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A System’s Approach to the Evaluation of L4GA: Year 1. Meltem Alemdar, Ph.D. Associate Director of Ed. Research & Evaluation Christopher Cappelli, MPH Senior Research Associate Shaheen Rana, M.A Research Associate II. Dr. Meltem Alemdar, Co-PI Dr. Sunni Newton Dr. Jessica Gale.
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A System’s Approach to the Evaluation of L4GA: Year 1 Meltem Alemdar, Ph.D. Associate Director of Ed. Research & Evaluation Christopher Cappelli, MPH Senior Research Associate Shaheen Rana, M.A Research Associate II Dr. Meltem Alemdar, Co-PI Dr. Sunni Newton Dr. Jessica Gale
Purpose of Social Network Analysis for Partnership To demonstrate the impact of strong partnership networks that ensure the sustainability of improvement efforts. Specifically, L4GA is: • Based on the assumption that literacy outcomes are tied to systemic (or ecological) challenges that schools, communities, and families face when trying to serve students. • A partnership networks of early learning providers, schools, community organizations and families
Evaluation Questions • Who is involved in L4GA partnerships? What is the nature of each partner? • What is the efficacy of the partners’ involvement as reported by others in the network? • Which organizations and institutions influence whether and how L4GA partnerships use evidence-based literacy interventions? • How is this partnership affecting the student outcomes?
Evaluation Activities Review of L4GA Proposals Collection of L4GA Grant Personnel & Community Partner Contacts (September 2018) Social Network Survey (November-February 2019) Site Visits (Spring 2019)
Social Network Analysis: An Introduction • Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a method that assesses the relationships between actors in a bounded network (Foster-Fishman, Salem, Allen, & Fahrbach, 2001). • Networks can be a group of friends, a school, or a larger setting involving various organizations. • Relationships examined can range from friendships between people to collaborations between organizations. • The advantage of social network analysis is that, unlike many other methods, it focuses on interaction (rather than on individual behavior).
Collaboration • It is important to examine collaboration to see which people or organizations we are working with and where our strengthens are. • We can draw on our current strengths and connections for future collaborative projects.
Advantages of SNA Identifying L4GA partners, understanding the relationships that exist between partners (i.e.: strength of ties between partners) Understanding the manner in which information flows through the L4GA network. Understanding the strength of relationships between partners in this network in various regions of Georgia may provide an indication of how effectively statewide literacy interventions move between partner organizations, such as LEAs, community coalitions and early childhood educational settings. The ties that exist between L4GA partners can provide further information regarding how information regarding literacy interventions flows throughout the state, where gaps may exist, and who may act as an important “bridge” in the network to pass information to less connected LEAs.
SNA Survey Purpose: To collect the baseline data for the partnership activities. Participants: District leadership, School leadership and the community partners 15 Districts had a response rate of greater than 50% 20 Districts had a response rate between 20-49.9% 3 Districts had a response rate less than 20%
Partnership Framework Access to High Quality Print and Digital Texts Local Businesses ProfessionalLearning All Teachers, Family Friends Direct Partners Summer Reading Program Language Nutrition P-20 Partner RESA District Health & Wellness OutofSchoolLiteracySupport Maternal/ Child Health National Writing Project Public Library Mentorship WIC Wrap Around Services Families Family Connection P-20 Partner SCHOOLS Teachers, Students, Administrators, Staff After School Tutoring MentalHealth Local News Faith-Based Chamber of Commerce YMCA Knowledge Translation Identity Affirmation Social Cultural Organizations CivicSwitchboard Awareness Language Support Meaningful Contexts Communication Iterative & Relational
Site Visits Purpose: The contextualization of the partnership characteristics are important in the social network analysis. The purpose of the the qualitative data collection is to understand the culture of the community more deeply. The culture in a learning community recognizes and capitalizes on the collective strengths and talents of the staff. (Shellard, 2003) Participants: District Personnel, School leadership and the community partners Format: Minimum of three hours of focus group discussion with each group. • 10 In-Person Site Visits, 16 Virtual Teleconferences, 5 postponed for fall, 7 non-response
Presentation Outline Three Case Studies Focus Group Results Community Partner Collaboration- Ideas and Practices Timeline Questions
Case study 1 Site Visit: Examples of Activities and partnerships 1000 bookbags for students, providing access to print materials. • Partners included County Literacy Initiative, Adult Literacy Action Network, Get Georgia Reading program, Family Connection, pediatricians’ offices, health department, meal programs, and high school volunteers. “Scholars Program” with a local university: • College students participating in practicum to improve teacher instruction. “In the past, there had been times where we haven’t been able to be as involved, so the fact that we could be more hands on going into the schools working with students was really appealing…That was a big piece of it, being able to be involved.” – University L4GA Partner Literacy Festivals (themed interactive events for families). • Partners included local library, Hope Depot, fire department, health professionals, and other resources in community.
Case study 1 Site Visit: professional development and other changes • Examples of Professional Development (PD): • Bookworms Training • Teaching Observations and feedback • Support for literacy strategies in 3th – 5th grades • Individual consulting provided for high school teachers • Classroom libraries • Examples of engaging students. • Students are creating book clubs based on Young Adult books purchased with L4GA grant. Teachers are also reading books that students are reading which is opening communication between them. • High School hosts a “Writing Center” which provides peer-tutors to struggling writers.
Case study 1 Site Visit: Challenges • L4GA assessment and state assessment schedule requiring a year-long assessment calendar. • Testing Fatigue • Training for teachers to use DIBELS to target interventions. • Teachers’ attitude towards the program.
Case study 2 Site Visit: Examples of Activities and partnerships Kindergarten preparedness. • Partners include local college and Learning Academy. Early education advocate position. • Partners include businesses from community foundation. Book Blasts in schools. Power lunches in community. • Partners include health care partnership, local college, and public library.
Case study 2 Site Visit: professional development and other changes • Professional development tailored for each school’s needs. • High school: literacy strategies from various content areas; increased wrap around services to help students stay in school; and Comprehensive Reading Solutions to develop rigor in writing. • Middle school: literacy strategies such as “Growing Readers”; reading comprehension; argument driven inquiry (writing); and developing disciplinary vocabulary. • Elementary school: targeting tier 1 instruction.
Case study 2 Site Visit: Challenges • Scaling up from 7 schools (from Striving Readers) to 22 schools. • Managing finances of the grant. • Addressing student needs who are still struggling to meet tier 1. • Meeting assessment requirements. • Using reciprocal teaching in groups.
CASE Study 3 – individual partnerships • “I think having an outside person to help bring all of these entities together, and keep the outside partnership abreast of what is going on, is important. The people coming to my Family Connections meeting aren’t going to other meetings, so they learn about L4GA at my meetings.” • - Family Connections Director
CASE Study 3 – individual partnerships • “Something that struck me in an L4GA meeting, which really illustrates the problem for me, when the kids in the schools write about their summer experiences there is a common theme. They talk about their trip to Dollar General. That tells you about the limited scope that children have, and so books are an obvious way to get past that problem…that’s a cost effective way to deal with this issue.” • – L4GA Partner
CASE Study 3 – individual partnerships • “The superintendent wants the community involved in the schools. I’ve been to other schools that they are so obsessed and possessed with their school – they don’t want the outside people in, they don’t want people in their halls – the school is almost like a prison. These schools are not that way, the superintendent wants people to come, to interact with the students, to read to the students - she welcomes people in her schools. And of course if she does that it flows down, and everybody else will do that. They’re appreciative of outside people, and of the community being in the schools.” • – L4GA Partner Organization
Developing a plan Assign a grant coordinator to handle logistics, agenda setting, etc. This person should also engage community partners in grant activities. Create a blueprint for grant activities informed by a combination of data collected using needs assessments and prior test data that identifies needed areas for growth. Target resources towards interventions using the developed blueprint of district literacy needs that are aligned to proposed grant outcomes. Identify partners and set expectations of the partnership that align with the information and resources previously identified. Partnerships may include continuing partnerships or forming new partnerships based on the identified needs.
Implementing the plan Engage the public through social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), local newspapers, county newsletters, radio, and TV. Engage families with literacy beyond using only books, using themed events based on popular books; creating “literacy busses” that bring books and resources into communities; or partnering with hospitals, health depts, and medical offices to disseminate literacy materials to parents with children before they enter school. Use literacy events to engage the whole community, or integrate literacy into existing, successful community events.
Activities and Events Secondary School Early Learning: Birth to 5 Primary School • Book Blasts • Learning Academies (to reach children not serviced by Head Start) • Community Literacy Festivals & Events • Literacy Booths (various community events) • 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Reading Intervention Literacy Nights Curriculum Nights Literacy Themed Holiday Events After-school Clubs Mystery Readers Reading Intervention Infusion of Literacy Across Curriculum Critical Thinking & Writing Concept Mapping Athletic Team Visits Digital Storytelling Work study programs to support high school completion
Involving partners • Library System • Colleges and Universities • Retired Teachers • Public Health Services • Family Connections & Communities in Schools • Local Government • RESA • Not-for-Profit Organizations • Local Businesses • Students • “The community partners can be cheerleaders for the school district, telling the really good story about the district, if we know what is happening”. – A Community Partner • “School is just one little part of a kid, it’s not the whole of the child. So we have to get better for kids…[all of the kids in the community] are your kids too. So it’s a change of the mindset that we need to make. The ways that some kids live, we need the community to see that. It’s not just [the school’s] thing to fix, it is their children, all of our children, and so it is our issue together. It’s going to take all of us to fix what is going on in our communities.” • – District Official, in response to the importance of community partners
Reflecting on the plan • Impacts • L4GA has united the community under a common goal: Literacy • More focused instruction and data use • Consistency in pedagogy and interventions • Professional Development • Guided reading, Reciprocal teaching, Assessment and Software, Bookworms, Growing Readers, Phonics, etc. • Challenges • Focus is on B-5 and early elementary, MS and HS have been more difficult to engage • Data collection • Developing partnerships • Moving forward • Evolving partnerships • Further professional learning • “Exciting to see the kids feel the success that we’ve never seen before – it’s become intrinsic for them, they’re excited to read and motivated to read.” • – School Principal • “In meeting with Family Connections, there is a wide range of people who not just serve on the board, but that attend those meetings. So when there is a need, we can reach out in those meetings, or reach out to our Executive Director [of Family Connections] and tell her, ‘This is what we need, what do you think as a community partner will help us to achieve that goal or get that information out into the community’” • – District Official
Data Collection • SNA Surveys • Update the List of L4GA Contacts (August-September 2019) • SNA Survey (October-November 2019) • Site Visits • Remaining Site Visits (Fall 2019) • Spring 2020 Site Visits/Individual Interviews
