Hello members! Just a heads up- we've added a new category of software systems to our community-built and supported list.  We now have a category specifically for Social Emotional Learning.  Currently we have a list of 13 systems known to be used in California school districts.  Do you know of any others that your district is using?  Let us know! Did you know?  We now have over 800 individual software systems listed in our community catalog.  These are the most popular systems used by California school districts.  With the input of our members, our list continues to grow.  Please consider taking our annual survey to update your district's list of syste...

Imagine you want to use a new learning app alongside your school's learning management system (LMS), like Canvas or Blackboard. This article explains how these two systems can work together, focusing on two common methods: API and LTI integrations. Think of integrations as "bridges" between different two different systems. In this case, will take a learning app and an LMS. Integrations would allow your LMS and the new app to share information securely, making things easier for educators and students with integrated functionality like single sign-on, rostering, content sync, and grade passback. Here's a simple breakdown of those two integration methods to connect to LMS providers: API (Applic...

CDE: Interim Guidance on Transitional Kindergarten Students and English Language Proficiency Testing 

The CAASPP and ELPAC websites have been redesigned and combined into a single website that can be accessed at www.caaspp-elpac.org. Beginning today and extending through June, a soft launch of the new website provides LEA coordinators early access to become familiar with the new website prior to the 2024–25 administration year. The CAASPP Website and ELPAC Website will remain available for the remainder of the 2023–24 administration, and test administrators and test examiners can continue to use those sites to complete 2023–24 testing. It is at your discretion to determine the best timing to introduce site and school staff to the new website. Webinar To help orient you to the new website, ET...

When we started this site back just three years ago, I really had no idea how big it would get - and how quickly.  When you start a blog, or rather, a community, you really don't know what it's going to be like until its there.   Congrats to Terri Wheeler from Inglewood USD, who became our six hundredth member last week!  Since the beginning our goal has been simple - create a free and useful site for those of us struggling with the California systems/compliance stuff.   In just the last 3 years, we've created a community site with a question/answer forum, a list of the 400 most used "enterprise" systems in California K-12 schools, a list of the districts that USE those s...

You are invited to a unique one-day "Make It and Take It" event for users of i-Ready Date: January 15, 2020 Time: 9:00 am to 3:00 PM PST Location: Charter School Management Corporation (CSMC) Training Facility: 201 N. Brand Blvd., B100 Glendale, CA 91203 We'll explore the product and dig deep into topics like: Single Sign On/RosteringData Warehouse Integration TechniquesAnnual MaintenanceConnecting i-Ready to 3rd party apps (e.g. Illuminate, Aeries, SchoolZilla) Take full advantage of i-Ready's capabilities by learning integration tips and tricks. Come with your questions, concerns, ideas, and headaches. We'll work together and address each one! Meet the i-Ready Team who will be on hand to e...

California Department of Education News Release Release: #24-13March 13, 2024 Contact: CommunicationsE-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.: 916-319-0818 SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced that nine California schools were selected for the California Exemplary Dual Enrollment Award. This award program identifies and recognizes schools with exemplary dual enrollment programs and allows these schools to share the exemplary programs and practices that have contributed to their success. All Early College High Schools, Middle College High Schools, and alternative education schools with dual enrollment programs were eligible to apply for the 2024–25 award. “These programs are a beacon of excellence and equitable opportunity in California’s public schools,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “Dual enrollment programs provide a unique option for public high school students who seek to accelerate their achievement, launch their careers, and access a high-quality free college education even before they walk the high school graduation stage.” Awardees had to demonstrate excellence in several areas of program focus. Applicants had to demonstrate and provide evidence of strong, collaborative relationships among the high school, the college, families, community members, and industry partners. They also had to demonstrate and provide evidence of equity, integration of college and district plans and frameworks, dual credit for high school graduation, outcome data, pathways, and student supports. Schools receiving the California Exemplary Dual Enrollment Award will hold the title for two years. Read more at the California Department of Education California Exemplary Dual Enrollment Award web page. 2024 Exemplary Dual Enrollment Award Schools CountyDistrict/County Office of EducationSchoolCollege Partner Fresno Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District Firebaugh High West Hills Community College Coalinga Kern Kern County Office of Education Wonderful College Prep Academy - Delano Bakersfield College Kern Kern County Office of Education Wonderful College Prep Academy – Lost Hills Bakersfield College Los Angeles Antelope Valley Union High School District SOAR High Antelope Valley College Nevada Nevada Joint Union High School District William and Marian Ghidotti Early College High School Sierra Community College Orange Huntington Beach Union High School District Valley Vista High Orange Coast College Coastline College Golden West College San Bernardino San Bernardino City Unified School District Middle College High School San Bernardino Valley College Santa Clara Santa Clara Unified School District Mission Early College High School Mission College Ventura Oxnard Union High School District Oxnard Middle College High School Oxnard College # # # # Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public InstructionCommunications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100  

PUC Lakeview Charter Academy and PUC Triumph Charter Academy & PUC Triumph Charter High are two of only 51 LAUSD schools to receive the honor. PUC Lakeview Charter Academy and PUC Triumph Charter Academy and PUC Triumph Charter High are 2024 California Distinguished Schools, announced State Superintendent Tony Thurmond. This recognition is granted by the state department of education to an exceptional group of 293 public schools across the state. Schools are recognized in one of two categories: those closing the achievement gap and those demonstrating exceptional student performance. "We are incredibly proud of our schools for being recognized as the Class of 2024 California Distinguishe...

Hello members!  We are making some minor tweaks to the School Data Leadership Association's website.  Please bear with us as we tweak some of the User Interface elements, add some additional functionality, and update the site.  We will be adding back any missing pages as we update them over the course of the next week or two. -Chris

When to Use an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), Individualized Education Program (IEP), or an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) This Flash provides further specificity to Flash 161 regarding which plan types students with disabilities (SWD) should have. Individuals: Birth to 35 months should have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). Ages 3 to 5, should have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), even if the child is attending a private preschool, private transitional kindergarten, or private kindergarten (that is not a nonpublic, nonsectarian certified school). LEAs should enroll students ages 3 to 5 who are attending a private school at the district level, with the Re...

A lot of energy, time, and money is being spent on state assessments, so it is proper to check in and ask how it is going. It would not make sense for us to continue to spend the effort on testing only to ignore the results. And yet, eight years into the California CAASPP system, little is known about individual-level student scores responses to the Summative tests, especially with the multiple-choice section of the test. The overall scale score each student receives does not actually break down the types of questions each student answered correctly. Over the last eight years this fact has remained – individual student level data on the Computer Adapted test is still unknown. In the las...

The School Data Leadership Association is co-presenting a webinar on September 15, 2022 at 10 AM PST.   TOPIC:  Modernizing Your Approach to EdTech: From Management to Optimization DESCRIPTION:    Schools, districts and charter networks of every size are managing increasing numbers of edtech products - often with few dedicated resources and limited bandwidth. In this webinar, we'll sit down with Christopher Moggia, EdD, to discuss best practices every district can follow to drive more value from their edtech investments. We'll cover six steps to update your approach to edtech management:1. Document which edtech tools your students and teachers are using.2. Understand dist...

K12 district information teams navigate a confusing array of data management strategies to connect, and pass data between, an ever-growing collection of applications.This webinar, led by the School Data Leadership Association, will answer the question that persists for all K12 educators and technologists: How do move towards truly connecting all of our data systems?Topics will include:What are districts' best data integration options?What is the future of data warehousing and data exchanges?What questions should data leaders ask if a district wants to achieve better cross-district data access?Presenters:Chris Moggia, Executive Director, School Data Leadership AssociationKathryn Grady, Senior...

Here's a video from the CALPADS team regarding the changes.  https://youtu.be/7hjse9TiDeQ

Hello SDLA members!We've just put the finishing touches on the 7th annual district systems survey.You can find it here: 7th Annual District Systems Survey The URL is https://www.schooldataleadership.org/ca-k-12-school-districts/2022-district-systems-surveyPlease help us compile the best single resource for systems used by California school districts by taking 5-10 minutes to complete the survey. Hint - you can print the list out and use that to review your district's systems, checking them off as you go. The list can also be used to help your district understand what OPTIONS exist within each category.Each year we review the results and update the product pages listed on our site. Our goal i...

We are nearly finished with the build-out of the CALPADS reports section of the website.  We've listed the 84 active reports (both certification and support).  For each we list the name of the report, a screenshot, description, and list of the data elements (the actual headers of the report).  Eventually we will add some additional info for each. Registered members can also post comments/questions/tips for each.

 The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued two resource collections—one for elementary and secondary schools and one for postsecondary institutions—designed to assist in planning for a successful and equitable return to schools and campuses. The two collections include fact sheets, Q&As, letters to educators, and other materials explaining the obligations that elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools have under the federal civil rights laws enforced by OCR to provide educational environments free from discrimination. Read the Elementary and Secondary Resource Collection PDF (508K)Read the Postsecondary Resource Collection PDF (356K) As we look forward...

Kahoot! today announced the acquisition of Clever, one of the most widely-used digital learning platforms by U.S. K-12 schools, to make learning awesome worldwide. Oslo, Norway (May 6, 2021) – Kahoot!, a global learning platform company, announced today the acquisition of Clever Inc., a privately-held, California-based company that is one of the most widely-used digital learning platforms by U.S. K-12 schools. The partnership between two of the most popular platforms in education, with distinct and highly complementary offerings, will provide improved learning solutions and offerings to U.S. schools, while accelerating the global expansion of Clever's solutions. Kahoot! Group will acquire 10...

The United States Department of Education on Tuesday April 6, 2021 approved in writing a request from the California Department of Education to waive some accountablity, school identificiation, and related reporting requirements for the 2020-21 school year due to challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic.   Please note that these accountabilty requirement waivers did NOT extend reporting or testing deadlines nor did they waive the administration of any CAASPP, CAST, CAA, ELPAC, or related state tests.  In addition no extension to testing deadlines were issued. You can read the full report below: 

Be an ESSER III Hero: Three Technologies that Facilitate A Successful Return to School On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the first anniversary of the pandemic declaration, H.R. 1319, the "American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021," was signed and became Law 117-2. The ARPA, a $1.9 trillion plan, included an even larger relief package for ESSER III than ESSER I and ESSER II combined, providing $123 billion for schools to tackle learning loss and prepare to reopen in the fall. These funds provide critical assistance to help schools and districts maintain a high-quality learning environment, continue the establishment of innovative learning methods, and combat COVID-19 related learning loss. Our ...