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Achieving a 90 percent Graduation Rate:Meeting the Needs of Adolescents Who Face

Poverty and Adversity

Tuesday, December 12, 2017 3:00 - 4:00pm ET

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AGENDA➢ Our Work: What does the research on poverty, adversity, and trauma tell us

about high school age youth?

➢ Why must we act on lessons from child and youth development?

➢ Turnaround For Children: Building Blocks for Learning and implementation

➢ City Connects: Principles of Effective Practice for Integrated Student Support and implementation

➢ Questions and Answers

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GRADNATION ACTION PLATFORM: Respond to the Non-Academic Factors that Influence

School Participation and Performance

• Research shows that non-academic factors such as chronic absenteeism, trauma, poverty, and adversity negatively impact academic performance.

• Young people who experience these non-academic factors are more likely to drop out of high school.

ACGR (%) by income status, 2016

77.6

88.8

Lowincome

Not lowincome

Comparison of graduation rates and prevalence of poverty, by subgroup

71.976.4 79.3

88.3 90.8

34.0 36.031.0

12.0 13.0

AmericanIndian or Alaska

Native

Black/AfricanAmerican

Latino/Hispanic White Asian/PacificIslander

ACGR 2016 (%)Poverty Rate 2015 (%)

To increase graduation rate equity, the data tells us which students need different supports

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Our Work: A Framework

for Accelerating Progress for

Children and Youth in

America. America’s

Promise Alliance, 2017.

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“Focusing our work on every child means we aren’t leaving groups behind just because they are hard to work with, or more vulnerable to the vagaries of life. Focusing on each child means we are focusing on the individual and particular needs of that child.”

Hal Smith, National Urban League

What does the child and youth science tell us?• Brain development is critical at 0-5 ages• The brain’s frontal lobe continues to develop through

age 18 and even through age 25.

We cannot stop supporting youth in their younger years.

The realities of poverty and trauma in young people’s lives

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An Ecological Systems Model of Children and Youth

Poverty, trauma, and adversity occur at all levels of the ecological system.

The ecological system must be primed to respond to the young person’s needs.

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Turnaround For Children developed Building Blocks for Learning – a framework for student

development for success in school and beyond. It provides a rigorous perspective on what it means to intentionally teach the whole child – to develop the social, emotional, motivational and cognitive skills in every

learner.

City Connects developed Principles of Effective Practice for Integrated Student Support– a comprehensive framework used to leverage a full range of services to meet

students’ academic and non-academic needs. This model is used to provide tailored approaches for each child.

What is the field doing to respond to poverty and adversity?

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Turnaround for Children

Gisele C. Shorter, M.P.A, Ed.D.

Vice President, Policy and Partner Engagement

gcshorter@tfcusa.org

Turnaround for Children

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Mary Walsh, Ph.D.Executive Director

Patrice DiNataleDirector, New Practice

City Connects

For more information contact us at CityConnects@bc.eduBoston College

Lynch School of Educationwww.bc.edu/cityconnects

City Connects

An evidence-based and school-based practice for school counselors and school social workers that integrates education with existing social services, youth development, health and mental health resources

Creates, for every student in a school, networks of support and opportunityDrives the right resources to the right child at the right time, over timeGets results, including reduced drop out rates

Developmental ScienceEvery child is uniqueDevelopment occurs across many domainsStrengths and risks co-actIntensity mattersDevelopment occurs in different contexts and over timeDevelopment is malleable and can be disrupted

Where is City Connects?

City Connects

2016-1791 schools across 5 states

•Public

•Charter

•Private

1 Model4 adaptations

•Pre-K•Elementary•Secondary•Community College (pilot)

Science + Planning

Landscape in Schools

Landscape Transformed

Leads to…

Right Student

Right Supports

City Connects Practice

Secondary Practice

Add a domain➢Career and college readiness

Utilize additional data

Whole class review involves a wider team

Student directly involved

Continuum of community/school services

Prevention & enrichment

Examples:• Art/music/drama• Sports/physical

activity• Before- and after-

school• Summer programs• Health and wellness • College and career

information nights• School-supported

internship program

Early intervention

Examples:• Mentoring• Tutoring• Small social skills

groups• Behavior plan• Family outreach

(support and assistance)

• Health assessments• College financial aid

assistance workshops

Intensive/crisis intervention

Examples:• Medical/health services

• Counseling• Violence intervention• Special Education or other evaluation

• Family stabilization• School-supported college visits

Student Support Information System

• Name and ID• Demographic Information• Academic Information• Services and Interventions

Child level information

• Assessment re: Strengths and needs across multiple developmental domains

• Personalized Plans• Status of assigned services• Follow up

Personalized plans • Name and contact person

• Location• Services offered• For whom intended• Intensity of services

Resource information

Satisfaction with City Connects is high

Data source: City Connects 2015 & 2016 satisfaction surveys

Teachers Principals Community partners

(N=826) (N=95) (N=142)

Overall, are you satisfied with City Connects? 92% 94% 96%

Would you recommend CityConnects to a colleague? 92% 96% 97%

Does this intervention work?

Closes 2/3 of achievement gap on statewide tests (e.g. math)

*Students leave City Connects after grade 5

0%

20%

40%

60%

4 5 6 7 8

Prof

icie

nt/A

dvan

ced

Grade

State Overall

BPS Overall

CCNX Overall

*

Closes half of achievement gap on ELA statewide test for ELL students

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

3 4 5 6 7 8

Prof

icien

t/Ad

vanc

ed

Grade

State Overall

City ConnectsELL Students

ComparisonELL Students

*

*Students leave City Connects after grade 5

Lowers probability of chronic absenteeism

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Prob

abili

ty

Grade

City Connectsstudents

Comparisonstudents

*

*Students leave City Connects after grade 5

Lowers rate of being held back in grade

0%

4%

8%

12%

16%

20%

K2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

ComparisonStudents

CityConnectsStudents

*

Grade

*Students leave City Connects after grade 5

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Proportion of students who drop out in grades 9-12

Comparisonstudents

City Connects

8%

15.2%

Lowers Dropout Rate City Connects students are less likely to drop out of high school

Lowers Dropout Rates for Sub-Groups

Black Males Comparison

Black Males City Connects

Latino Males Comparison

Latino Males City Connects

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Black Males Comparison Black Males City Connects Latino Males Comparison Latino Males City Connects

Return on InvestmentA Columbia University study validates a unique approach to helping schools tap community resources

Factoring in costs of City Connects only

$0

$2

$4

$6

$8

$10

$12

DollarsinvestedDollarsreturned

Factoring in costs of City Connects and services

$0

$2

$4

$6

$8

$10

$12

DollarsinvestedDollarsreturned

Principles of Effective Practice

CustomizedIndividualized

Universal

CoordinatedIntentionalOrganized

ComprehensiveWhole childMulti-tiered

ContinuousSystemic

Accountable

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Questions &

Answers

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Visit these websites for more information about:

The GradNation campaign: http://gradnation.americaspromise.org/

Turnaround for Children:https://www.turnaroundusa.org/

City Connectshttp://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lsoe/sites/cityconnects.html