Enrollment Improvements in Oakland November 16, 2015 Shannon Fitzgerald Enrollment Strategies and Systems Consultant

Agenda Welcome and Introductions What Work is Underway Relative to Enrollment? What is Common Enrollment? Common Enrollment in Oakland: Roadmap Clarifying Questions Small Group Discussion How can you envision CE helping in Oakland? What concerns you about implementing CE in Oakland? What other questions or advice do you have for the implementation team? Next Steps / Call to Action

2 Separate – but related – Streams of Work: WORK STREAM 1: OUSD Enrollment Policy & Operations Owner: OUSD Problems Being Addressed: “My child travels across the city to attend school because our neighborhood school is full.” “I think there should be an enrollment priority for kids who attend our neighborhood high school’s feeder school.” “The Student Assignment Center location is inconvenient for me.” “The OUSD Options process is not fair.” End Goals: OUSD Board vote to change current policy Re-engineering of current Enrollment office Opening of satellite OUSD Enrollment Center(s) WORK STREAM 2: Citywide Public School Enrollment Improvements Owners: OUSD, Ed78, GO Public Schools, Oakland Ed Fund, others Problems Being Addressed: “It is challenging to find unbiased information about schools.” “It is difficult to apply and enroll in schools.” “No one can explain to me why my child did not get into our most-preferred school.” “My school had to let go of a teacher in September because my enrollment roster was over-inflated and students got called in off another school’s waitlist.” “It’s not fair that some schools abide by their own rules around enrolling and withdrawing kids.” “It is not fair that some schools do not enroll kids who are new-to-Oakland after a certain date.” End Goals: OUSD Board Resolution, stating they will participate in a city-wide system Agreement from each Oakland-area charter school to participate in a citywide system Implementation of city-wide system (contingent upon #1 and #2)

What is Common Enrollment? A unified system of application and enrollment for all public schools that maximizes equity, transparency, and efficiency COMMON APP One application and lottery One set of enrollment rules for all schools to follow Tools to help families understand their school choices One public school assignment for each student in Oakland

Features of Common Enrollment Systems: Collaborative approach Single application used to access all public schools Single best offer system Central clearinghouse coordinates allocation of seats Safe for families to reveal true preferences Results can be easily explained and audited Annual cycle with many entry points (not just one lottery) Demand-driven method of efficiently enrolling schools Accurate enrollment data informs system-wide planning

What it is not: A one-size-fits-all mechanism (must be locally crafted) An attempt to support any one type of administration (district-run or charter) An attempt to support any particular type of school Prescriptive about education policy An attempt to control or shape admissions policy at schools An attempt to do away with neighborhood schools About making computers pick schools for kids A way to give everyone their first choice school A direct method for improving schools

Common Enrollment In Oakland What general questions do you have about common enrollment as a concept?

Common Enrollment in Oakland WE ARE HERE J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M 2014 2015 2016 2017 Define the Problem Create CE Blueprint 4 Key Issues: Difficult for parents Inefficient school resource allocation Lacks transparency & equity Governance & structure Get Feedback & Approval Build CE System (People + Process + Technology) Go Live!

Overview Oakland’s Blueprint: One application, one timeline, and one lottery will be used for all students and schools Proactive outreach will be conducted to “transitioning” students (e.g. those entering kindergarten, middle school, or high school), providing helpful information about all public schools available Multiple enrollment centers will be available throughout the city to provide unbiased guidance to families One set of enrollment “rules” will be followed year-round by all participating schools Each student in Oakland will receive only one enrollment offer No waitlists will be used Open seats at schools may be filled with students who are new to Oakland or by those with an approved transfer request

Common Enrollment In Oakland What questions do you have about how common enrollment would work in Oakland?

Questions for Discussion How can you envision CE benefitting Oakland families? What about schools? 2) What concerns you have about implementing CE in Oakland? 3) What other questions or advice do you have for the implementation team?

Next Steps OUSD Board Resolution stating Oakland Unified schools will participate in citywide system Individual charter school / CMO signatures on MOUs stating they will participate in citywide system Implementation of citywide system

Thank You!

Appendix

OUSD Strategic Plan

2015/16 Improvements Options Guide Online School Finder Tool Common timeline for OUSD and charters School Expo(s) Others?

Implementation Timeline Transitioning Student Outreach Community Support Notification of School Assignments WE ARE HERE <- Ongoing Community Engagement -> School Support Gather Stakeholder Feedback 1st Round Window 2nd Round Window <- Ongoing School Engagement -> BoE Support <- Ongoing BoE Engagement -> J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M 2015 2016 2017 Design Common Enrollment System Seek BoE Approval Staff CE Organization Establish Operating Processes Establish CE Owner & Governance Obtain Participation MOU from Each LEA Support Families & Schools Select Online School Finder Vendor Build Online School Finder Build Student Assignment Algorithm Run Combined Lottery Select Enrollment System Vendor Build and Integrate Enrollment & Application Mgmt. System

CE Blueprint Design: Decision-Making Structure 15 parents from diverse areas of Oakland Meets roughly once per month Shares ideas, feedback, and insight about enrollment and school choices with Steering Committee PARENT ADVISORY GROUP 12 people representing various Oakland-area stakeholders (OUSD, charters, community) Meets roughly twice per month Considers input from Parent Advisory Group and makes recommendations to Executive Committee STEERING COMMITTEE 4 leaders representing both OUSD and charter sector Meets roughly once per month Considers recommendations from Steering Committee and makes final decisions EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Charter Sign-on Will Require… MOU by June 2016 with clear terms including: Voluntary exit according to MOU policy Clear definition of OUSD and charter school deliverables (including SLAs) Common enrollment spelled out in district-charter compact with increased transparency and access articulated regarding Prop 39 facilities requests Shared governance structure with equal representation from OUSD and charter LEAs Annual audits by third party organization