The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) board convened Feb. 26 for its first meeting of 2026 to discuss challenges and successes in providing direct technical assistance (DTA) and ongoing projects.

Staff presented on challenges related to providing DTA, such as having multiple partners and pathways to support districts.

“Within a system of isolation of technical assistance, siloing of support, incongruent timelines and layers of support not always aligned or targeted, we have a responsibility to improve student experiences and outcomes,” said Deputy Executive Director Stephanie Gregson.

In some cases, a combination of officials from county offices of education (COEs), the California Department of Education, Department of Justice, Geographic Leads, independent monitors and outside partners are all working with a district. Collaboration and streamlined communication between the parties involved in providing DTA to a district can be beneficial and provide a coordinated, sustained system of support aligned to local needs, according to one example presented on braiding COE and CCEE supports.

Opportunities for integration, such as between DTA and the Community Engagement Initiative, were explored and encouraged by board members.

Some other challenges included districts losing DTA eligibility but still being in distress or at a moderate level of academic achievement, the varying quality of differentiated assistance across the state and more.

Among its successes, CCEE staff noted how the agency is providing coordination with support providers for more coherent assistance and sustained outcomes related to the Intensive Assistance Model, as well as DTA solely focusing on improvement in academics.

An outpouring of interest in the CCEE’s Data Academy by COEs was another topic of conversation and board members voiced interest in proposals to provide them support, including facilitating two sections of the Data Leadership course, with one designed specifically for COE teams, and co-developing a COE-specific course with county office and state partners to build data leadership capacities for COE teams.

Board members also received updates on the development of the State Board of Education’s (SBE) Portrait of a Graduate/Learner. CCEE staff have been involved in collecting community input on the top competencies and skills that the portrait should incorporate to set students up for success in adulthood. A report on those findings is being completed and was submitted to the SBE for a study session in March with a tentative final approval date in May.

Additionally, the CCEE board heard about the California Secondary School Redesign Pilot, which recognizes a need to “transform schools from the standardized, one-size-fits-all systems into places where every student can learn and thrive,” according to a staff presentation. The CCEE is the pilot’s lead agency.

“This pilot program will accelerate the redesign of California’s middle and high schools by investing directly in established networks of schools already engaged in this work,” according to the CCEE’s website. Their approaches to improving outcomes will be used to form an idea of what’s working and inform the field.

Fourteen networks will be studied, including those in the San Diego and Yolo COEs and Los Angeles and San Marcos unified school districts.

The five areas for redesign that are of focus include ensuring every student is known and supported; redesigning learning for deeper knowledge and skills; advancing pupil success and equitable outcomes through student-centered learning and personalized supports; promoting measurable growth in student engagement and learning; and designing sustainable structures to maintain impact over time.