FY16 Summative Evaluation Report
Regarding
Dodge County Elementary Schools
21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant
June 2016
Prepared by:
Norris Consulting Group, Inc.
(External Evaluator)
Post Office Box 8332
Warner Robins, GA 31095
Phone 478.923.2955
Fax 478.923.2956
Table of Contents
I. Overview and History 3
II. Student Attendance and Enrollment 4
III. Program Operation 6
IV. Quality of Staffing 7
V. Objective Assessment 8
VI. Other Observations 15
VII. Progress Towards Sustainability 20
VIII. Overall Recommendations 27
Appendices
Appendix A: Data Tables by Site 32
Appendix B: Annual Student Satisfaction Surveys 33
Appendix C: Annual Family Satisfaction Survey 45
Appendix D: Family Programs Survey 56
Appendix E: Staff/Volunteer Development Workshop Survey 63
Appendix F: Annual Staff Satisfaction Survey 70
Appendix G: Focus Group Summary 76
Appendix H: Classroom Teacher Survey 82
Appendix I: Quarterly Worksheets 87
21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant
Summative Evaluation Report
I. Overview and History
In July 2014, the Dodge County Board of Education and the joint applicant, the Dodge Connection: A Communities in Schools Approach, Inc. received funding through two separate grant awards to support the Dodge County 21st CCLC Initiative. The Dodge Elementary School 21st CCLC Initiative grant award funded the program at the North Dodge Elementary School and the South Dodge Elementary School.
The target population is 190 at-risk students in grades K - 5 and their family members. The Initiative will provide services for 12.5 hours per week, Monday – Friday, for at least 25 weeks (130 days) per year during the regular school year and 14 hours per week, Monday – Thursday, for four weeks (16 days) per year during the summer. The students are from two Title I schools, North Dodge Elementary School and South Dodge County Elementary School.
Our programming will include tutoring and academic enrichment activities (including STEM related activities); homework assistance; sports, recreation and fitness activities; arts and music enrichment activities; test preparation skills; expanded library service hours; drug and violence prevention programs; services for English Language Learners; and parent involvement activities. All activities are aligned with the regular school day curriculum, individualized and are designed to ensure improvement in core academic content areas. It is our expectation that participants will benefit from the Initiative by having improved: academic performance; regular school attendance; homework completion; class participation; behavior; and family involvement.
II. Student Attendance and Enrollment
Number of Students EnrolledAfter School Program Site
2015 - 2016 School Year
Site / Number Enrolled / Percent of Total
North Dodge Elementary School / 115 / 50%
South Dodge Elementary School / 115 / 50%
Total / 230 / 100%
During the 2015-2016 school year, the Initiative had an enrollment of 230 at-risk students. These students were served at one of two sites: North Dodge Elementary School and South Dodge Elementary School.
Number of Sessions Attended by Participating Youth2015 - 2016 School Year
Number of Sessions / Number of Students / Percent of Total
1 – 9 sessions / 0 / 0%
10 – 19 sessions / 5 / 2%
20 – 29 sessions / 4 / 2%
30 – 39 sessions / 6 / 3%
40 – 49 sessions / 16 / 7%
50 – 59 sessions / 9 / 4%
60 – 69 sessions / 10 / 4%
70 – 79 sessions / 10 / 4%
80 – 89 sessions / 18 / 8%
90 – 99 sessions / 16 / 7%
100 – 109 sessions / 39 / 17%
110 - 119 sessions / 60 / 26%
120 or more sessions / 37 / 16%
Total / 230 / 100%
Avg. # of sessions/student / 94 sessions/student
Sessions began September 28, 2015 and ended April 29, 2016. A total of 126 sessions were provided at the North Dodge Elementary School site and 125 sessions were provided at South Dodge Elementary School site. After school sessions were offered Monday – Friday for 2.5 hours daily. The average number of sessions attended per student was 94, with a total of 21,523 contacts for all students. The average daily attendance was 90 at the North Dodge Elementary School site and 81 at the South Dodge Elementary School site.
Race and Gender: Fifty percent (50%) of participating students are African American, 38% are Caucasian, 8% Hispanic, and 4% are of another ethnicity. This is compared to a school system profile of 34% African American; 58% white; 4% Hispanic, 3% other. Regarding gender, 49% of our students are male and 51% are female.
Grade Levels: Our participating students are enrolled in grades K – 5.
Free and Reduced Lunch: One-hundred (100%) percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch pricing.
III. Program Operation
Daily Programming Schedule for After School Programs:
The after school program was provided Monday - Friday for 2.5 hours each day, from 3:00 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. A nutritious snack was provided while discussing a variety of prevention topics. Afterwards, students transitioned into 45 minutes of homework, enrichment/recreation (45 minutes), and STEM lab/technology activities (45 minutes).
Success Stories /We were able to enroll two siblings in the program that really need the assistance. (Project Director, Quarter 1)
The students were really excited about the projects they made at the paint party. They were able to take them home to share with their families. (Project Director, Quarter 2)
At the advisory council meeting, one of the parents discussed how much the program has helped her children. She had 3 children in the program at different sites. (Project Director, Quarter 3)
We were awarded additional funds for our summer program, which will allow us to extend the hours of the program 2.25 hours per day. (Project Director, Quarter 4)
We were able to enroll a student that would be at home alone and/or that he wouldn’t be able to enroll so that he could watch his younger sibling. (SDES Site Coordinator, Quarter 1)
We were able to have our Christmas play involving 4th and 5th graders. If we did not have the after school program, many of these students would not have been able to participate. (SDES Site Coordinator, Quarter 2)
On 1/22/16, we were able to have Solid Rock Church of God do a Black Light drama program "The Promise." We were able to include all young women and young men of character from our 4th and 5th grades, as well as the ones that are in our program. The students were amazed by the program. (SDES Site Coordinator, Quarter 3)
We were able to enroll a student that had been on the waiting list once a student withdrew from our school. The new student made process in homework completion. (SDES Site Coordinator, Quarter 4)
Family Literacy and Related Educational Development Activities
A total of 7 family literacy activities were held during the school year, totaling 12 hours of programming, with an average of 19 adults and 0 students attending. A total of 110 parents attended at least one activity, resulting in 130 total parent contacts.
Family Literacy Activities2015 - 2016 School Year /
Site / Event / Date / Time Offered / # of family members / # of students /
NDES / Parent orientation / 9/15/15 / 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. / 20 / 0
Thanksgiving luncheon / 11/17/15 / 10:30 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. / 14 / 0
Christmas play “A Cinematic Christmas” / 12/1/15 / 7:00 – 8:30 P.M. / 14 / 0
“God Bless America” patriotic performance / 4/29/16 / 4:30 – 5:30 P.M. / 50 / 0
SDES / Parent open house / 10/19/15 / 6:00 – 7:30 P.M. / 7 / 0
Christmas play / 12/10/15 / 7:00 – 8:30 P.M. / 4 / 0
South Dodge Elementary School Art Show / 3/8/16 / 5:00 – 7:30 P.M. / 21 / 0
Total / 7 activities / 7 days / 12 hours / 19 parents per event / 0 students per event
IV. Quality of Staffing
The initiative employed a total of 56 staff members. This includes: a Project Director (certified teacher), North Dodge Elementary School Site Coordinator (certified teacher), South Dodge Elementary School Site Coordinator (certified teacher), 33 other certified teachers and 21 certified paraprofessionals and other staff members. The staff demographic profile is as follows: 100% female. Our student:staff ratio for academic activities is no more than 10:1. Our student:staff ratio for other non-academic activities is no more than 15:1.
Staff and volunteer training continues to be a major focus throughout the program. A total of 6 opportunities were offered during the year with an average of 16 participants attending.
Staff and/or Volunteer Training2015 - 2016 School Year /
Site / Date of Training / Description of Training Provided / Number of Participants /
NDES / 9/23/15 / McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders training with M. Sheffield / 23
2/18/16 / CPR training / 8
SDES / 9/23/15 / Computer/projector/screen usage, ELA program, and milestones / 23
1/4/16 / PBIS training with Leslie Rowland / 26
2/23/16 / CPR training with Anna Shirley / 11
2/25/16 / CPR training with Anna Shirley / 7
V. Objective Assessment
The goals of the project include: (1). Improve academic performance; (2). Improve student attendance, behavior, homework completion and class participation.; and (3). Increase family involvement.
Gathering Results Level Indicators:
Short-Term:
Annual surveys were distributed to participating students, their parents and teachers at the end of the 2015-2016 school year. The contact information was obtained from the Cayen Afterschool 21 database.
Intermediate:
The initiative obtained the students’ grades, attendance, behavior, classroom participation, homework completion and year-end status information regarding the 2015-2016 school year.
Long-Term:
The drop-out and high school graduation information regarding these students are long-term indicators and will be tracked in upcoming years.
Evaluation Element / Result Level /Short / Intermediate / Long /
Indicators / How many of these students attended the after school program at least 30 days?
How were these students’:
- outlook on life
- feelings about relationships
affected by participation in this program?
To what extent did their adult family members participate in literacy and related education development activities? / To what extent were:
- academic achievement (grades and test scores)
- attendance
- discipline
- behavior
- class participation
- homework completion
- year-end status
affected by participation in this program? / Did participants decide to remain in school (i.e. not drop out)?
Did participants graduate from high school on-time?
Instruments / - 21st Century Annual Student, Family and Classroom Teacher Surveys
- Cayen Afterschool 21 database (student and parent contact information) and worksheets. / - School records
- Annual Family Surveys
- Annual Classroom Teacher Surveys. / - School records (dropout and graduation).
Administration / - Quarterly (contact information)
- End of school year (survey information) / - End of school year / - End of school year.
(future years)
Analysis / Descriptive statistical analysis / - Comparison of grade information for the first and last grading period
- Analysis of the number of students who have missed 15 or less days of school
- Analysis of year-end academic status
- Analysis of family and teacher surveys regarding their perceptions of improved student behavior, homework completion, and class participation. / - Percentage of participating students who subsequently dropout of school
- Percentage of participating students who subsequently graduate on-time.
The evaluation data was collected by the identified staff members. Demographic, contact and grades data and regular classroom teacher surveys relevant for the state’s Cayen Afterschool 21 database was subsequently entered into the Cayen Afterschool 21 database by our Data Collector. Additional data collection tools (e.g. additional worksheets, student surveys, parent surveys, after school program staff surveys and key stakeholder focus group sessions) and key results data (scores, attendance, discipline and year end promotion records) were forwarded directly to our evaluator (Norris Consulting Group). Norris Consulting Group staff subsequently downloaded relevant demographic, student and parent contact and grades information from the Cayen Afterschool 21 database and combined it with the other identified data to establish a county evaluation database. They utilized the information from this customized local database; an analysis of the student, parent, regular classroom teacher and after school program staff surveys; and a compilation of other relevant quantitative and qualitative information to prepare this report.
Data Collection Barriers and Suggested Future Actions:
We need to increase the student and family surveys' response rates.
Status of Achievement of Goals and Objectives:
Goal #1: Improve Academic Performance
Objective #1.1: A minimum of 70% of the students actively participating (attending at least 30 sessions) in the program will improve their reading grades or maintain a B or higher.
Met Objective #1.1: 70% of the regularly participating students improved their reading grade or maintained a B or higher during the 2015-2016 school year. Forty-three (43) of these students improved by at least one letter grade and 10 students raised a failing grade to at least a “C”.
Objective #1.2: A minimum of 70% of the students actively participating in the program will improve their language arts grades or maintain a B or higher.
Met Objective #1.2: 75% of the regularly participating students improved their language arts grade or maintained a B or higher during the 2015-2016 school year. Thirty-four (34) of these students improved by at least one letter grade and seven students raised a failing grade to at least a “C”.
Objective #1.3: A minimum of 70% of the students actively participating in the program will improve their math grades or maintain a B or higher.
Met Objective #1.3: 74% of the regularly participating students improved their math grade or maintained a B or higher during the 2015-2016 school year. Fifty (50) of these students improved by at least one letter grade and 11 students raised a failing grade to at least a “C”.
Objective #1.4: The percentage of the regularly participating students in grades 3-5 scoring at the Developing Learners level or higher in reading on the Georgia Milestones will be a minimum of 70%.
Did Not Meet Objective #1.4: 53% of the regularly participating students scored at the Developing Learner or higher on the language arts/reading section of the Georgia Milestones Assessment.