The Region 15 Comprehensive Center (R15CC), led by WestEd, is part of the national Comprehensive Center Network (CC Network), and works to provide capacity-building technical assistance, content expertise, and other services to effectively support state education agencies (SEAs) and their regional and local constituents in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. R15CC staff provide individualized state support and facilitate regional collaboration between the Arizona Department of Education, California Department of Education, Nevada Department of Education, and Utah State Board of Education.
In addition to supporting SEA staff in Region 15 states, as well as other key stakeholders and partners, R15CC supports improved educator and student outcomes through the following projects:
All Region 15 States
Building Capacity in Rural Settings Community of Practice
This project supports the four-state region with a community of practice focusing on the development of adaptive leadership capacity and design of systemic solutions to address the economic and academic challenges that face rural schools and communities, their unique assets, and the opportunities for improvement.
Support Related to the Impact of COVID-19
A series of varied projects that provide COVID-related technical assistance and support tailored to address the complex policy and practice issues of the four-state region.
Ongoing Leadership Consulting and Rapid Responses to Emerging Needs
This project provides technical assistance and coaching support to the Arizona Department of Education, the California Department of Education, the Nevada Department of Education, and the Utah State Board of Education to address unexpected policy and practice issues.
American Indian Education Director Community of Practice
This project supports the four-state region with a community of practice focused on systemic approaches to addressing the academic and economic challenges that face Indigenous peoples, recognizing the rich cultural assets that Indigenous students, families, communities, and nations bring to designing solutions.
Supporting Professional Learning on Educator Effectiveness
Through collaboration with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West, this project supports a multi-state convening of state education agency leads to learn from evidence and one another as they reimagine and redefine the role of the principal supervisor in coaching school principals to deliver high-quality instructional feedback to teachers, thus improving instructional quality and teacher retention. Participating states: Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
State Education Agency Executive Leadership Program
In collaboration with the University of Virginia’s Executive Leadership Program, this project provides customized learning opportunities for state education agency leaders. Participating states: Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
Arizona
Teaching and Learning Framework Development
This project supports the Arizona Department of Education in the implementation of the new Teaching and Learning Framework. The framework establishes coherence about teaching and learning priorities within the department and provides a consistent message about teaching and learning to local education agencies.
Policy and Practice Implementation for English Language Learners
This project supports the Arizona Department of Education in implementing new initiatives, policies, and practices related to English learner education and assessment, including new English language proficiency standards, a new language development approach, and new English language development instructional program models.
Scaling Effective Formative Assessment Practices
This project supports the Arizona Department of Education in building statewide capacity to implement formative assessment in Arizona schools, including supporting the development of formative assessment frameworks, model classrooms, and demonstration sites to scale formative assessment and elevate student achievement across the state.
Supporting Arizona’s School and District Leader Network—ELEVATE
This project supports the Arizona Department of Education in supporting the ELEVATE program for local education agency and school leaders of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) schools; it is designed to increase capacity for rapid and sustainable school improvement and yield measurable gains in student achievement.
Development and Implementation of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Division
This project provides technical assistance to the Arizona Department of Education to facilitate an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Division (EDI) to have an equity focus in all federal and state programs. The EDI Division will provide guidance and resources to local education agencies to emphasize equity with the goal of improving services and outcomes for all Arizona students.
Formative Assessment Support for the Language Development Approach
This project supports the Arizona Department of Education in building statewide capacity to implement its language development approach principles for English learners by creating a framework demonstrating how formative assessment practices can support educators.
Scaling and Sustaining the Arizona Supervisors of Principals Academy
This project supports the Arizona Department of Education in scaling and sustaining its new evidence-based leadership program, the Supervisors of Principals Academy (SOPA), that is designed to increase Arizona principal supervisors’ capacity for coaching and developing principals’ instructional leadership.
California
Effective Implementation of Integrated and Designated English Language Development
This project supports the California Department of Education’s Multilingual Support Division to provide technical assistance and resources to the field to support consistent implementation of evidence-based teaching and learning focused on improved academic outcomes for English learners.
Implementation of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant
This project supports the California Department of Education’s Student Achievement & Support Division in implementing the Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant by supporting the seven grantee lead literacy agencies in sharing and learning with and from each other.
Implementation of the State Assessment and Accountability System
This project supports the California Department of Education in implementing a technically strong standards, assessment, and accountability system by improving their capacity to develop and implement policies that are foundational to effective district, school, and student performance monitoring and continuous improvement.
Improvement of English Learner Reclassification Policy and Practices
This project provides technical assistance and thought partnership to the California Department of Education as it implements, evaluates, and communicates about new instruments and processes to support English learner reclassification in the context of their vision for English learner achievement.
Strengthening the Statewide System of Support
This project supports the provision of targeted technical assistance to California county offices of education to improve the performance of identified student groups in county-run schools, as well as support for building a responsive state support infrastructure that drives improvement in student performance statewide.
Local Control and Accountability Plan Implementation and Stakeholder Engagement
This project provides technical assistance to the California Department of Education related to supporting local education agencies in the development of Local Control Accountability Plans.
Aligning Monitoring Practices Workgroup
This project assists the California Department of Education in facilitating the cross-agency Monitoring Practices Workgroup focused on developing and implementing a consistent approach to compliance monitoring that includes district support and technical assistance.
Nutrition Services Division Systems Review and Alignment
This project supports the California Department of Education’s Nutrition Services Division in determining and implementing a new organizational structure in response to the transition of the Child and Adult Care Food Program to the Department of Social Services and in preparing for the implementation of the California Universal Meals Program.
Early Learning and Care Division Organizational Development
This project supports the California Department of Education’s Early Education Division to build the capacity of its leaders and align staff efforts as they work collaboratively to define and expand universal prekindergarten.
Analysis, Measurement, and Accountability Reporting Division Organizational Development
This project engages the California Department of Education’s Analysis, Measurement, and Accountability Reporting Division in a strategic review of its structure, workflow, team dynamics, and workload to ensure greater internal alignment and efficiencies.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiatives
This project supports the California Department of Education with efforts to address equity and bring cohesion to their equity work, specifically by supporting the new Equity Branch. The Equity Branch will build coherence and focus on equity work throughout the agency through communication, leadership development, capacity building, and climate change.
Diversifying the Educator Workforce
This project supports the California Department of Education in convening a community of practice and a Teacher Diversity Advisory Council that identify evidence-based practices, share policies and practices, discuss potential strategies, and prepare materials that support increased recruitment and retention of a diverse and culturally competent teacher workforce.
Special Education Division System Review
This project supports the California Department of Education’s Special Education Division to improve its internal and external functionality through an organizational diagnosis that identifies gaps and opportunities in processes and procedures and results in a new organizational structure.
Action Learning for Applied Continuous Improvement and Improved Alignment
This project provides technical assistance to the California Department of Education’s Student Achievement and Support Division in using continuous improvement as a coaching tool with local education agencies.
Community Schools Engagement and Communication Planning
This project assists the California Department of Education to prepare for a competitive community schools grant program by creating and implementing an engagement plan to reach a diverse range of California educational partners, families, and communities in order to gather input on needs, best practices of community schools, a draft community schools framework, and the community schools request for applications.
School-Based Health
This project supports the California Department of Education in conducting a preliminary landscape analysis to understand the strengths, barriers, and opportunities of mental health referral networks and pathways within California schools and partnering behavioral health organizations.
Nevada
Improving Access to State-Funded High Quality Prekindergarten Classrooms
This project assists the Nevada Department of Education in leveraging strategic planning, strategic communications, and cross-state partnerships to significantly increase the number of state-funded, high-quality prekindergarten seats.
Implementation of English Language Development Standards Framework
This project supports the Nevada Department of Education to provide consistent guidance and high-quality teacher education and educator professional learning resources in order to support evidence-based teaching and learning and improved academic outcomes for English learners.
Strengthening Data Infrastructure and Governance
This project supports the Nevada Department of Education in leveraging strong data governance, clear data reporting, and improved data literacy to implement its strategic vision (Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils).
Implementation of the Revised State Improvement Plan
This project provides technical assistance and support to the Nevada Department of Education to maintain a progress monitoring routine to ensure successful implementation of the 2020 Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils (STIP), align the Nevada State Board of Education goals to the STIP, and revise the STIP for 2022.
Support the Nevada State Teacher Recruitment and Retention Advisory Task Force
This project assists the Nevada Department of Education to develop capacity, materials, and products for supporting the work of the Nevada State Teacher Recruitment and Retention Advisory Task Force to address, with data and evidence-based practices, challenges in teacher recruitment and retention.
Coaching Support for K–12 English Language Arts Program
This project supports the Nevada Department of Education K–12 English Language Arts Department’s Adolescent Literacy Network to provide leadership support to identify ways for all students to experience continued academic growth in literacy during middle and high school.
Instructional Materials Review Process
This project supports the Nevada Department of Education’s Student Achievement Division to refine the process for adopting high-quality materials aligned with the Nevada Academic Content Standards.
Every Student Succeeds Act More Rigorous Options Development
This project supports the Nevada Department of Education’s Student Achievement Division to refine a menu of evidence-based, contextually appropriate More Rigorous Options for schools that have yet to exit Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) status.
Utah
Development of a Statewide Teacher Mentoring Framework
This project supports the Utah State Board of Education to develop and disseminate an evidence-based teacher mentoring training program consisting of training modules and multiple-mode delivery, for use by local education agencies and schools to improve instructional quality and retention among new teachers.
Building Capacity to Leverage Existing Data Infrastructure to Improve Safe and Healthy Schools Data
This project assists the Utah State Board of Education in strengthening department processes and structures for collecting, sharing, and using data to ensure safe and healthy learning environments for all students.
Implementing a State System of Support for Continuous Improvement
This project supports the Utah State Board of Education in creating a coherent and aligned state system of support for continuous improvement by developing a comprehensive needs assessment, supporting local education agencies (LEAs) in meeting identified student needs through a consolidated plan, building capacity for schools and LEAs to engage in continuous efforts to improve student achievement, and developing a Center for Continuous Improvement that will provide support to all schools and districts.
Developing a State Resource Allocation Review Process
This project supports the Utah State Board of Education as it develops a process to conduct periodic reviews of resource allocation methods in low-performing schools and the respective local education agency.
Strengthening and Coordinating Supports for School Leaders
This project supports the Utah State Board of Education to strengthen and coordinate its different evidence-based leadership development initiatives, which include various state frameworks, rules, guidance, professional learning opportunities, and communities of practice.
Why K? Campaign
This project supports the Utah State Board of Education in co-developing a Why K? Campaign that builds parental awareness of the importance and benefits of enrolling in and attending kindergarten and ultimately increases kindergarten enrollment and attendance.
