California Department of Education, Special Education Division’s special project, California Services for Technical Assistance and Training (CalSTAT) is funded through a contract with the Napa County Office of Education. CalSTAT is partially funded from federal funds, State Grants #H027A080116A. Additional federal funds are provided from a federal competitively awarded State Personnel Development Grant to California (#H323A070011) provided from the U.S. Department of Education Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education act (IDEA). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U. S. Department of Education.
Since the first State Improvement Grant was awarded to California in 1999, CalSTAT has delivered nearly 1,300 training and technical assistance (TA) events, often multiple-day trainings or institutes, to nearly 42,000 participants on over 1,600 site teams from nearly 600 LEAs in 56 of 58 counties. Training and TA events have been provided around research-based core messages (www.calstat.org/cores.html) in the form of:
During 2008-09, the first year of the new State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG), CalSTAT delivered 118 TA events to 5,688 participants. Teams from 535 individual schools, districts, parent groups and other organizations of educators and stakeholders attended these events.
Leadership Site and Regional Institute TA are aspects of the Leadership Community activities, which constituted 68% of TA events (80 of 118 events). Leadership Sites are awarded through a competitive process identifying remarkable systems change and outcomes. These sites both provide and receive TA. Regional Institute Host Sites are competitively selected to provide professional development TA and support systems change at the regional level.
Event topics and participant roles are tracked by CalSTAT. Additionally, end-of-event evaluations monitor participant learning and the quality of TA events.
| Events | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| GE/SE Collaboration | 53 | 45% |
| Behavior | 28 | 24% |
| Family Partnerships | 11 | 9% |
| RtI | 10 | 9% |
| Transition | 8 | 7% |
| Literacy | 5 | 4% |
| IDEA | 1 | 1% |
| LRE | 1 | 1% |
| Participants | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher: General Education | 1,247 | 37% |
| Teacher: Special Education | 692 | 20% |
| Administrator: General Education | 441 | 13% |
| Other Certificated Professional | 385 | 11% |
| Administration: Special Education | 248 | 7% |
| Parent/Family | 73 | 2% |
| Paraprofessional | 54 | 2% |
| Program Specialist | 44 | 1% |
| Other | 217 | 7% |
| Average Response | ||
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge Prior | 3.1 | An Increase of 35% |
| Knowledge After | 4.2 | |
| Usability | 4.3 | |
| Overall | 4.2 |
To measure the impact of TA, follow-up surveys were emailed to recipients who gave email addresses on event sign-ups. 2,273 surveys were sent between 3 and 6 months after events, collecting 593 responses (26%). Responses to follow-up surveys described implementation and sharing of strategies that worked well.
| Implemented Strategies | Strategies Worked Well | Shared Strategies with Others | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants responding with 4 or 5 | 57% | 62% | 63% |
| Participants responding with 3 | 29% | 28% | 23% |
| Participants Responding with 3, 4 or 5 | 510 | 534 | 510 |
Participants were given the opportunity, both in end-of-event and follow-up surveys, to comment on the TA they received. Responses include the following:
“The training, mentoring, and consulting we have received is exemplary. This guidance has completely changed the way we do business in the district and the students and families we serve have been the beneficiaries.”
“The meeting information was especially useful to us. We use it at almost all meetings now. Also, we used the structure to take on a project that didn’t seem possible, and succeeded.”
“Adoption and sustainability are enhanced by having key researchers sharing their perspective on scaling-up RtI and PBS.”
“As a reading teacher and coach I found the ideas presented to be timely and useful. The best workshop I have attended in many years.”
“The hands-on practice activities during the sessions and between the sessions have been very helpful in guiding and practicing our learning.”
“We had representatives of all stakeholders groups in public education. For me, as a special ed teacher, this led to a renewed emphasis on making sure we work with all these groups.”
Sites that implement knowledge learned through technical assistance and engage in systems change often see improvements in school environment and academic performance. Keeping in mind that many factors influence student academic outcomes, an examination of the percent of students scoring proficient and above in California Standards Test (CST) English Language Arts (ELA) may suggest academic outcomes.
The chart below averages the percent proficient and above at all sites who have received substantial TA support since the first State Improvement Grant in 1999, defined as having received three or more days of TA over the course of two or more years.
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Students | Median of Sites Receiving TA | 40.3 | 45.0 | 47.7 | 48.5 | 50.7 | 53.5 |
| California Statewide | 37.4 | 41.9 | 44.8 | 45.5 | 48.2 | 52.4 | |
| Students with Disabilities | Median of Sites Receiving TA | 13.4 | 16.6 | 20.0 | 20.5 | 24.4 | 32.6 |
| California Statewide | 14.7 | 17.0 | 19.5 | 20.7 | 24.1 | 30.7 | |
| Approximate AYP Target | 12 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 34 | 45 | |
This report was developed for CalSTAT by the SPDG Evaluation Team of Cheryl “Li” Walter, PhD, and Alan Wood.
CalSTAT (California Services for Technical Assistance and Training), at Napa County Office of Education, is a special project of the California Department of Education, Special Education Division. Visit CalSTAT at http://www.calstat.org.
“CalSTAT is partially funded from federal funds awarded in Part B of Public Law 108-446, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004. Additional federal funds are provided from a federal competitively awarded State Program Improvement Grant to California (CFDA 84.323A) allowed in Part D of Public Law 108-447, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004. These dollars are considered local assistance funds. Both funds are to assist individuals serving children birth to 22 years of age and their families.”