Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1175948
W E L L - T R A I N E D , supported and empowered educators are at the heart of the success of seven school districts bucking the trend when it comes to achieving educational equity, according to the new Learning Policy Institute (LPI) report, "Closing the Opportunity Gap: How Positive Outlier Districts in California Are Pursuing Equitable Access to Deeper Learning." The report spotlights school districts where students are "consistently outperforming students of similar racial/ethnic backgrounds from families of similar income and education levels in most other California districts" — or positive outliers, districts where students exceeded their expected achievement, after accounting for their socioeconomic status. The districts showing marked progress toward closing the opportunity gap are Chula Vista Elementary School District, Clovis Unified School District, Gridley Unified School Dis- trict, Hawthorne School District, Long Beach Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District and Sanger Uni- fied School District. LPI 's analysis of each of the districts and their paths to equitable learning found numerous commonalities in their strategies, approaches and principles guiding their pursuit of equity : • A widely shared, well-enacted vision that prioritizes learning for every child. • Instructionally engaged leaders. • Strategies for hiring and retaining a strong, stable educator workforce. • Collaborative professional learning that builds collective instructional capacity. • A deliberate, developmental approach to instructional change. • Curriculum, instruction and assessment focused on deeper learning in a process of continuous improvement. • Systemic supports for students' academic, social and emotional needs. • Engagement of families and communities. "Rapid and dramatic change in California's education system provided an excellent incubator for school districts to make New report spotlights seven 'positive outlier' school districts By Julian Peeples SEPTEMBER 2019 Sanger Unified School District Positive Outliers Case Study Joan E. Talbert and Jane L. David P O S I T I V E O U T L I E R S S E R I E S " The success that Sanger Unified has experienced has just as much to do with [educators'] hearts and selfless giving of time as it does with the programs that have been put into place." — Bonnie Gonzalez, Sanger Unified Teachers Association first vice president SEPTEMBER 2019 Chula Vista Elementary School District Positive Outliers Case Study Laura E. Hernández and Crystal A. Moore P O S I T I V E O U T L I E R S S E R I E S Where Teacher-Driven Change Works 56 cta.org CTA & You