Statewide System of School Support (S4)

Statewide System of School Support

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 Section 1117 requires each state to establish a statewide system of intensive and sustained support and improvement for local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools receiving Title I funds to increase the opportunity for all students served by those agencies and schools to meet the State's academic content standards and student academic achievement standards. This Federal requirement was codified in State law through Assembly Bill 312 (Chapter 1020, Statutes of 2002) , a trailer bill to the 2002 Budget Act for California, which established a Statewide System of School Support (S4) designed to support the requirements of the ESEA. See also California Education Code Section 52059 .

The mission of California's S4 is to build school districts' capacity to support its low-performing schools. This mission is realized through the dissemination of information, technical assistance, and brokering of regional and statewide resources. Three entities work together to complete the work of S4:

1. Regional System of District and School Support (RSDSS)
2. California Comprehensive Center (CA CC)
3. California Department of Education (CDE)

The RSDSS is organized around the 11 county superintendent regions identified by the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) . Each region has a RSDSS Director who operates out of one of the county offices of education in each region.

The federally funded CA CC facilitates the dissemination of resources and information through the RSDSS.

The CDE serves in an administrative role convening regular meetings of representatives from these entities and provides state-level information, coordination, and training on various topics related to supporting S4's mission. In administering S4, the CDE must ensure that support is provided in the following order of priority to:

1. School districts or county offices of education with Title I schools that are subject to corrective action under ESEA.
2. School districts or county offices of education with Title I schools that are identified as program improvement (PI) schools.
3. School districts or county offices of education with schools participating in Title I under ESEA that need support and assistance.

The CDE S4 Web page contains information about the S4 grant: Funding Results, RSDSS Budget Form, and Expenditure Report Forms.

The CDE contracted with the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) to conduct an independent evaluation of the S4 system. The HumRRO Evaluation of the California Statewide System of School Support (S4): Final Report (PDF; 2MB), includes, but is not limited to, the finding, conclusions, and recommendations of the evaluation.

Regional System of District and School Support

The CDE Improvement and Accountability Division (IAD) is responsible for administering grants to support RSDSS regional work and offering technical assistance to regions in support of their work with districts and schools. The CDE's S4 Coordinator works collaboratively with designated county office of education staff and representatives from the CA CC and CCSESA in order to ensure statewide direction and support. The CDE's S4 Coordinator, housed within CDE's District Innovation and Improvement Office (DIIO), is responsible for the overall management of the S4. School Turnaround Office (STO) staff serves as primary contact for fiscal questions.

For RSDSS program related questions, please contact Keith Coppage, Education Administrator I, DIIO, by phone at 916-319-0599 or by e-mail at kcoppage@cde.ca.gov.

For RSDSS fiscal related questions, please contact Alicia Stampfli, Staff Services Manager I, STO, by phone at 916-319-0253 or by e-mail at astampfli@cde.ca.gov.

Information about each RSDSS Region is available on its respective Web site. The RSDSS Regional Director is the first contact for support for LEAs and schools. The table below includes RSDSS Region Web site links and Regional Director contact information. Information about additional services available in each county is available on the CCSESA Web site.