research spotlight
When CSBA created its stand-alone Research and Education Policy Development (REPD) Department, the team was organized around CSBA’s four policy pillars: Strengthen local governance, secure fair funding, improve conditions of children and ensure achievement for all. With CSBA’s Policy Platform serving as the foundation for the association’s work on behalf of California’s school board members, REPD strives to develop resources aligned with those principles, and staff assignments build on their expertise and connections to industry professionals in those four areas.
In recent months, the REPD has produced several new resources for governance team members. In the flurry of summer activities and launch of a new school year — to say nothing of the sheer volume of emails so prevalent in modern life — it is possible CSBA members missed some new releases. Below are several resources that REPD staff have produced since the summer magazine. Organized by pillar, these items offer a glimpse into the work the team does to provide content tailored to CSBA’s members. Central to each publication and webinar are three core questions:
- How does the topic intersect with the specific role of school board members?
- What are some key questions board members can ask to guide effective decision-making, and how can board members apply the content to their work?
- What additional resources on this topic are available to board members?
By addressing these questions, CSBA provides board members with content tailored to the unique role of trustee, an audience that is frequently overlooked in educational leadership resources.
County board members also now have access to a new resource designed specifically for their unique role. The CSBA County Governance Handbook debuted at the County Board Conference in September and provides county office of education trustees with a cohesive and practical overview of the work of California’s county boards of education. Using clear explanations, real-world context, guided questions and writing prompts, this new publication adds to CSBA’s resources available to members who serve on county boards of education. A free downloadable version is available at csba.pub/CountyGovHandbook.
To assist LEAs, REPD Principal Research Manager Jeremy Anderson collaborated with Legislative Advocate Dan Merwin to publish a customizable slide deck that LEAs can use to communicate the local fiscal context to their communities. The deck, which allows LEA leaders to insert local data into the slides, can be accessed at csba.pub/BudgetTemplate.
Additionally, REPD Senior Director Mary Gardner Briggs moderated a webinar with researchers from WestEd and Fresno Unified’s Board President Valerie Davis. The panel provided data about California’s fiscal climate for TK-12 education budgets and guidance on how board members can approach the budgeting process with an eye for maximum impact on student outcomes. The webinar recording is available at csba.pub/MaximizingImpact.
School safety remains a concern for many school communities. REPD recently collaborated with researchers from UCLA and UC Berkeley’s Race, Education, and Community Healing (REACH) Network on an executive summary of a study of 10 California schools working to address discipline disparities. The executive summary outlines five key considerations for governance teams evaluating their local discipline practices: establishing restorative discipline policies, securing funding for professional development, tracking and disaggregating discipline data, engaging families and community organizations, and prioritizing equity in decision-making. Find the summary at csba.pub/REACH.
Anderson also recently updated CSBA’s brief on chronic absenteeism to include the state’s most recent data. “Seize the Data: Using Chronic Absence to Drive Student Engagement” is a joint publication of CSBA and Attendance Works. The updated brief can be found at csba.pub/SeizeTheData.