Systemic Instructional Review

Attendance recognition at Hillside Elementary School — Recognizing outstanding attendance at Hillside Elementary School

Family Math Night at Corvallis Elementary School

First day of school at San Lorenzo High School

Mother and daughter at Del Rey family science night — Family Science Night at Del Rey Elementary School

Advancing Student Success

During 2023-24, the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) hired WestEd, a private consulting firm, to identify strengths and recommend opportunities for greater student success in the San Lorenzo Unified School District (SLZUSD). They visited schools, interviewed administrators, and met with employees, families, and community partners.

In October 2024, WestEd shared its comprehensive assessment, called a Systemic Instructional Review (SIR), with the district. Key measures were standardized test scores, student absenteeism, rates of graduation and suspension, and college and career attainment, as well as social and emotional well-being. These findings have spurred SLZUSD's ongoing commitment to the success of all students, guided by both its Local Control Accountability Plan and its Strategic Plan for 2023-2027.

The district's ability to elevate academic outcomes for high-priority groups of underserved students by 2026 will determine whether ACOE suspends or intensifies its current oversight assistance to SLZUSD.

For a summary of this work, see this SLZUSD news article.

Systemic Instructional Review (SIR)

Final Report

Access the full 45-page "Systemic Instructional Review: Final Report" prepared by the educational consulting firm WestEd on behalf of the Alameda County Office of Education.

One-Page Overview

Access a one-page summary of the full report.

Recommendations Summary

(Abbreviated from the full report text)

District Vision, Alignment & Coherence

Strengthen and align central office leadership.
Identify district priorities and initiatives to focus on.
Promote alignment of instructional practices across all schools.

Safe & Supportive Learning Environments

Build a clear understanding of behavior expectations and restorative practices districtwide.
Establish uniform cell phone policies across all school environments.
Develop a program to support newcomer students' cultural and academic transitions.

Professional Learning

Collaborate with labor partners to create a comprehensive professional development plan, focused on newly adopted curricula and equity practices.

Data Use & Human Resources

Implement common local assessments across all schools.
Create districtwide systems for collecting and using academic and social-emotional data to support instruction.
Measure the impact and effectiveness of programs and use data to allocate resources.

Facilities & Human Resources

Address facility issues to improve learning conditions and staff retention.
Develop targeted recruitment efforts for teachers, especially in special education, focused on diversity.

Communications & Family Engagement

Improve transparency through updates to the employee handbook, website, and school communication standards.
Clearly communicate family engagement policies, including for classroom visit opportunities.
Establish clear communication processes for families of students with IEPs or 504 plans to ensure timely, responsive support from teachers.

Key Strengths Identified

(Abbreviated from the full report text)

The WestEd report highlighted SLZUSD's current strengths in all six of the study's "components", or areas of focus:

Component 1: Safe & Supportive Learning Environments

"Caring teachers help foster community and a sense of belonging in schools." (p. 19)

Component 2: Teaching, Learning, & Assessment

"Efforts are underway to foster inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive instruction that improves the academic achievement and school experiences of underrepresented student groups, with a particular focus on promoting racial equity." (p. 23)

Component 3: Leadership & Governance

"Central office administrators are starting to visit schools more often to support principals." (p. 29)

Component 4: Professional Learning for All

"School and central office administrators agree that the districtwide practices of structured collaboration and common planning time are integral to educators' professional development." (p. 32)

Component 5: Infrastructure Alignment

"Over the last decade, the district has invested in facilities, from upgrading fields and gyms to constructing science wings and new buildings." (p. 35)

Component 6: Clear & Collaborative Relationships

"There appears to be an established culture of open communication and accessibility between union leaders and central office administrators." (p. 38)