It’s September—my favorite time of year! The school year is in full swing, and the excitement is palpable. Back to School Night is my favorite part: schools welcome families and the community to be a part of the excitement for one evening.
Like members of school communities, my colleagues and I on the Educational Leadership and System Design Team at WestEd are also heading back into schools and districts. We are excited to roll up our sleeves, launch new services, and reconnect with returning partners.
Here are a few highlights:
Alicia Bowman
Alicia is gearing up to launch a CA statewide Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) implementation network. It will bring together district leaders to practice using tools and processes to support the effective implementation of LCAP actions and services. Register here! Additionally, she is working with the Nevada Department of Education to finalize their new PK-12 State Literacy Plan.
Ayele Dodoo
Ayele is developing a series of networks designed by and for executive leaders. The three networks- LA/OC Superintendents’ Network, SoCal Assistant Superintendents’ and CAO Network, and the Illinois CAO Network-provide a space for executive leaders to meet with colleagues, share best practices, problem solve and learn together. ELSD @WestEd is honored to serve in the role of convener. Look out for a national CAO network launching in early 2025.
Lauryn Fullerton
Lauryn was in Salt Lake City, UT last week leading 2 days of professional learning with the incredible leaders at the Utah State Board of Education. Look for her in Nashville, Tennessee later this month kicking off a statewide rural principals’ network.
Matthew Clifford
Matthew is leading the design of statewide principal and assistant principal evaluation systems for New Mexico and Arizona, aimed at improving the quality of feedback for leaders in traditional and charter systems. Watch for our pilot study results in New Mexico and guidebooks for Arizona coming soon.
Priscilla Rodriguez
Priscilla will launch three Leadership Playbooks for leaders in Southern California in the coming weeks. Additionally, she is leading the facilitation of a new service focused on building a feedback culture among central office leaders.
Prudence Harris-Minton
Prudence will represent WestEd at the National Forum to Advance Rural Education in October in Savannah, GA. Additionally, this fall she will provide technical assistance and professional learning to the math team at Imagine Schools in Hemet, CA.
Teresa Alonzo
Teresa is headed to Salinas, California this week to lead the launch of the Alisal Instructional Leadership Team Network. Later this month, she will join the Assessment for Learning team in San Diego County to build the capacity of LEAs to implement culturally sustaining systems and practices to achieve equitable outcomes for multilingual learner students.
