The 2026 Differentiated Assistance Convening, hosted by the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), brought together a vibrant community of leaders, educators, partners, and advocates from across 31 districts, with 158 participants gathering to advance the mission of student success. Now in its third year, the event continues to grow, highlighting the dedication to continuous improvement and the wellbeing of L.A. County’s students and educational communities.

This year’s theme, Empowered Students, Thriving Communities, resonated throughout the convening. Together, attendees explored how empowering students—by listening to their voices, creating opportunities and fostering care—leads to stronger, more vibrant communities. The convening offered three days of rich conversations, hands-on learning experiences and sessions designed to inspire new ideas and elevate best practices. 

Equity and partnership were central to the event, emphasizing the importance of the schools, districts and County Office’s shared responsibility in supporting every student. The convening honored the work of district staff, families and community partners, recognizing their essential roles in building thriving communities with students at the center. Their involvement strengthens school-community connections and helps meet students’ diverse needs.

Inspiring keynote speakers encouraged attendees to reflect, innovate and recommit to student-centered practices. Shane Safir, Wednesday’s keynote speaker, shared the importance of qualitative data and how real-time, on-the-ground stories help you understand your students and schools better. Geoffrey Canada, Thursday's keynote speaker, highlighted his pioneering work that puts the needs of low-income students and families front and center. Friday closed out with an inspiring superintendents’ panel where they shared their district’s best practices for reviewing their data and identifying strategies that are shared from the district-level to the classroom. 

The convening allowed networking opportunities amongst district attendees and LACOE leadership. The event also hosted intentional coaching and team collaboration sessions so district teams could review their Dashboard data, identify improvement strategies and next steps for implementation. 

The 2026 Convening demonstrated the impact of collaboration and leadership in education. Thank you to everyone involved for advancing meaningful change and helping students thrive.