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County Office outlines 'differentiated assistance' coaching to narrow achievement gaps
Summary
County staff described a coaching‑focused Differentiated Assistance program and warned against complacency from selective success stories; they said incomplete CALPADS submissions will trigger automatic eligibility for support.
County Office staff told the Board on Oct. 23 that the Differentiated Assistance (DA) program is shifting from consultancy toward coaching to support districts with pockets of persistent inequity. Executive Director Joy Dardenelle said the approach targets specific student groups and cautioned that "good news reports" can be dangerous if they lead to complacency.
Dardenelle said the DA dashboard is intended as a universal screening tool and that districts that do not properly submit CALPADS data will be listed as incomplete and automatically eligible for support. Board members, led by Ted Lempert, pressed staff on whether graduation rates and achievement gaps are narrowing; staff said improvements are uneven across communities and that leadership turnover and inconsistent district structures can complicate progress. The presenters also clarified that the dashboard counts students with disabilities as those with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), not 504 plans.
