A BluePrint for Success: Case Studies of Successful - Educational ...

A Blueprint for Success
The College Road had a strong view of where they were headed, but also knew that the pieces didn’t
always fit together seamlessly. Their lesson learned was the need for creative force and detail management
to deal with outcome data and other things that slowed them down.
Data
Bottom Line learned an important lesson regarding data collection. CEO Johnson explained that
“collecting data is expensive—we knew that—but we did not want to cut any corners when it came
to data.” As an organization, the staff learned that they must take the time to build a system out in
order to do this appropriately. Bottom Line found that there was a financial and time cost to building
their system, but it was necessary for the long run.
The College Road CAO Julie Allen explained that is easy to get caught up in building out the program,
but staff members needed to be mindful to use data and look at what it shows about program
outcomes before incorporating new program elements. “Don’t wait to connect the dots,” noted Allen,
“you can learn so much from early data and information.”
The Hispanic Youth Institute said they if they had the chance to do things differently, they would
enact comprehensive tracking in a formalized system. “We gather longitudinal metrics using surveys,
but we lack a formalized system to track individual student progress. Not only do we need to track
students better, but we also need to track additional indicators in the community.” They cited the
lack of funds as the main reason they did not do so.
The Partners Program strongly encouraged others to ask parents and students what works and what
doesn’t; pay attention to where students go after they leave your program; and learn what success
patterns look like. TPP Director Fanning warned that it can be easy—especially for small organizations—to
focus only on program delivery and not on data. He indicated that it is crucial to keep data
and program delivery connected. Don’t wait until you’re “big enough to have a data person.”
Other lessons learned by programs include:
Career Readiness. Several programs cited career readiness as an important consideration
going forward. Bottom Line found that their students were completing the program, but
were not prepared to work in the real world. “Essentially, students are graduating from
college without being credentialed for employment. Education has been watered down and is
far from rigorous. Standards need to move higher and more students need to graduate. It is
overall a recipe for disaster.” Education is Freedom is hoping that working with corporations
would help ensure a dedicated workforce to accept emerging jobs.
Counseling. Breakthrough Saint Paul found that they did not understand how important
a professional college counselor was to the success of their students. BSP: A key lesson
Educational Policy Institute xiii www.educationalpolicy.org