DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative: Needs ... - Urban Institute

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DC Promise Neighborhoods Initiative: Needs Assessment and Segmentation Analysisis made up of the principal, school guidance counselor, two school social workers, the Turnaround socialworker consultant, the Turnaround educational coach, the Dean of Students, the Special EducationCoordinator, and representatives from East of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative and HillcrestChildren and Family Center. Also participating in the action plan devised for the student is the teacherwho referred the student to the SID team and the student’s parent or guardian. The student’s full actionplan and progress is communicated to the parents/guardians on a regular basis. The frequency ofinteraction with the student and refining of their action plan varies, but averages every three weeks.Another main reason teachers mentioned for students transferring to another school was the lack ofsports teams, academic and recreational clubs, and other school-culture activities (pep rallies, dances,etc.) that are commonly found in other high schools. This dearth of programming results in a poorschool culture and makes it difficult for many students to form pride and allegiance to the school. Thisinsight was confirmed by youth comments made during focus groups and resident retreats.College/Career PlanningFinding: College culture is strong and alive at Chavez Middle and High Schools. More needs to be doneto ensure that graduates of Chavez have the support mechanisms and long-term plan to graduate andearn a postsecondary degree, and/or have access to alternatives such as job placement and trainingopportunities.Department of Education Indicator As of 2010, 21 percent of the 2003 Chavez High Schools graduating class (all campuses)attained a college degree and 16 percent of the 2004 graduating class (all campuses)attained their degree (National Student Clearinghouse).The Urban Institute will work with DCPNI staff to request data from the National Student Clearinghouseto benchmark the above information against other DC schools.The joint working group also decided that tracking enrollment in postsecondary programs was a keyindicator of success. In 2010, 34 percent of students enrolled in postsecondary programs the fall immediatelyfollowing graduation from Chavez High School–Parkside (National Student Clearinghouse).The Urban Institute will work with DCPNI staff to request data from the National Student Clearinghouseto benchmark the above information against other DC schools.Acceptance to at least one postsecondary program is a prerequisite for graduating from Chavez HighSchool–Parkside. One hundred percent of Chavez High School seniors must demonstrate that they havebeen accepted to a college or another postsecondary program to graduate. Despite the strong collegeculture promoted at Chavez Middle and High Schools, the percentage of students actually attendingpostsecondary programs or graduating from them appears low. (The numbers are a bit low due to thefact that one of the colleges frequently attended by Chavez students is Trinity, which does notparticipate in the National Student Clearinghouse data.)According to the school climate survey, 90 percent of Chavez Middle School–Parkside students stronglyagree or agree that they want to go to college. Similarly 93 percent of Chavez High school–Parksidestudent strongly agree or agree that they want to attend college.48
DC Promise Neighborhoods Initiative: Needs Assessment and Segmentation AnalysisDuring the focus groups, students and parents of Chavez High School–Parkside students agreed that theschool does an excellent job of promoting “college culture” and ensuring that each graduating senior isaccepted to at least one postsecondary program. College acceptance is actually a requirement forgraduation from Chavez. However, they stated that a number of barriers still remain, including secureand sustainable plans for college financing and long-term follow up with students to ensure they notonly get into to college, but attend and graduate from their programs.There are two college counselors on the Chavez High School–Parkside staff and they are available duringand after school every day. Additionally, there is a college prep class for the first period Monday–Friday,CPA, with a curriculum tailored to each grade. Freshman classes have a College Career Connectionsprogram that runs the programming every Friday. Tiger Woods Learning Center staff take seniors to theGeorge Washington University’s precollege boot camp. All grades go on college tours and visits to closebycolleges and universities.Despite these opportunities, the students did not seem to feel that the support provided was robustenough. Both teachers and students did agree that more could be done to support students aftergraduation from high school to facilitate the transition to college and ensure they succeed at least intheir first year. They also felt that because of the strong focus on postsecondary education, there ismore that could be done to present students with alternative programs or job options if college is not animmediate next step for them after graduation.Outside of Chavez students/teachers, community residents and students more generally expressedduring the focus groups and resident retreats that college is not for everyone and that support shouldbe given to students to help them identify careers and find jobs after graduation. Many youth expressedserious concern over the costs of college and the difficulty of finding a job to sustain them during schoolwhile also allowing them to study and have lives outside of the classroom and work. Several youthcommented on friends/family who dropped out of their college program because they were not trulyprepared for what the experience would be like. One example a boy gave during one of the focus groupsstated, “One girl came, and she was like—she looked like she wanted to cry. She was shaking her head.She was like, man, I hate college. She was like, I don’t have enough money to pay for it. I got to work. Ididn’t want to laugh because she looked like she wanted to cry.”Teachers, youth and parents (during focus groups and teacher interviews) all agreed that the mosthelpful elements of college preparation were college visits and contact with or mentorship by collegestudents from similar backgrounds. Youth and teachers felt that hearing from professionals from variousfields provides motivation to students and a clear understanding of how college or other postsecondaryprograms are essential to achieving their professional goals.School Culture and Student BehaviorFinding: Chavez Parkside Schools need more varied opportunities for information sharing amongteachers and increased capacity to implement the Turnaround program for students with academic orbehavioral issues. The school culture is severely lacking a greater offering of sports, clubs, and otherextracurricular programming.49
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DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative: Needs ... - Urban Institute

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