Daniels Fund Application
Creating Connections for Student Success
Poudre School District (PSD)
is proud of the high quality education it brings to our district’s students.
The district’s mission states:
The Creating Connections for Student Success (CCSS) proposal to the
Daniels Fund is critical to our goal to increase student achievement, engage
students in their learning, and increase parent and community involvement in
our schools. In particular, our district faces a need to reach culturally
diverse and economically disadvantaged students and their families--a growing
population in our educational boundaries. This proposal is presented on behalf
of the Poudre
School District Office of Partnerships and Volunteers, the department providing
oversight and supervision of PSD’s partnership and collaboration efforts within
the community and all volunteer programs in the schools.
We
have three Goals for the Creating Connections for Student Success program:
After Hours Programs: After hours programming in Poudre School
District is delivered in collaboration with the After Hours Task Force, a
community coalition whose members represent business, private sector, local
funders, community and school district personnel who are dedicated to
increasing after school programming for youth.
Since March 2000, the After Hours Task Force has
mobilized to address the issue and has worked to identify clear needs that are
not being met by current programming, including the strong need to provide
programs for the 11- to 16-year-old age group, transportation home after
programs, trained full-time staff, and on-going financial support. The greatest
identified needs for programming are mentoring, tutoring, arts/music programs,
and computers and technology programs.
Civic Engagement and Service Learning:
Teachers in our district have provided
service learning opportunities in their classrooms for many years, often
without even knowing they were doing it.
With an increased focus on helping students to achieve State Model
Content Standards for Civics and an increased emphasis on transitioning
students to post-secondary opportunities, civic engagement needs to be a bigger
part of the lives of students from culturally diverse and economically disabled
homes.
Parent Involvement:
The majority of our parental
involvement programs have come through federal Title I programs at our poorest
schools. While our area has an abundance
of parent education program providers, few classes are offered in our buildings
due to a lack of funding for instruction and a lack of child care. Further,
many parents are not becoming involved in their children’s schools and are
hesitant to participate actively in their children’s education. Coordination on these issues will help to put
needed energy and focus on the families of our students.
One success in the after
hours arena has been PSD’s junior high school program supported by the Daniels Fund.
Successful programs have been offered in three sites—two urban and one rural.
Members of our community stepped up to the challenge of the Daniels Fund
proposal and donated dollars and their time to make the programs successful.
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Statement of the Issue: Need
Many factors contribute to
our district’s need for coordinated, comprehensive programming for culturally
diverse and economically disadvantaged students and their families:
Changing demographics: Like
many other schools in
|
Test: |
Grade 3 |
Grade 4 |
Grade 5 |
Grade 6 |
Grade 7 |
Grade 8 |
|
Math |
Not tested |
Not tested |
34% |
31% |
47% |
41% |
|
Writing |
31% |
35% |
36% |
26% |
37% |
50% |
Perhaps more importantly
than a full third of our students not being proficient are the startling
numbers that clearly indicate an achievement gap. The following chart shows the achievement
levels at three of our schools with few minority students and few students who
are certified for free-or-reduced lunch benefits followed by three of our
schools with high minority populations and FRL levels above 50%. The percentages show students scoring below proficiency or below grade level
on 2003 CSAP tests.
|
Schools: |
% of FRL |
Grade 5 Math |
Grade 5 Writing |
Grade 6 Math |
Grade 6 Writing |
|
Traut |
2.86% |
8% |
3% |
7% |
4% |
|
McGraw |
11.84% |
19% |
23% |
17% |
15% |
|
Werner |
4.57% |
16% |
24% |
16% |
17% |
|
Irish |
84.48% |
78% |
74% |
70% |
63% |
|
Putnam |
71.7% |
65% |
64% |
42% |
34% |
|
|
64.75% |
47% |
46% |
29% |
31% |
Students who are at-risk for
school failure need our help the most. Research from the Harvard Family
Research Project shows that school-based after school programs are most
successful when they work closely with teachers to identify at-risk students
and have staff members who demonstrate an ability to relate well to these
youth.
Decline in Parental Involvement with our Students: We know that we have a large number of two-working
parent families in our district, resulting in a large number of students who
are unsupervised after school. Alone at
home, children are at high risk for injury and poor nutrition. They often fill
their hours by watching television—on the average of about 1500 hours per
year. Older kids often supervise younger
brothers and sisters, adding to their levels of stress and worry.
Current
FBI research tells us that unsupervised students are far more likely to use
substances and engage in other risky behavior. The Colorado Youth Survey
(Spring 2001) reveals that PSD Junior High students use alcohol, stimulants,
and inhalants at levels higher than average for similar students in
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Target population:
Our programs will involve
different groups of students and their families, depending on the outcome we
hope to achieve. As indicated by the
assessment scores included in the tables above, we will focus our after-school
tutoring programs at the school sites that have high percentages of students
not performing at grade level and at schools with a strong interest in having
after hour’s programs. Our civic
engagement and service learning programs will be focused on a district level,
with 10 sites that have a demonstrated interest in this strategy receiving the
initial support as “pilot sites” for future model programs. Parent courses will be offered on a need
basis to sites that request help, and parent Resource Centers will be developed
in two sites to serve all parents in more convenient geographic locations. Our
overarching strategy will be to reach out to ethnically and culturally diverse
populations and connect with those who may be excluded from programs due to
costs. The experiences of these youth
and their families are unique and must be treated as such.
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Geographic area
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Specific purpose and amount of grant request
Funding from the Daniels
Fund will be used to hire personnel, provide professional development, train
volunteers, provide transportation for students, and provide supplies and
materials for programs. We are
requesting $283,470 per year for three years.
Research on after school programs, in
particular, builds the case that programs need at least three years to build a
strong base of support in the community.
Ø
Description of goals and objectives
To
achieve Goal One, the Partnership and Volunteer Office will collaborate with
15 school sites to provide necessary after school academic enrichment programs.
A key element to success for our one-on-one tutoring programs will be
consistent communication with teachers to assess students’ needs and progress.
We have a critical need to fund a District Coordinator who will be responsible
for overall coordination of the program. Having a
District After Hours Coordinator will allow us to work
more closely with members of our After Hours Task Force members who offer
after-school programs with a more recreational focus. Funds for recreational
programs will be sought from other funders, allowing program decisions to be
site-based, responding to differing student needs and requests at each
building. Our intent is to provide a variety of program choices designed to
reach youth beyond the targeted group for tutoring, who may not already be
involved in traditional after-school activities. Further, we know that many
“fun” activities, such as chess club, are also helping to build problem-solving
and decision-making skills in our students.
We will also employ part-time building coordinators at each
school who will be responsible for this communication with teachers and program
implementation. By including Site Coordinators as part
of a building’s staff, we strategically increase partnership, communication
about student progress and program articulation.
Tutoring programs will operate four days per week for 1 ½
hours per day. Students typically have a
snack in the first few minutes, followed by all participants attending either
specialized tutoring or homework help sessions.
Students may finish their afternoon with a recreational program or
enrichment program if offered. Transportation home from our rural sites will be
available each afternoon for our students who are normally bused.
Quality after school programs help students do better in
school. The National Institute on
Out-of-School Time (NIOST) reports that kids who attend have higher test
scores, complete more homework regularly, drop out less frequently, and behave
better during the regular school days.
Objectives:
1.1
By
November 2004, 15 PSD schools will offer after school tutoring to targeted
students four days per week through May 2005.
1.2
By May
2005, targeted students who participate regularly in the after school program
will complete their homework regularly.
1.3
By May
2005, the number of targeted students who participate regularly in the after
school tutoring program and who are on the “F” list at the junior high level
will decrease by 50%.
1.4
By
August 2005, the number of targeted students who are proficient on CSAP math
and writing will increase by 3% from the baseline year 2004.
To
achieve Goal Two, our District Coordinator for Service Learning, part of the
Partnership and
Our work on goal two will involve investigation into what is
currently happening in selected school sites in
There is substantial evidence that service learning adds to
the academic achievement of students.
The Rocky Mountain Center Research Corporation study in 2000 showed the
positive effects of service learning in four areas: cognitive domains (students
practiced higher-order thinking skills), civic domains (students were connected
to the community), personal domains (students showed growth in personal
empowerment and increased self-confidence), and career domains (students
understood career pathways and workplace literacy).[1] These skills are absolutely necessary to help
our culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged youth thrive in our
community.
Objectives:
2.1 By November 2004, ten PSD schools will
offer service learning and civic engagement to targeted students through
regular classroom instruction.
2.2 By
May 2005, ten PSD schools using service learning will offer training to ten
additional teachers at their sites in order to further advance the use of
service learning in the classroom.
2.3 By July 2005, thirty additional PSD teachers will
receive training on incorporating service learning and civic engagement in
their classrooms based on models developed at the original ten school sites.
2.4 Through May 2005, in-building site coordinators at
the original ten school sites will attend quarterly meeting to share learning
around the use of service learning in the classroom.
2.5 By May 2005, PSD will have developed initial outlines
for curriculum that will combine service learning with State Model Content
Standards for Civics.
To
achieve Goal Three, we will employ three strategies for reaching out to parents
in our district. First, our Coordinator
will work with the many existing agencies in our community who offer parent
education. Various parenting curricula,
including Strengthening Latino Families, Parents in Control, and other
research-based products will be delivered to parents from expert facilitators
from commuity agencies based on needs expressed at school sites. We will develop a schedule of courses and
market their availability through our existing Community Learning Centers. Community Learning Centers, located in three
strategic locations in our community, offer many different types of courses
that may be useful to economically disadvantaged families, including adult
literacy and computer courses.
Our second strategy will involve opening two parent Resource
Centers, one located in central
Our third strategy, unfunded
by this proposal, will begin a partnering/mentoring process at high need
elementary schools. At some schools, a
large portion of the population have felt disconnected from the school and
unable to participate in meaningful ways with their children due to working
schedules, transportation, language barriers, and other factors. “A welcoming school climate is extremely
important in school communities that serve Spanish-speaking families,”
according to a recent report from the Colorado Trust. “Invitations into the school or classroom are
signs of respect.”[2]
In order to re-engage all of our families in the school community and refocus
everyone on the importance of academic achievement, parents will be paired with
other parents in the school who are actively engaged or paired with community
members who are strong volunteers in the high needs schools. Partners will help parents learn about the
volunteer process and help them to feel welcomed and find a “fit” for their
talents in the school community.
Objectives:
3.1 By May 2005, ten
PSD sites will offer parenting education to parents at their
school sites based on needs present in the community.
3.2 By May
2005, 40 parents will seek out additional resources from the
3.3 By May
2005, PSD will develop a successful model of partnering parents at high need
schools in order to create a welcoming environment and help parents assist
their children’s academic success.
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Unique aspects of the program and
relationships/collaborations
Perhaps the most unique
aspect of the Creating Connections for
Student Success program is that we are seeking a central focus for our
district’s efforts to increase student achievement of culturally diverse and
economically disadvantaged students.
Just as one size does not fit all, one program element alone will not
serve all the needs for achievement and youth and family involvement in our
schools. Further, we know that our school-day
academic programs cannot meet some of the needs of our most at-risk youth. We will bring together strong supportive
partners, including the After Hours Task Force (after-school programs) and the
Healthier Communities Coalition (service learning and parent involvement) to
help us deliver the Creating Connections
for Student Success program and make the greatest impact possible on those
most in need.
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Timetable for implementation
We hope to begin work on all
three goals by September 1. If personnel
need to be hired for coordinator positions, the process of implementation may
be delayed slightly.
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Entities asked to provide support
We will request funding to
supplement each of our goals from within our school district and from local
funding partners. For after-school
coordination, we will request an additional .5 FTE from a local funding
collaborative that has been anxious to support after school programming. For after-school recreational programs to
augment the tutorial programs provided by Daniels, we will work with our
partners on the After Hours Task Force who are
interested in bringing programs into school sites.
We will work with the
Healthier Communities Coalition and other volunteer network agencies in our
community as we develop our service learning project. We are presently collaborating on a grant
from the Colorado Department of Education.
We also will continue to work with the Office of Service Learning at
We will work closely with
the Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County which is the coordinating
agency for the Parent Education Network (PEN).
PEN agencies offer parenting programs for families with kids of all ages,
and will be the primary sources of classes for our parent education
component. Further, we will work with
our head start programs, the
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Confirmed funding sources
Included below are agencies
that will provide in kind support to the Creating
Connections for Student Success program.
We will seek additional funding sources, particularly to provide
full-time coordinating support that we feel is critical to sustainability of
this program. We do not have other
confirmed funding sources at this point.
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Long-term sources/strategies
A
significant charge (and challenge) for our After Hours Task Force is to assist
the Poudre School District in achieving long-term sustainability of our
projects beyond the generous gifts of funders. We hope to develop a system to
leverage funding from local sources to a centralized funding mechanism
available to all after-school programs. We have developed a funding committee
to examine all options for sustained funding including a possible county or
state tax and policy changes permitting state funding to be allocated for
after-school programs. We are working
with the state networking group that has applied for a grant from the Mott
Foundation to develop statewide support for after school program funding.
Evaluation:
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Short and long-term results
We anticipate the following short-term (end of year one) results of our program:
·
Increased
learning opportunities for student participants in after-hours programs.
·
Increased
achievement of students who participate in after-hours homework help and
tutoring programs.
·
Increased
numbers of students participating in service learning programs as part of their
regular school classes.
·
Increased
numbers of parents participating in parent education classes in order to better
help their children.
·
Increased number
of parents who seek out additional resources from the
We anticipate the following long-term (end of year three) results
of our program:
·
Increased test
scores for each school that offers tutoring and homework help as measured by
CSAP scores in math and writing.
·
Increased
support from the Board of Education and individual school principals for after
school programs as part of site budgets.
·
Increased
support from the Board of Education to institute a service learning requirement
for high school graduation.
·
Increased
support from
·
Increased
parental involvement in their child’s school.
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How success will be measured
The short-term and long-term
results of the Daniels Funding will be measured based on the strategy
involved.
For the after hours component of the program:
1. Site
coordinators will document number of tutoring sessions and the number of
student participants.
2. Site
coordinators will work with teachers of the tutoring participants to assess if
students are completing their homework in a timely manner.
3. At
junior high sites, site coordinators will audit the grades of student
participants at the end of each school semester to determine if the number of
“F” grades has declined.
4. Site
coordinators will gather CSAP scores in math and writing for regular
participants to determine annual growth in achievement, using baseline data
from CSAP from August 2004.
5. District
coordinator will develop qualitative data to determine the degree of monetary
support provided by
For the service learning/civic engagement program:
of use
information from teachers and other staff receiving professional development in
the area of civic engagement.
1.
5. District
Coordinator will work with tools from the
For the parental involvement program:
1.
District
Coordinator will document the number and types of requests for parent education
classes.
2.
District
Coordinator will document the number of partners who participate with the
3.
PSD and parent
education partners will annually assess the strength of the partnership and the
satisfaction of each agency with the partnership.
4.
Parent educators
will use pre- and post-class assessments with participants to determine their
level of knowledge change in the parenting class.
5.
District
Coordinator will document the number and types of requests for parent materials
borrowed and used from the Family Resource Centers.
6.
Partnerships and
Volunteer Coordinator will provide a quantitative analysis of the success of
the parent partnering project at high needs elementary school(s).
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Methodology to evaluate the project
Tools that will be used to
evaluate the goals above include:
|
Goal: |
Tools: |
|
After
school academic enrichment |
|
|
Civic
Engagement |
|
|
Parental
Involvement |
|
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Person responsible for assessing the results
The Research and