Using Data to Mobilize Commuities and Change Lives

USING DATA TOMOBILIZE

COMMUNITIESAND CHANGE LIVES

Presented by: Karl Bertrand, LMSW and Sarah Jonas, Ed.M.

Raising the Bar on Academic Achievement for Westchester’s African-American

Students

Part 1: Using Data toMobilize Communities and

Secure Resources

Presented by: Karl Bertrand, [email protected]

www.programdesign.com

Rule #1: The more you say,the less they know.

1. The longer your document, the less likely it will be read.

2. Most people who read long documents skim them.

3. The most senior people (mayors, Superintendents, CEOs, etc.) seldom read more than 1 page.

4. SO START WITH AN ELEVATOR SPEECH.5. Elevator speech: any great idea can be

summarized in 4 lines or less.6. Examples:

Example A: Using your elevator speech in grant

applications1. Begin with an overview if no summary is

requested.2. Repeat key points in various sections.3. Emphasize key points with bullets, underlining &

bold type.4. Example:

o We’ve rehoused 6,000 homeless households,o Built or renovated 2,500 housing units,o Provide afterschool services for 2,000 youth,

ando Secure jobs for 500 people annually.

Example #B: Using action-oriented

focus and brevity in charts –

Change this…Number of Students Suspended by Cumulative Days Suspended in First 90 Days

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20+TOTAL

ES #1 10 6 4 2 4 3 2 1   1     2                 35ES #2 13 5 2 1   1                               22

ES #3 8 5 1                                     14

ES #4 6 2 2                                     10ES #5                                            ES #6                                            ES #7 2                                         2All ES 39 18 9 3 4 4 2 1   1     2                 83MS #1 24 4 2   1                                 31MS #2   4 2   13   1 1   2   3             1     27All MS 24 8 4   14   1 1   2   3             1     58HS #1 8 17 18 2 30 1 1 5 1 4   1 2   2         1   93HS #2 22 7 12 5 5 1 3       1                     56HS #3 3 7 2 1 12   2     4                       31All HS 33 31 32 8 47 2 6 5 1 8 1 1 2   2         1   180

Example #B: Using action-

oriented focus and brevity in

charts – to this…Number of Students Suspended by Cumulative Days Suspended in First 90 DaysElementary Schools:

1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 TOTAL

ES #1 26 7 2   35ES #2 21 1     22ES #3 14       14ES #4 10       10ES #5 2       2All Other ES          TOTAL 73 8 2  0 83

Example #B: Using action-

oriented focus and brevity in

charts - and this…Number of Students Suspended by Cumulative Days Suspended in First 90 DaysMiddle Schools:

1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 TOTALMS #1 31       31

MS #2 19 4 3 1 27

TOTAL 73 8 2  0 83

Example #B: Using action-

oriented focus and brevity in

charts - and this.Number of Students Suspended by Cumulative Days Suspended in First 90 DaysHigh Schools:

1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 TOTAL

HS #1 75 12 5 1 93

HS #2 51 4 1   56HS #3 25 6     31TOTAL 151 22 6 1 180

Example #C: Using focus and

brevity

in chartsRacial/Ethnic Disparities in K-12 Chronic Absenteeism

Racial/Ethnic Group

# Chronically Absent

% of Group Chronically Absent

African-American 5,264 31.6%

Hispanic 2,989 39.8%White 851 30.7%

Other 250 19.3%

Rule #2: Express the problemin dramatic human terms.

You need to communicate the urgency.Examples:1. Vulnerability Index = most likely to die in next 12

months if left living on the streets2. Chronically absent = bending life trajectories

toward school drop-out, poverty and crime3. Most suspended = highest-need youth in Mt.

Vernon4. Most suspended in elementary school = already

being sucked into the pipeline to prison5. Most suspended in high school = both legs already

sucked into the pipeline to prison

Rule #3: Use data to appeal to multiple constituencies.

You need to build community consensus for action.Example: “Why Truancy Matters: How Chronic Truancy Hurts Individuals and Communities”Chronic Truancy is linked to:• Educational Failure• Increased Juvenile Crime• Other Risky Teen Behaviors• Child Abuse• Increased Adult Crime• Long-Term Poverty

The Bottom LineIf you care about:• Helping at-risk kids• Reducing crime• Making sure schools succeed• Protecting kids from child abuse• Alleviating poverty or• Strengthening our community

We share a common stake in addressing chronic truancy.

Rule #4: Overcome scarce resources by prioritizing needs

with data.Examples:1. Giving the most medically vulnerable homeless

priority for permanent supportive housing2. Forging a workgroup to identify multi-agency

alternatives for specific most-suspended students

Rule #5: Overcome scarce resources by refocusing

existing resources.Examples:1. Yonkers Truancy Reduction Strategy Group formed

January 2007:• The Problem: In 2005-2006 Yonkers had 1,972

students in grades 2-10 who missed 30+ days of school but in 2007 Yonkers had $0 specifically targeted to truancy

• The Solution: Looked for better ways to use “thousands of staff and millions of dollars that do exist in school, community, city and county agencies”

2. Mount Vernon Chronic Truancy Reduction Initiative 2009-2011: cut total absenteeism by 19.8% in 2 years – with no additional grant funding.

Rule #6: Use the scarcity of resources to prod action.

Question: What is the biggest current wave of funding, i.e. what area is non-profit funding moving toward?Answer: Programs that can achieve more with less.

Example: PD&D’s Pyramid of Need shows that shrinking juvenile crime prevention funding can most cost-effectively be targeted to students who are chronically absent and/or suspended. With prevention resources so limited, we can no longer afford to continue traditional less cost-effective strategies.

Part 2: Using the Data-Driven Success Mentor

Modelto Improve School Climate

and Improve Academic Achievement

Presented by: Sarah Jonas, [email protected]

www.nationalcenterforcommunityschools.org

NYC.GOV/EveryStudent

MAYOR’S INTERAGENCY TASK FORCEON TRUANCY, CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

AND SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

SUCCESS MENTOR CORP

The Challenge

Insights from Oakland Unified Analysis (SY 2006-2013)

a. Chronic absence in 1st grade was associated with higher levels of suspension as well as lower 6th grade test scores

b. Suspension in 1st grade also predicted later 6th grade suspension. But, given that the incidence of first grade suspension (1.6%) is much smaller than first grade chronic absence (15.4%), chronic early absence is arguably better for identifying more students at risk for later suspension. c. Increased years of chronic absence predicted increased numbers of suspensions. d. Nearly 11% of middle school absences were due to suspensions, vs. less than 2% in elementary school

What is the relationship between chronic early absence and

suspension?

Source: Hedy Chang, Attendance works

HOMELESS

SERVICES

NYPD

YOUTHDEVELOPMENT

HEALTHDEPT.

NYCVOLUNTEERS

CHILD WELFARE

HOUSINGAUTHORI

TY

HUMAN RESOURCES

COORDINATEDSTRATEGY

DOE

MAYOR’S OFFICE

The Response: Interagency Collaboration

3

PRIVATE PARTNERS COMMUNI

TY PARTNERS

ACADEMIC PARTNERS

The Response: Interagency Strategy

MAYOR’S INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE | MAYOR’S INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE

• External: school CBO partnerships

• Internal: selected & trained school staff

• Peer-to-Peer: high school juniors and seniors helping 9th graders

NYC Success Mentor Corps: 3 Models

900+ SUCCESS MENTORS

9,000+ STUDENTS AT 100 PILOT SCHOOLS

reaching

NYC Success Mentor Corp3 Models

NYC Success Mentor Model

3 Data-Driven Models:• External: school community partners• Internal: school staff• Peer-to-Peer: seniors targeting 9th graders

Goals: “ABC-Plus”• Attendance• Behavior For improved educational & life outcomes• Coursework

Scale: • Currently reaching over 9,000 at-risk students• Largest, most comprehensive school-linked mentoring program in the nation

Impact:• 52,000 additional days of school gained last year• Pilot elementary, middle, and high schools outperformed comparison schools, in

reducing chronic absenteeism & driving success.

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Success Mentors’ Responsibilities

• Assigned Target Students• Success mentors are assigned “target” students, who were chronically absent the

year prior, and are matched with these students early in year, for the full year.

• School-Wide Strategies• Promote a positive school-wide culture that encourages all students to attend

and achieve. 25% of time.

• Principal’s Weekly Student Success Meeting• Attend the weekly meeting and collaborate with school partners to support

mentees.

• Parental Engagement• Work with families to share importance of attendance and call home for every

absence.• Interact with parents to celebrate students’ success whether big or small.

Success Mentors Work with Target Students

Morning meet and greet Phone call home every time student is absent Meet one-on-one and/or in small groups Data/Track students’ “ABC”s Work with school and its partners to identify

appropriate supports and interventions Reach out to and engage students’ families Celebrate small successes

What’s Different About Success Mentors?

Data Access (“ABC”s) through Confidentiality Agreement (http://on.nyc.gov/1ERxMdZ)

Part of School Leadership Team > Access to Resources, Information, ‘Seat at the Table’

Start Beginning of School – Full Year

Support Infrastructure - Top Down & Bottom Up

Scalable – Cost Efficient

DID IT WORK?

?

.org

Johns Hopkins Evaluation of NYC Effort

Full Report atwww.every1graduates.org

Key Finding: Students who exit chronic absenteeism improve academically

• Achievement Test Scores and Grades Improve

• High School Credits earned and Promotion Rates Increase

• Students are Less Likely to Dropout

31

Key Finding: Success Mentors & Supporting Infrastructure Substantially Improved Student Attendance & Outcomes

• Students with prior histories of chronic absenteeism with a Success Mentor gained nearly two additional weeks of school (9 days), which is educationally significant.

• In the top 25% of schools, students with Success Mentors gained one additional month of school.

• High School students with Success Mentors (including those overage for their grade) were 52% more likely to remain in school the following year.

• Mentees reported they liked having a mentor and the mentor helped improve their attendance, schoolwork, motivation, and confidence.

Key Finding: Scale and Implementation

• NYC Task Force was able to scale program from 25 schools in year 1, to 50 schools in year 2, and 100 schools in year 3 while maintaining effective levels of implementation – 2K to 4K to 9K+ mentees

• Most of the Task Force’s efforts were accomplished by using existing assets more strategically, including the allocation of existing resources, school staff, and non-profit partners.

• Additional investments targeted at technical assistance, including training principals, Success Mentors and their organizations, site visits, and real-time consultations.

Additional Key Findings

• Chronic Absenteeism proceeded Behavioral Incidents 86% of the time, suggesting new “early warning” flags.

• Task Force Schools saw increases in the number of students with strong attendance (95% or above).

• Chronically absent students who were overage for grade, poor, or temporary shelter particularly benefitted from having a Success Mentor.

• School climate, leadership, and quality affected chronic absenteeism but are not substitutes for direct action, including using Success Mentors.

Lessons Learned

• Target students who missed 20 to 30 days of school the prior year with Success Mentors.

• Match mentors at beginning of school year.

• Organize school-level response to avoid new students becoming chronically absent.

• Intensity, principal leadership, data access, and strong infrastructure matter.

Technical Assistant’s Role

Technical Assistance is Key

• Conducted feedback sessions with students on what they want and need (e.g. surveys, roundtables, summits).

• Conducted school site visits and attended Weekly Student Success Meetings to help maximize its impact.

• Supported schools implementing Success Mentors programs (external, internal, peer-to-peer).

• Used data to drive high-impact.

• To ensure sustainability, provided schools with ongoing technical assistance from a community-based organization.

Provide Technical Assistance to Support the Work

Principal’s Weekly Student Success Meeting

4 Key Technical Assistance Pillars

Ongoing professional development for principals and Success Mentors (Kick Off, midyear Summit)

Coaching visits to schools’ attendance/school team meetings (sharing data is key; mentors + school staff together at the table)

Monthly Roundtable meeting for Success Mentor supervising agencies (troubleshooting; sharing of best practices across sites)

Feedback loop between sites and central supervisor/Task Force

5 Key Lessons Learned/Best Practices

Begin by acknowledging school’s prior experience and expertise; build on that

Make explicit connection between mentors’ role and improved educational outcomes for students (key to principal buy-in)

School & District-level support for mentors• School assigns point person; District assigns “buddy” to

each school with mentors

Recognize and celebrate success Good technical assistance, like mentoring, is all

about relationships

A Closer Look at Addressing Disproportionality: Personalized Supports in Oakland, California

In Oakland, African American boys are 6 times more likely to be suspended than their White peers. To combat the problem, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is transforming all its schools into full service community schools.

OUSD’s approach is equity-centered--reducing disparities in school discipline requires addressing the whole child in the context of family and community.

The Family, School & Community Partnership Dept. and Office of African-American Male Achievement (AAMA) lead the suspension reduction work, introducing Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support Strategies, Manhood Development classes, and early intervention systems.

With its focus on reducing disproportionate school disciplines and adopting restorative policies and practices, OUSD’s suspension rate dropped from 8% to 6% from 2012 to 2013 (a 25% reduction district-wide), suspensions for African American males dropped from 21% to 14% from 2012 to 2013 (a 33% reduction), and suspensions for Latino males dropped from 8% to 6% (mirroring the district’s 25% reduction).

Community Schools: An Essential Equity Strategy, Coalition for Community Schools & Institute for Educational Leadership. http://www.equityandcommunityschools.org/#!oakland-unified-school-district/crhs

www.nationalcenterforcommunityschools.orgSarah Jonas, Sr. Director of Regional Initiatives

[email protected]