SDCOE Expanded Learning

SDCOE Expanded Learning is uniquely charged with managing over 40M annually in state and federal expanded learning funds for 230 sites across 28 districts and 21 charters. Our core mission is to support our districts and charters in the ethical and quality-driven process of building and sustaining exemplary expanded learning programs that provide a variety of experiences and opportunities for young people. Unlike traditional “pass-through” dollars that are distributed to districts with little to no oversight, SDCOE Expanded Learning is structured to provide support across a continuum. With over 37+ years of combined site and district administrative-level experience in operating and managing expanded learning programs, we provide a unique set of services to our programs that set a standard for integrated operations statewide.

As part of the larger San Diego Expanded Learning Consortium, SDCOE Expanded Learning provides a one-stop shop for services to support both the programmatic and point-of-service needs of districts and site programs. We also have a unique collaborative model with community partnerships that support the implementation of exemplar programming. As district/site advisors, state and federal grants managers, and design-thinking coaches, our work clusters across the following domains described below:

SDCOE Grantee

SDCOE Expanded Learning is the grantee for the ASES, ASSETs, and 21st CCLC expanded learning programs. We are awarded funds through a competitive grant process.

As the grantee for the San Diego Expanded Learning Consortium program sites, the SDCOE is responsible for writing the grant application for the ASES, ASSETs, and 21st CCLC expanded learning grant programs. Each year we are charged with responding to Requests for Applications for these and periphery grants such as the Kids Code and Frontier transportation grants. We are also responsible for reporting outcomes data on both a quarterly and annual basis to the CDE and USDOE. With a small but mighty team of passionate educators, we provide all of these comprehensive services for our Consortium partners, ensuring that the SDCOE as grantee and our district sub-grantees remain in good standing. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

Weekly meetings with our student information systems provider Cityspan to ensure that data is collected accurately, site concerns are addressed in a timely manner, and updates to the system are responsive to program needs
For the first time, completely digital processing of the SDCOE grant sub-contracts for 11 grant programs across 49 districts and charters from master contract creation, district-specific MOA development based on unique grant program and funding, distribution/collection to and from districts, and internal fiscal processing
283 individual state and federal outcomes reports uploaded to CDE and the USDOE without errors - a testament to the strength of the collaboration between the SDCOE Expanded Learning team, our partner districts, and our program sites

Strategic Alignment

Our unique Consortium model provides a common, mission, vision, and purpose for Expanded Learning programs, unifying strong grant management practices across San Diego County.

The unique Expanded Learning Consortium model was tested during COVID and it proved to be a strong example of why a united grant management process leads to increased effectiveness. One district operating as an independent grantee requires considerable infrastructure resources to maintain programs and may not be agile enough to build flexibility and advance continuous quality through its own efforts. SDCOE Expanded Learning strategically aligns needs across Districts and charters, enabling the Consortium of programs to harvest intellectual capital, remove barriers to quality, and pool capital resources to increase value and efficiency. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

Development, testing, and roll-out of new Online Registration system for program enrollment with our partner Cityspan, providing program sites with a virtual program application option
Facilitation of Innovation Collaboration Zoom meetings that harnessed the power of like-minded administrators across districts and regions to ideate and co-create solutions to program management and development during COVID

Fiscal Management

SDCOE Expanded Learning is charged with the fiscal management and oversight of the ASES, ASSETs, and 21st CCLC expanded learning programs.

We take pride in offering our districts and charters exemplar fiscal management processes that provide a foundational base so programs may focus on the most important component of expanded learning programming - serving young people. We manage all fiscal aspects of the grant, including quarterly and semi-annual expenditure reporting to the CDE and USDOE, collection and review of 85/15 direct/administrative reporting at both the district and school site level, and customized support and oversight to ensure proper program expenditures. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

Fiscal guidance provided to our districts and charters in real-time as legislation was amended during COVID to include: guidance related to the extension of funds and appropriate management of concurrent funding; fiscally sound practices for utilizing grant funds and guidance related to appropriate use of funds; and Consortium meetings to reinforce fiscal practices in spite of lack of guidance early on in the Pandemic
Redesign of the 85/15 direct/administrative expenditures report in collaboration with the CDE to more accurately reflect expenditures
District consultation at the assistant superintendent level to discuss the fiduciary duties of the District for programs that are run by community-based organizations

Continuous Quality Growth

As servant leaders, we are champions for our San Diego youth. We work with our program sites to develop a comprehensive CQGrowth plan that incorporates data and stakeholder feedback to ensure that we create authentic and equitable learning environments for all.

A primary directive of the CDE Expanded Learning division is to cultivate and monitor continuous quality improvement processes at the district and site level for statewide Expanded Learning programs. SDCOE Expanded Learning is responsible for this process and works with districts and sites to develop a comprehensive plan with a clear vision of growth. We are directly responsible for creating systems that support communication between districts and school sites and work to support the creation of site-specific indicators that help programs change and grow to support the ever-changing needs of young people. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

Deconstruction of the established CQI process through the solicitation of stakeholder feedback and developing understanding of program components
Implementation of first phase in new CQGrowth plan focusing on understanding communication and collaboration at the District and program site level based on stakeholder feedback
Development of the Quality Action Plan process and parallel integration with the Cityspan student information system that allows program sites to develop and track growth through development and documentation of a clear mission, vision, and purpose and strengthening communication and collaboration processes that also serves as evidence for CDE CQI

FPM/Audits

As the grantee of ASES, 21st CCLC, and ASSETs grants, we directly support SDCOE Expanded Learning programs in providing appropriate documentation for internal audits and manage the FPM process for our districts and program sites.

SDCOE Expanded Learning is part of the Federal Program Monitoring (FPM) process. Our team works closely with the CDE to help sites prepare and manage the evidence collection process through the CDE Monitoring Tool (CMT). Prior to the initiation of the FPM, we develop district-specific tools and work alongside our Districts to ensure that they gain maximum benefit from the FPM process. During the on-site review, we provide hands-on support to help alleviate any concerns and ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. As we do for any external audit finding received for Expanded Learning programs, SDCOE Expanded Learning, as the grantee on record, works with districts and charters to respond and remediate findings. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

FPM during COVID - direct support of South Bay Union and Vista Unified School Districts in navigating the process during the Pandemic and during the Winter Holiday
Remediation and response for three audit findings related to attendance processes for Carlsbad, Lemon Grove, and Magnolia Charter

Leadership Coaching

We provide district and site level coaching to develop and support new and existing programs across curricular, fiscal, and grant management strands.

Joining forces with Grants Management, the formerly Administrative Support Center became Expanded Learning and Community Engagement. This alignment was serendipitous as the first integrated action was to support our expanded learning sites through emergency changes to education code which allowed flexibility to offer support to essential workers and families. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

Customized one-one-one coaching to district administrators and site leaders to help them successfully build and manage robust virtual programs
Consistent virtual meetings to relay guidance, facilitate collegial conversations between districts and sites to support consistent management processes, and gather information and questions to produce follow-up FAQs for additional support
Immediate response to district’s critical concerns about the appropriate expenditure of funds, virtual management processes, and correct definition of expanded learning programs as academic and enrichment opportunities versus care and supervision programs

Program Development

In addition to developing integrated curriculum for out-of-school time and the instructional day, we provide training, ongoing support, and broker resources to develop and sustain quality programs.

Harnessing the power of administrative educational experience and instructional program development, SDCOE Expanded Learning provides targeted support for developing high quality programs that are integrated with the instructional day. We believe that the expanded learning environment is one conducive to utilizing creative learning methods, including experiential learning, project-based learning, phenomenal learning, environmental learning, student-directed learning, and much more. The expanded learning space, in addition to providing strong academic and enrichment opportunities, is also an incubator for novel programming and can serve as conduit for paraprofessionals to develop the skills they need to become teachers and counselors in the instructional day. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

In collaboration with the LEXL (Learning is Expanding Lab), development of the first integrated curriculum and guidebooks for expanding learning and the instructional day
Development of program management video modules to assure consistent practices across Consortium program sites
Development of learning videos highlighting new approaches to teaching in high school expanded learning programs

Data & Research

We maintain 15+ years of data through our Cityspan database for ASES, ASSETs, and 21st CCLC programs. We pilot and evaluate programming through rigorous research involving community partners.

With its inception in 2005 upon the passing of Prop 49, which funded ASES expanded learning programs throughout the state, SDCOE Expanded Learning has housed district and charter descriptive program data for K-12 programming. With our external partners, we annually collect survey data to understand program needs and use a data-driven process to fill administrative gaps and ensure that we provide targeted professional support. In 2017, we also began to use video ethnographic methods to capture the stories of learning and growth from the perspectives of our young people - working to give students of color and those with economic barriers a chance to describe how programming serves their individual needs. Key 20-21 highlights in this domain include:

COVID-focused high school student and staff survey administered in June 2020 and June 2021 to understand the immediate and sustained impacts of COVID in the first year of the Pandemic
Descriptive research study by Capacity to Impact to understand impacts of the Strengths-Based Leadership Academy (Year 1-3), a high school focused program engaging adults and young people in collaborative dialogue to re-design school culture and climate
10-year longitudinal study by Hoffman & Clark to explore the ASSETs high school expanded learning program from inception to present
America’s Finest Charter video ethnography highlighted program innovations during COVID
COVID-focused ASES parent, student, administrator, program staff, and teacher survey administered in June 2021 to understand impacts of virtual and hybrid expanded learning programs

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