Impact Stories

 

How do we know we’re making an impact? The CCNetwork’s Impact Stories illustrate the results of our work by celebrating ingenuity and collaboration and highlighting moments that sparked change in education. Written by National Comprehensive Center and Regional Comprehensive Center staff, these stories detail key strategies, important lessons, and promising solutions emerging from the CCNetwork's work with SEAs and LEAs across the country. We also share success stories of CCSSO members here as well to elevate additional examples of ways states and jurisdictions are making an impact in education. Filter by topic, Center, or state/jurisdiction to gain new ideas and to cheer for the great work happening in your area.

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Impact Stories
The National Comprehensive Center brought together state education agency teams to function as Communities of Practice to focus on critical educational issues related to equity, out-of-school time programming, and use of American Rescue Plan funds.
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Connecticut Lays the Foundation for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers of Color
Districts in Connecticut report being better prepared to effectively recruit and sustain diverse educators through the availability of new tools and resources provided by the Connecticut State Department of Education. The tools, developed through the support of the Region 2 Comprehensive Center, include a workforce diversity guidebook, a coaching series and training model, and an "Educator Diversity Dashboard."
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, Data & Continuous Improvement, Education Workforce, Recruitment, Workforce Diversity
  • State(s): Connecticut
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 2 Comprehensive Center
Successful Leadership Program in Delaware Inspires Additional Offshoots
School leadership is a critical factor in school improvement. The Delaware Department of Education is strengthening school leadership across the state through the design and implementation of the Delaware Leadership Network and the Delaware Principal Supervisor Leadership Program. These two major efforts, collaboratively designed with the help of the Region 4 Comprehensive Center, have helped the state shift their mindset from principals as managers to principals as instructional leaders.
  • Topic(s): Education Workforce, Leadership Development
  • State(s): Delaware
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 4 Comprehensive Center
New and Improved System Ensures Every Mississippi School Has Effective Teachers
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) had a goal for every school to have effective teachers and leaders. Through partnership with the Region 7 Comprehensive Center, MDE was able to increase trainers for the Professional Growth System from two to twelve and put systems in place to improve decisionmaking, strategic planning, and communication for future work.
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, SEA Operations & Performance Management, Education Workforce, Professional Development
  • State(s): Mississippi
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 7 Comprehensive Center
The Southwest Rallies for Rural Education Through Community of Practice
Rural schools face unique and complex challenges and opportunities specific to rural context. Recognizing this, the Region 15 Comprehensive Center has designed and facilitates a Community of Practice (CoP) that is focused specifically on rural education in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. The goals of the CoP are to share information, build trusting and supportive networks, and co-construct systemic solutions to address the challenges facing education in rural settings.
  • Topic(s): Specific Population Groups, Rural & Remote
  • State(s): Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 15 Comprehensive Center
Revised Teaching Standards Support Modern Needs in California Schools
The California Department of Education was able to successfully embark on the complicated process of updating their California Standards for the Teaching Profession through the support of the Region 15 Comprehensive Center. The complex process yielded updated standards that reflect the most current research, center equity, and are designed for effective implementation.
  • Topic(s): Education Workforce, Preparation & Licensure, Professional Development
  • State(s): California
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 15 Comprehensive Center
Equitable Access Strategies Increase Literacy Across Alaska
To meet their goal of all students being able to read at grade level by the end of third grade, the Alaska State Board of Education needed to create equitable access to strong professional development in early literacy across the state. Through the support of the Region 16 Comprehensive Center, the state’s Department of Education & Early Development office was able to better equip literacy educators, even in remote communities, through improved systems, approaches, and resources.
  • Topic(s): Equity in Education, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, Teaching & Learning, Early Education, Literacy
  • State(s): Alaska
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 16 Comprehensive Center
Washington State Listens and Learns from Native Students and Families
To better serve American Indian and Alaska Native students in Washington state, the Superintendent and leaders in the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction partnered with Region 16 Comprehensive Center and the National Comprehensive Center to participate in a collaborative process with state education agencies, Tribal education leaders, and school administrators. The “Circles of Reflection” process helped the participants raise awareness, reflect, and create a plan forward to improve services to these students and their families.
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, SEA Operations & Performance Management, Specific Population Groups, American Indian/Alaska Native
  • State(s): Washington
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 16 Comprehensive Center
New Mexico Districts Get the Biggest Bang for Their ARP Bucks
The unprecedented infusion of federal relief and recovery funds were provided to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education system. The funds presented an opportunity and an urgent need for New Mexico to design and implement new measures to help school districts strategically plan, implement, track, and evaluate the use of these funds.
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, Financial Management, Pandemic Relief/ESSER Funds, SEA Operations & Performance Management
  • State(s): New Mexico
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 13 Comprehensive Center
Data Spotlights Absenteeism Solutions for Rural North Dakota
When a North Dakota district leader said, “We’re never going to make academic improvements unless the kids are here to learn,” the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and the North Dakota Regional Education Association sprung into action. Through support from the Region 11 Comprehensive Center, the district learned how to use improvement science to gain better insight into their core attendance problems resulting in positive changes in attendance as well an improved processes and structures related to attendance tracking and follow up.
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, School Improvement, Specific Population Groups, American Indian/Alaska Native, Rural & Remote
  • State(s): North Dakota
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 11 Comprehensive Center
Integration Guide Proves to be Necessary Kindling, Sparking Curricula Use in South Dakota
South Dakota’s Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings and Standards (OSEUS) were approved by the State Board of Education five years ago. However, many teachers were left on their own to figure out how to incorporate these important lessons across their curricula. Beginning in 2020, the Region 11 Comprehensive Center partnered with the South Dakota Department of Education (SDDOE) and the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, Office of Indian Education (SD DTR-OIE) to help address this challenge.
  • Topic(s): Education Workforce, Professional Development, Specific Population Groups, American Indian/Alaska Native, Rural & Remote, Teaching & Learning, Instructional Practice
  • State(s): South Dakota
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 11 Comprehensive Center
Bureau of Indian Education Targets Principal Needs with Three-Tiered System
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) identified a need to better support school leaders to better transform education in their schools. Through a partnership with the Region 13 Region Comprehensive Center, the BIE planned and implemented a tiered system of support for school leaders that includes ongoing differentiated professional development opportunities for all types of school leader needs.
  • Topic(s): Education Workforce, Leadership Development, Specific Population Groups, American Indian/Alaska Native
  • State(s): Bureau of Indian Education
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 13 Comprehensive Center
Pilot in Georgia Offers Hope for Early Literacy Improvement
To help Georgia districts meet a legislative mandate to screen all students for reading difficulties, the Georgia Department of Education launched a pilot to understand how to support them with the guidance of the Region 6 Comprehensive Center. The three-year pilot provided critical implementation data on seven pilot districts, bolstered the capacity of the Georgia Department of Education, and helped the agency better understand how to achieve policy coherence.
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, Policy & Legislation, Student & Staff Well-Being, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), Teaching & Learning, Early Education, Literacy
  • State(s): Georgia
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 6 Comprehensive Center
North Carolina Engineers STEM Opportunities for Its Youngest Learners
Educators in 16 North Carolina school districts are implementing high-quality STEM education programs to K–5 students thanks to a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the Region 6 Comprehensive Center. The project is focused on creating capacity at both the state and district levels to ensure their initial success can be scaled and sustained.
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, SEA Operations & Performance Management, Education Workforce, Professional Development, Teaching & Learning, Instructional Practice, Mathematics/STEM/Computer Science
Illinois Targets School Improvement by Empowering Staff
The Illinois State Board of Education strengthened resources and support provided to schools identified as in need of improvement through a partnership with the Region 9 Comprehensive Center. The collaboration has produced key resources, collaboration, and professionalism for school improvement coordinators and increased access to resources for schools.
  • Topic(s): Education Systems & Federal Requirements, School Improvement
  • State(s): Illinois
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 9 Comprehensive Center
Illinois Embraces Data to See and Solve their Teacher Recruitment Problem
To identify where and how to target efforts to strengthen and diversify the teacher workforce in Illinois, the Illinois State Board of Education enlisted help from the Region 9 Comprehensive Center to use data visualization strategies to identify loss points in the state’s teacher pipeline and create effective initiatives to support and diversify the teacher pipeline.
  • Topic(s): Education Workforce, Recruitment, Retention, Workforce Diversity
  • State(s): Illinois
  • Center or Affiliate: Region 9 Comprehensive Center