"We Shake Hands at the Door": How a Focus on Relations Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

“We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

Continuous Improvement Models San Diego’s Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) is less than seven miles from the Mexico border. WestEd, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the California The largest K6 district in California, it serves approximately Department of Education are partnering 30,000 students across 46 schools.1 More than two thirds of in an effort to identify exemplary districts across California that can serve as models for its students are Latino/Latina, 87 percent are nonwhite, over other California school districts. The purpose half come from low-income families, and more than a third is to learn from what the partnership refers to as Continuous Improvement Models and are English learner (EL) students. Yet district performance to consider ways to spread and scale their ranks among the highest in the county, similar to districts effective strategies to other school districts. For the initial phase of this descriptive study, with more affluent student populations. quantitative methods were used to identify districts that are serving a high proportion of students of color and low-income students Consistently strong student perfor- about just how the district has and that, in particular, have demonstrated mance, ongoing improvement, and achieved such laudable results. consistent improvement in suspension rates innovative practices have earned This paper describes some of for students with disabilities. the district recognition from the the ways in which the district has During the period of this study phase, from California Department of Education been so successful in improving 2014 to 2018, CVESD consistently demon- and from a range of policy and outcomes for students when so strated notable results in each analysis of data — both in its low suspension rates for research organizations. It has been many other school districts — students with disabilities and in its overall identified as a California Exemplary despite the best of intentions — performance. As the research team con- District,2 a positive outlier,3 and a struggle to move the needle on ducted site visits and interviews with district bright spot.4 student performance. leaders, principals, and teachers in CVESD, it became clear that much of the work the district was doing for all students — espe- CVESD’s widespread accolades The research team for the cially its focus on social–emotional learning notwithstanding, less is known descriptive study underlying this and, particularly, relationship building — was a major contributor to reducing suspension rates for students with disabilities. 1 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

profile identified a number of strate- superintendent to each school and Chula Vista’s gies that appear to have contributed each classroom and that, as a com- Strategies to CVESD’s success**: plement to regular data reviews, incorporates use of a data protocol Chula Vista’s strategies align »» Taking a collaborative approach to for regular classroom observations with the key principles of improvement, with educators and by the superintendent and others. community stakeholders included continuous improvement: in and helping to guide the contin- Yet, important as each of these »» Being about systems; uous improvement process; strategies may be, what stands out most about CVESD’s improvement »» Focusing on the processes »» Adopting a “loose-tight” leadership efforts is its intentional, deep, and to improve outcomes; approach that mixes district-driv- sustained commitment to building en standardized approaches with positive relationships across the »» Encouraging learning school-level flexibility in designing district: teacher to student, student through a disciplined and implementing practices appro- to student, teacher to teacher, and methodology; and priate to local context; administrator to teacher. »» Valuing those on the »» Using student outcome data to The research team originally iden- “front line.” identify language development tified CVESD as a Continuous as a specific instructional focus Improvement Model based on the for the district and sustaining that district’s work to reduce suspen- focus over the course of the last sions for students with disabilities. two years to give new practices However, subsequent interviews time to take root; with CVESD administrators, as well as classroom visits, revealed »» Creating specific processes and structures intended to engender the district’s emphasis on building districtwide coherence, including relationships as a throughline for its having a number of its cabinet improvement work across indica- members each provide support tors and across student groups. This to a cohort of up to six schools, profile of the district’s improvement engaging principal leads to active- approach describes how CVESD’s ly support improvement efforts, commitment to relationship building and tying professional learning was foundational to the success of (PL) to district priorities and con- all its other improvement strategies. text-specific needs; and

»» Developing a system to monitor Relationships at the Heart progress toward district goals of Improvement Efforts for student performance and The difference that strong teacher– well-being, as well as a system that student relationships make in CVESD includes twice-a-year visits by the is readily apparent to anyone who has spent much time in schools, whether in California or anywhere else. CVESD * These strategies are aligned with the key principles of continuous improve- classrooms and hallways look and ment described in Enacting Continuous feel distinctly different from those in Improvement: Overview of Key Concepts, many other districts. For one thing, in available at https://edpolicyinca.org/sites/ many classrooms across the district, default/files/Continuous_Improvement_ infographic.pdf. teachers shake hands with each

2 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

student as they enter the classroom at the start of each day. According to Jennifer Matlock, a grade 2 teacher at Otay Elementary School, “When my kids come to the door, we do handshakes and greetings . . . that’s an expectation for everybody.”

The commitment to relationship building is part of a broader effort to support social–emotional learning (SEL) across district schools. That effort is reflected in the physical environment of every classroom, where a visitor might find diagrams of the human brain and how it controls emotion, displays of a fixed versus growth mindset, and a posted list of the norms for conflict resolution. To support students in regulating their emotions, Classrooms throughout the district offer a “calm down many classrooms include a “calm down corner” or corner” with resources to help students regulate their emotions. Source: Otay Elementary School “peace center,” a quiet space with pillows, posted tips for emotional regulation, and other resources for stress relief. When students notice themselves becoming upset or scared, they can retreat to this Collaboration for Setting Direction and space to reflect and re-center themselves. CVESD Generating Buy-in Superintendent Francisco Escobedo remarked that Broad-based collaboration was considered a start- these classroom spaces, coupled with teachers and ing point for the district’s improvement efforts. other adults attending to students’ social–emo- CVESD leaders believed that to develop ambitious tional needs, can reduce students’ “fight or flight improvement goals and to identify and carry out response” in difficult situations. Escobedo noted the actions necessary to achieve those goals, they that it is critical for students to be “able to express would need input and buy-in from district educa- their feelings or emotions.” tors at all levels, as well as from other stakeholders. Informed by child development research, the With that in mind, they convened a design team that district recognizes that positive teacher–student included teachers, principals, district leaders, union relationships help shape students’ experiences in representatives, university professors, researchers, school and can have a lasting impact on students’ and business leaders. The team’s role was to exam- emotional well-being and academic success. In ine data, identify root causes of any problems the fact, research reveals that strong teacher–student data revealed, brainstorm solutions, and set a clear relationships are associated with both short- and direction for the PL needed to ensure successful long-term improvements in students’ academ- implementation of instructional strategies. ic engagement, attendance, and grades, and in schools’ suspension and dropout rates, even after controlling for student, family, and school demo- Leadership That Establishes graphic characteristics.5 As one CVESD site leader Expectations and Engages Sites noted, “You can’t educate their minds until you’ve Through Context-Specific Innovation reached their hearts.” Complementing the district’s collaborative approach to improvement is its loose-tight leadership structure. This approach includes being “tight,” or more directive, in regard to certain key aspects of the district’s improvement efforts (e.g., the districtwide instructional focus), but being “loose” by

3 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

allowing more flexibility around what Improvement Efforts Guided A Clear Instructional specific practices schools implement by Data on Student Needs Focus: Language to support improvement. As part of this approach, each school develops Another key strategy in CVESD has Development for its own site-specific instructional been using data to identify student All Students focus that aligns with the district’s needs and inform development of Once district and site lead- instructional focus but is custom- specific improvement foci. Although ers, and a broad range of ized based on the needs of its stu- the seeds of improvement were plant- stakeholders, agreed on dents and the priorities of its school ed and nurtured over many years, the CVESD’s new instructional community. district’s current improvement efforts really began to take root in 2015/16. focus, the district launched This leadership approach is part When examining student perfor- its new Instructional Focus of what the district refers to as mance data that year, district leaders Statement: interdependence , a term it uses noticed striking achievement gaps, to describe the decision-making “The CVESD community particularly in comparing the perfor- will work collaboratively relationship between the district mance of their students with dis- to ensure that ALL stu- office and school sites. While many abilities to the performance of other decisions are made collectively (i.e., dents, including English student groups. The gaps revealed in by the district with input from site learners, students with the data sparked a sense of urgency, leaders and teachers), some are disabilities, and designat- prompting a districtwide conversation made primarily at the district level ed target groups, show about how to improve outcomes for and others are made by site leaders. measurable growth, students with disabilities, as well as In this sense, the district and schools which will lead to reduc- for all 30,000 students in the district. rely or are dependent on each other ing the achievement gap for ensuring alignment between Not limiting their examination to in literacy and mathe- district goals and school site prac- student performance data, district matics. This will occur tices. According to district leaders, leaders and stakeholders also looked through implementation this interdependence enhances at results from student surveys, such of high-impact language districtwide consistency and coher- as a survey for students in grades development strategies ence around goals and improve- 4–6 that is intended to measure aligned to the California ment approaches while allowing each student’s social–emotional State Standards, and for context-driven innovation at the skills and well-being. Superintendent driven by the District’s school and classroom level. Ernesto Escobedo recalls that “when we LCAP goals.” Villanueva, Executive Director of reviewed the [survey] data, the area In practice, the district Technology and Instruction, noted of highest need was that students focused both on teach- the impact this loose-tight approach felt they were unable to express their ing collaborative conver- has had on creating a shared vision feelings or emotions.” The district sations and on building at the district and site level, from concluded that students needed trusting teacher–student district leaders to classroom teach- greater support from teachers and relationships. ers: “The people closest to the work other staff to effectively and produc- are able to articulate the vision. This tively express their emotions. is my fourth district, and that’s not always the case.” Having identified key performance gaps and a key student need in the social–emotional realm, the next step for district leaders was to consider how best to address these challenges.

4 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

Identifying and Sustaining a Specific level of engagement in . . . conversation that really Instructional Focus lifts up all students.” Now, educators districtwide use collaborative conversations as an instruc- In its analysis of district data, district leaders iden- tional strategy for giving students greater access tified speech- and language-related disabilities as to, and helping them engage with, rigorous aca- the most common disability type among CVESD’s demic content, as well as for giving students the students. The team knew that high-impact lan- tools to better express themselves socially and guage development strategies could serve as a emotionally. powerful support for students with disabilities as well as for the district’s large number of EL stu- Adopting a Parallel Focus on Students’ dents.6 But by focusing on language development Social‑Emotional Development strategies, the district sought to strengthen the language ability of all students — including but not District leaders recognized that engaging, inter- limited to those with disabilities or those identi- active instruction and strong, supportive teach- fied as ELs — to process and analyze information, er–student relationships are both key to keeping collaborate with peers, and improve performance students focused, motivated, and ready to learn. across subject areas. Therefore, the district complements its instructional focus with a heavy emphasis on SEL.

In some schools within CVESD, such as Otay Elementary School, educators make sure that students — and others in the community — understand that SEL is grounded in neurosci- ence. Classrooms display a diagram of the brain, with labels explaining which brain segments are responsible for controlling which emotions. Starting in kindergarten, students learn to articulate the connection between parts of the brain and their own feelings and behaviors. In the hallway, colorful posters, some designed by students, explain how the prefrontal cortex, cerebrum, amygdala, and hippocampus play a role in stu-

Starting in kindergarten, students learn about parts dents’ daily lives. These widespread and ongoing of the brain and the role of those parts in controlling references to the underlying science help students, emotions and behavior. Source: Otay Elementary School parents, the community, and other stakeholders understand the power of SEL in transforming student performance and well-being. Having chosen the core instructional focus of language development, the District Professional With the district’s loose-tight leadership approach, Learning Content Team then began to discuss some aspects of CVESD’s SEL focus are considered high-impact strategies for developing these skills. non-negotiable: Every classroom in the district is Teaching collaborative conversations — that is, the expected to implement them, but school site staff are speaking and listening skills that enable students given some autonomy in how they do so. For exam- to participate in purposeful, academic discourse7 ple, the district requires that schools have an SEL — is one such strategy the design team recom- curriculum, but each school can choose which curric- mended for adoption districtwide. As noted by ulum and frameworks to adopt. Similarly, the district Gloria Ciriza, Executive Director of Curriculum requires that all classes designate 15 minutes daily for and Instruction, “It really has been about how we SEL-specific instruction — in addition to integrating make sure that, in the classroom, there is a deep SEL into the academic curriculum — but schools or

5 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

obvious appeal of this alternative approach: “We all know students are not going to achieve if they’re suspended or they’re not at school.”

Asked what this attention to SEL and restorative practices has meant for them, CVESD teachers point to numerous examples of how it challenged them to change their ways of thinking, their relationships with other staff and students, and their instructional practices. Teachers and site leaders described improved instructional practices and a culture of trust, reflection, and personal growth that developed from the districtwide focus on SEL. Hallway displays at a CVESD elementary school reaffirm students’ emotions and offer tips for Importantly, CVESD has sustained its commit- self‑regulation. Source: Otay Elementary School ment to collaborative conversations and to relationship building over the last two years, giving teachers can decide when and how to best spend new practices time to take hold and flourish in that quarter hour. classrooms districtwide.

The focus on SEL has also led the district to take a different approach to student discipline. Rather Specific Efforts to Engender than relying primarily on traditional methods such Districtwide Coherence as suspensions, educators now also use an alternative, and research-based, form of student discipline Recognizing the importance of coherence across the district, CVESD has developed several spe- known as restorative practices.8 Restorative practices cific structures and processes to help ensure that aim to turn conflict into teachable moments that can improvement efforts between the district and its be used to improve a student’s behavior instead of schools are aligned and that implementation and simply removing a student from the classroom envi- quality among the schools themselves are consis- ronment.9 Matthew Tessier, Assistant Superintendent tent. For starters, based on their respective loca- of Innovation and Instruction Services, noted the tions, district schools were grouped into one of seven cohorts (each with five or six schools). The cohorts serve as the structure for various ways of both aligning and supporting district and school improvement.

Engaging District-Level Cabinet Members to Support School Improvement Efforts The superintendent has a cabinet of nine district leaders, of which six are individually assigned to work with a cohort of schools and are responsible for overseeing and supporting the site administrators in their cohort. The structure is designed to help ensure that all school leaders understand Hallway displays on restorative practices encourage and implement the district’s goals and initiatives. students to reflect on behavior and repair Although cabinet members sometimes meet with relationships. Source: Otay Elementary School site leaders as a cohort, they also regularly meet

6 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

with individual school leaders at their school site about the teams, see the next section); (2) pro- to help ensure that each one receives the support vide instructional leadership by helping princi- needed to be effective. The structure also pro- pals implement and make connections between vides an opportunity for site leaders to discuss the district’s instructional focus, cohort training, and offer critical input on districtwide proposals and each site’s instructional focus; (3) provide and initiatives. cultural leadership by modeling and facilitating equity-driven leadership that is responsive to the In addition to providing information to schools needs of each school community; and (4) support and making sure site leaders are tuned into dis- principals with providing management and opera- trict goals and initiatives, the cabinet members tional leadership. coach and model high-quality instructional leadership. Cabinet members frequently visit the The principal lead brings the cohort’s principals schools in their cohort, meeting with the principal together once a month to share what they have to talk through instructional strategies and con- been learning in their efforts to improve student cerns that may be relevant schoolwide or just for outcomes and to hold each other accountable. individual students. Their coaching is built on a As part of their role, the principal leads intention- strong foundation of trust that has been intention- ally focus on building relationships among the ally developed as part of the districtwide focus principals. This structure and related processes on building relationships, not just teacher–student also help build reciprocal trust among the princi- but also among adults in the system. For example, pals in each cohort, enabling them to share data, the district’s loose-tight leadership approach has challenges, and insights in an open and mutually helped engender positive relationships between supportive manner. district- and site-level leaders because, by enabling principals and other site leaders to make Tying Professional Learning to District key decisions for their own school, the district has Priorities and Context-Specific Needs demonstrated that it recognizes and values the Each school has its own ILT consisting of the princi- expertise of these educators. pal, lead teachers for each grade level, the instruc- As they work with their cohort schools, cabinet tional resource teacher, and, in many cases, a special members apply some of the same SEL practic- education teacher. Each school’s ILT members are es that principals and teachers are expected responsible for attending four or five cohort-wide to use in their own work. For example, cohort PL sessions each year. These sessions, collabora- meetings include time for site leaders to check tively developed by a team of teachers and school in with each other about how they are doing. leaders from throughout their school’s cohort, are Cabinet members facilitate this check-in process designed to support the district’s instructional in recognition of the fact that, like students, site focus and annual learning goals. The sessions are leaders and teachers can be more successful if then co-facilitated by the cohort’s principal lead attention is paid to their well-being. and teachers and leaders within the cohort. This approach gives teachers multiple opportunities to Engaging Principal Leads to Support lead the learning from their perspective and expe- Improvement Efforts rience as practitioners who are closest to the work in classrooms. Each school’s ILT then creates a plan Complementing the support to schools provided for disseminating the trainings through its relevant by the district-level cabinet members is additional grade-level teams. assistance from principal leads who are selected to provide support and facilitation for meetings of Across the district, PL is structured into each cohort. Principal leads (1) convene and lead “PL cycles,” each lasting eight to nine weeks. meetings for the instructional leadership teams During each cycle, educators participate in a (ILTs) of all the schools in their cohort (for more series of ILT trainings that all have the same

7 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

specific focus, such as building student self-effi- cacy in reading or using success criteria to guide improvement efforts, and that are all related to “When you have that focus, and you the district’s overarching instructional focus for go through those learning cycles, and the given year (e.g., collaborative conversations). you have a clear understanding of the District leaders selected this PL structure based on research showing that PL is most effective purpose, and you begin to open up when it involves more than a single training.10 PL practice and take risks, and you really cycles help sustain the PL focus over time, which can be vulnerable — that’s when you affords teachers multiple opportunities to engage with the content and to take what they are learn- see that powerful change.” ing and begin implementing it in their classroom — Erin Mahoney

before moving on to a new PL topic. Principal of Clear View Elementary School

A System to Monitor classroom observations and ultimately to instruc- Improvement Efforts tional improvement because this trust allows educators to be vulnerable and self-reflective, and to CVESD’s improvement began with examining adjust their practice as needed. student data, and the continual collection and examination of data remain a central component of To provide the time for classroom observation CVESD’s continuous improvement process. and continued learning for teachers, every teacher has approximately 2.5 to 3 hours of dedicated Classroom Observations collaboration time every two weeks. School sites Using a Data Protocol provide the necessary time for classroom teachers to collaborate with each other by bringing in spe- Observation and feedback at every level of the cialty teachers to teach visual arts, music, drama, system — from district leader to principal, princi- dance, or other art enrichment courses during this pal to teacher, and teacher to fellow teacher — are period. CVESD teachers use their collaboration a critical part of CVESD culture and are pivotal to time for improvement-oriented activities such as effective implementation of the district’s improve- classroom observations, exchanging feedback ment strategies. Every four to five weeks, princi- with peers who have filmed samples of their own pals engage in analysis of student data and under- classroom instruction, and analyzing student data. take classroom observations so they can provide All of these activities require a high degree of specific, targeted feedback to teachers. District trust — as teachers open the doors to their class- leaders participate in a similar process for provid- rooms, as site leaders and teachers have honest ing targeted feedback to principals. For example, discussions about student performance data, and the superintendent visits each school and each as teachers embrace feedback on how they can classroom twice a year. improve their instruction. In their classroom observations, CVESD district and school staff use a protocol that focuses their Using Data to Monitor Improvement observation on success criteria in three key areas: Notably, the district does not closely follow a (1) the physical classroom environment, (2) teach- particular methodology for continuous improve- er engagement with the students, and (3) student ment (such as improvement science). However, engagement or behavior. Staff across all levels CVESD maximizes the effectiveness of its data described the value of these classroom observa- use by monitoring student data frequently so that tions. Staff told the research team that the culture of data are used to inform instruction on an ongo- trust in the district is critical to the success of these ing basis. Equally important, the analysis is not

8 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

conducting site walks and classroom observations, CVESD principals first examine the LCAP Matrix profiles for individual students, paying particular attention to students who are struggling either with academics or behavior, or sometimes both. Matthew Tessier noted that using the matrix in this way is similar to what happens when “you go into a doctor’s appointment and they pull out that proverbial chart” — it gives whoever is using it some context and background for what the examination or, in this case, the observation will show. In the classroom, the principal focuses on

Staff view the LCAP Matrix as a tool to convey the specific students, asking them questions about story of each child’s learning journey. Source: Chula Vista what they are learning and how they are learn- Elementary School District ing. According to Gloria Ciriza, principals will ask students to “tell me about what you are learning focused solely on classroom-level data but also on today.” Once the student responds, the principal data for each student so that instruction can be will then ask, “How will you know you have been adjusted to meet the needs of individual students. successful in learning that?” Says Ciriza, “If [students] aren’t sure how to respond or what to say, One critical data tool created by the district is they will often refer to the success criteria posted the online LCAP Matrix, a CVESD database with somewhere in the classroom and explain it. The a profile for each student, including students’ greatest thing about this is that kids are talking year-over-year data mapped against California about their learning. They are learning how to use accountability measures. For example, the profile their voices as a tool to articulate their thinking identifies any demographic group of which the and learning . . . building language!” student is a part (e.g., EL, youth in foster care, special education), as well as the student’s annu- Afterward, the principal provides teachers with al standardized test scores, total absences each targeted formative feedback, with special atten- year, and any disciplinary incidents. tion to the needs of the struggling students the In using the LCAP Matrix, district and school staff principal had been especially tuned in to. With this can look for student-level patterns and factors feedback, teachers and other education staff can that may be contributing to each student’s growth help ensure that each student receives the right or underperformance. With these data, staff supports at the right moment in time. Ciriza says benchmark student performance at the beginning this approach helps “ensure that no child ever sits of the year, then mark progress in the middle of in a classroom and is invisible to the teacher. We the year, and end of the year; they also collect for- study the profiles and then watch [the students] in mative feedback throughout the year. The regular the classroom, which, in essence, shines a bright review of data using the LCAP Matrix also serves light on them so we can see exactly what their as an early warning system so district and school learning experience in the classroom looks like.” site staff can intervene rapidly to support strug- Additionally, the district’s LCAP Matrix includes a gling students. district- and a school-level view that shows stu- Staff view the LCAP Matrix as a tool to convey the dent scores in the aggregate. This larger-scale story of each child’s learning journey. Through view assists district and school staff in identifying these data profiles, district and staff leaders can systemwide trends by California Dashboard indi- study each student’s educational history. When cator and by student group.

9 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

The Results: Transforming School and rationale for the various classroom rules. And when Classroom Environment, Instruction, a grade 1 student began to lose focus and become and Culture restless, the teacher calmed him by saying, “I know you’re excited. I’m excited too.” CVESD’s improvement efforts have created an environment in which staff and students Most strikingly of all, students’ own language and report feeling safe, emotionally connected, and behavior mirrored this focus on the use of sophis- engaged.** This combination has led to significant ticated academic language and on emotionally improvements in student behavior, with fewer attuned, empathetic connection. Grade 6 students referrals and fewer suspensions. described how “we can infer” various findings based on evidence in their texts. Noticing that a Evidence of CVESD’s success is visible in numerous classmate had not yet spoken, one grade 5 stu- other ways. When speaking with school and district dent gently prompted her by name, asking “What staff, it is clear that adults systemwide have expe- do you think?” During an activity in which grade 6 rienced a shift in mindset toward one of continual students shared the personal qualities they are growth and adoption of a “whole child” approach proud of and what they would like to improve that recognizes the value of supporting students’ upon, one student, apparently known as the “class social–emotional well-being. When observing clown,” demonstrated remarkable self-awareness classrooms, it is apparent that this shift in mindset as he reflected upon his jokester tendencies: “I’m has translated into concrete changes in instruction, proud of my sense of humor. I know it’s inappro- the classroom environment and culture, and adult- priate at times, but I make jokes because it makes to-student interactions. In turn, this shift in class- people laugh, and that makes me happy.” room practice has led to improvements in student well-being, behavior, and academic outcomes. Finally, classroom lesson plans demonstrated a thoughtful integration of SEL with academic Physically, classrooms abound with evidence of learning. In early grades, students were having teachers’ commitment to creating collaborative, group conversations, writing stories, and devel- student-centered learning environments with a oping creative projects focused on kindness focus on language development. The walls are and empathy. In a grade 3 classroom, the class covered with colorful displays with guidance connected a novel they have recently read to a on how to engage in collaborative conversa- writing exercise focused on learning from failure. tions: sample language frames for academic discourse, body language for active listening, But what has garnered the most attention for and charts with grade-appropriate guidance for CVESD are the outcomes for students on the deconstructing texts. California Dashboard indicators. CVESD has been consistently outperforming districts with similar Across classrooms and grade levels, research team demographics and continues to improve perfor- observations of teachers reveal a striking inten- mance for some of the state’s most vulnerable tionality in their use of language. Teachers seam- student groups. The research team’s 2018 data lessly refer to the language development charts on analysis of the most recent year of available data the walls, weaving these language frames into the showed that, when compared to other school conversation and prompting students to use them. districts with similar demographics, CVESD was Empathy is also featured prominently in teachers’ one of only a handful of districts whose Dashboard language choices. For example, in one kindergar- color ratings were consistently green (the sec- ten class, the teacher explained to students the ond highest rating possible) or higher across all available indicators. CVESD also received a “low” rating (i.e., a positive rating) for overall suspension * Reports are based on interviews and panel discussions with teachers, site leaders, and district leaders.

10 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

rates** and ranked “high” for EL progress. Yet, this good news notwithstanding, as noted Furthermore, for mathematics achievement, the earlier, CVESD’s improved academic outcomes are district’s status was “medium” and improving, part of a larger story of success in a district where and for English language arts achievement, the teachers express increased satisfaction in their district’s status was ranked “high.” The research work, where a culture of trust and support flour- team also created predictive models that calcu- ishes among district staff and between staff and lated CVESD students’ expected performance students, and where students feel more connect- based on district and student characteristics. ed and supported at school. Based on these models, CVESD decreased its This improvement did not happen overnight; it took suspension rate over three times more than pre- years. And it took not only the care and intention of dicted (328 percent) when compared to similar district leaders but also the development of shared school districts. ownership across the system for improved outcomes for all students. CVESD truly is a model of improve-

* Note: A rating of “low” for suspension rates is a positive ment and a place from which educators, researchers, rating and is desired. and policymakers can continue to learn.

11 “We shake hands at the door” How a Focus on Relationships Is Driving Improvement in Chula Vista

Endnotes This report was authored by Kelsey Krausen, Ruthie Caparas, and Heather Mattson, with funding from 1 Chula Vista Elementary School District. 8 Augustine, C. H., Engberg, J., Grimm, the Stuart Foundation. 2018/19 Local Control Accountability Plan G. E., Lee, E., Wang, E. L., Christianson, K., & (LCAP) and Annual Update. Retrieved Joseph, A. A. (2018). “Restorative practices © 2019 WestEd. All rights reserved. from https://www.sdcoe.net/about-sdcoe/ help reduce student suspensions.” Santa Documents/district-LCAP/2017-20-Chula- Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved Suggested citation: Krausen, K., Vista.pdf from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_ Caparas, R., & Mattson, H. (2019) briefs/RB10051.html; Bonell, C., Allen, E., “We shake hands at the door”: 2 California Department of Education. Warren, E., McGowan, J., Bevilacqua, L., How a focus on relationships is (2018). California exemplary districts Jamal, F., Legood, R., Wiggins, M., drivi ng improvement in Chula Vista. awardees 2018. Retrieved from Opondo, C., Mathiot, A., Sturgess, J., San Francisco, CA: WestEd. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/ Fletcher, A., Sadique, Z., Elbourne, D., exemplarydist2018.asp Christie, D., Bond, L., Scott, S., & Viner, R. M. (2018). Effects of the Learning Together 3 Chula Vista Elementary School District. intervention on bullying and aggression in (2018, April 24). “CVESD named California English secondary schools (INCLUSIVE): Exemplary District.” Retrieved from A cluster randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 392(10163): 2452–2464. Retrieved https://www.cvesd.org/news/what_s_new/ WestEd is a nonpartisan, nonprofit from https://www.thelancet.com/action/ c_v_e_s_d_named_california_exemplary_ research, development, and service showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2818%29 district agency that works with education and 31782-3; Gregory, A., Clawson, K., Davis, A., other communities throughout the & Gerewitz, J. (2016). The promise of 4 Ciriza, G. (2018). A district’s systematic United States and abroad to promote restorative practices to transform teacher– approach to improvement. Leadership, excellence, achieve equity, and improve student relationships and achieve equity in 48(2), 12–15; Taketa, K. (2018). Chula learning for children, youth, and adults. school discipline. Journal of Educational & Vista Elementary getting state, national WestEd has more than a dozen offices Psychological Consultation, 26(4), 325–353. recognition for equity work, high nationwide, from Massachusetts, Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline. performance. The San Diego Union- Vermont and Georgia, to Illinois, com/doi/full/10.1080/10474412.2014.9299 Tribune. Retrieved from https://www. Arizona and California, with head- 50; Anyon, Y., Gregory, A., Stone, S., Farrar, sandiegouniontribune.com/news/ quarters in San Francisco. For more J., Jenson, J. M., McQueen, J., Downing, B., education/sd-me-chula-vista-elementary- information about WestEd, visit http:// Greer, E., & Simmons, J. (2016). Restorative 20181121-story.html www.WestEd.org; call 415.565.3000 interventions and school discipline or, toll-free, (877) 4-WestEd; or write: sanctions in a large urban school district. WestEd / 730 Harrison Street / 5 Quin, D. (2017). Longitudinal and American Educational Research Journal, San Francisco, CA 94107-1242. contextual associations between teacher– 53(6), 1663–1697. Retrieved from student relationships and student https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216675719 engagement: A systematic review. We also invite you to go to Review of Educational Research, 87(2), 9 Restorative Practices Working Group. WestEd.org/subscribe to 345–387. Retrieved from https://eric. sign up for our semi-monthly (2014). Restorative practices: Fostering ed.gov/?id=EJ1133352 e-newsletter, the WestEd healthy relationships & promoting positive E-Bulletin, to receive the latest discipline in schools. Retrieved from 6 Baker, S., Lesaux, N., Jayanthi, M., research, free resources, and http://www.otlcampaign.org/sites/default/ solutions from WestEd. Dimino, J., Proctor, C. P., Morris, J., Gersten, files/restorative-practices-guide.pdf R., Haymond, K., Kieffer, M. J., Linan- Thompson, S., & Newman-Gonchar, R. 10 Darling-Hammond, L., Wei, R. C., (2014). Teaching academic content and Andree, A., Richardson, N., & Orphanos, S. literacy to English learners in elementary (2009). Professional learning in the learning and middle school (NCEE 2014-4012). profession. Dallas, TX: National Staff Washington, DC: National Center for Development Council. Retrieved from Education Evaluation and Regional https://learningforward.org/docs/default- Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education source/pdf/nsdcstudytechnicalreport2009. Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. pdf Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/ wwc/publications_reviews.aspx

7 Kelly, L. B., Ogden, M. K., & Moses, L. (2019). Collaborative conversations: Speaking and listening in the primary grades. Young Children, 74(1), 30–36. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. 12