Year 1 in Review February 2010 Education Cabinet City of Portland/Multnomah County

Cabinet Goals by 2013…. Increase high school graduation rates by 50% Double the # of high school graduates who go on to post-secondary education and training

Inventory Programs Resources and Investments Participation

Coordinated by Portland Schools Foundation Serving 773 youth Managed by City of Portland Serving 35 youth Managed by WorkSystems Inc. Serving 844 youth Summer Youth Connect Continuum Year One (2009) - Serving over 1,600 youth rising 11 th & 12 th graders rising 9 th graders rising 10th graders Ninth Grade Counts Youth CorpsYouth SummerWorks

Academic support + career/college exploration Serving Youth 773 students 22 programs 500 students received credit Mobilizing Resources 36 full-time AmeriCorps/VISTAs 28 Masters students 135 visits to 58 businesses &18 postsecondary 6 school districts 54 volunteer coaches Over $550K in in-kind Ninth Grade Counts Youth CorpsYouth SummerWorks

Serving Youth 35 students Mobilizing Resources 7 City Bureaus sponsored interns Pilot program yielded insights for improved program design Youth Corps Ninth Grade Counts Youth CorpsYouth SummerWorks

Work readiness training + Paid work experience + Workplace skills Serving Youth 844 students Mobilizing Resources 280 worksites in Public, Non-Profit and Private Sectors 8 youth provider agencies New Avenues for Youth Portland Youth Builders Open Meadow SE Works IRCO Outside In MHCC – Project YESS POIC $2,125,710 in federal stimulus funds Youth SummerWorks Ninth Grade Counts Youth CorpsYouth SummerWorks

Demographics from Summer Youth Connect 2009 Looking Deeper

Ninth Grade Counts Academic Priority Data provided through an initial report from Northwest Evaluation Association. Note: Student-level data was available on 712 of the 773 students who completed programs 60% of students served were identified as “academic priority”

Ninth Grade Counts: Relative Participation Rates All 9 th grade students* (6 districts) Academic Priority Students Participating Academic Priority Students Subgroup Total6,6672, Race/Ethnicity White62.9%45.2%34.3% Black5.6%16.2%25.0% Hispanic16.9%23.6%27.1% Asian/Pacific Islander10.4%5.0%3.8% American Indian0.6%2.1%3.3% Multi-Ethnic3.5%2.6%3.6% Unknown0.2%5.3%2.9% Gender M 54.0%53.6% F 43.4%45.5% FRL Status44.2%64.3%77.4% ELL15.2%**13.9%16.2% * Based on th grade enrollment **This figure represents average of all grades, not only 8th

Who did we serve?

Youth Summer Works: Demographics

What Was the Impact? Voices from the Community

Community Perspectives Program Provider Erica Lira El Programa Hispano Youth Justin Gibson Business Partner David Roy Knowledge Learning Corporation

What Was the Impact? Evaluation & Outcomes

Ninth Grade Counts Examining student performance Northwest Evaluation Association conducting “Matched pair” analysis on grades, credit, suspension/expulsion, attendance A preliminary analysis of first quarter student performance was inconclusive Analysis will be done at end of 9 th grade year

Evaluating Program Impact: Findings of PSU Evaluation Program Evaluation for Summer 2009 Conducted by Portland State University’s Center for Student Success Emphasis on Qualitative Research: Study of program materials and artifacts (including project history and developmental background) Student focus groups Project directors focus group Analysis of student surveys Analysis of program providers surveys

Impact on Students On a program exit survey, students reported that they were: LEGEND: Strongly Agree Agree Sort of Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Feeling better prepared for 9th grade 70% of surveyed students agree or strongly agree. Feeling more motivated to graduate 78% of surveyed students agree or strongly agree. Thinking more about their futures 83% of surveyed students agree or strongly agree. Considering new post high school options 76% of surveyed students agree or strongly agree. N = 221

Student Focus Groups – Key Insights Student comments overall were positive and included the following insights: High school expectations were far greater than those at middle school; students expressed a desire to have teachers who set high standards with demands that students reach these. Academic and personal challenges were often impediments to success in school. Supervision/oversight by parents was consistently cited as a key factor in program enrollment. Field trips/college visitations were interesting and had a personal impact on their intent to complete high school. Program specific recommendations included more study skills work, test preparation, organization and time management, and more sports.

Program Providers Debrief Session Conclusions/Recommendations Parental involvement is critical to improving the quality of students’ experiences. Adult program participants should receive advance information about program goals, expectations, and support with curriculum and student-centered information. Career and college visitations should be aligned with student interests and goals.

Conclusions and Recommendations from PSU Program Evaluation Systems need to be in place to track student progress over time; we recommend ODE’s “Cohort Graduation Rate.” Continue working on development of the data-tracking system to include on-going progress reports regarding student growth and achievement. Future recruiting efforts should more directly involve parents, other involved family members, and school counselors. Communication and public relations tools should include clearly defined brand and program priority information. Available academic credit opportunities should be expanded.

Conclusions and Recommendations from PSU Program Evaluation (cont.) A process for elicitation of feedback from parents should be included (this planning is underway). Program providers should continue to have feedback opportunities through both surveys and forum(s). A timeline for data gathering activities and expectations should be provided to all program providers in advance of summer Significant successes and commendations were noted throughout student and program provider data-gathering activities.

Youth SummerWorks outcomes GoalActual # of youth participating in work experience Local Performance MeasuresGoalActual 1. % of youth meeting standard for punctuality80%89% 2. % of youth meeting standard for attendance80%89% 3. % of youth satisfied with summer work experience70%91% 4. % of worksites satisfied with summer work experience 70%86% ARRA MeasuresGoalActual 1. % of youth showing gain in work readiness skills80%95% 2. % of youth completing summer work experience80%94%

Highlights of Year 1 Youth Served Over 1,600 youth served in Summer Youth Connect programs Cross-Sector Coordination/Collaboration Establishment of 40 member Cabinet with youth representation Developed a common definition of “academic priority” student & identification mechanism across districts & partners Community engagement – volunteer coaches, AmeriCorps, Marylhurst MATs, etc. Contributions Over $550K in in-kind for Ninth Grade Counts/Youth Corps Yr 1 Cash and in-kind contributions from businesses City/County contributions to bus passes, summer programming, Youth Corps operation costs All 6 districts supported summer academic supports & implemented school- year strategies Worksystems Inc $50K for drop out inventory & disconnected youth data report Meyer Memorial Trust grant for evaluation

Moving Ahead in 2010

2010 Cabinet Strategies Caring Adults Out of School Supports Scholarships Summer Youth Connect Continuum Ninth Grade Counts Career + College Connections (C 3 ) Youth SummerWorks

Out of School Supports Moving Ahead in 2010 Enhance & Expand SUN Service System Enhance existing SUN Community School high school sites to ensure core level of service needed to meet Cabinet goals Expand SUN Community Schools to additional high-need high schools Align Resources to Increase Capacity & Placement of Volunteers Pursue partnership with AmeriCorps host organizations & match $ to place an AC member at every SUN CS high school Convene higher education partners & pursue systemic approaches Identify strategic partnership opportunities for businesses & develop relationships Identify current effective partnerships with faith community & replicate Create Policy Change Work with partner organizations to identify policy needs and advocacy opportunities

Caring Adults Moving Ahead in 2010 Family Engagement Engage in listening sessions with families Hold Parent Leadership Conference Fall 2010 Develop partnerships to provide financial literacy support to parents Increasing support of caring adults at high needs high schools Create increased volunteer coordination & support at schools Develop & implement new partnerships with higher education, business and faith communities Pursue Cities of Service grant for volunteer recruitment staffing Increasing support of high school students in the community Develop & launch social marketing campaign Identify resources for centralized contact & referral point Develop tools to assess common interests help match adults & youth Explore database options for community to ID volunteer opportunities

Summer Youth Connect Continuum Ninth Grade Counts Career + College Connections (C 3 ) Youth SummerWorks Moving Ahead in 2010 Ninth Grade Counts: Serve 1,000 youth; convene “Community of Practice;” develop in-kind support & resources including 20 AmeriCorps members Career + College Connect: Serve 300 youth; contract with community provider(s) via WSI to support work-based learning & skill acquisition Summer YouthWorks: Secure funding to serve 500+ youth; a public/private partnership model for long-term program sustainability All Summer Youth Connect Programs Identify targeted students & improve recruitment partnership with schools Align into Summer Youth Connect & determine tracking process

Scholarships Moving Ahead in 2010 Build additional relationships and partnerships to raise scholarship match Develop partnerships to support FAFSA application through tax preparation sites Develop partnerships & resources to increase participation in Financial Aid Days Finalize eligibility requirements

Moving Ahead Immediate Needs Summer Youth Connect Support for summer transit passes & participation incentives Districts provide credit recovery for C³ participants Employers enroll in Biz Connect (site visits, job shadows) Employers (private & public) fund & host SummerWorks interns Out of School Time/SUN Service System Resources to support enhancement of services at SUN Community Schools: District support of tutoring and credit retrieval at consistent level in all sites Support for increased youth case management, culturally specific services, work/career experience, and AmeriCorps Higher ed support for development of stronger connections with SUN CS Resources to expand # of SUN Community School high schools Scholarships/Caring Adults Support (staffing &/or $) to expand financial preparedness/FAFSA completion Recruit volunteers to increase capacity of ASPIRE to help with applications for post-secondary opportunities Centralized capacity (database/staff) for connecting volunteers to opportunities

2010 Cabinet Strategies Caring Adults Out of School Supports Scholarships Summer Youth Connect Continuum Ninth Grade Counts Career + College Connections (C 3 ) Youth SummerWorks