Tulare (Midstate) Regional Academy Spotlight

September 14, 2022

More than a year ago, we wrote in our Spotlight about beginning a partnership with our Geo Lead within the State System of Support. Our partnership has bloomed in the past year!

When the State System of Support Geo Leads were asked to report on a successful partnership this spring, our Geo Lead chose 21CSLA! Together we presented our partnership to a State System of Support panel.

In July, the Mid-State Regional Academy hosted a Summer Leadership Retreat for 75 regional leaders from Santa Cruz to Inyo counties, from Stanislaus to Kings counties. We focused on the book, Improvement Science: Promoting Equity in Schools, edited by Deborah Peterson and Susan Carlisle. Dr. Peterson and two of her authors joined us to dig into the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle and discover how it can be used for systemic change within the site or classroom. This ongoing work  has since launched a 21CSLA Community of Practice on Improvement Science which will be facilitated in partnership by our Geo Lead.

Since we merged our advisories in May 2021, we have never had the opportunity to hold an in-person advisory meeting—until August 2022. Representatives from all 11 counties registered to join us in Mammoth Lakes for a two-day retreat, with both the Geo Lead and 21CSLA. During the 21CSLA portion of the meeting, we facilitated a World Café-esque discussion focused on looking backward to plan forward. The event led to a robust discussion of “What if 21CSLA could provide” in Cohort 2, which influenced our Cohort 2 application.

From then forward, the entire advisory took collective ownership of the 21CSLA program and included the 21CSLA vision in all conversations for the work within our region. Our advisory asked that the Geo Lead and 21CSLA coordinate our websites and emails to streamline communication throughout the year. They requested a joint newsletter, and 21CSLA will now have a “21CSLA Corner” in the Geo Lead’s newsletter. In addition, they identified a mutual need for coherent access to both Geo Lead and 21CSLA resources, which we are working on.

All in all, this partnership is a thrilling SPOTLIGHT in the state of collaborative work to support our districts and students in the Mid-State Region!