From Our CEO, Glen Harvey
In a year that presented unique challenges and underscored persistent inequities, I was consistently heartened by the collegiality, resourcefulness, and commitment of my colleagues at WestEd. They redoubled the agency’s commitment to achieving equitable education and successful outcomes for every individual, developing innovative ways to continue supporting clients and each other as needs shifted.
Knowing that educators, caregivers, and others in the field needed more support than ever when the pandemic hit, staff pivoted rapidly to using virtual platforms to provide targeted professional learning and technical assistance. The National Center for Systemic Improvement, for instance, helped states across the country to ensure that students with disabilities continued to receive the services they needed, even when school sites were closed. And our experts led a rich array of timely webinars, including a session on leveraging funding to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable students and a 13-part series on supporting multilingual and English learner students during distance learning. Drawing on our agency’s wide-ranging research and expertise, we also launched a COVID-19 Resources for Educators site, which provided over 40 free, evidence-based resources to help teachers, caregivers, and others navigate urgent issues, from caring for young children while sheltering in place to implementing trauma-informed strategies in distance learning.
While social distancing separated us physically, WestEd staff also found creative ways to foster connections among colleagues and prompt important discussions across our agency — for instance, launching an internal forum on diversity, equity, and inclusion; holding agencywide community-building chats every other week; and expanding employee-led groups, such as the Black Diaspora Network and the WestEd Parent Community.
This past year has reinforced how much remains to be done to address inequities and meet the needs of all young children and students in our country, and to support the adults who serve them. In 2020, the WestEd community proved itself to be amazingly resilient and constructive, and we remain collectively committed in our ongoing work toward the goal of success for all learners.
2020 Agency Highlights
January
March
April
May
- Regions 2, 13, and 15 Comprehensive Centers provide virtual workshops for state and Bureau of Indian Education leaders on implications of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
- WestEd introduces NextGenScience, a new project to advance science teaching, learning, and achievement nationwide.
June
July
August
September
- National Center for Systemic Improvement receives Martha J. Fields Award from National Association of State Directors of Special Education, for improving education for individuals with disabilities.
- Special education study provides insights into history and structure of special education funding in California.
- Aída Walqui, founder of Quality Teaching for English Learners, wraps up popular summer conversation series, Perspectives on English Language Learning: Aída Walqui in Conversation with Leading Scholars.
October
November
December
- WestEd leads research team for California’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care.
- REL West study explores association between teachers’ use of formative assessment practices and students’ use of self-regulated learning strategies.
- WestEd helps lead design of California Cradle-to-Career Data System, which will securely link educational, workforce, financial aid, and social services data statewide.
Top 5 Most Downloaded New Resources of 2020
- Self-Care Strategies for Educators During the Coronavirus Crisis
- Strategies for Trauma-Informed Distance Learning
- Supporting English Learners During School Closures: Considerations for Designing Distance Learning Experiences
- Considerations for Teachers Providing Distance Learning to Students with Disabilities
- Getting Better at Getting More Equitable: Opportunities and Barriers for Using Continuous Improvement to Advance Educational Equity
Most Viewed Videos of 2020
- What’s in a Name? The Terms We Use to Talk About English Learners, the Theories They Reflect, and Why Labels Matter
- The Future of California Science
- Keep Teaching Science: Successful Strategies to Adapt K–12 Science Experiences for Distance Learning
- Improving English Learner Achievement by Building Systems of Support
- Multilingualism in the United States and Around the World: Current Issues and Tensions