LCAP conversations.
5. How can you build better relationships
with community organizations and other part-
ners?
Community based organizations (CBOs)
have a strong history in community organiz-
ing. In some districts, CBOs were pivotal to
deep engagement, helping to recruit partici-
pants, build their understanding and capac-
ity to engage in LCAP conversations, and
ensure that all voices were heard.
How might you build relationships with
external partners to facilitate deep engage-
ment? If the community does not have well-
organized CBOs, might there be faith-based
organizations, colleges, churches and other
groups that could play a partnering role?
6. How has your approach to the LCFF
evolved over time?
One three-year LCFF cycle is in the past
and you are now nearly at the end of the first
year of another LCAP. With your team, and
then again with your community stakehold-
ers, reflect on where you’ve been with the
LCFF and where you hope to go. What
have you learned about engagement in your
16
Leadership
district? What worked? What didn’t? What
haven’t you tried? Check out the California
Department of Education’s recently pub-
lished Family Engagement Toolkit, acces-
sible at https://goo.gl/KpACQc, designed
to help you take stock of your engagement
efforts.
After more than four years of implement-
ing LCFF, we’ve learned a lot about the
challenges and opportunities of stakeholder
engagement. It’s now time to capitalize on
these insights to facilitate more meaningful
processes.
Resources
• Humphrey, D.C., Koppich, J.E., Esch,
C., Marsh, J.A., Hall, M., Campbell, A.
and Imazeki, J. (2014). “Toward a grand vi-
sion: Early implementation of California’s
local control funding formula.” SRI Interna-
tional. Accessible at https://goo.gl/723V8t.
• Humphrey, D., Koppich, J., Lavadenz,
M., Marsh, J. O’Day, J., Plank, D., Stokes,
L. and Hall, M. (2017) “Paving the way to
equity and coherence? The Local Control
Funding Formula in Year 3.” Stanford, CA:
LCFF Research Collaborative and PACE.
• Koppich, J.E., Humphrey, D.C. and
Marsh, J.A. (2015). “Two years of Califor-
nia’s Local Control Funding Formula: Time
to reaffirm the grand vision.” Stanford, CA:
PACE.
• Marsh, J. and Hall, M. (2017). “Chal-
lenges and choices: A multidistrict analysis
of statewide mandated democratic engage-
ment.” American Educational Research
Journal. Accessible at https://goo.gl/hx-
SW6v.
• Policy Analysis for California Educa-
tion, “The Local Control Funding Formula
Research Collaborative.” Available at www.
edpolicyinca.org/projects/lcffrc.
Julie A. Marsh ([email protected]) is an
associate professor at the Rossier School
of Education at University of Southern
California and co-director of Policy
Analysis for California Education. Kate E.
Kennedy ([email protected]) is a doctoral
student in Urban Education Policy at the
Rossier School of Education at USC.