# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Amber Valdez, Rebeca Cerna, and Shazia Hashmi

When child-, youth-, and family-serving agencies facilitate systems change efforts without those who experience and are impacted by these systems, they run the risk of perpetuating inequity and causing harm to the very people they intend to serve. Participatory systems change involves community members and system leaders to collectively identify, design, decide, implement, and assess priorities, actions, and investments that work toward eliminating systemic oppression and generating system conditions that promote equity, opportunity, and well-being.

System leaders can use this guide to help facilitate participatory systems change. The guide features elements of participatory systems change that institutions and organizations can apply depending on local context and locally defined goals. With this guide, system leaders will:

Understand what participatory systems change is and how it can contribute to transformative change at the systems level that promotes equity, opportunity, and well-being for young people, families, and communities

Gain insights into integrating elements of participatory systems change into any initiative at any phase of implementation

Consider key questions and resources in order to align change initiatives with elements of participatory systems change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Participatory Systems Change for Equity: An Inquiry Guide for Child-, Youth- and Family- Serving Agencies - California Safe and Supportive Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Amber Valdez, Rebeca Cerna, and Shazia Hashmi When child-, youth-, and family-serving agencies facilitate systems change efforts without those who experience and are impacted by these systems, they run the risk of perpetuating inequity and causing harm to the very people they intend to serve.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The California Center for School Climate (CCSC), a California Department of Education initiative operated by WestEd, provides free support and trainings on school climate and data use to local education agencies in California.

Supports are provided to districts and schools across the state via a series of activities including school climate virtual events, data use virtual sessions, peer learning exchanges, school climate data use workshops, professional learning supports, and one-on-one consultation supports.

CCSC Goals

1. Relevant: Deliver relevant, responsive, and engaging technical assistance on a variety of school climate topics that meets LEAs and schools where they are.

2. Data: Support LEAs and schools with best practices for collecting, using, and measuring data to support equitable school climate systems change and positive school climates.

3. Connection: Serve as a connector across the state to promote and disseminate best practices.

4. Partnership: Support LEAs and schools in building partnerships with education partners in creating a supportive school climate for all.

Activities and Supports

To learn more about the activities and supports offered by the CCSC, visit these links:

Learn more about the activities, services, and resources CCSC provided in year two here.

Who Will Benefit

K-12 school district administrators

Principals and site administrators

Teacher leaders, behavior specialists, intervention coordinators

Counselors, school psychologists, and mental health professionals

We Want to Hear From You

For more information about the CCSC, please contact our team at [email protected] .

To ensure that the center offerings are relevant to local education agencies, please fill out the Inquiry Survey to guide the work of the Center.

Stay Informed

To receive updates about CCSC events and resources, subscribe to the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
California Center for School Climate (CCSC)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The California Center for School Climate (CCSC), a California Department of Education initiative operated by WestEd, provides free support and trainings on school climate and data use to local education agencies in California.

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding School Climate: An Overview of School Climate Domains

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding School Climate: An Overview of School Climate Domains

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Nakanya Magby and Rebeca Cerna

The purpose of this brief is to define school climate, identify its domains which provides a framework for identifying strategies, and practices; and provides recommendations for assessing school climate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding School Climate: An Overview of School Climate Domains - California Safe and Supportive Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nakanya Magby and Rebeca Cerna The purpose of this brief is to define school climate, identify its domains which provides a framework for identifying strategies, and practices; and provides recommendations for assessing school climate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A New York Times Bestseller
A Washington Post Bestseller
A Los Angeles Times Bestseller
Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub
A Washington Post "2020 Holiday Gift Guide" Recommendation
A Minneapolis Star Tribune "2020 Holiday Book Recommendation"
A Book Riot "Favorite Summer Read of 2020​"
A Food Tank Reading Recommendation for Fall 2020
Updated with a new introduction from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the hardcover special edition of Braiding Sweetgrass, reissued in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Milkweed Editions, celebrates the book as an object of meaning that will last the ages. Beautifully bound with a new cover featuring an engraving by Tony Drehfal, this edition includes a bookmark ribbon, and five brilliantly colored illustrations by artist Nate Christopherson. In increasingly dark times, we honor the experience that more than 350,000 readers in North America have cherished about the book-gentle, simple, tactile, beautiful, even sacred-and offer an edition that will inspire readers to gift it again and again, spreading the word about scientific knowledge, indigenous wisdom, and the teachings of plants.

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert).

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings-asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass-offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

Indigenous, Nature, science, Native American, traditional ecological knowledge, Natural history, Ecology, botany, plants, essays, environment, spirituality, nonfiction, life sciences, spiritual, teaching, wisdom

Like this book? Sign up for occasional updates

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer is no stranger to addressing the biggest issues of our times through art. In the...

Join Robin Wall Kimmerer at Door County Library for the Write on Door County Reads 2024.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Bestseller A Los Angeles Times Bestseller Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub A Washington Post "2020 Holiday Gift Guide" Recommendation A Minneapolis Star Tribune "2020 Holiday Book Recommendation" A Book Riot "Favorite Summer Read of 2020​" A Food Tank Reading Recommendation for Fall 2020 Updated with a new introduction from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the hardcover special edition of Braiding Sweetgrass, reissued in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Milkweed Editions, celebrates the book as an object of meaning that will last the ages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teachers spend two minutes a day for ten days getting to know a student with whom they wish to foster a positive relationship.

# data[].attributes.headline
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain

# data[].attributes.subject
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Book - Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Helping Students be the Leaders of their Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you've engaged with the social change ecosystem map, don't miss out on a new workbook from Deepa called Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.
Social Change Now is a practical guide for those at every stage of their individual and organizational journeys towards justice, equity and solidarity. It introduces an ecosystems framework that includes ten roles that many of us play in service of our social change values. But the book goes further. It contains detailed descriptions and real-world examples, reflection prompts (with room to write responses), and accessible tips that can immediately be put into action. This book is a resource that will accompany individuals and organizations not only in times of crisis, but throughout their lifelong social change journeys to build connected communities and equitable systems in our world. Over the past three years, people and organizations around the world have used the social change ecosystem framework to respond to the pandemic, express solidarity during the uprisings against anti-Black racism, and support multiracial coalitions struggling for reproductive rights, immigrant and refugee protections, and climate justice.

Social Change Now is a collaboration between Deepa Iyer, Thick Press, an experimental publishing practice, and Omnivore, a design studio founded by Asian American women.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection - Deepa Iyer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you've engaged with the social change ecosystem map, don't miss out on a new workbook from Deepa called Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection. Social Change Now is a practical guide for those at every stage of their individual and organizational journeys towards justice, equity and solidarity.

# data[].attributes.headline
San Juan Unified School District Resources

# data[].attributes.subject
San Juan Unified School District Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Based on existing research and best practices, the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (Version 2) is designed to support the development of family engagement strategies, policies, and programs. It is not a blueprint for engagement initiatives, which must be designed to fit the particular contexts in which they are carried out. Instead, the Framework should be seen as a compass, laying out the goals and conditions necessary to chart a path toward effective family engagement efforts that are linked to student achievement and school improvement.
Suggested citation:
Mapp, K. L. & Bergman, E. (2019). Dual capacity-building framework for family-school partnerships (Version 2). Retrieved from: www.dualcapacity.org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Based on existing research and best practices, the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (Version 2) is designed to support the development of family engagement strategies, policies, and programs. It is not a blueprint for engagement initiatives, which must be designed to fit the particular contexts in which they are carried out.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sign up for the California Safe & Supportive Schools Newsletter

# data[].attributes.subject
Sign up for the California Safe & Supportive Schools Newsletter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Subscribe to the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter to receive updates and information on the latest research, resources, policies, and practices related to school climate, safety, and wellbeing. This monthly newsletter is developed by WestEd staff in collaboration with the California Department of Education. Explore the newsletter archive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Subscribe to the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter to receive updates and information on the latest research, resources, policies, and practices related to school climate, safety, and wellbeing. This monthly newsletter is developed by WestEd staff in collaboration with the California Department of Education. Explore the newsletter archive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Using Participatory Approaches to Support School Climate

The California Center for School Climate (CCSC) will be hosting a webinar followed by a virtual learning series on integrating participatory strategies to work collectively with young people, families, and communities to support school climate practices. Local education agencies (LEAs) across California can expect to engage in interactive participant discussions and leave with resources and actionable insights.

Opening Webinar

, September 27 , Participatory Systems Change for Equity: Centering Community Wisdom and Collective Action to Transform Child-, Youth-, and Family-Serving Systems

View the webinar description, resources, and recording here!

Monthly Virtual Learning Sessions

Each session will be 90 minutes, with a 1-hour webinar-type session and an optional 30-minute virtual discussion for questions and consultation.

Participants will learn about building community and relational trust, which are essential for meaningful, lasting change to happen within school communities. This involves creating opportunities for interpersonal connections and shared spaces that center on belonging.

Participants will learn how to collaborate to identify priorities and goals. This involves brainstorming and designing actions, services, and programs that interrupt inequitable system conditions and create opportunities for young people, families, and communities to thrive.

Participants will identify opportunities for alignment and coherence across policies, funding, communication, capacity building, data use, and goals.

Participants will consider how to establish routines that provide opportunities for young people, families, community partners, and system leaders to learn together about what is working and what is not as change ideas are carried out. Rooted in principles of continuous improvement, this involves cocreating meaningful and practical measures of change and working together to iterate and scale change approaches over time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The California Center for School Climate (CCSC) will be hosting a webinar followed by a virtual learning series on integrating participatory strategies to work collectively with young people, families, and communities to support school climate practices. Local education agencies (LEAs) across California can expect to engage in interactive participant discussions and leave with resources and actionable insights.