While states are often impacted by cost pressures beyond their control, certain state policies can help stabilize school funding from year to year and help school districts maintain stable services during times of declining revenue.
This report delves into some of the most pressing conditions contributing to current revenue volatility. It then explores policies that states may want to consider implementing to help them weather economic uncertainty and declining enrollment.
As part of a suite of resources on participatory systems change for equity, this tool offers an approach to systems change that centers the wisdom and motivations of those closest to systemic equity challenges to make sense of and transform system conditions toward opportunity and well-being through collective action. The tool describes a set of essential conditions for implementing participatory systems change initiatives and sample indicators to help readers assess the extent to which the conditions are already established in their contexts.
Key to the participatory systems change for equity approach are understanding and navigating participation along a continuum. The continuum of participation acknowledges varying modes of participation within a given systems change effort, with each mode serving a key purpose. This guide aims to add clarity to the nuanced nature of the continuum of participation by (a) describing the various participation modes and how they are interrelated and (b) offering practical considerations for leaders as they navigate the continuum and seek approaches to systems change that are more participatory.
When schools and school systems adopt a whole-person approach to learning, educators see improved student attendance and engagement, improved student connectedness, better social and emotional health, and improved academic outcomes. In addition to gaining academic knowledge, students are able to graduate with the essential social and emotional skills needed to succeed in college and the workforce.
To support statewide adoption of social-emotional learning (SEL) and other whole-person strategies, the National Center of Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd worked with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and North Dakota Regional Education Association to identify districts that had been experiencing success with using whole-person practices.
Using a mixed-method research approach, two districts rose to the top as SEL exemplars: Wilton School District and Richland #44 School District. This case study explores each district’s successful strategies and some of the benefits they have offered to the district’s students, staff, and communities — beyond the evident student performance data.
Strategic communications is important for building awareness, engagement, and commitment for serving children and youth. When this communication is bidirectional, it also creates avenues for state education agency (SEA) leaders to receive timely, honest feedback from stakeholders about the effectiveness of whole-person initiatives.
This guide is organized around six interrelated domains of alignment and coherence: Goals, Funding and Policies, Strategic Communications, Stakeholder Engagement, Capacity Building, and Data Use.
This Strategic Communications Workbook is designed to be used by SEA leaders as a companion to Serving the Whole Person: An Alignment and Coherence Guide for State Education Agencies in order to aid in the design and launch of their strategic communications efforts.
Promoting more equitable conditions of learning and development for students, families, and educators; such conditions are more likely to result when whole-person initiatives are implemented within aligned and coherent systems.
To support state education agency (SEA) leaders in establishing a statewide vision for serving the whole person, WestEd drafted and piloted the guide, Serving the Whole Person: An Alignment and Coherence Guide for State Education Agencies, in collaboration with several SEAs.
“The theory of change behind this guide is that if educators at every level of the K–12 system work in aligned and coherent ways to sustain equitable conditions of success that support whole-person learning and development, then each and every student will have the experiences that support personal purpose, healthy relationships, a sense of place in community, success in school and the workplace, and engaged citizenship.”
– Natalie Walrond and Natalie Romer
This case story describes how the Ohio Departments of Public Safety (DPS), Education (DOE), and Mental Health and Addiction Services (MHAS) developed a collaborative approach to inventorying whole-child efforts, using and adapting the SEA Alignment and Coherence Guide to comprehensively review their statewide initiatives. It also shares key insights that may benefit other SEAs as they consider their own efforts to improve the alignment and coherence of their whole-person or whole-child initiatives.
This report examines how First 5 Alameda can lead efforts to strengthen alignment and coherence across Alameda County’s early childhood mixed delivery system. As the agency administering Measure C and partnering on the Oakland Children’s Initiative, First 5 Alameda is well positioned to help build a more integrated early care and education system. The report highlights how children’s development is influenced by the broader systems around them—such as housing, health, transportation, and employment—and emphasizes the importance of coordinated policy and infrastructure in supporting family and community well-being. When these systems function effectively, they help create stable communities and support long-term economic and educational outcomes.
To support state education agency (SEA) leaders in establishing a statewide vision for serving the whole person, WestEd drafted and piloted the guide, Serving the Whole Person: An Alignment and Coherence Guide for State Education Agencies, in collaboration with several SEAs.
“The theory of change behind this guide is that if educators at every level of the K–12 system work in aligned and coherent ways to sustain equitable conditions of success that support whole-person learning and development, then each and every student will have the experiences that support personal purpose, healthy relationships, a sense of place in community, success in school and the workplace, and engaged citizenship.”
– Natalie Walrond and Natalie Romer
This case story describes Delaware Department of Education (DOE)’s collaborative approach to inventorying whole-child efforts, using and adapting the SEA Alignment and Coherence Guide to comprehensively review their statewide initiatives. It also shares key insights that may benefit other SEAs as they consider their own efforts to improve the alignment and coherence of their whole-person or whole-child initiatives.
Education leaders at the state level face many challenges, including navigating a complex system of policies, agencies, and available resources to do what’s best for young learners. This brief highlights how leaders in Hawai’i’s State Department of Education’s Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design (OCID) are navigating these complexities to appropriately support students when they enter the K–12 education system.
The brief describes the process the state education leaders in the OCID used to review and align the state agency’s vision for kindergarten with existing policy and developmentally appropriate practice while incorporating cultural elements. It also discusses how Hawai’i’s leaders are collaboratively building and integrating their knowledge of best practices for young learners so they can support schools and districts to embed those practices in assessments and classrooms.
State education agencies and those who work at the policy and systems level of designing supports for kindergarten can consider the reflective questions in the brief as they work toward creating developmentally appropriate and culturally affirming education spaces that bridge the early learning and K–12 sectors.
Students thrive when the programs and services designed to support them work together seamlessly. Yet too often, well-meaning initiatives are operated in isolation, creating confusion and inefficiency for schools, families, and communities. This WestEd Perspectives piece explains how state and local agencies can build aligned and coherent systems—in which policies, practices, and partnerships reinforce each other rather than working at cross-purposes.
The brief shares practical strategies for strengthening coordination within your agency, between state and local levels, and across sectors like education, health, and social services and offers real-world examples of what alignment looks like in action, from coordinating student support services to helping families access resources without navigating multiple bureaucracies.
Discover how building relational trust, fostering collaboration, and creating shared goals can transform fragmented efforts into connected systems that better serve young people and families.
The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and users should not assume endorsement by the Federal government.
