President’s Message: Dr. Susan Heredia
Reflecting on a challenging year, with resources to aid in moving forward
What a year it’s been. From the continuation of distance learning to expanded summer learning programs to once again welcoming students back to campuses after many had been closed for a year and a half, board members have focused on supporting the safety and learning recovery strategies that best aid students. And we’ve done it while managing tensions in an increasingly adversarial environment.

It was also a year where, in May, CSBA suffered the loss of a strong and empathetic leader in CSBA President Suzanne Kitchens. Suzanne was full of the curiosity, joy and passion we hope to nurture in all California students. She was calm, wise, patient and welcoming. And when it came to decisions that would affect the students in her district, she was a deep thinker who understood the importance of stakeholder input and reflecting on different viewpoints to come to a decision that was best for all students.

Though it was certainly a surprise for me to take on my presidential duties early, I embraced the challenge and was able to look to CSBA leadership and resources to ease the transition. I thought it would be a good idea to roundup some of those resources in this column, therein also creating a record of how the pandemic timeline has affected California schools.

Summer and expanded learning

An infusion of state and federal pandemic relief funds, along with a break in rampant COVID transmission, allowed many districts to provide expanded summer learning opportunities to a larger group of students than was previously possible. In April, CSBA hosted the webinar, “Schools in for summer: Strategies for successful summer programs and beyond,” which featured trustees and other education leaders discussing the strategies, investments and best practices that should guide schools as they prepare for summer school and for extended learning initiatives that will address the disruption of the pandemic on learning.

A companion webinar in early May, “Expanded learning: Governance for developing effective learning recovery plans,” featured a presentation from Policy Analysis for California Education Director Heather Hough on the importance of supporting the whole child and making a restorative start to the school year a priority. Detailed information about the different funding streams and deadlines, as well as strategies for their use, was presented by educational research organization WestEd. Finally, district board members and superintendents shared how they were currently targeting funds.

Susan Heredia headshot
“Trustees are not only navigating the challenges presented by reopening schools and addressing learning recovery, but are managing tensions at board meetings and beyond over issues like COVID-19 mitigation strategies.”
Dr. Susan Heredia, CSBA President
Learning recovery
The myriad effects of the pandemic and learning online exacerbated longstanding opportunity and achievement gaps experienced by low-income students, students of color, English learners and students with disabilities. A pair of CSBA research and policy briefs released in May aimed to help trustees understand the challenges students faced with distance learning and provide strategies for local educational agencies to support students, particularly the most vulnerable, through learning disruptions.

“Supporting California Students in a Time of Crisis: Barriers to Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Strategies to Address Them” provided information about the ways certain barriers have a disproportionate impact on some student groups, why this is an equity issue, emerging strategies to address these barriers, funding sources and resources for board members.

“Understanding and Addressing Disruptions to Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic” shared research on learning loss/summer slide and how it relates to COVID-19, strategies to support learning recovery, and other resources.

After breakout sessions at the May Delegate Assembly, a report and companion guide, “Delegate Assembly Resource Guide, Turning crisis into opportunity: Resources for board members planning for the 2021–22 year and beyond” were released to help address real-world, up-to-the-minute experiences of board members.

In addition, the summer issue of California Schools featured the article, “Learning isn’t lost: Evidence-based strategies for addressing educational disruptions,” which featured interviews with experts on learning recovery strategies and examples of districts implementing them.

Contentious board meetings

Trustees are also navigating challenges at board meetings and beyond over issues like COVID-19 mitigation strategies and topics such as ethnic studies and critical race theory. Emotions are running high and governance teams are bearing the brunt of it, particularly as we try to hold productive board meetings and set policy for these difficult times. In the webinar “Governing in a time of chaos: Board meetings in the age of COVID and CRT,” CSBA brought together a diverse group of trustees from around the state to share their experiences with experts that provided resources to help manage board meetings.

As we look to the calendar year ahead, we can use these resources to refine our governance practice and best support our students. And you can expect that CSBA will continue to provide tools to help governance teams. It’s important to remember that as overwhelming as the job of trustee can seem at times, we can always reorient ourselves by remembering the true reason we do this work — to provide a high-quality education for every public school student. Yes, the present is daunting for many reasons but we can’t allow ourselves to wallow in apprehension, fear or self-pity. Instead, we must focus on the fact that children need us more than ever and remain laser-focused on providing the policy environment, the resources and the support needed for student success.

CSBA resources
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