Envision Learning Partners (ELP) is currently on a two-year journey in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), thanks to a generous gift from the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, along with matching funds from each of the districts.  ELP is leading these two districts in the design, development, and implementation of Envision's Deeper Learning Student Assessment System (DLSAS).ELP is leading professional development for 37 teachers in 9 Linked Learning pathway teams in collaboration with ConnectEd, to help these districts in their mission to graduate students who are college and career ready and to ensure conceptual and implementation coherence between their Linked Learning Initiative and the DLSAS.  The goal is for graduating seniors in the 9 pathways to defend their college and career readiness in June 2015.  This will be a tremendous accomplishment, having an immediate impact on over 970 students and 37 teachers and a potential long-term impact on the 710,079 students enrolled in these districts (LAUSD = 662,140 and SCUSD = 47,939).

LAUSD and SCUSD are working in partnership with ELP to implement the key components of Envision's deeper learning student assessment system, as shown in the Grant Outcomes chart below.

Grant Outcomes

As part of this work, ELP has developed a strong partnership with ConnectEd, which had established a strong collaborative working relationship with LAUSD and SCUSDS prior to ELP's engagement with the districts.  Together, ELP and ConnectEd have committed to working together to promote and support coherence in these districts as well as Oakland Unified School District where they are also collaborating.  They have done this by co-designing and co-leading professional development sessions, offering teachers and school and district leaders a "framework" to integrate ConnectEd's Linked Learning approach and ELP's DLSAS.  ELP also includes ConnectEd in the assessment design teams and in ongoing communication with the districts.  As a result of this successful partnership, ELP is developing a new partnership with ConnectEd in Detroit, providing professional development to principals and teachers in 5 schools where Linked Learning is being implemented.  This strong partnership between ELP and ConnectEd serves as an emerging model approach for working with districts, which will continue to serve LAUSD and SCUSD in next year's implementation of the DLSAS as well as other districts in the future.

In the upcoming school year, both LAUSD and SCUSD are working on plans to institutionalize their versions of Envision's deeper learning student assessment system (DLSAS), including:

• LAUSD: During the renewal grant period, LAUSD plans to "onboard" 5 new pathway teams by pairing them up with the 5 pathways currently piloting the DLSAS who will act as mentors to the new pathway teams.  LAUSD district leaders are creating a strategic plan for professional development and defense visits to onboard the additional 21 Linked Learning pathways that are not part of the 10 pathways working with Envision in the previous and renewal grant periods. 

• SCUSD:  Currently, SCUSD is building in-house capacity to sustain and scale up the implementation by having the four participating teams mentor four more teams and serve as members of the District Design Committee utilizing combined funding (i.e. Linked Learning and CCPT funds).

Envision Learning Partners (ELP) will provide ongoing technical assistance throughout the renewal grant period to support LAUSD and SCUSD in their efforts to scale and lead the word internally. Additionally, in June 2015, ELP staff members will work with each district design team to review, analyze, and interpret data collected for the key progress indicators, reflect on lessons learned, and assist, as needed, in the revision of district sustainability plans