Council of Chief State School Officers, Inc.
Project Title
As a final grant for the Coherence Lab
Date
Dec. 14, 2023
Duration
24 months
Description
Disconnected and sometimes dueling education reform initiatives cause inefficiency, confusion, alienation and lackluster results. This lack of integration occurs at the federal, state, district, and school levels due in part to lacking organizational capabilities, structures, and incentives for effective cross-agency integration and collaboration. With support from the Corporation, the Coherence Lab Fellowship was launched in 2017 as a practical solution to addressing these challenges. Based on the success of the Fellowship, in 2022, CCSSO stood up the Coherence Lab, which offers multiple supports for education leaders who intentionally and strategically build coherence in their own agencies. With continued support from the Corporation, CCSSO will apply the coherence framework to the thirteen states that are members of the High-Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network CCSSO. CCSSO will also expand access to professional learning on coherence by developing new learning modules that can be used with existing CCSSO networks.
Website
Project Title
For a project to support K-12 science education in the Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network
Date
Sep. 14, 2023
Duration
15 months
Description
While district and school systems are charged with the selection, adoption, and implementation of instructional materials, states can still have an influence on these processes through policies and guidance. This work is further along in English language arts and math curricula, but support is still needed for science. The Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network at the Council of Chief State School Officers supports thirteen states in developing these policies that support districts to equip teachers with high-quality instructional materials and aligned professional learning. Through this renewal grant, the Network will continue to support their participating states in developing a statewide vision for strong science instruction, demand for high-quality science instructional materials, and incentivize districts in adoption efforts.
Website
Project Title
For continued work on the Coherence Lab Fellowship
Date
Mar. 10, 2022
Duration
18 months
Description
Disconnected and sometimes dueling education reform initiatives cause inefficiency, confusion, alienation and lackluster results. This lack of integration occurs at the federal, state, district and school levels due in part to lacking organizational capabilities, structures, and incentives for effective cross-agency integration and collaboration. With support from the Corporation, the Coherence Lab Fellowship was launched in 2017 as a practical solution to addressing these challenges. To date, the Fellowship has worked with five state education agencies to build the mindsets, skills, tools, and processes to address systemic barriers to coherence. This grant will allow the development and testing of a scaling strategy that (a) includes improvements to the model to capitalize on learnings, (b) increases the number of individuals who engage with the coherence challenge, and (c) deepens and sustains the organizational impact for participants.
Website
Project Title
For a project to build capacity in the Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network of states focusing on improving science education
Date
Sep. 15, 2022
Duration
12 months
Description
To date, the primary focus in states has been on the adoption and implementation of high-quality instructional materials and aligned professional learning in English Language Arts and math. States are committed to building on the progress in these content areas and are interested in taking deliberate steps to expand this important work to include science. Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has led the Instructional Materials and Professional Development (IMPD) Network for the last five years, dedicated to ensuring that every student, every day, is engaged in meaningful, affirming, grade-level instruction. CCSSO’s IMPD Network supports twelve states as they work with their districts to adopt high-quality instructional materials and provide professional development opportunities aligned to those materials. Through this grant, CCSSO will support states to take deliberate steps to integrate science into their broader strategies. This project will allow CCSSO to: a) add a science expert to their IMPD experts to continue building capacity for the internal team and coaches, as well as provide strategic support to Network states, b) onboard science leads from each state into the Network, and c) support states in planning for the collection and reporting of data on science adoptions and use.
Website
Project Title
For a project to build capacity in the Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network on state adoptions of high-quality, standards-aligned science curricula
Date
Sep. 02, 2021
Duration
8 months
Description
The use of high-quality instructional materials and curriculum-based professional learning are important components to accelerate learning in classrooms. The Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network at the Council of Chief State School Officers advocates for the adoption of high-quality math and English language arts curricula in thirteen states around the country. The network, made up of Chief Academic Officers and state teams, are now interested in expanding access to and the adoption of high-quality science curricula. Through this small grant, coaches for each state team in the network will develop greater knowledge of the Framework for K-12 Science Education, the Next Generation Science Standards, and instructional materials designed for the standards in order to build capacity and facilitate work related to science curriculum adoptions in states.
Website
Project Title
For bringing state education leaders together
Date
Mar. 07, 2019
Duration
15 months
Description
The 2018 midterm elections resulted in a slate of changes to state education leadership, including as many as eight to ten chiefs, twenty governors, twenty-one state board of educations and many new state legislators. With so many new policymakers assuming office in 2019, convening them in the early days of their tenure and providing them with the necessary tools and support to work together to drive system coherence in their states is timely and crucial. This will help to buffer the norm on the ground in states, where the “crisis of the day” often consumes time and attention and where partisanship and political rancor can create barriers to collaboration, developing a shared vision for student outcomes and a common understanding of how state policy, when properly implemented, removes those barriers. Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) proposes engaging with other national organizations to develop a set of supports for targeted state policymakers expected to transition into office in early 2019, and to convene a cohort of new state teams to facilitate them in the co-creation of a vision and education policy agenda for their states.
Website
Project Title
For the Coherence Lab Fellowship: Cohort II
Date
Jun. 13, 2019
Duration
27 months
Description
Disconnected and sometimes dueling education reforms cause inefficiency, confusion, alienation and lackluster results for schools and students. This results from a lack of coherence in state (SEA) and local (LEA) education agencies. In 2017, as part of the Corporation’s Integration Design Consortium, Education First and Aspen Education developed the Coherence Lab Fellowship (CLF), focused on building capacity among SEA and LEA participants in three areas: building focus and coordination; executing with attention to equity; and authentic and early engagement of stakeholders in order to make sustainable progress at scale. The first cohort of forty-eight Fellows from Nevada, Ohio, and Wisconsin provided early evidence that suggests that the CLF experience is transformative, both for Fellows and their agencies. This grant is for Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to run a second cohort with four states, working with Aspen Education and Education First.
Website
Project Title
For general support.
Date
Sep. 07, 2017
Duration
15 months
Description
The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act presents a new opportunity for states to rethink how state education agencies will meet the needs of all students with fewer constraints and greater opportunities to align initiatives to their state vision. This will require that chiefs and their agencies take on new roles or roles that agencies have struggled to take on in the past, and shift from a compliance orientation to one focused on fostering equity, accountability, innovation, data-driven decision-making and a service mindset. The demands on chiefs are great, and in many cases, states do not provide them with the time or resources to seek professional development opportunities, guidance and access to mentors. Chiefs need additional support to develop leadership skills. The Council on Chief State School Officers, the only membership organization responsible for supporting public officials who oversee K-12 public education, is uniquely positioned to provide counsel and resources to these leaders, and launched a Leadership Academy in 2014 as one of their strategies for doing so. This grant is for general support.
Website
Project Title
For Every Student Succeeds Act implementation to support states on teacher and leader effectiveness.
Date
Sep. 08, 2016
Duration
8 months
Description
The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) presents a new opportunity for states to rethink how state and local education agencies design systems, tactics and strategies to attract, prepare, develop and retain effective educators in schools where the most vulnerable and complex learners come to learn. This increased flexibility also presents a risk that states may ‘backslide’ on recent advances in teacher support and evaluation systems. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) undertakes projects to help state education agencies (SEAs) understand, devise, and execute policy; adopt initiatives to promote educational reform efforts; and engage in collaborative exchanges. This grant supports CCSSO’s efforts to support state ESSA planning related to teacher and leader quality, with an additional focus on breaking down silos within SEAs. CCSSO support to states will include the development of a toolkit, case studies and policy briefs; the inclusion of state talent officers in plan review workshops, and the sharing of lessons from existing networks of state teams.
Website
Project Title
For developing a common definition of English Language Learners
Date
Mar. 06, 2014
Duration
29 months
Website
Project Title
For the U.S.-China Policy Leaders meeting on quality and equity for all
Date
Jun. 06, 2013
Duration
3 months
Website
Project Title
For the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium's (SBAC's) English-language Learner Advisory Committee
Date
Sep. 22, 2011
Duration
22 months
Website
Project Title
For implementation of the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessment systems
Date
Dec. 15, 2011
Duration
24 months
Website
Project Title
For research and technical assistance to states in the adoption and implementation of clearer, higher standards in English-language arts and mathematics
Date
Sep. 10, 2009
Duration
24 months