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Improving student performance, especially that of those learners who experience poverty, disabilities, language barriers, or some combination of these factors, is an ongoing challenge for many, if not all, school districts. It can be particularly so for smaller or more geographically isolated districts that, compared to their larger urban counterparts, are likely to have fewer resources at hand, including content specialization.

To assist small- to medium-sized districts working to improve instruction, California Education Partners (Ed Partners), an education reform nonprofit organization, launched a cross-district collaboration called the California Language & Learning Initiative (CALLI).

From 2016-2019, Ed Partners supported twenty-five, predominantly rural California districts in three focal areas: High School Math, Academic Language and Early Literacy. CALLI also built a structure through which participating districts could collaborate on their improvement efforts.

This brief draws from interviews with participating districts’ team members about what they and their districts gained and learned from the CALLI experience.