EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...2015-16 STRATEGIC PLANNING TEAM ANNUAL UPDATE May 2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND frames cha This year marks the eighth year of the San Diego County Office of

2015-16 STRATEGIC PLANNING TEAM ANNUAL UPDATE

May 2016

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND This year marks the eighth year of the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) operating under a strategic plan. We believe that strategic planning is firmly embedded in the culture of our organization. Strategic planning, monitoring, and reporting remains a priority as we build on our momentum. After a two-day leadership retreat, SDCOE’s Strategic Leadership Team crafted a vision statement that captures the long-term direction for SDCOE – “Service and leadership that maximize the success of all students.” This vision is accompanied through four Pillars of Excellence: People, Service, Operations, and Innovation. The vision, pillars, and mission (Attachment No. 1) provide a variety of opportunities for employee engagement at all levels of the organization. OUR WORK In assessing our strategic planning efforts to date, it became obvious that we have the opportunity to develop a strategic planning process specific to the needs of SDCOE. The process will allow us to sustain our strategic direction on an ongoing basis versus the customary three-to-five-year time

frames characteristic of most strategic planning models. We have also embarked on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Journey of continuous improvement, which has strategic planning as a prominent category in its overall framework. We have added organizational development and organizational effectiveness staff positions for this work, and established an Organizational Excellence Unit to focus on developing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting our work. With regard to the reporting – rather than an annual strategic planning team meeting, the refined process will include more of our stakeholders and our work will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. These reviews will occur through a variety of mechanisms such as SDCOE's Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), focus groups, job-alike meetings, and of course consultation with our employees. This will ensure our continued ability to be responsive and relevant to current and developing environmental trends and implications. Over the course of the 2015-16 year, some of the Specific Result Action Teams advanced from the research stage to the implementation phase. This year there were 17 Specific Results (SRs; Attachment No. 2); six will be operationalized into our practices, processes, and work, and 11 will continue with their research. Attachment No. 3 is a compilation of the year-end reports for each SR. What follows is a summary of the key influences or impacts over the past year, by strategy:

Strategy 1: Digital Literacy • Distributed 2,000 devices and expanded

Internet access to more than 250 families. • Developed a six-week digital citizenship

course for students, district staff, and parents/guardians.

Strategy 2: Leadership Development • Expansion through a partnership, and pilot

of a self-assessment tool to build capacity of systems-thinking leaders to improve teaching and learning.

Strategy 3: Opportunity Gap • Training of trainers module developed for

Trauma Informed Practices that build capacity in schools and districts to meet students’ social and emotional needs.

• Certified First Aiders representing 20 schools and 233 adults and a partnership to develop an app to track youth referrals.

Strategy 4: Global Workplace Readiness • Expansion of the Equity and Access

transcript analysis protocol to additional districts and school sites.

• Development of critical predictors, indicators, monitoring practices, and interventions to increase students’ college and career readiness. In collaboration with other SR teams, develop relevant metrics.

• Refinement of the LCAP Action Database, development of a user’s manual, and marketing to other county offices.

• Dual credit high school courses in information technology in partnership with San Diego City Colleges.

• Partnership formed to develop a career pathways document targeted for publication in September 2016.

2015-16 STRATEGIC PLANNING TEAM ANNUAL UPDATE continued

May 2016

Strategy 5: Communication and Employee Engagement

• Expanding deployment for Oracle/PeopleSoft Financials and Human Capital Management.

• Ongoing customer-specific support to address post implementation needs for PeopleSoft Financials and Human Capital Management.

• Digitized and archived complex records and files, implementation of a records retention policy with periodic training for managers.

• Advisory committee oversight of the three-strand Employee Development, Growth and Enrichment catalog of course offerings.

• SDCOE onboarding program piloted and reworked with an employee- contribution focus.

• Two-way communication is relevant and informative in a more user-friendly, employee-focused online environment.

CONCLUSION The influence and impact we are making across the five strategies toward accomplishing our mission continues to become evident in our data collection and focus on metrics. Even now, as we conduct our 2016 organizational effectiveness survey, we welcome opportunities for improvement that are systematic and systemic. We eagerly anticipate the expansion of our stakeholders’ engagement toward realizing our vision and mission.

For additional information, please contact Dr. Leo Cole at 858-292-3764 or [email protected]. www.sdcoe.net

Attachment No. 1

Vision: Service and leadership that maximize the success of all students. Pillars of Excellence: People, Service, Operations, and Innovation Mission: The mission of the San Diego County Office of Education, as a world-class educational leader and trusted partner, is to transform public education and guarantee high levels of student achievement. In partnership with local school districts and the global learning community, we will research and apply innovative 21st century practices; leverage resources; develop strategic alliances; inspire powerful leadership; and provide exemplary customized services to districts, communities and our students in all County Office-operated programs.

Objectives:

• Every student will successfully continue his/her education and be ready for the global workplace.

• All school districts in San Diego County affirm that SDCOE is a trusted partner in transforming public education.

Parameters:

• All decisions will be consistent with our beliefs and mission. • We will not initiate or retain any program or service unless it contributes to achieving our

mission and objectives, and benefits outweigh costs.

We Believe That . . . • Each person is born with inherent worth and dignity. • Caring relationships are essential for a healthy society. • We are interconnected; we are responsible for our actions; our actions have impact

beyond ourselves. • Responsible stewardship is critical to the quality of life for present and future

generations. • The respect for, and the engagement with, diverse people and ideas strengthens

community. • Equitable access and opportunity are essential to a just society. • Curiosity and learning are innate. • Each person has untapped potential that can be developed.

Core Strategies:

1. We will lead, develop, and implement digital literacy initiatives among staff and students across the county.

2. We will nurture, support, and develop leaders and leadership at all levels countywide. 3. We will transform our use of resources and create partnerships to accelerate learning

for all students and eliminate the opportunity gaps that are barriers to achievement. 4. We will develop and implement means to ensure global workplace readiness for all

students. 5. We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications and

supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives.

Attachment No. 2

San Diego County Office of Education Strategic Plan Strategies and Specific Results

2014-2019

Strategic Plan 2014-2019 Page 1 Updated: March 2016

O = Operationalized = SR has become ongoing component of SDCOE work. ● = Action Team work is to continue D = Discontinue M = Modified C = Combined with another SR STRATEGY 1: We will lead, develop, and implement digital literacy initiatives among staff and students across the county.

Recommendation 2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

1.1 Establish partnerships to provide countywide broadband connectivity and digital devices. ● ● 1.2 Build and deliver online digital citizenship courses for countywide lead educators who will

develop school/district implementation plans for student engagement/learning outcomes. Increase parent and family knowledge on digital citizenship through presentations and resources.

O

STRATEGY 2: We will nurture, support, and develop leaders and leadership at all levels countywide.

Recommendation

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

2.1 Create and implement professional learning focused on building countywide capacity. D 2.2 Implement innovative, high quality leadership services that develop systems-thinking

leaders who strategically build capacity throughout the organization resulting in the improvement of learning and guarantees students are educated to high levels, prepared for college and career.

● ●

STRATEGY 3: We will transform our use of resources and create partnerships to accelerate learning for all students and eliminate the opportunity gaps that are barriers to achievement.

Recommendation

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

3.1 Develop a comprehensive Trauma-Informed Care training program supported by curriculum that is easily adapted to serve a wide range of audiences. This will provide uniform access to, students, school staff, parents and community members.

● ●

3.2 Create and distribute a Homeless Education tool kit that incorporates Trauma-Informed Care for teachers and one-stop technical support to respond to immediate questions and needs. This also includes support to ensure districts are meeting the mandates of the homeless education laws.

O

3.3 Provide countywide trainings in: “Youth Mental Health First Aid USA” (YMHFA). Trainings will target school teams consisting of administrators, counselors, classified and certificated employees. School teams will utilize their California Healthy Kids Survey data to identify the needs of their local school communities.

●


2014-2019


3.4 Facilitate analyses of high schools’ practices to determine the degree to which all

students are provided equitable access in successfully preparing for college and career with an emphasis on underrepresented student groups.

●

3.5 (A) Research and identify the critical academic and social indicators that are predictors for college and career readiness and (B) develop practices for monitoring and (C) strategies for intervention.

●

STRATEGY 4: We will develop and implement means to ensure global workplace readiness for all students.

Recommendation

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

4.1 Common services and actions from districts’ LCAPs are identified and prioritized. Professional learning and technical assistance offerings are designed to address common services and actions in district LCAPs.

● O

4.1a Collaborate with Learning and Leadership to collect specific data from our district’s LCAPs related to their goals to improve student mental health by integrating social-emotional learning practices school wide. This data will be used to design our trainings and services to assist our districts in reaching their LCAP goals.

D

4.2 Create and implement an Information Technology (IT) Academy program that provides career and technical training for students interested in IT. ● ●

4.3 Support districts in understanding and developing systems to monitor and evaluate whether students are college and career ready with particular attention to the development of comprehensive and achievable metrics.

● ●

4.4 Through the development of robust partnerships between K12, community colleges and industry, and by adopting a common vision for career pathways, we will support San Diego students in attaining employment in high skill, high wage, high demand industry sectors.

●

STRATEGY 5: We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications and supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives.

Recommendation

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

5.1 MITI will accomplish the deployment of the Oracle/PeopleSoft Financials in 19 local educational agencies and 8 for Human Capital Management (HCM). In conjunction with the HCM and Financials deployments, MITI will configure the Oracle/Hyperion Public Sector Planning and Budgeting solution at 10 LEAs.

● M/

●

5.1a Create and implement a post implementation team project plan for supporting deployed districts on Oracle PeopleSoft Financials and HCM to improve the PS experience for client district.

● M/ O

5.2a Develop and implement strategies and methods to optimize SDCOE’s digital content/information management systems.

● O 5.2b Develop and implement strategies and methods to optimize JCCS’ digital records

management systems. ● O


2014-2019


5.3a Develop and implement innovative, high quality employee development program that

improves employee competency and capacity throughout the organization.i ● O

5.3b Develop two-way communication systems that ensure an engaged and informed workforce.ii ● ●

i SR 5.3b was combined with the modified SR 5.3a ii SR 5.3c was modified and became 5.3a

Attachment No. 3

Strategy 1

Digital Literacy

2015-2016 Progress Report

Strategy 1: We will lead, develop, and implement digital literacy initiatives among staff and students across the county. Specific Result 1.1: Establish partnerships to provide countywide broadband connectivity and digital devices. 1. Major Accomplishments:

a. Continued partnership with Computers2SDKids and Cox Communications to conduct

computer and Internet access distribution events at schools throughout the County. i. Distribution events are on track to exceed the computer and connectivity counts from

the 2014-2015 school year (Evidence - C2C.SDCOE.NET) ii. Distribution events this year include laptop computers iii. Planning for distribution events at previously unserved schools in the San Diego

County backcountry – Borrego Springs and Mountain Empire b. Pilot program being established to distribute Wi-Fi hot spots at a district

i. Potential district partners identified ii. Funding model through LCAP and other sources determined iii. Hot spot partner solicited iv. Hot spot devices tested and determined to be viable v. Distribution models in other districts in the country reviewed vi. Pricing and business model reviewed vii. MOU contract-proposal under development

c. Expand partnerships – i. Discussions have occurred with:

1. Kajeet 2. T-Mobile 3. SDUSD

ii. Contact or re-contact made with 1. AT&T 2. Time Warner Cable

iii. Potential partnership being nurtured with San Diego County libraries was discontinued due to funding issues

2. Recommendations:

Continue:

With the pilot using Kajeet set to go live in the 2016-17 school year, we plan to evaluate the effectiveness of distributing computers and broadband access via a formal evaluation process.

We will work with our pilot sites to gather data on students’ grades and test scores from the 2015-16 year when students and families self-reported a lack of computer and Internet access.

We will then evaluate if there has been an increase in their grades and test scores after they have received Internet and devices in 2016-17 as well as gather data about increased access to homework, out-of-class assignments, test preparation, parent involvement, etc.

In addition we would like to create more partnerships with organizations that will enable coverage in the county to areas that are not currently served.

3. Influence or impact on Strategy:

Our impact is still being measured as we have events scheduled through June 30, 2016. To date, we have distributed more than 2,000 devices and more than 250 families have received Internet access through Cox Communications in the current fiscal year.


Strategy 1: We will lead, develop, and implement digital literacy initiatives among staff and students across the county.

Specific Result 1.2: Establish partnerships to provide countywide digital citizenship resources for educators, students, and parents. 1. Major Accomplishments:

To date, 12 of the county’s small districts (Alpine, Bonsall, Borrego Springs, Cardiff, Dehesa, Jamul-Dulzura, Julian, Mountain Empire, Rancho Santa Fe, San Pasqual, Spencer Valley and Warner) have participated in the ITS/Ed Tech developed online training course, Digital Citizenship. Of these districts participating, currently eight have completed their implementation plan and are actively providing Digital Citizenship teaching and learning strategies to their staff and students. Evidence is their submitted implementation plans.

Parent and guardian resources on Digital Citizenship are ready for use and distribution, including workshop support materials such as scripted slides, introductory videos to key concepts, and direct staff support for districts/schools that have event presentations on the subject. Evidence is electronic resources for workshops that are also available in Spanish-language versions as well as survey results for participants’ satisfaction.

The value added to the attended audience in Specific Result 1.2 is in the coordinated and systematic plan that is produced by the lead team members from the districts/schools that attend and complete the online Digital Citizenship six- week course and in the parent/guardian presentations. Outcomes include specific plans to address and inform students, staff, and parent/guardians on:

Internet Safety and Security: Focusing on specific online behaviors that put students at risk

Privacy, Digital Footprints, and Identity: Exploring identity online in healthy ways, while not sharing risky information.

Cyberbullying, Communication, and Relationships: Exploring the ways that the Internet can empower or endanger relationships and communities through online connections.

Responsible Searching, Evaluation and Sourcing: Encouraging strategies for finding credible and reliable information on the web and giving proper attribution.

Changing the Community through Digital Citizenship: Educating whole communities on digital citizenship and building a digital citizenship plan for your unique environment.

2. Recommendations:

Operationalize: The work of the current team will continue to reach out to districts and schools throughout San Diego County as well as to continue to provide resources/trainings to parents / guardians in collaboration with the districts and schools.

Recommendations for work to be done next year include further collaboration with Communications and LLS leads to advertise and recruit new participants in the online course and in the distribution / training for parents/guardians. There are opportunities to work with partner organizations, such as local police departments and other cyber safety groups to share resources and build larger-scale collaborations.


Digital Citizenship is directly aligned with Strategy 1. Digital Citizenship also is aligned with SDCOE Board Goals 1 and 3: “providing challenging and relevant educational programs, including digital literacy for students in County Office operated schools and programs;” and “Assist all districts in anticipating and responding to current and future challenges and trends in education, including professional learning for teachers and other school personnel, with special attention to small districts.” Specific Result 1.2 also is aligned with Specific Result 1.1, as work to provide equity and access to digital resources continues to be a priority throughout the San Diego County K-12 educational community.

Strategy 2

Leadership Development

2015-2016 Progress Report Strategy 2: We will nurture, support, and develop leaders and leadership at all levels countywide. Specific Result 2.2: Implement innovative, high quality leadership services that develop systems-thinking leaders who strategically build capacity throughout the organization resulting in the improvement of learning and guarantees students are educated to high levels, prepared for college and career. 1. Major Accomplishments:

School leaders play an essential role in shaping school cultures, aligning students and stakeholders around shared goals, and, ultimately, influencing student achievement. This Specific Result is focused on the improvement of educational leadership at all levels through high leverage practices applied through a systems-thinking framework. The work for this Strategic Result has defined “systems thinking” as an intentional mindset for continuous problem-solving that is based on the notion that the components in a system can be best understood by examining the interconnectedness of relationships with each other and other systems. System-thinking leaders focus on processes that foster continuous improvement, building and leveraging the capacity of others to improve student learning. The foundational model and framework was first developed in Year One (2014-15), followed by the extensive application into SDCOE existing and new leadership services (2015-16). Major accomplishments for the second year included:

● Continued to research and investigate leadership and organizational practices that support systemic improvement

● Shared the Systems Leadership Framework (SLF) to elicit feedback from a variety of groups, individuals, State representative of RSDSS, WestEd, superintendents, and principal in residence focus groups

● Integrated the Systems Leadership Framework into the services of District and School Improvement through Principal Leadership Institute, JCCS Leadership Development, Principal Leadership Seminars, Coaching Academy, Clear Administrative Services Credential Program, and Preliminary Administrative Services Credential Program

● Building Capacity within DSI unit to integrate the Systems Leadership Framework in all leadership development services. The SLF will serve as the Coaching Framework for all coaching services

● Further defined the attributes that build healthy organizations to inform further development of Systems Leadership Framework

● Revised the associated white paper ● Refined and revised the Conceptual Model/Theory-of-Action for “Systems Leadership” ● Developed descriptors and reflective question that align to the actions of a systems leader

that will lead to development of district self-assessment tool ● March 8--Facilitating Self-Assessment Workshop with new administrators in our Clear

Administrative Services Credential program via Principal Leadership Seminar. The purpose

will be to pilot a process for educational leaders to identify strengths and next steps as systems leaders creating healthy organizations.

● Qualitative data will be gathered from new administrators as they use the Systems Leadership Framework to reflect on their practice and identify next steps. We will also gather feedback about the impact of the tool.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: The work of this Specific Result has been organized into two phases. The first phase, Year One, focused on research and formulation of a potential conceptual model and framework to guide existing and new SDCOE leadership services. The second phase, Year Two, was focused on the integration of the framework through our current services, and building capacity across LLS about systems leadership. The team will continue into the third phase, Year Three, with a focus on the following anticipated outcomes:

● Integrate the Systems Leadership Framework into the formal partnership between the University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership and SDCOE for district and school leadership services to be offered across California.

● Work with central office leaders to pilot a self-assessment tool that will enable school leaders to assess their practice through the SLF that will assist central office leaders and leadership coaches in supporting the growth of principals as systems-thinking leaders to improve teaching and learning.

● Build webpage to provide access to framework and research that will link from CDE’s Quality School Framework webpage.

● Continue to communicate within and across Learning and Leadership Services division as the Systems Leadership Framework evolves and the implications for our services.

● Continue to gather feedback and data from clients to determine degree of influence and impact the framework is having as a result of this Specific Result.


● The work of Specific Result 2.2 contributes to building capacity through district and school leaders to extend the thinking of effective leadership knowledge and practice through the science of systems/organizational thinking. Research indicates that a systems-thinking approach is required in order to improve student learning at a scale that guarantees students are educated to high levels prepared for college and career. Systems thinking grows pockets of excellence into cultures of excellence across a system.

● This learning will be infused into SDCOE leadership service, administrative credential programs, and Principal Leadership Institutes and Seminars, as well as school improvement services.

● In Year Three, it is anticipated that resources will be piloted as part of our District Leadership Services to assist district leadership in supporting leadership development to enhance district and school organizational health and performance.

Strategy 3

Opportunity Gap


Strategy 3: We will transform our use of resources and create partnerships to accelerate learning for all students and eliminate the opportunity gaps that are barriers to achievement. Specific Result 3.1: Develop a comprehensive Trauma Informed Care training program supported by curriculum that is easily adapted to serve a wide range of audiences. This will provide uniform access to students, school staff, parents and community members. 1. Major Accomplishments

The team has had many accomplishments associated with this Specific Result. To date 21 school districts and JCCS have been trained on Trauma Informed Practices for Schools (TIPS). Based on technical assistance requests from school districts, the team expanded the TIPS curriculum to include an in-depth Training of Trainers module. Three districts have requested and received intensive Training of Trainers. In addition, Migrant Education staff have been trained as have one external stakeholder group. The external stakeholders were tutors who work for Ed Ladder, with whom the SDCOE Foster Youth Services Coordination Program (FYSCP) contracts to provide in-home tutoring to students in foster care. The tutors are also teachers in local school district throughout San Diego County. We believe this is not only growing the expertise of our tutors but impacting their practice when they are teaching at their schools. The team feels that we have begun to create a paradigm shift in the understanding of and response to trauma in our schools and communities. The team is confident that school campuses will be trauma informed, and therefore will respond to student’s social and emotional needs through a trauma informed lens. The long-term effect and impact of trauma informed schools will be increased student engagement and achievement and a decrease in discipline.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: With an emphasis on building capacity in districts by expanding the Training of Trainers component.


It is well established that a student cannot benefit from curriculum if their social and emotional needs are not met. A student must feel safe in order to learn. This Specific Result will create a learning environment that recognizes and understand the needs of students who have experienced trauma and will therefore be better equipped to close the opportunity gap. This will enable all students, including those in foster care and those who are homeless, to access the rich resources and supports being provided by our schools. Due to the fluid nature of school site and district staff, and the knowledge gap that often exists regarding the prevalence and impact of trauma in children, it is imperative that this training be available over multiple years. Experts must be developed and supported within our school districts and at SDCOE in order to ensure sustainability and fidelity.

To date, we have received tremendous feedback about the impact of this training and the value of it at our school sites. An excellent example of this impact is in our Juvenile Court and Community Schools. Since integrating trauma informed practices into their instructional program, JCCS has experienced a notable decline in the number of discipline referrals. This has resulted in improving student engagement, learning and overall well-being. Numerous districts have asked us to provide additional training, including specialized modules for transportation departments, school police departments, alternative education staff, and counseling and school social work staff. Follow-up surveys show that 75 percent of TIPS participants’ report their perception of their students’ behaviors has changed. We see this as the beginning of a culture shift for our schools.


Strategy 3: We will transform our use of resources and create partnerships to accelerate learning for all students and eliminate the opportunity gaps that are barriers to achievement Specific Result 3.3: Provide countywide trainings of Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) - Trainings will target school teams consisting of administrators, counselors, classified and certificated employees School teams will utilize their California Healthy Kids Survey data to identify the needs of their local school communities 1. Major Accomplishments:

The team has had three major accomplishments aligned with this specific result. The first accomplishment is the leveraging of funds and resources to form a team of five SDCOE and partner district staff members that are trained trainers in YMHFA. The team of trainers is available to provide trainings consistently across the county. The accomplishments of these activities have resulted in 233 adults becoming certified first aiders who represent 20 school districts and approximately 72 school communities across our county. The second major accomplishment is growing awareness and demand for trainings that continues to be high as indicated by the immediate filling of participant slots each time the training is offered. As of February 2016, we have offered at least 13 trainings. Finally, we have worked with our evaluation team from the University of San Francisco to develop an application that will be used by certified first aiders to track youth mental health referrals.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: Research indicates that teachers feel they lack the training needed for supporting children’s mental health needs. In surveys, teachers cite disruptive behavior and their lack of information and training in mental health issues as major barriers to instruction. A study titled “Supporting Children’s Mental Health in Schools: Teacher Perceptions of Needs, Roles, and Barriers” as reported in a 2011 issue of Psychology Quarterly describes a “lack of experience and training for supporting children’s mental health needs.”

The overwhelming feedback from individual’s participating in our trainings confirms the findings of the above-mentioned study. The recommendation is to continue these specific activities to meet the growing urgent need in our schools.


The efforts of the training team have provided certified first aiders in school communities across the county. YMHFA is to mental health what CPR is to physical health – certified adults are taught methods of assisting a young person who may be in the early stages of developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis.

We have collaborated and built partnerships with local providers to augment the demand for YMHFA training certifications. Mental Health America San Diego Chapter will provide school- based trainings, ensuring maximum training opportunities are readily available across the county. We will continue to address the opportunity gap that exists for students’ experiencing mental health challenges by saturating our school communities with certified mental health first aiders.

2015-2016 Progress Report Strategy 3: We will transform our use of resources and create partnerships to accelerate learning for all students and eliminate the opportunity gaps that are barriers to achievement Specific Result 3.4: Facilitate analyses of high schools’ practices to determine the degree to which all students are provided equitable access in successfully preparing for college and career with an emphasis on underrepresented student groups. 1. Major Accomplishments:

Specific Result 3.4 launched our team in August of 2015 with a thoughtful and thorough approach to defining the purpose and intended impact of our work in cultivating equity-driven beliefs and practices among San Diego County high schools during the next five years and beyond. We reviewed dozens of potential indicators to inform our efforts, gathering input and ideas from team members who work with the San Diego County Office of Education Equity and Access team, Foster Youth Services, Assessment, Accountability, and Evaluation unit, District and School Improvement unit, and Juvenile Court and Community Schools. We identified A-G eligibility as a primary indicator of college and career readiness, with consideration of graduation rates and career technical education pathway completion data as further indicators and context for examining high schools’ practices, and the degree to which those practices ensure equitable access for each and every student, with specific emphasis on historically underrepresented student groups such as English learners, youth in foster care, and students in Special Education. Our objectives aligned with and helped to inform the work of the Equity and Access team as they developed a protocol for analyzing student transcripts to measure A-G course completion rates and eligibility for application to the University of California and California State University systems. In conjunction with the Equity and Access team, we identified and recruited seven high school programs in two school districts to pilot the transcript analysis protocol. This transcript analysis began in February 2016 in the Ramona Unified School District at both the comprehensive and alternative high school sites; and data analysis in preparation for the transcript audit process is underway in the Oceanside Unified School District, which also includes both comprehensive and alternative high schools. The analysis protocol includes participation from district and school site administrators, high school counselors, classroom teachers, and members of the San Diego County Office of Education Equity and Access team and Specific Result 3.4 team. During the A-G analysis, participating schools and districts identify patterns, trends, and barriers related to equitable student completion of A-G courses in service of college and career readiness. Participating school teams draft initial action plans that outline steps for addressing barriers by improving student and staff understanding of A-G requirements and increasing opportunities for all students to enroll in A-G approved courses with appropriate support. Our remaining work during the 2015-16 school year includes examining graduation rate and career technical education pathway completion data for the participating pilot schools, and identifying patterns and correlations with the A-G analysis data. This will further inform the

schools and the Specific Result 3.4 team about the impact that their practices have on creating conditions that serve equity and access for all students.

2. Recommendations: Continue: The work for next year will include expanding the implementation of the equity and access transcript analysis protocol to additional districts and school sites, coordinated by the Equity and Access team. We also plan to develop and facilitate an equitable practices network for participating pilot schools during the fall of 2016 in order to foster collaboration across districts and encourage dialogue about best practices and problem solving. We will explore the possibility of sharing the learning and work of participating schools and districts via a panel discussion (at events such as the March 2017 Superintendents’ Achievement Gap Task Force) or a podcast conversation during the spring of 2017. As part of the long-term work and action planning for Specific Result 3.4, we hope to deepen and expand the analysis of A-G completion across student groups and develop tools for tracking, monitoring, and analyzing college/university matriculation and graduation rates, as well as post-secondary experiences for students who complete high school career technical education pathway programs.

3. Influence or impact on Strategy: The work during the initial year of Specific Result 3.4 has raised awareness, increased consciousness, and prompted a stronger sense of urgency and moral purpose about student equity at pilot school sites and districts as well as across the San Diego County Office of Education divisions and units represented on the Specific Result 3.4 team. School teams from each of the pilot schools have engaged in conversations about their beliefs, practices, and priorities. They have identified areas of need and begun implementing action plans for improving student access to courses and programs that foster college and career readiness. The collaboration between the Specific Result 3.4 team and the Equity and Access team has also prompted conversation about systemic strengths and weaknesses with district leadership in the pilot districts. Those districts have shared a stronger recognition of the need to involve all stakeholders in embracing a shared responsibility for pursuing school improvement that ensures an equitable opportunity for each and every student to pursue educational pathways and opportunities that serve college and career readiness. The ongoing work in service of Specific Result 3.4 has the potential to influence San Diego County high schools to more consistently incorporate effective and consistent systemic beliefs and practices that demonstrate equitable student educational opportunities as a priority. We are eager to support schools in analyzing their practices and the conditions/outcomes created by those practices, and in developing and implementing action plans that increase equity and access for all students, with particular emphasis on historically underrepresented and underserved student groups.


Strategy 3: We will transform our use of resources and create partnerships to accelerate learning for all students and eliminate the opportunity gaps that are barriers to achievement. Specific Result 3.5: Research and identify the critical academic and social indicators that are predictors for college and career readiness and develop practices for monitoring and strategies for intervention. 1. Major Accomplishments:

The first major accomplishment was dividing the Specific Results team into three major implementation groups. Group A focused on researching and identifying the critical academic and social predictors of college and career readiness. The team reviewed extensive research on predictors for college and career readiness. Additionally, they examined research around social-emotional factors and college transition skills. After reviewing the research, the group created spreadsheets displaying the predictors and factors, which were brought to Learning and Leadership Service’s (LLS) professional learning workshops for feedback. Moreover, the group drafted a white paper, which reflected the narrative of the project. Currently, the team is comparing the predictors it identified, with indicators Group B developed. The next steps for Group A include synthesizing and prioritizing the predictors, revising the white paper to reflect the narrative of the work to this point, and sharing the work with a focus group of district leaders at AGTF in March. The purpose of the sharing is to receive feedback from leaders in the field and to help determine the most useful format for this work (paper, website, etc.). Once we receive input from the field, we will develop/design the best communication tool(s) for this information.

Group B is responsible for developing the practices to monitor the predictors. It began transforming Group A’s predictors into indicators. For example, the group created the indicator “percentage of students achieving proficiency in mathematics at the time of entering 7th grade” from the predictor mathematics achievement. Currently, Group B has developed about 60 indicators. These indicators were introduced to the AGTF working group in February and their recommendations will be included in future work. The group also developed contacts with several districts to use these indicators in cooperation with the district’s subscription to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The NSC provides districts with information about post-secondary enrollment. Next year, Group B will examine the indicators in combination with other important post-secondary factors like college enrollment, persistence, and graduation. Finally, the group developed a senior exit survey that captures many of the “non-cognitive” factors (identified by Group A) like engagement and motivation. By the end of this school year, Group B will distribute this survey to seniors in the selected districts (noted above) to capture data on these non-academic predictors and combine that information with the data from the indicators and the NSC. Group C is responsible for the best practices related to the predictors. This group gathered and researched various methods for communicating the predictors/indicators to San Diego County school districts. Based on its research, the group designed a survey for the purpose of creating awareness in local school districts regarding the academic and social indicators identified by Group A and B. By engaging in the survey, districts have the opportunity to:

1) Examine each predictors and indicator 2) Respond about whether they are addressing and measuring the indicator 3) Respond about how they are measuring their progress in meeting targets they have

established for that indicator

The survey is scheduled for administration to districts in May. In addition to gaining a better awareness of the predictors and indicators, the survey provides our districts the opportunity to self-reflect regarding how their system is equipped to monitor these predictors/indicators. The survey includes open-ended opportunities to allow districts to expound on their self-selected areas of success they are experiencing based on their data. This self-selection process provides SDCOE the opportunity to identify districts as early innovators (who are addressing particular indicators) and allows Group C to apply this information to its work next year as it is able to spotlight best practices employed by particular districts to the rest of San Diego County. In addition, the survey provides SDCOE the opportunity to align its professional learning experiences to address collective areas of challenge based on specific indicators.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: At the end of next year, it is the intention to operationalize the work.

The major work we need to carry out next year will be: (For Group A) develop/design a way to effectively communicate the predictors and indicators to our districts. To do this work, Group A will begin collaborating with Communications, ITS and Graphics to design the most effective tool(s) for communicating the work of the implementation team. (For Group B) create a process for organizing, analyzing, and reporting the relationships between the senior exit survey, dashboard of indicators, and National Student Clearinghouse data. To develop this process, Group B plans to organize an improvement network to include our districts, external support providers, and others who have a direct stake in achieving these indicators (For Group C) educate districts about the academic and social indicators, finding exemplars of progress/success, and developing tools/processes/structures to address areas of need. Group C plans to convene a districtwide summit where school districts share its best practices (Ed Camp fashion) in addressing critical academic and social indicators. Furthermore, the group plans to work as a “backbone” structure informing areas of SDCOE, including Learning and Leadership Services, Pupil Services, Early Education about potential needs/services districts require in order to address critical indicators.

As mentioned in Section 1, our identified indicators were introduced to the AGTF working group in February. Our team will continue to meet with districts in focus group settings in order to gather feedback about the identified indicators, as well as to gain input regarding structures of support SDCOE can provide regarding addressing them.


The impact has been entirely internal at this point. Basically, this team has allowed those of us in it to recognize how we could better organize the work we do around critical predictors and indicators of success versus things like math, science, accountability, etc. English is a broad area of study, but the percentage of students reading at a 3rd grade level is a very tangible, concrete problem our districts face. SDCOE, and its composite divisions, can organize more effectively around concrete problems and work cooperatively with districts and other stakeholders to address these problems. Moving forward, this team’s work has the potential to have a major impact on our relationships with districts, and its instructional practices, student achievement, and district systems of support. We have begun aligning the Specific Result 3.5 work with other work we do in LLS. As we continue to develop a greater understanding of what we are doing, we will also begin collecting evidence of the impact that understanding has on LLS/SDCOE internally as well as our districts, their students, and teachers.

Strategy 4

Global Workplace Readiness


Strategy 4: We will develop and implement means to ensure global workplace readiness for all students. Specific Result 4.1: Common services and actions from districts’ Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP) are identified and prioritized. Professional learning and technical assistance offerings are designed to address common services and actions in district LCAPs. 1. Major Accomplishments:

The SR 4.1 team continued to collaborate with Software Application Services to add/refine the LCAP Actions Portal functionality based on user feedback and expected needs. Currently the web application team is adding leveled log-in capabilities. Future updates will include changing the Excel export feature to capture more information.

All San Diego County district LCAPs actions/services were input into the LCAP Actions Portal. The portal was shared with at least four different groups within the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and feedback was gathered and prioritized.

Portal searches have been piloted and used successfully by several different departments. In addition to the anticipated functionality of identifying patterns, trends and challenges facing the San Diego County districts, additional uses were discovered that were not previously anticipated. One example was the use of the portal as a resource for SDCOE staff working to support districts in writing their WASC reports. A simple PowerPoint about using the portal was developed and shared with SR 4.1 team to take back to their units/departments to share. Members of the team will encourage others to use the portal and provide additional feedback.

Since the portal platform will be available to market to other county offices of education in March 2016, a user’s manual is being developed to share along with the PowerPoint as support for any new county offices.

2. Recommendations:

Operationalize: In terms of the having the LCAP Actions Portal developed and usable, we are on track to have the actions/services from the draft 2016-17 district LCAPs input by May/June to inform professional development offerings for the 2016-17 year. By March of 2016 there will be a portal administrator who can assign roles and update category lists. This person will be able to coordinate any additional changes that are needed to increase the functionality of the portal. The current SR 4.1 team should resolve some decisions about user levels this spring. In order to capture a broader cross-divisional perspective, the team believes there is value in having multi-disciplinary input into future decisions about the portal system.

Continued support will be needed from the software application services for further refinement and improvement of the portal’s capabilities. The system will also need to add features as additional uses of the portal are required. Possible future considerations include adding a connection to metrics and/or adding district demographics. A consideration for the ongoing use of the LCAP Actions Portal at SDCOE is the time involved in inputting district LCAP actions/services each year. This is a very time consuming operation, which will be occurring annually, within a short time frame in May/June. In order for the portal to be useful

in planning for the upcoming year, district draft LCAPs need to be entered into the system as soon as they are received. The Specific Result 4.1 team is concerned that this will be difficult to accomplish without additional help. The team will investigate the ability to import actions/services from the new California Department of Education e-template into the LCAP Actions Portal.

If SDCOE chooses to expand this portal platform to other county offices of education, there may be a need for marketing materials. Also the user manual will need to be updated and revised to incorporate the appropriate SDCOE branding.

3. Influence or Impact on Strategy:

All SDCOE divisions can use the LCAP Actions Portal to plan professional development opportunities for the coming year targeted to district needs and LCAP actions/services. This ability facilitates cross-departmental collaboration to provide coordinated support and resources. New trends may be identified as new actions appear in the LCAPs, allowing SDCOE to provide appropriate and timely support. An additional influence stems from the ability to identify and target equity/access strengths, along with areas for further development, in decreasing the disparities across student groups.

Specific Result 4.1 may allow SDCOE to see creative uses of funding sources, connections across funding, opportunities to take advantage of economies of scale, and connections of ESSA to Local Control Funding Formula. It can also provide a resource for SDCOE staff to use as a method for finding resources when districts request services.


Strategy 4: We will develop and implement means to ensure global workplace readiness for all students.

Specific Result 4.2: Create and implement an Information Technology (IT) Academy/Pathways program that provides career and technical training for students interested in IT.

1. Major Accomplishments:

Partnerships and collaborations established with San Diego community colleges in IT pathways/ partnerships to attend college courses as high school students. Through formalized and signed memorandums of understanding (MOU), local high school students (including Juvenile Court and Community Schools) are attending “Business Information Worker” (BIW) classes at San Diego City College. These courses are tuition-free for all students participating under the MOU and students are awarded dual credit (high school and college) upon successful completion of each course. This partnership is expanding to additional local high schools, including King Chavez and San Diego High School for spring and summer cohorts. Additionally, current discussions/planning is underway to expand the availability of the program to Cuyamaca Community College and reach out to area high school students, including those in JCCS. (Evidence includes signed MOUs, enrollments of more than 45 students in the BIW program and expansion to local high schools, such as King Chavez and San Diego High School and planned expansion at Cuyamaca Community College. Also, video testimonials document the value of the program from students and professors). Additional funding sources have emerged to support the program from JCCS to supply books and materials for those students participating in the program.

The value added to the intended audience in this specific result (SR) is in the coordinated and systematic plan that reaches high school eligible students to participate in completing college level courses in the BIW program that leads to certifications and job opportunities in a fast-track model. Students benefit from multiple perspectives as they gain dual credit and on-campus exposure to the college, including the college experience, coursework demands, and higher education pathways exposures/opportunities.

Students in the program are offered pathways for both transfer and career-oriented students. Certificates of Performance, Certificates of Achievement, and Associate of Science degrees are available to students interested in upgrading computer skills for college success and/or employment in business office environments.

Skill development outcomes include:

• Identify computer operating systems functions; define key features of different software applications; demonstrate how to use a Web browser; and conduct an Internet search.

• Create office documents utilizing the Microsoft Office Suite programs (i.e. Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Publisher).

• Analyze work environments, labor force, and organizational types and structures. • Employ critical thinking as a basis for continual learning and problem solving. • Demonstrate interpersonal skills (soft skills) such as leadership, delegation of authority,

accountability, consensus building, communication, conflict resolution, and teambuilding.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: The work of the current team will continue to reach out to districts and schools throughout San Diego County to expand the partnership and provide access and equitable resources to all eligible students. Recommendations for work to be done next year include data collection to determine completion percentages and disaggregation of data to evaluate ethnic/minority participation and success as well as gender course completion rates. Another measure will include expansion to other community colleges and to advertise and recruit new participants in the program. Recommend to collaborate with the 4.4 team for inclusion regarding eligible funding sources including the California Career Pathways Trust Grant program. Additionally, recommendations for work to be done next year include further collaboration with local community colleges (specifically Cuyamaca College) and to advertise and recruit new participants in the program.


The IT Academy Pathway/Partnership is directly aligned with the overall strategy of developing and implementing means to ensure global workplace readiness for all students, and is in alignment with SDCOE Board Goals including Board Goal 4: Increase family, business, and community participation in schools, and build public confidence and trust in education.

This SR is aligned with SR 4.4: Through the development of robust partnerships between K12, community colleges, and industry, and by adopting a common vision for career pathways, we will support San Diego students in attaining employment in high-skill, high-wage, high-demand industry sectors. It also works to provide equity and access to building skills and expertise for future careers.


Strategy 4: We will develop and implement means to ensure global workplace readiness for all students. Specific Result 4.3: Support districts in understanding and developing systems to monitor and evaluate whether students are college and career ready (CCR) with particular attention to the development of comprehensive and achievable metrics. 1. Major Accomplishments:

We engaged in research and inquiry around the topics of strategic planning, and systems for monitoring and improving student achievement. Specifically, the team focused on the connections between effective strategic planning, the development of a comprehensive Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), and the role and importance of metrics in plan development, monitoring, and continuous improvement. We reviewed district LCAPs from San Diego County and across the state, uncovering both gaps and misconceptions in district thinking around metrics and outcomes. Common gaps include:

○ Alignment of goals, outcomes, and actions/services ○ Measurable outcomes with targets that demonstrate growth, as well as make progress in

closing gaps in achievement ○ Over-reliance on state-established outcomes and metrics ○ Identification of meaningful, timely, actionable local metrics ○ Disaggregation of outcomes by student sub-groups to identify areas of need and

concern Further, we developed and piloted LCAP planning and coaching protocols and resources to utilize with district leaders in the development, refinement, and alignment of their district goals, outcomes, metrics, and actions/services. The tools and resources are in a continual state of revision as members of the team and broader LCAP review team consult with districts in the development of their 2016-17 LCAP. We designed a two-hour professional learning session focused on deepening participants’ understanding of the role and importance of metrics in their LCAP as part of a continuous improvement cycle, which included:

○ Hands-on activity to extend their thinking about metrics and how to establish local measures that allowed ongoing progress monitoring and improvements

○ Exemplars and models from LCAPs across the county and state ○ Exploration of the purpose for disaggregating data to uncover hidden gaps and areas for

improvement Workshop data was gathered from 32 participants attending from 13 districts and three charters. The analysis showed:

○ 100 percent of the participants rated the overall quality of the workshop as “very good” and reported that the content prepared them to address the needs of all students.

○ 100 percent of participants reported that they achieved the learning intentions which included understanding metrics, the importance of metrics to measure progress and to tell the district’s story, and how to use disaggregated data to establish targets.

○ 100 percent of the participants articulated concrete next steps based on their learning, such as: ■ Identify, refine, and/or develop comprehensive, meaningful, timely, and local metrics ■ Use those metrics to communicate their district’s progress and make improvements

to the system ■ Improve the quality of their district LCAP

The metric resources from this workshop were uploaded to the LCAP website (http://www.sdcoe.net/lls/Pages/lcap-pd.aspx) and disseminated to districts through the LCAP email blast.

http://www.sdcoe.net/lls/Pages/lcap-pd.aspx

The Program Evaluation Institute was successfully launched and completed for a cohort of nine small school district teams. This five-day professional learning experience spanned July through December and included approximately 40 hours of follow-up, on-site, customized coaching for each district team, which accomplished the following:

○ District teams deepened their understanding of the role of program evaluation for monitoring and improving the implementation and effectiveness of school programs and initiatives.

○ District teams self-selected a program, or a need, to investigate, engaged stakeholders, described the program through the development of a logic model, identified questions, developed an evaluation plan, collected and analyzed a variety of data, made decisions and took actions to improve the program, communicated the results of their evaluation, and created a story of their journey to share. Districts evaluated programs ranging in scope from attendance initiatives to intervention/enrichment programs to districtwide professional development to English learner programs.

○ Through this professional learning, district leaders built their capacity to engage in program evaluation and apply this new knowledge and skills to strengthen new and existing programs, develop more effective plans, and refine their systems for monitoring the effectiveness of different programs across their district.

A second Program Evaluation Institute looking specifically at English learner programs has been developed. The Assessment, Accountability, and Evaluation (AAE) unit will facilitate this professional development from March 2016 to March 2017, including six face-to-face sessions with 25 hours of coaching. Currently, 10 district teams have registered to attend.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: Next year, the ongoing collaboration will continue with the LCAP director and coordinator and the expansion of the program evaluation work. We will expand collaboration between the Specific Result 4.3 team and the Specific Result 3.5 team as they finalize their research around the critical academic and social indicators that are predictors for college and career readiness. These CCR indicators will represent many of the local metrics that districts should be monitoring and addressing in order to design and improve programs and coordinate efforts across the system to improve student achievement and ensure that all students are CCR. Once these critical indicators are established and shared, the work of both teams will shift toward helping districts effectively monitor these measures and design/implement changes to target these leading indicators.


We have built and strengthened stronger relationships with districts as a trusted partner as evidenced by their attendance at our events, positive evaluation feedback, and personal contacts throughout the year. Furthermore, we have built the capacity of several local educational agencys to define and measure the success of their various programs and services and make continuous improvements to their programs as they relate to college and career readiness. Future efforts will be aimed at ensuring that 100 percent of districts have:

● Developed the knowledge and capacity to establish outcomes and metrics that are appropriate, measurable, achievable, and aligned to goals and actions.

● Established appropriate required and local metrics for their programs and activities, and have developed and implemented robust and timely systems to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these various programs and make ongoing adjustments in order to ensure that all students are CCR.


Strategy 4: We will develop and implement means to ensure global workplace readiness for all students. Specific Result 4.4: Lead the development of a guiding document outlining San Diego County’s vision of high quality career pathways and work-based learning experiences, as well as develop partnerships and regional alignment. 1. Major Accomplishments:

• A pathways workgroup was formed as part of the California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT)

Grant program. The workgroup is led by Lynn McConville from Poway Unified and Greg Newhouse from Mira Mesa Community College and includes representatives from K-12 school districts, community colleges and industry.

• The workgroup met monthly to review research and literature related to career pathways and to begin drafting a document.

• The workgroup engaged in dialogue with experts in the field to create and revise the draft document.

• San Diego County Office of Education’s (SDCOE) Learning and Leadership Services division staff studied high-quality career pathways as part of its internal professional learning and has contributed to the content of the document.

• A specific results team at SDCOE supported the workgroup leads with planning and provided feedback.

• A conceptual draft of a document, which defines the elements and attributes of high-quality career pathways, has been created. The CCPT Steering Committee reviewed the draft’s format and content, and provided feedback on February 3.

• A complete iteration of the quality pathways document is expected by June 30. A completed product is on target for publication in September.

• Partnerships and alignment have grown significantly as a result of the CCPT work. In addition to partnerships between the sixteen K-12 districts and five community college districts, the CCPT has formalized partnerships and developed clear roles among non-profits (e.g. United Way, Workforce Partnership, San Diego Regional and East County Economic Development councils, and Junior Achievement), industry (e.g. Qualcomm, Cox Communications, San Diego Gas and Electric, and National Electrical Contractors’ Association) and supporting agencies (e.g. ConnectEd). Infrastructure and decision-making protocols have been established to support the continued growth and sustainability of these partnerships and to ensure a positive impact on career pathway programs and student outcomes.

2. Recommendations:

Continue:

• The pathways workgroup should develop and provide guidance regarding the effective use of

the career pathways document among partners. • The pathways workgroup should make the document available to K-12 districts, community

colleges, and industry. • The pathways workgroup should pilot the document with two to three school districts and

community college districts. In concert with the CCPT grant program’s evaluator, the workgroup should assess the degree to which the document achieves its intended purpose which was to make a positive impact on career pathway quality and guidance about the next steps a district might take to improve pathway quality).

• The pathways workgroup, the CCPT Steering Committee, and SDCOE staff should work collaboratively to identify and develop robust resources to assist districts to enhance the quality of career pathways.


• A common understanding of quality career pathways is being developed, which will enhance the

alignment of career pathways efforts among K-12 school districts, community college districts and industry. This alignment holds the promise of developing more coherent career pathway experiences for students and improving student outcomes.

• Changes in technology and the economy are resulting, and will continue to result, in changes in workforce needs. The quality career pathways document and the partnerships achieved through CCPT will support the continuous, nimble improvement of pathways to match the employment needs of our local industry, and will provide students with more high-skill, high-wage, and high- demand career options.

Strategy 5

Communication and Employee Engagement


Strategy 5: We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications and supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives. Specific Result 5.1: MITI will accomplish the deployment of the Oracle/PeopleSoft Financials in 19 local educational agencies (LEAs) and eight for Human Capital Management (HCM). In conjunction with the HCM and financials deployments, MITI will configure the Oracle/Hyperion Public Sector Planning and Budgeting solution at 10 LEAs. 1. Major Accomplishments:

The SDCOE Finance team completed the implementation of the PeopleSoft Finances for five LEAs and are configuring 15 others to go live in April 2016. The HCM team completed the implementation of the PeopleSoft HCM for seven districts, one district has been configured, but will not go live until July 2016. The team completed the configuration for the PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management budgeting module (Hyperion) for 10 districts. For the time period of July 1, 2015 to February 29 there have been 111,719 payroll warrants/remittances produced, topping out at 25,923 employees paid in February. There have been 44,393 commercial warrants processed totaling $430,396,134 since July 1, 2015. There have been 128 training courses completed with 1,863 total participants since July 1, 2015.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: The implementation efforts will continue toward the completion of the financial deployments of the final group of nine entities and of the 29 entities for the HCM solution. It also recommended that the team complete the implementation efforts for the Enterprise Performance Management budgeting module for 24 entities.

3. Influence or impact of strategy:

The implementation of the Oracle/PeopleSoft solution will enable districts to utilize a system that is fully integrated. The full integration will enable districts to reengineer their business practice to reduce duplications of effort across the organization. In the long run, districts will be able to allow the end user to directly input data into the system to once again reduce duplication of work effort resulting in further optimization of business practices.


Strategy 5: We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications, and supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives. Specific Result 5.1a: Create and implement a post-implementation team project plan for supporting deployed districts on Oracle/PeopleSoft Financials and Human Capital Management (HCM) to improve the PeopleSoft (PS) experience for client districts. 1. Major Accomplishments:

The Post-Implementation Team (PIT) and the Customer Resource Center has established several ways to reach out to districts that have gone live on PeopleSoft including site visits, outreach activities, and the creation user groups to encourage district sharing.

In the area of site visits and outreach activities the teams have:

• Responded to customer needs by providing special sessions. Examples:

o HCM End-to-End sessions for Group 3 HCM districts o Finance Engagement Session for Group 4 Finance districts o Paycheck Working Backwards session for Group 4 HCM districts

• Co-conducted webinars with PIT. Example: Effective Dates webinar. • Beginning with Group 4, now inviting districts and charter schools to provide feedback on

the training calendar before it is published • Asked user group to review the year end documentation and provide input. • Asked districts for feedback and topics for future Third Thursday demos. • Reached out to all 27 live districts offering post implementation support. Coordinated site

visits to 15 of the 27 live districts (56%). Multiple visits were coordinated for 10 of the 15 districts for both HCM and Finance. Site visit topics covered a wide range of areas such as process discussions, query analysis/development, best practice approaches, and question and answer sessions.

• Heat ticket support extended to all of the live districts with significant outreach activity required by many of the same sites that were visited plus six additional districts. The significant outreach activity was mainly driven by salary updates/retros, benefit open enrollments, and purchasing/inventory/receiving. This will bring the total outreach activity to 21 districts (78%).

Established the PeopleSoft User Group starting with a kickoff meeting attended by 115 users representing 21 districts. Based on feedback from this meeting, six smaller user groups were established: • Finance User Groups

o Purchasing and Accounts Payable o General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, and Budgets o Receiving, Assets and Inventory

• HCM User Groups o Benefits - webinar once a month o Human Resources o Payroll, Time and Labor, and Absence Management

User Group webinar meetings for the six different groups have been scheduled through the end of calendar year 2016 and are being facilitated by the Post-Implementation Team on an on-going basis. Also established in alignment with the six User Groups for users to interact with each other and sharing information: • ListServs for users to email and learn from each other • Website with best practice, FAQ, tips and tricks, common how to, favorite queries and

solution-sharing information

Participating in the monthly North County Purchasing PeopleSoft User Group meetings attended by 11 districts with plans to expand to include Group 4 and 5. Also attending various management meetings including small districts and SDCOE Financial Accounting Manager meetings. Requested to start attending the Finance Directors meeting. PeopleSoft questions/issues/solutions are discussed during these meetings and top priority needs identified that require a quick resolution turnaround. A baseline metric needs to be developed to measure the success of the outreach activities.

2. Recommendations:

Operationalize: The recommendation is to complete the baseline metric and to continue to provide outreach activities to the districts to ensure support for all implemented local educational agencies.


The outreach activities will enable local educational agencies to work together to share their ideas and solutions on how they have been successful in the roll-out and implementation with each entity.


Strategy 5: We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications and supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives. Specific Result 5.2a: Develop and implement strategies and methods to optimize SDCOE’s digital content/information management systems. 1. Major Accomplishments:

a. The team sent out a survey to employees who handle sensitive records with the support of

Assistant Superintendents. The survey helped identify what records exist and where they are being stored. In addition, we were able to gauge staff members’ familiarity with records retention laws laid out in Title 5. The results of this SurveyGizmo assessment have been saved.

b. The team has developed a training presentation for the purpose of enhancing the understanding of records retention and to develop practices that are consistent with the law.

c. The intent of these efforts is to adopt practices that are in compliance with the law and to improve efficiency by adopting record handling best practices.

d. The Commercial Warrants and Accounts Payable Manager is reviewing board policies and administrative regulations pertaining to records retention and will have her review completed by the end of March.

2. Recommendations:

Operationalize. To operationalize proper records retention policies SDCOE shall:

• Guidelines still need to be drafted to address concerns identified in the survey and to provide overall guidance on the safe handling of records.

• A webcast or other form of on-demand training still needs to be recorded. • Amend its board policies and administrative regulations to be in sync with the latest

California Association of School Business Officials Records Retention Manual which is still being drafted.

• Managers and custodians of records from each division will receive records retention training facilitated by the Employee, Development, Growth, and Enrichment program.

• A senior director or above from each division should be tasked with reviewing existing records retention practices to determine compliance with the amended board policies and administrative regulations. If current practices are not in compliance, they should formulate a plan to correct those practices.


This specific result has far reaching impact across the entire organization. Policies and procedures have to be developed to have compliant records retention practices. Some efficiencies can be achieved by adopting best practices. However, the overall aim is to ensure that SDCOE remains a world-class educational leader and trusted partner by maintaining compliance with the law. As SDCOE adopts these practices we can share our lessons learned with districts that may be facing the same records retention challenges.


Strategy 5: We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications and supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives. Specific Result 5.2b: Develop and implement strategies and methods to optimize Juvenile Court and Community Schools digital content/information management systems. 1. Major Accomplishments:

• The Graphics team has eliminated five total storage areas where the paper records were physically stored at the Metro Street warehouse.

• Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) paying $9,000 annually for storage of these records that have been stored for decades.

• The Graphics team has digitized over 1,665 total boxes of paper records which totals 2,800,000 individual paper records which have all be uploaded to (Docutrv) on our main SDCOE computer system.

• All student records can be located by authorized personnel by student name and date of birth.

• Total elimination of paper records going back as far as the 1940’s or earlier; these records where stored for over 75 years.

• After the five storage areas were cleared, the space was re-allocated to another paying program that needs the available space for their expanding program.

• Electronic storage and retention of student records guidelines were researched and written by JCCS for use by the Graphics team.

• Guidelines for ongoing handling of student records and electronic storage were included in the JCCS Staff Handbook.

2. Recommendations:

Operationalize. • Continue ongoing training of JCCS staff on proper procedures for records management. • JCCS student enrollment files are now electronically stored using JCCS’s Pupil Records

On-line Management System (PROMIS). • All official enrollment records are entered by student support specialists in PROMIS and

scanned.

3. Influence or impact on Strategy: • With use of technology, a much more efficient records management system is in place in

JCCS. • The Graphics team digitalizing of paper stored files may provide a useful service for

other departments that have large volumes of records. • The specific result could become part of a larger SDCOE records program in

coordination with Specific Result 5.2a and their findings.


Strategy 5: We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications and supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives. Specific Result 5.3a: Develop and implement innovative, high-quality employee development program that improves employee competency and capacity throughout the organization 1. Major Accomplishments:

There are two specific aspects of this specific result that culminates in an overall organizational culture shift. The first major accomplishment was to revitalize and synthesize the Employee Development, Growth, and Enrichment (EDGE) program into an organized and comprehensive three-strand catalog that serves the leadership, organizational effectiveness (OE), and professional skills of staff throughout the organization. To guide the efforts for this specific result, the following steps were taken: 1) a review of historical documents; 2) implementation of the existing three-strand framework developed by a previous specific result; 3) a communication strategy for employee input; and 4) input from the EDGE Advisory Team (representing a cross-section of the organization). The above steps provided context for prioritizing offerings and development of a course catalog. The Specific Result team in concert with the EDGE Advisory Team are offering two courses in the OE strand (courses in this strand are mandatory for all staff and include state-mandated trainings). There is one course offered under the professional skills strand, and several courses, both mandatory and optional, under the Leadership Strand. All courses are tracked in a learning management system. An unplanned development in the OE strand was the exposure to Clifton StrengthsFinder. As a result of the investment in the strengths of staff and to ensure ongoing staff support, two SDCOE staff were trained and certified. The roll out is organic and is being met with overwhelming enthusiasm. To date 300 staff have participated in a variety of StrengthsFinder workshops including a basic course, administrative assistant course, and coaching for managers and teams. One-on-one strengths coaching is available and conducted by SDCOE certified strengths coaches. The second major accomplishment was to pilot, evaluate, and implement an onboarding program for new employees. The PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence) New Talent Orientation is a one-day onboarding program with a variety of informational components around the PRIDE theme. The pilot was held on January 22 with staff from Human Resources and Specific Result 5.3a Team in attendance. The group was comprised of new and seasoned staff, all of whom provided feedback towards refining the program before full implementation. Recognizing that elements of the New Talent Orientation would be beneficial to existing staff, the pilot group identified portions of information that will be shared throughout the organization through an in-boarding program. The method of delivery for existing staff will be at the division-or department-level staff meetings.

With regard to both programs noted above, what remains to be done is relegated to this organization’s commitment to continuous improvement of both programs. EDGE offerings will be developed based on the interests and needs of staff. Each course/program will be evaluated by participants for feedback to keep offerings relevant to staff, the organization, and to provide opportunities for refinement. Courses will be staggered across a two-year rotation period for the leadership and professional skills strands. However, if there is an immediate need, a course will be offered. Course offerings in the OE strand will be continuous throughout the year. The PRIDE New Talent Orientation pilot and recent research revealed the need for a shift in perspective from an orientation that is organization-centered to one that is employee-centered; this was unplanned. To make the shift, StrengthsFinder is the focus of the New Talent Orientation so that it is employee-focused to emphasize the value the organization places on them to personally be responsible for delivering excellence to students, the community, and each other.

2. Recommendations:

Operationalize.


The third aspect of this specific result was to “articulate the desired organizational culture, and behaviors that will help us know when it is being exhibited,” as stated in this specific result’s action plan. In the December 2015 issue of Staff Connections, senior management announced the vision for the San Diego County Office of Education as “Service and leadership that maximize the success of all students.” The vision is supported by Four Pillars of Excellence – People, Service, Operations and Innovation. The EDGE and New Talent Orientation programs exemplify both the vision and pillars as it relates to the desired organizational culture. Required OE courses celebrate the strengths of existing employees and new talent hired to the organization. The objective of the OE strand “addresses competencies focused on skills that contribute to the effectiveness of the organization and are of interest to employees at all levels.” This strand specifically optimizes organizational practices, multi-directional communications, and supports to employees. Specifically, the OE Strand is beneficial not only in the workplace, but empowers staff and impacts interactions in personal areas as well. With regard to EDGE offerings, an added impact is the incorporation of courses into the performance management system. At the onset of each year, managers and their staff will make use of the EDGE catalog offerings for that year and together determine courses in the leadership and professional strands that are of benefit to their staff. This is pivotal for career and personal development for all staff. It is anticipated that one to two courses will be identified on every performance management document. Placing staff at the center of our organization and providing the necessary training and tools is instrumental in attracting and retaining an energized and talented workforce. It is SDCOE’s goal to become the employer of choice in the county and the aforementioned programs positions the organization to realize its goal.

Specific Result Team Progress Report

Strategy 5: We will optimize organizational practices, multi-directional communications and supports to employees to attract and retain a workforce that is able to effectively achieve our mission and objectives. Specific Result 5.3b: Develop two‐way communication systems that ensure an engaged and informed workforce. 1. Major Accomplishments:

After extensive brainstorming and information gathering, the action team responsible for this specific result focused its attention on two projects for 2015-16. Based on our discussions and research, these were the two areas where the team thought it could facilitate the biggest and most immediate impact on two-way communication systems. The first was to redesign our intranet site, which is one of the primary ways most SDCOE employees access information and resources. The second was to create a toolkit to help managers directly engage and share information with the people on their teams.

The major accomplishment with the first project was that we successfully laid the groundwork for redesigning SDCOE’s intranet site by creating wireframe outlines. The SDCOE software application services team is now in the process of turning those outlines into functioning web pages and testing different tools to increase engagement and collaboration.

The work on our intranet site started with the team collecting information through mini focus groups and related surveys about how employees use the site, what they value most on it, and what functions they would like to see added. By installing analytics, we were also able to collect information about current trends and usage on the site. The team then researched and considered best practices and popular trends in intranet design and usage. That information was used to create the wireframe outlines that will shape the look and functionality of the new site, which will be more interactive and engaging than the current site.

The next step will be to build the pages, which is expected to take at least a year. While that is being done, there will also be work needed to build enthusiasm for the new site and to inform employees about it. The Communications unit has started that with an article about the work done so far in our monthly employee newsletter. The action team has also built plans to launch a naming contest for the intranet site to create buy-in and excitement.

The second project is a communications toolkit to help managers communicate with their teams. This project was created based on feedback and data; employees get much of their day-to-day information about SDCOE from their supervisors. In addition, employees shared that they valued that one-on-one interaction as informative and engaging. Members of the team have researched best practices internally of how managers and teams inspire and engage their teams. The completed toolkit is expected to be shared with managers soon.

2. Recommendations:

Continue: The team will be able to continue to provide oversight and feedback on the creation of the new intranet site as well as create new tools to ensure an informed and engaged workforce.

Through our discussions and research, it is clear that there will be more work needed to continue to improve SDCOE’s intranet site, even once the new design is launched. In addition, there is always more that can be done to develop and improve two-way communication systems and to engage employees in different ways.


The new intranet site will improve multi-directional communication across the organization, while the communications toolkit for managers will improve two-way communication within specific units and programs. Because of this, we expect to see a rise in satisfaction and engagement from employees as measured in internal communications and organizational excellence surveys.

The continual focus on SDCOE employees and their strengths, contributions, and connections through these systems as well as our employee newsletters and other vehicles helps to attract and retain an engaged workforce attuned to our vision, mission, and objectives. This will make SDCOE a better and more efficient place to work.

By supporting managers as they communicate with their teams, this work is another step toward optimizing organizational practices.

All of these efforts together will help to better equip SDCOE employees to achieve our vision and mission. If the action team continues next year and builds upon the work done this year, these impacts will grow.

Because having effective two-way communication systems is so important to everything that SDCOE does, the work of this action team is closely tied with work across the organization, especially employee engagement and development efforts, the SDCOME initiative, employee orientation programs, recognition events, and the overall organizational performance excellence initiative.

Documents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...2015-16 STRATEGIC PLANNING TEAM ANNUAL UPDATE May 2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND frames cha This year marks the eighth year of the San Diego County Office of