The Evolution of CAPP

(A Brief History, Continued)

In its second grant cycle (1987-90), CAPP funded seven new curriculum projects, and continues to support two diagnostic testing efforts from the first funding period. In addition, two projects from the 1984-87 cycle continued as "Showcase" partnerships, serving as models of experienced academic partnerships. These efforts continued in the 1990-93 cycle with the initial funding of nine curriculum partnerships and continuing support for three of the new partnerships after one year when it became evident they would not make significant progress toward their own or CAPP's goals.

The emphasis on collaboration as a critical feature of CAPP partnerships increased in these second and third grant cycles as the Advisory Committee's expectations and expertise in partnering matured. Greater attention and assistance to partnerships helped close the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of collaboration. The consequence of this emphasis is evident in the six new CAPP partnerships in the fourth cycle. The consequence of this emphasis is evident in the six new CAPP partnerships in the fourth cycle. Acknowledging the changing nature and growing importance of business contributions to school improvement efforts, CAPP required the direct involvement of a business partner in the 1993-96 partnerships.

Over time the California Academic Partnership Program has developed the capacity to learn from the past, formulating strategies to share what it has learned with each succeeding generation of CAPP partnerships, and "reinventing" itself in light of changing conditions and needs in a spirit of thoughtful experimentation. Systematic evaluation of project activities. The growing emphasis on accountability for results that are useful, real, and measurable has been a key evolutionary force behind CAPP, and a central component to CAPP's approach to funding.

In striving to accomplish its mission, CAPP recognized the need to support collaborative activities in addition to curriculum improvement and diagnostic assessment. To realize the full potential of collaboration, institutions must make very difficult adjustments in the way they do business. Such changes require a high level of trust and commitment. These, in turn, take time to nurture. In an effort to make the best use of available dollars, the Advisory Committee began funding planning grants in 1989 and limited eligibility for a CAPP curriculum improvement grant to partnerships that had successfully completed a planning year.

To make the results of successful partnerships available as widely as possible to other educators and institutions throughout the state, CAPP allocated a portion of its budget to dissemination. Modest support following completion of projects was provided to partnerships whose work had broad implications for other schools. In 1993-94, for example, two CAPP projects, Reaching University Writing Standards and Reading/Thinking/Writing About Culturally Diverse Literature, held statewide dissemination conferences and received national recognition for the quality of the curricular materials they developed. Project STEP (Student/Teacher Educational Partnership) has become a widely emulated national model for school/college partnerships. Partnership for Integrating Language Minority and Foreign Language Education and Project PARITY (Promoting Academic Retention for Indian Tribal Youth) have also disseminated their pioneering curricula to schools serving language-minority, Hispanic, and Native American students.

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