[GradNation Webinar] Achieving a 90 percent Graduation Rate: Meeting the Needs of Adolescents Who Face Poverty and Adversity

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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

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?
➢ TurnaroundFor Children:Building Blocks for Learning and implementation
➢ City Connects:Principles of Effective Practice for Integrated Student Support
and implementation
➢ Questions and Answers

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
Low
income
Not low
income
Comparison of graduation rates
and prevalence of poverty, by
subgroup
71.9
76.4 79.3
88.3 90.8
34.0 36.0
31.0
12.0 13.0
American
Indian or Alaska
Native
Black/African
American
Latino/Hispanic White Asian/Pacific
Islander
ACGR 2016 (%)
Poverty Rate 2015 (%)
To increase graduationrate equity, the data tells us
which students need different supports

Our Work:
A Framework
for Accelerating
Progress for
Children and
Youth in
America.
America’s
Promise
Alliance, 2017.

“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

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.

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 EffectivePractice for Integrated Student Support– a
comprehensiveframework used to leverage a full range of services to meet
students’ academic and non-academic needs. This model is used to providetailored
approachesfor each child.
What is the field doing to respond to
poverty and adversity?

Turnaround for Children
Gisele C. Shorter, M.P.A, Ed.D.
Vice President, Policy and Partner
Engagement
gcshorter@tfcusa.org
Turnaround for Children

Mary Walsh, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Patrice DiNatale
Director, New Practice
City Connects
For more information contact us at CityConnects@bc.edu
Boston College
Lynch School of Education
www.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
opportunity
Drives the right resources to the
right child at the right time, over
time
Gets results, including reduced
drop out rates

Developmental Science
Every child is unique
Development occurs across many
domains
Strengths and risks co-act
Intensity matters
Development occurs in different
contexts and over time
Development is malleable and can be
disrupted

Where is City Connects?
City Connects
2016-17
91 schools across 5 states
•Public
•Charter
•Private
1 Model
4 adaptations
•Pre-K
•Elementary
•Secondary
•Community College (pilot)

Leads to…
Right
Student
Right
Supports

Secondary Practice
Add a domain
➢Career and college readiness
Utilize additional data
Whole class review involves a wider team
Student directlyinvolved

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 City
Connects to a colleague?
92% 96% 97%

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
Proficient/Advanced
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
Proficient/Advanced
Grade
State Overall
City Connects
ELL Students
Comparison
ELL Students
*

Lowers probability of chronic absenteeism
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Probability
Grade
City Connects
students
Comparison
students
*

Lowers rate of being held back in grade
0%
4%
8%
12%
16%
20%
K2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Comparison
Students
City
Connects
Students
*
Grade

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Proportion of students who drop out
in grades 9-12
Comparison
students
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 Investment
A 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
Dollars
invested
Dollars
returned
Factoring in costs of City
Connects and services
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
Dollars
invested
Dollars
returned

Principles of Effective Practice
Customized
Individualized
Universal
Coordinated
Intentional
Organized
Comprehensive
Whole child
Multi-tiered
Continuous
Systemic
Accountable

Questions
&
Answers

Visit these websites for more information
about:
The GradNation campaign:
http://gradnation.americaspromise.org/
Turnaround for Children:
https://www.turnaroundusa.org/
City Connects
http://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lsoe/sites/cityconnects.html

[GradNation Webinar] Achieving a 90 percent Graduation Rate: Meeting the Needs of Adolescents Who Face Poverty and Adversity

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