Standard 4 Aspect A

Standard 4: Evidence for this standard will address identified issues in light of the local and institutional context. The program provides evidence that it:

4a. Engages with local partners and stakeholders to support high-need schools and participates in efforts to reduce disparities in educational outcomes

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Description of Overall Administrative Services Need in the Central Valley Region:
The P-12 PASC program at Fresno State supports local district partners and county stakeholders through credentialing aspiring administrators. Our program mostly consists of candidates from the four major counties surrounding Fresno State (Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings), all of which service Title I schools and districts. To understand the context of administrative needs in the region, respective county office of education data reporting on Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) credentialed administrators were reviewed for trends by year from 2015-2019 (see Table 1 below). Three of the four major counties reported a steady increase in administrative services positions over the four-year range (Fresno, +10.7%; Madera, +9.0; Tulare, +8.3%), while Kings county has seen a minimal decline (-1.8%) during the same time period. The Fresno State PASC program is one of six regional institutions preparing administrator candidates to meet this overall need.

Table 1. 

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) credentialed administrator positions by county from 2015-2019

_{**2019-20 not yet published at time of report
California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Office. Downloadable files are located at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/}

 

Preliminary Services Credential Need. The next data stream, the CTC Educator Supply Data Report, assists the program in better understanding the administrative services credential context state-wide to make comparisons with the Central Valley regional trends. Based on the publicly available data, the overall five-year trend for issuing preliminary administrative services credentials statewide is declining, particularly over the past three years. This aligns with the regional declining need as well as our lower program enrollment (See Table 2). Preliminary credentials are specifically noted, as those are issued when completers show evidence of being hired on in an administrator role versus a certificate of eligibility, which only indicates completion of the PASC program criteria. Based on the percent decrease State-wide, all California State University PASC programs, and Fresno State PASC data below, the region surrounding Fresno State, while still in decline regarding the need for newly credentialed school administrators, is declining at a smaller ratio than other regions, indicating greater need in this region. 

Table 2. 

CTC Issuance of preliminary administrative services credentials state-wide from 2015/16-2019/20

_{California Commission on Teacher Education, Other Educator Supply: Services Credential located at: https://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/reports/data/edu-supl-other}

 

Administrative Internship Need. Each year the FS PASC program supports district needs by accepting candidates under internship credentials. The need for interns shifts from year to year based on district needs. In addition, the overall need for administrative interns is relatively small statewide as there is not a shortage of supply in relation to the overall demand. In the region surrounding Fresno State, the need for administrative interns tends to be in outlying rural districts, which are historically hard-to-staff. Based on the data in Table 3 below, the overall need for interns state-wide has declined greatly over the past five years, which is also true for the CSU PASC programs. The decreased need for FS PASC program support of administrative interns has been volatile over the past five years, with a large decrease in 2019-2020.

Table 3. 

CTC Issuance of internship administrative services credentials state-wide from 2015/16-2019/20

_{California Commission on Teacher Education, Other Educator Supply: Services Credential located at: https://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/reports/data/edu-supl-other}

 

Description of Overriding Challenge of Disparity in Educational Outcomes
The region surrounding Fresno State includes four key service counties: Fresno, Madera, Tulare and Kings. These counties support a diverse population from a range of demographic factors. These counties also service several school districts in urban, suburban, rural, and mountain areas. These districts represent both some of the largest in the state and some of the smallest. Table 4 presents an overview of the student demographics across each county to understand the student population. The most current published data (2019-2020) shows regional public schools serve a majority of Hispanic students, followed by White, and Asian. English learners are also a significant portion of the student population, as well as those coming from Socio-Economic Disadvantaged homes. 

Table 4. 

Student enrollment demographics by county from 2019-2020

_{Ed-Data, Student Demographics Tab, Cumulative Enrollment Data available online by county: Fresno - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Fresno; Madera - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Madera; Tulare - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Tulare; Kings - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Kings}

 

Referencing academic outcomes from the regional P12 public school population, the 3-year trend from the publicly available 2016/2017 to 2018/2019 state testing data (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress; CAASPP) in English Language Arts/Literacy and Math highlights incremental increases of students meeting and exceeding standards across all counties (See Table 5). Though the gains are noted, data also indicates that the majority of students continue to fall below standard in each county. 

Table 5. 

Percent of students “at” and “exceeding standards” on the CAASPP in ELA and Math by county from 2015-2019

_{**2019-20 not yet published at time of report}

_{Ed-Data, Student Performance Tab, CAASPP English Language Arts/Literacy Results and CAASPP Mathematics results available online by county: Fresno - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Fresno; Madera - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Madera; Tulare - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Tulare; Kings - https://www.ed-data.org/county/Kings}

 

Description of PASC efforts alignment with mission and needs of local context
As stated in the mission, the goal of FS PASC program is that completers will become courageous transformational leaders advocating for equity and social justice from an asset-based frame, who execute actions that have a profound positive impact on the lives of children, educators, and the community for P12 across Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings Counties.  

Based on the student demographic data and assessment of learning in ELA and Math, schools need a diverse set of educational leaders who reflect the landscape of the community and students. They also need administrators who, as instructional leaders, can harness the assets of school teachers to facilitate quality learning experiences in a climate of care to meet the needs of all students, especially those who have been historically underserved across the region. While the current need for new leaders is not large since turnover in these positions is low, the FS PASC program continues to prepare aspiring leaders who will be ready to address the challenges in the region’s schools from an equity-driven frame for continuous school improvement. 

Moving forward, the FS PASC program will work to rekindle district partnerships to strengthen the stakeholder feedback required for reflexive and meaningful continuous program improvement to also address context-specific district needs within an equity-driven framework.

Articulating Plans for Future Stakeholder Involvement:

District partnerships. The plan is to continue working on developing intentional district partnerships which are inclusive of a mutual agreement toward working together to support  school administrator candidate success. The following steps will be taken to establish a partnership model for success: 

• Develop a common definition of district and university partnership 
• Set formal meetings with university program leadership and potential district partner leadership 
• Develop a memorandum of understanding between district and university for the established partnership 
• Develop a partnership specific candidate recruitment plan 
• Set up follow-up dates for progress monitoring partnership agreements and student success. 

P12 Superintendent Advisory Council 

Purpose. The P12 Educational Leadership Superintendent’s Advisory Council was re-established to help:  

Continue to build relationships and enhance partnerships

• Inform P-12 partners of pertinent and relevant information regarding the CSUF Educational Leadership and Administration Program 
• Listen to CSUF stakeholders to obtain feedback and actionable information for continuous system and program improvement  

The goal is to meet once a semester  with superintendents in the Central Valley and faculty leadership and work together to support our administrator candidates. 

Individuals Involved:

• Jessica Hannigan, Faculty, Educational Leadership Department, Fresno State
• John Campbell, Superintendent, Kings Canyon Joint Unified
• Wes Sever, Superintendent, Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District
• Randy Yerrick, Dean, Kremen School of Education and Human Development, Fresno State
• Todd Lile, Superintendent, Madera Unified School District
• Bob Nelson, Superintendent, Fresno Unified School District
• Eimear O'Farrell, Superintendent, Clovis Unified School District

One challenge is ensuring we have rural district superintendent representation on the advisory council. Although they were invited, we did not have many attend. We are working on reaching out to them individually to see how we can improve attendance to the advisory council. 

• Meeting 1 Agenda

Meeting 1 Accomplishments: 

• Reestablished the purpose of the P12 Superintendent Advisory Council 
• Discussed district needs from the University
• Shared partnership information and opportunities 

Next Steps:

• Improve communication structures to inform superintendents who is enrolled in the program from each district and what project/research topics they are working on

Aspect B →