular use of data throughout the district. The regular and systematic use of data is the cornerstone of the MTSS framework. According to the Center on Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports, “Data-based decision making is the use of screening, progress monitoring, and other forms of data to make decisions about instruction, movement within the multi-level prevention system, intensification of instruction and supports, allocation of resources, and identification of students with disabilities (in accordance with state law). Data-based decision-making occurs at all levels of MTSS implementation, from individual students to the district level. Teams use implementation data to evaluate the extent to which their assessments, interventions, and supports have been implemented as intended and identify areas of improvement.” As we continue to implement and improve our practices, we identified the need to move from the casual use of data to more strategic and formalized processes to better inform our decision-making.
We have been doing a lot with data in AUSD. Our first efforts were around doing our best to ensure our data is accurate. Although it may seem like an easy task, this is a big undertaking and will be an ongoing effort. School districts get data from multiple sources, and often those sources have different methodologies and definitions as to what the “data” is. Take for instance, the graduation rate. I won’t go into too much detail here, but try to provide you with the general concept. There is the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR), which attempts to account for students who come and go during their time in high school. The Average Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) represents an estimated percentage of public high school students who graduate with a regular diploma four years after starting ninth grade. The Status Completion Rate is the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds who have left high school and have a high school diploma or equivalent credential, such as a GED, compared to the total number of 18- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in high school or a lower level of education. There is also the Senior Year Graduation rate which is solely based on the number of students in the senior class who earned a diploma. Each of these data points provides important information to a district when trying to determine if the instructional program is effective in graduating students and to compare our progress with other districts and states. Ultimately, the point is that data isn’t always clear. Because of this, we have spent a considerable amount of time defining and understanding all of the data we have access to, as well as investing time in determining what data we need.
Something I am very proud of is AUSD’s success. When we look at our overall data, our district does an exceptional job of educating our students and preparing them for their next steps in life, whether it be a 4-year university, 2-year college, or a career. However, we cannot be satisfied with just the overall averages of our data. We have a responsibility to serve every child. This is where we are currently with our data action and its critical importance in our MTSS framework. At the district level, we are creating and building data reports for our schools. We are holding “data dialogs” with district and school administrators to understand what our data is telling us and what we would like to know more about. We continue to become more fluent in data analysis and more comfortable in sharing our data to improve our practice. Some of our schools are now meeting every 6 weeks to review student data. This work is effective as teachers are adapting their teaching to meet all students’ learning needs and this work is showing results. At other schools, teachers are asking “What is the outcome we want”, “Are we getting that outcome” and, “Are we getting that outcome for most of our students”. If the answer is “no”, they are asking “What can we change in our practice to get the outcomes we desire?” This is exactly what the MTSS framework requires. I am super proud of our school administrators, our teachers and our staff. They are asking hard questions of themselves and using data to validate their answers. We still have further to go and grow in our data systems and our use of data. But I can guarantee we are off to a fantastic start.
How can we all [teachers, parents, administrators] help to improve things like chronic absenteeism and special education performance?
This is one of the many things I love about our district. The question isn’t about what are YOU going to do, but rather what can WE do to improve. AUSD is not immune to the impact COVID policies had on our learning community. Across the nation, districts have seen chronic absenteeism rates rise to the highest levels in the history of education. I believe that much of this is the direct result of parents receiving a strong message from Public Health and government officials to stay home during and even after the pandemic. You were told to not send your children to school to keep people safe. Like good parents, you followed what you were asked to do. You kept your children home if they were sick and even if you thought they might be getting sick. Now Public Health is reversing its guidance on when to go to school and government officials are saying you are required by law to go to school. These conflicting messages are in a word, confusing.
To answer the question “What can we do to improve chronic absenteeism”, the first thing is to help get the word out to parents that it is ok to send children to school with a cough or runny nose. They should use the old standards of when to keep a child at home. Also, we have a nurse at every school site, so if a parent isn’t sure if it is ok to bring their child to school, they should bring them and have the nurse determine if it is ok to stay. Some things our schools and staff are doing to help improve attendance include making phone calls, informing parents of the attendance expectations and the importance of good attendance, meeting with chronically absent students and families, and regularly looking at attendance data to support positive attendance habits before absenteeism becomes chronic. A student is chronically absent if they miss 10% of the expected number of days of attendance. That is 18 days in a school year or two days in a school month.
How will [the district] improve getting students enrolled in 504 or intervention programs in an equitable way?
While we can always improve, I believe we do a wonderful job ensuring every student has access to what they need. The district leadership spent an entire year working with experts in the field of diversity and equity to better understand our beliefs and improve our practices. Our district administration does an excellent job of training staff on the fair and equitable process we use in AUSD to ensure that all students are treated fairly and equitably. The 504 process is followed using a uniform process throughout the district. Teachers and support service staff are knowledgeable about the role and purpose of a 504 plan. They regularly identify students who may need the support of a 504. We also ensure that students who need intervention get it. We do our best to identify possible biases or misconceptions to reduce any unintentional negative impacts during our identification processes. We also utilize aggregate and disaggregated data down to individual student data to identify students who may be underserved. Additionally, each school has a 504 coordinator and staff that oversee special education. Schools regularly review data to monitor trends and identify students who may need additional support or protection. Furthermore, our data demonstrates that we rarely receive complaints regarding our equitable practices. If you have a child or if you know of a student who is struggling or may have a disability, I encourage you to contact the counseling team at the student’s school. Our counselors are well equipped to help the student and family access the right supports and services.
How are we supporting EL students [English Learners] at this time of year {may}?
In May, our school district intensifies its support for English Learners through a comprehensive approach. We reflect on our El students’ annual progress and look to the future regarding how we plan to support individual students' acquisition of English. Our district ELD team evaluates student data; including ELPAC scores (if available), classroom screeners, and district benchmarks to monitor the progress of EL students and make placement decisions. Our ELD team meets to discuss effective teaching strategies and instruction. We also plan summer school programs tailored to our EL population, carefully reviewing data to identify the most suitable candidates. We hold our final school-site English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) and District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) meetings to provide parents with ideas and resources to support their child's language development at home throughout the summer. Additionally, our schools’ EL teachers, classroom teachers, and support staff engage in discussions with students and families who need additional support in making placement and academic programming decisions for the following year. The district plans EL instruction and staff professional development to equip teachers with better tools to support our EL students. Lastly, the district invests time to review our curriculum needs and purchases materials and supplemental curricula to enhance EL support in classrooms for the following year.
Does the district offer social-emotional support to teachers?
I am proud of our district's efforts to support our teachers. We send out a monthly newsletter to all staff that includes mental health and wellness resources for staff. It also has information and tips on social-emotional wellness, stress reduction, and healthy living. Through our partnership with Self-Insured Schools of California (SISC) we provide a digital platform to district employees and household members (13 years old and above) that supports behavioral health and emotional wellness needs. Our district insurance providers also offer wellness coaching, fitness and exercise deals, and self-care apps. We also have CareSolace for staff and all AUSD families, a resource to connect to mental health providers.
With Gratitude,
David Vannasdall, Superintendent
Arcadia Unified School District
CARES ACT PLANS