California has embraced a whole child vision for education. It has also launched a large number of initiatives to realize this vision. While the commitment is promising, the initiatives – Community Schools, Multi-tiered System of Supports, Expanded Learning, College and Career Pathways, etc. – are too often introduced and implemented as separate and siloed projects. The resulting fragmentation creates enormous strain on the system: teachers juggle many similar but distinct programs, school leaders struggle to build staff buy-in for each new ask, and administrators spend countless hours on separate needs assessments, plans and reports for each initiative.
To help the field address these challenges, the Glen Price Group – with its partners at the Center for Whole Child Education – created two sets of reports:
The most recent – Coherence in Practice: Profiles, Tools and Strategies from California Education – celebrates the coherence-building work underway in school districts, county offices of education and organizations across the state. An overview and seven profiles offer concrete and actionable strategies and tools that educators can adopt and adapt for their contexts.
The first – Strengthening Coherence Across Initiatives: A Whole Child Lens – illustrates specifically how whole child practices are embedded in widely implemented statewide initiatives, all aligned around a common goal of creating positive learning environments for students.
Together, these reports aim to spark conversations and inspire actions that bring us closer to a unified approach to whole child education in California. Ultimately, the goal for all the initiatives is to create positive, equitable learning experiences in which every young person can learn and grow. With these reports, we invite you to envision and pursue more coherent, focused, and joyful ways of supporting our students.
GPG offers workshops and presentations to help educators translate the concepts, tools and strategies in the reports to actions that improve coherence in your context. To find out more, contact kbrackenridge@glenpricegroup.com.
This work was made possible through the generous support of the Stuart Foundation.