California Professional Standards for Education Leaders · 6A–3
Welcome and facilitate conversations with the local community about how to improve learning and achievement for all students, including English Learners, and students needing additional support.
Public conversation improves learning when it combines accessible evidence, lived experience, and a clearly defined opportunity to influence action.
What this looks like in practice
{"Leaders should frame the question narrowly enough for meaningful dialogue and provide information people can use"=>"definitions, trends, subgroup privacy protections, examples of student work, current supports, and real constraints. Deficit labels and unexplained acronyms shut participation down."}
Representation requires deliberate design. Partner with trusted community messengers, provide interpretation and multiple formats, compensate expertise when appropriate, and compare participation with the students and families affected.
Developing the practice
Prepare common ground
Share concise, accessible evidence and define what the conversation can shape before asking for input.
Design for voice
Use small groups, interpretation, student participation, remote and in-person options, and facilitation that balances power.
Connect dialogue to action
Publish themes, decisions, owners, and follow-up evidence so the conversation has a visible next chapter.
Useful connections
ELPAC resources
SDLA’s assessment materials can help leaders prepare accurate, understandable background for community dialogue about English learner progress.
English learner glossary
A shared vocabulary can make a complex public conversation more accessible to families, staff, and new leaders.
Questions for reflection and mentoring
- Is the community being asked to interpret evidence it has been helped to understand?
- Which affected voices are absent from the current conversation?
- What decision or action will be different because this dialogue occurred?