(Past Event) WestEd Presenting at the 2026 California Community Schools EMPOWER Summit

Join WestEd at the 2026 Community Schools EMPOWER Summit, hosted by the State Transformational Assistance Center (S-TAC). The Summit will be held September 10–11, 2026, at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California.

The EMPOWER Summit brings together educators, district and school leaders, students, families, community organizations, and California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) grantees from across the state to strengthen community schools and advance student success.

Designed to inspire collaboration and innovation, the Summit offers opportunities to learn from peers, explore effective practices, and discover practical solutions that support thriving, student-centered learning communities.

WestEd will lead or colead seven sessions showcasing evidence-based strategies, implementation lessons, and real-world successes from education partners throughout California. From participatory data practices and sustainable funding strategies to family engagement, student wellness, and community-driven leadership, these sessions will provide actionable insights that attendees can apply in their own community schools efforts.

Explore the sessions below.

WestEd Sessions

Thursday, September 10

Building Participatory Data Use Routines to Strengthen Community Schools Implementation
Time & Location: 2–3:15 p.m. / DoubleTree: Keller Peak
Speakers: Rebeca Cerna (WestEd) and Amber Valdez (WestEd)

In this interactive session, participants will explore practical strategies for engaging students, families, educators, and community partners in defining success, gathering evidence, and making meaning together. Grounded in the core principles of community schools, we will model and practice participatory routines for data collection, sensemaking, and action planning that build trust, transparency, and shared accountability. We will build on the collective wisdom in the room, moving beyond compliance-driven data use toward collaborative, continuous improvement. Participants will leave with concrete routines, facilitation moves, and a renewed vision for using data as a tool for trust building, shared leadership, and meaningful change in their community school contexts.

Making Community Schools Work: What the Data Tell Us
Time & Location: 3:35–4:50 p.m. / Delta: Ontario
Speakers: Matt Coleman (Inflexion), Junnue Zarrouk (Monterey County Office of Education), Manuel Colon (Inflexion), and Ashley Boal (WestEd)

This session offers a deep dive into an emerging data set developed through a research partnership between the Central Coast RTAC, Inflexion, and WestEd, and is focused on early implementation of community schools. Rather than introducing the tool itself, the session centers on what the data reveal about how systems are organizing to implement the community schools model and where challenges are most evident. The session will highlight early evidence of implementation challenges, including fragmentation across the four pillars, variability in practice, and gaps between vision and day-to-day execution.

Friday, September 11

From Funding to Impact: Insights Into Leveraging Complementary Funding Streams to Support Community Schools Goals
Time & Location: 10:50 a.m.–12:05 p.m. / Delta: Banquet Hall
Speakers: Jenny Betz (WestEd), Nakanya Magby (WestEd), Jose Campos (Jurupa Unified School District), Prince Marshall (Madera Unified School District), Yelitza Pena (Hayward Unified School District), and Stephanie Evans (Mariposa County Unified School District)

In this interactive “around-the-world” session, districts receiving both California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) and California’s Learning Communities for School Success Program (LCSSP) funds will share insights on how they used complementary investments to support and accelerate community schools goals. After a round of brief presentations, participants will rotate through table conversations to engage directly with presenters, dig into implementation details (what was funded, how it was staffed and coordinated, and what was learned), and surface practical takeaways. Participants will leave with concrete examples and adaptable ideas for leveraging multiple funding streams to deepen and sustain community schools implementation.

Leveraging Billing to Sustain Student Mental Health and Wellness Programs
Time & Location: 10:50 a.m.–12:05 p.m. / Convention Center: MR 201A
Speaker: Lisa Eisenberg (WestEd)

Addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of students is deeply connected to the Community Schools’ vision of serving the whole child. While schools have expanded student behavioral health and wellness programs in recent years, many are facing the challenge of maintaining those investments as one time funding expires. This workshop will describe four key strategies to leverage health care funding to sustain services that improve student outcomes in alignment with the Community Schools model: the School-based Medi-Cal Administrative Activities, LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option Program, the Multi-Payer Fee Schedule, and EPSDT/Specialty Mental Health. Presenters will discuss practice and policy considerations for expanding billing efforts, present next steps for LEA leaders to effectively implement these strategies, and facilitate reflection activities to apply to learning to the context of your community school.

Putting the California Healthy Kids Survey to Work: Practical Data-Use Routines for Community Schools
Time & Location: 2:15–3:30 p.m. / DoubleTree: Keller Peak
Speakers: Ashley Boal (WestEd) and Rebeca Cerna (WestEd)

Using existing data sources, such as school climate surveys, is key to leveraging the information you already have. The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) is one of the most widely used tools in the state and provides valuable information to support efforts to build shared commitment, understanding, and priorities across interest holders.

Through guided activities and small group discussion, participants will work with 10 CHKS indicators that are most clearly aligned with California’s Community Schools Framework and apply a process for combining student survey results with other local data sources to strengthen data-use routines and support local decision-making.

Listening Differently: From Family Forums & Student Listening Circles to Community Schools Action
Time & Location: 2:15–3:30 p.m. / DoubleTree: Harvest
Speakers: Timothy Ojetunde (WestEd) and Arturo Chavez (Lancaster School District)

Join Lancaster Unified and WestEd for a hands-on workshop showing how they turned student and family wisdom into real, lasting change through community schools work. Participants will explore a repeatable model built around two powerful experiential practices: a Family Forum and a Student Listening Circle. Through facilitated dialogue and participatory action planning, Lancaster captured firsthand experiences and priorities that directly shaped school climate, culture, and strategy. Experience how listening differently—not just listening more—can reshape policy, practice, and culture. Learn directly from Lancaster’s presenter as they share what worked, what they changed, and how you can replicate their success.

From Voice to Systems: Building Sustainable Family–School Partnerships in Secondary Community Schools
Time & Location: 2:15–3:30 p.m. / DoubleTree: Hunters Peak
Speaker: Sara Martinez (WestEd)

This interactive session highlights how middle and high schools can move beyond traditional family engagement toward sustainable partnerships that drive student learning and belonging. Grounded in the California Community Schools Capacity-Building Strategies, the session focuses on Shared Commitment, Collaborative Leadership, and Centering Community-Based Learning to build systems that elevate youth and family voice as essential to decision-making and school improvement. Participants will explore how practices such as Academic Parent–Teacher Teams (APTT), family-friendly data conversations, and shared leadership structures move from isolated events to integrated, system-level routines.