Scope
Region 5 CC is partnering with the four states to establish a Networked Improvement Community (NIC), an evidence-based approach for SEA leaders to systematically develop, test, and scale innovative solutions to problems of practice. Region 5 CC is developing online training materials and resources for each step of the NIC process to support a culture of continuous improvement.
High-Leverage Problem
Under ESSA, states are expected to implement evidence-based practices that are contextually identified and implemented for those schools (and often districts) that exhibit:
- student groups who are consistently underperforming,
- student groups who are among the lowest performing in the state, or
- the lowest schoolwide performance in the state.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, states face unprecedented challenges in delivering instruction in new ways while meeting the needs of historically underserved student groups. In addition, the loss of high-stakes assessment data and the subsequent impact to accountability systems (i.e., loss of achievement, growth, and potentially school quality/student success data) mean that data informing improvement and progress were unavailable or limited for the past several school years.
As states and districts address the impact of lost instructional time during the COVID-19 pandemic on underserved students through ARP-ESSER plans, their ability to effectively address these inequities depends on the extent to which they can:
- Identify coherent and relevant data to inform needs assessments;
- Engage in needs assessments that can appropriately support the new student groups named in ESSA while also serving all students;
- Identify and implement evidence-based practices that address those student needs;
- Evaluate the impact of those practices for all students and, in particular, for historically underserved students;
- Replicate and scale evidence-based practices and their evaluations; and
- Share findings (e.g., strengths, weaknesses, successes, and challenges with specific approaches) within and across states.
Approach to Capacity Building Services
Key project activities will include 1) developing a series of training materials on topics related to implementation of the NIC; and 2) modeling the trainings with SEA participants. Outputs will include finalized training modules, additional resources, and a NIC guide that states can use in developing their own NICs at the state level and work with districts to identify evidence-based practices to address needs. The NIC is a research-based framework enabling states in the region to collectively understand, test, and scale-up solutions and will help to build the capacity of individual states in the area of continuous improvement, and in responding to common regional problems of practice.
