The data management system for California’s K-12 schools has been on the fritz since it was updated in April, then rolled out with minimal testing, potentially jeopardizing school district funding, according to a report from CalMatters.
The California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) stores information for the state’s 6 million public school students. It’s how the state knows how many students have learning disabilities, are experiencing homelessness or qualify as English learners. The California Department of Education uses this demographic data to calculate how much funding will go to the state’s more than 1,000 school districts. Districts with more high needs students get more money based on that data.
While one department official said nearly all the state’s schools will still get their full funding, the recent malfunctions have alarmed some district officials.
Earlier this year, the state’s new software update generated reams of inaccurate data about students with disabilities, disrupting standardized testing. Leading up to the new school year, districts that usually might have a few dozen initial errors were seeing thousands when their data specialists uploaded student data into the statewide system. The errors included wrong enrollment numbers, duplicate student information and missing information about accommodations for students with disabilities. Administrators feared they would lose funding due to these inaccuracies.
Michael Fine, chief executive officer of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) told CalMatters the rollout of the upgrade was “less than satisfactory and did not follow the expectations of the field or FCMAT.” He added that best practices for system revisions were not followed and that minimal testing may have further complicated the rollout of an already complex system.
The much needed system upgrade also compromised standardized testing at schools across the state.
For the last several months, data specialists at California’s school districts have been frustrated by the bugs in the system. At the Fullerton School District, data team members were seeing up to 10,000 errors when they uploaded information, where they would only see about a dozen in previous years. Some districts had hundreds of thousands of errors before the department of education started fixing the issues.
Malia Vella, a deputy superintendent at the California Department of Education, said about 98% of districts should be able to get all their data certified and secure their funding by the September deadline. Vella said the department is working with districts to address the errors and that California allows districts more time than other states to submit their data.
The stakes for reliable data are higher than ever The state needs to have a clear picture of student enrollment and achievement so it can allocate the necessary resources to help them recover academically, socially and emotionally from the pandemic’s impact.
The information in the statewide system is the basis of accountability platforms like the California School Dashboard that shows the public everything from enrollment figures to suspension rates at every school in the state The problems with the data system started in April when the education department updated its software.
In May, the California School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators wrote an open letter to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond detailing several issues with the data system. Among them, students with disabilities were not getting the accommodations they needed during standardized testing
For the past several months, the education department has been fixing the errors. In midSeptember, there were still nearly 100 known issues with the data system.
The department has seven developer positions to run the statewide system, but these are part time employees that equate to about three full-time staff. There are currently three additional open positions, two of which have been open since November 2021
Michael Juech, assistant superintendent of operations at Howard Suamico School District in Wisconsin, has some advice for district leaders when it comes to working with school board members: Educate them to “look out and up” when envisioning
the district’s future.
Juech shared his thinking and some pro tips on building strong relationships recently at the Association of School Business Officials International’s Annual Conference & Expo in Portland. Since board members are often elected officials, political ideologies may emerge, Juech said. As such, it can be difficult for some members to initially trust school officials.
For example, there are board members in Juech’s district who often disagree with the state’s governor, he said. When handling such hurdles to building trust, it’s important to get board members to a comfort level by using facts.
“Let’s get the ideology out, let’s talk through those things,” Juech said.
Here are three ways Juech suggested school business officials can develop a meaningful relationship with their board members, as reported by K 12 Dive.
School board members want to have a strong grasp on school finance, he said, but they often lack the expertise.
To help them better understand the system, district officials can provide monthly expenditure reports, arrange meetings with the school finance or business department, and hold an onboarding meeting for new school board members, Juech said.
It is important to set an agenda for these meetings with the finance department and to make sure the time is used to build relationships, he said. When these meetings are arranged, superintendents should also be informed of proceedings if they don’t attend.
During onboarding, Juech said, he likes to ask about the expectations that board members and school business officials have for each other. This orientation helps the parties get to know each other better in a more informal way, he said.
It’s helpful to find casual, little ways to show board members how their decisions impact students, he said.
For example, Juech’s district has a $98 million referendum project that the school board is excited to be involved in, he said So he brought some board members to the construction site
“It built a relationship. We got to talk about it ‘Hey, this is what you helped do,’” Juech said. This opportunity gave board members and school business leaders the chance to reflect “ on the importance and power” of how their work together helped make the referendum project possible, he said.
The Howard Suamico school board also took a trip with district leaders to a Denver school system to learn about ongoing innovations happening there, Juech said. And board members were excited to go.
The trip’s goal was to inspire board members to think about their own district’s potential and future, he said.
“It refocused their work,” Juech said. “We went from talking about masks and talking about virtual learning to talking about, ‘What does the future of education look like?’”
That shift in conversation can’t happen, however, unless the groundwork has been laid to build those relationships, he said.
“If they’re informed and they’re educated, they can make true change, which ultimately impacts all of us and more importantly, it impacts our students,” Juech said.
Over the past several years, the education sector has been a frequent target of ransomware attacks the hijacking of sensitive data by hackers for extortion. Over the recent Labor Day weekend, the Los Angeles Unified School District suffered a
ransomware attack that took down IT systems, including tracking software, email and data storage.
In response to the attacks, which have resulted in restricted access to networks and data, delayed exams, canceled school days, and unauthorized access to and theft of personal student and staff information, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Multi State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS ISAC) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to help districts take mitigation steps, School Transportation News reports.
The CSA “#StopRansomware: Vice Society,” states that the FBI, CISA and the MS-ISAC anticipate attacks may increase as the 2022 2023 school year begins and criminal ransomware groups perceive opportunities for successful attacks.
Experts have noted that districts with limited cybersecurity capabilities and constrained resources are often vulnerable, but even those with robust security can be targeted. K 12 institutions may be seen as particularly lucrative targets due to the amount of sensitive student data accessible through school systems or their managed service providers.
So what steps should districts take right away to attempt to stay safe, according to the report? First, districts should establish and maintain strong liaison relationships with the FBI and CISA cybersecurity adviser in their regions. The CSA then breaks down the techniques to reduce the risk of being compromised. These include: Preparing for cyber incidents, identifying and accessing management, protecting controls and architecture, and vulnerability and configuration management.
The CSA is part of an ongoing #StopRansomware effort to publish advisories for network defenders that detail ransomware variants and threat actors. Advisories include recently and historically observed tactics, techniques, and procedures and indicators of compromise to help organizations protect against ransomware.
CASBO congratulates our 15 Organizational Subscriber school districts that earned the prestigious National Blue Ribbon School award! The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private schools based on their overall academic
excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
The U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona applauded the schools for “creating vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school communities where students can learn, grow, reach their potential, and achieve their dreams."
The 15 CASBO Organizational Subscriber school districts with Blue Ribbon Schools are:
Arcadia USD, Foothills Middle School, Arcadia Bonita USD, Arma J. Shull Elementary School, San Dimas Burlingame ESD, Burlingame Intermediate School, Burlingame Clovis USD, Granite Ridge Intermediate School, Fresno and Woods (Harold L.) Elementary School, Clovis
Dublin USD, Eleanor Murray Fallon School and Harold William Kolb School, Dublin Helix Charter HS, La Mesa Irvine USD, Woodbridge High School, Irvine Long Beach USD, Newcomb Academy, Long Beach Orinda Union SD, Orinda Intermediate School, Orinda Palos Verdes Peninsula USD, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates Pleasanton USD, Thomas S. Hart Middle School, Pleasanton Poway USD, Westview High School, San Diego San Bernardino City USD, Richardson PREP HI Middle School, San Bernardino San Francisco USD, Lawton Alternative School, San Francisco South Pasadena USD, South Pasadena Middle School, South Pasadena Walnut Valley USD, Diamond Bar High School, Diamond Bar
A total of 297 schools across the nation received this recognition. Learn more about the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.
Your education agency has made an investment in you by becoming a CASBO member. Now, let us show you how to take advantage of it. CASBO is offering our final Member Welcome and Orientation of the year on October 12 at 10 a.m. (PDT).
This free webinar will be led by CASBO CEO Tatia Davenport. She will discuss:
The variety of professional development courses, certification programs and complimentary on-demand learning available to you
The numerous opportunities for networking – from in person section and statewide events to online communities.
The benefits of serving as a CASBO member leader and how you can get involved. How our professional staff and member-leaders work together to advocate on your behalf with government officials.
Register today to get to know “everything CASBO” and how you can maximize this investment in your career and professional growth.
CASBO offers scholarships and awards throughout the year. We currently have three opportunities with deadlines fast approaching:
Our Bob Reeves Scholarship promotes continuing education and training for CASBO members Preference is given to those applicants pursuing formal education or professional certifications.
Amount: $1,000
Eligibility: Available to employees of CASBO Organizational Subscribers (learn more)
Extended! Deadline to apply: Friday, October 14
Download the application and apply today!
CASBO honors school business employees, who have provided extraordinary service to a school district or county office of education, with special awards If you know of a deserving support person, nominate her/him today for an award! The simple, one page nomination form only takes minutes to complete.
Available to all school business employees in the Northern Section
Nominations due: Tuesday, November 1
Download nomination form
Open to all school business employees in the Shasta Cascade Section
Nominations due: Friday, November 4
Download nomination form
Check out CASBO’s awards and scholarships page for opportunities throughout the year.
After two years of tricks like throwing a business jacket over a Tshirt and sweatpants while meeting on Zoom or returning to only partially occupied offices, our tolerance for conformity and discomfort has changed. The business dress code is evolving,
says Allison Shapira for Harvard Business Review.
Here are a few steps to try if you’re considering changing up your work attire:
If it feels risky to independently make a wardrobe change, look at others in your office and observe how they dress. You don’t have to follow what others are doing, but seeing others take those first steps may embolden you to make changes yourself.
Observe the boundaries as well. Look for the nuances in how and when people dress down.
What if your colleagues aren’t noticeably changing their attire, but you feel strongly that you should? Take the lead: Try out one particular change and evaluate the response to it.
Lest you fear that dressing down might make you appear less successful to your peers or boss, fascinating research conducted by Silvia Bellezza, Francesca Gino and Anat Keinan points in the opposite direction. They found that, “nonconforming behaviors, as costly and visible signals, can act as a particular form of conspicuous consumption and lead to positive inferences of status and competence in the eyes of others.”
However, the authors stress that this effect only happens when it’s obvious that the behavior is intentional – as opposed to simply misjudging the dress code
Now, it’s time for you to set your own dress code. Authenticity sends a powerful message, and what we are seeing post-pandemic is that comfort does as well.
Being a perfectionist doesn’t mean you’re doomed as a manager. Organizational research on perfectionism is starting to provide new insights and practical, evidence based steps for managers, according to Anna Carmella G. Ocampo, Jun Gu and Mariano
The hallmark of perfectionism is not simply the irrational need for flawlessness, but the persistent sense of dissatisfaction even when success is achieved. Worse, it can even hinder success. For instance, university professors with high levels of perfectionism rarely outperform their non perfectionistic peers.
Growing evidence also suggests that perfectionism at work thwarts people’s ability to find meaning in their work, experience satisfaction with their jobs and cultivate work-life balance
Research on perfectionism is starting to provide new insights and practical evidence based steps for managers to break free from their perfectionistic compulsions. Try these strategies:
One of the most useful things perfectionists, and those who work with them, can do is to design goals to be attainable yet challenging. This can support employees’ efficiency and sustain their motivation to succeed. Keep in mind, however, that progress is more important than perfection
Managers should make a deliberate effort to recognize that failures and mistakes are ubiquitous aspects of the work process. Doing so would encourage them to grant their employees the flexibility to treat mistakes as learning opportunities.
Practicing mindfulness encourages self-compassion by preventing the formation of self-critical and catastrophic thinking when their perfectionistic standards are threatened Mindfulness may help perfectionists to slow down and regulate emotions.
Counseling psychologists endorse positive self talks to overcome hypercritical thoughts, and it can be worthwhile for people to develop a set of mantras to help themselves and others handle perfectionism.
In recent years, researchers have been taking a good hard look at happiness and the science behind it. Along the way, they’ve developed research backed ways to build better professional relationships and make your workplace happier, as Jeff Haden
shared at inc.com.
Here’s a few ways to get started:
1. Offer "uncomfortable" praise.
Praise is great No one gets enough recognition, but praise can sometimes be awkward for both parties. That said, studies show at that any self consciousness the other person may feel is far outweighed by how good they feel about being noticed, recognized and valued.
The same "awkwardness" applies to expressing gratitude. Research published in Psychological Science shows that expressers systematically undervalue its positive impact on the recipients of that gratitude. Underestimating the value of prosocial actions, such as expressing gratitude, may keep people from engaging in behavior that would maximize their own – and others' – well-being Want to make people happier? Tell them you're grateful for what they do.
3. Reach out, for no reason at all.
According to a study published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers documented a "robust underestimation of how much other people appreciate being reached out to and how much those doing the reaching out underestimate the impact.” While you might think people don't care when you reach out to say hi, or check in, or ask how things are going or offer a few words of encouragement they do. Reach outs help both maintain and build relationships
Say someone asks for a big favor. Too big. So you say no. Instead say, "No, but ... "
According to research published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, people willing to offer less than what is requested significantly underestimate the value of what they are willing to provide the recipient. If someone asks you for too big a favor, don't focus on what you can't do Think about what you can do A brief stint on another department's project team instead of a long-term assignment. An informal leadership role rather than a comprehensive development plan.
A series of studies published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that participants said they felt less awkward, more connected and a lot happier after a deep, serious conversation than they expected to feel. (In fact, it was hard to get participants to stop talking.) In fact, the more "awkward and uncomfortable" a conversation sounded, the more participants actually enjoyed the conversation. The more they felt they bonded with the other person.
