MassGradEvaluationBriefs

Leadership Council

August2012

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Introduction1

Background1 ofthe Leadership Council

Summary of1

Findings

Introduction

Welcome totheMassGradEvaluationBriefs, a series ofpublications written for participantsintheevaluation beingconducted bythe UMassDonahue Institute (UMDI). The Briefs willshare keyfindings fromevaluation observations,interviews, surveys, and reports. Itisahigh priorityfortheMassachusetts Departmentof Elementaryand SecondaryEducation(ESE)thatyou receive feedbackfromthe evaluation. Yourparticipation has been veryhelpfuland greatlyappreciated.

Backgroundofthe Leadership Council

ESEhas established aMassGradLeadership Councilthatincludesrepresentatives froma broad range of stateagenciesandcommunity, statewide, and national organizations.The Council's purposeisto supportandinformMassGrad activities, to provide expertiseand trainingresources,andto connectthe project’s services with otherMassachusetts dropoutreductionandcollege andcareerreadinessinitiatives.

Successes1

Challenges2

NextSteps3

Topics of4

Interestto

Council

Members

New4

Directions

Summary ofFindings

Findings presented in thisEvaluation Briefare basedon observations ofLeadership

Councilmeetings, attendance logs,interviews withfourCouncilmembers, andan online surveyof allCouncilmembers(completed by7of the 19 members).Key findings include that:

TheLeadership Councilhas provided memberswith valuableinformation and updatesregardingMassGrad activitieshappeninginschoolsand districts acrossthe state;

Actiontaken by, orresultingfrom, participationin theLeadership Councilhas beenlimited;

Memberswould like to expand andclarifytheirrole intheMassGradinitiative;

Participation andengagementwith Councilactivities have been limited bylow attendance atCouncilmeetings and lagginginterestinCouncilbusiness;and

In responseto member feedback, ESEhasrestructuredCouncilmeetings to engage participants more activelyandtofacilitateaction stepsthatadvancethe

Foranyinquiries

abouttheevaluation, please contact Patricia Lee atthe

Council’s agenda.

Successes

UMassDonahue

Institute:PLee@

donahue.umassp.edu, (413)587-2402

Bringing together peoplewhoare interestedin dropout preventionand recovery. Aprimarysuccess oftheLeadership Councilhasbeento bringtogether people fromacross the state who share aninterestindropout preventionandrecovery. Allsurveyrespondents agreed thatCouncilmeetings provide usefulopportunitiesfor

membersto learn fromeach otheraboutdropout prevention andrecoveryefforts from

1

acrossthe state,and thatmeetings provideusefulinformation aboutMassGrad-funded activities. Interviewees saidthatCouncilmeetings have served asa soundingboard, providing memberswitha venue to sharetheirideasand an opportunityto hearfromothers doingsimilarwork. Severalinterviewees commented thatmembersof the Councilrepresentdiverse professionalperspectives and experiences. Interviewees alsosaid thatcommunication atmeetingshas been respectful, andthatnotime hasbeen wastedon contentiousdebate.

Restructuringthe GraduationCoalition.Amajor impactof the Leadership Councilhas been in relationto the GraduationCoalition. ESEhad originallyintendedto createa coalitionof nonprofit, business, and state governmentorganizations thatwould meetquarterlyduringthe five-yeargrantperiod. In response to feedbackfromthe Leadership Councilthatthecoalition would be more effective iflocallybasedand targeted to the needs oflocalcommunities,ratherthanstate-level, ESEsubstantiallychanged theCoalition's

structure.

Challenges

Maximizing the Council’simpactandsupportsforschools and districts.Duringone ofthe initial Leadership Councilmeetings,memberssaidthatthey wantedto clarifytheirpurpose and rolein relationto theMassGradinitiatives, and thatthey wereeagerto provide proactive leadershipand direction. In contrast to this vision, mostsurveyrespondents (83%)disagreed thatthe Councilhas beenpositionedto provide significantimpactonMassGrad-funded dropoutprevention workin schools and districts. Amajorityof respondents(60%)alsodisagreed thattheCouncilhaschanged the waythatlocaleducation professionals access and utilize resourcesand services fordropoutpreventionandrecovery. Oneinterviewee said, “The primarychallenge is figuringout whatwecan doto have an impact, beyond gettingtogether everyquarter to have a discussion. Is there a betterrole forus? Is there somethingthatwe should be doingthatwe are not doing?”

Clarifyingand expandingthe roleofthe Council. Surveyrespondentsandinterviewees reportedthat therelationshipbetweenthe Counciland the MassGrad initiative was unclear,and thatthe Council’s work should be expanded. Only29% ofrespondents agreedthattheyclearlyunderstandthe Council’s rolein relationto the overallMassGradinitiative, and none agreedthattheyclearlyunderstandthe Council’srole

inrelation to individualMassGradprograms. Amajority(67%)agreedthatthe Councilhas supportedand informed MassGradactivities, butmost(71%)also agreed thattheCouncil’sroleshould be expanded. One intervieweesaid, “Ithinkthe waythe grantisconstructed, thereisa verynarrowroleforthe Leadership Council. Everythingispretty much prescribed, and Iamnot surethatthereis much of anopportunityto brainstormotherways ofaddressingthe dropoutor graduationrate.”

Leadership Councilmeetings are poorly attended. Intervieweesallagreedthatpoorattendanceat Leadership Councilmeetings has beena challenge.Through May2012,the average attendance rate was less than 50%. Interviewees noted thatmany membershave limited time to engage inthe work, butalsothat inconsistent attendance maybe disruptingthe continuityof theCouncil’s workand decreasingopportunities for membersto find meaningful forms ofengagement.Toimprove attendance andengagement, respondents suggested restructuringmeetingagendas toallowformore intentionalinvolvementof Councilmembers, as wellas holdingmeetings more often (includingsome conference calls). Auspicious findings forthe Council’s future activities are provided bythe72% ofsurveyrespondentswho agreed thatCouncilmeetings provide value thatmotivates themto attendfuture Councilmeetings andevents.

ESE’s abilityto supportthework ofthe Council.Two interviewees saidthatESEmaylackthe staffingcapacitynecessaryto supportandfullyutilize the Council’s work.TheybelievedthatESE’s decisiontoallocatethemajorityof MassGradfundsforworkin schools and districts maylimitthe department’sabilityto supportthe Council’s work. One interviewee said,“ESEmade a good choiceto give out the majorityof moneyto the districts, butitwouldbe nice ifthere wasanotherhalforthird[ofa staff member’s time dedicatedto]workingon theLeadership Councilto glueittogetherthe waythey would like.” Anotherintervieweesaid,“Iamsensitive tothefactthatthestaff[atESE]is stretched beyond capacity… Iwould not wantthe LeadershipCounciltobe drainingthestaffbyaskingquestionsfor which they would have to produceinformationthatthey weren’tproducinganyway. There needs tobe abalance

there.”

NextSteps

Clarifythe Council’s role.Interviewee andsurveyrespondents saidthatclarifyingthe role ofthe Councilinrelation totheMassGrad initiative would help tofacilitate adiscussionaboutappropriate next steps.

Increasethe Council’s effectiveness.Respondents wantedthe Leadership Councilto be utilized more activelybut were uncertainabout whatan expanded role should entail. One interviewee said,“Iwould like us tobe more impactful. Iwould like usto beable to leave the meetingand notjustfeellike Icontributed ideas, butthatIactuallyamhelpingto move the needle, or thatIamhelping[ESE]staffin a waythateases theirburden and hasan impacton the endresult.”Three respondentssuggestedthatmore focusedand directed meetings couldimprove effectiveness.Two suggestedstructuringmeetingagendas to accomplish targeted tasks andto address specifictopics. One said,“Come [to meetings]with clearobjectives and questions tobe answered and usetheinputfromthe varietyof perspectivesrepresented in a waythat demonstratesthe value andresults ofthegroup's time and effort.” Othersuggestions included expanding discussion amongparticipants, and modelingandpromotingthe kind of“partnership behavior” thatisbeing sought atthe districtlevel.

Continueto provide oversightandfeedbackfor grant activities.Intervieweesagreed thatitis importantforthe Leadership Councilto continue providingoversight and feedbackto ESEon specificgrant activities(e.g., restructuringthe Coalition Challenge)as needed.

Interviewees alsosuggestedthefollowingactivities aspotentialnextsteps:

Servingas “criticalfriends”byaskingmore questions aboutprogress, metrics, andwhetherthe

initiativeis ontargetto meetits goals.

Helpingtoidentify where the projectis makinga difference andidentifyingstrategies for magnifyingimpact.

Discussinga potentialpublic awareness campaign related totheimpactsoftheinitiative.

Buildingcapacityand developingstrategies forcommunicatinglessonslearned and successful practicesfromtheMassGrad programs.

Discussingthe implicationsof possiblechangesin dropoutpreventionlegislation,such as an increase in the minimumdropoutage, and offeringideas tohelp districtsandthe state make that transition effectively.

Topics ofInterestto CouncilMembers

Councilmemberssaidthatthey wouldlike todiscuss the followingtopicsatfuture Councilmeetings:

Therolethatinstitutions ofhigher education are playingin MassGrad,and with dropout prevention and recoveryefforts more broadly.

Ways thatconstituencies represented byCouncilmemberscanformstrategic partnerships with schoolanddistrictstakeholdersto promoteandexpandthe workof the MassGradinitiative.

TheimpactofMassGradprograms on graduation and dropoutrates, andthe implications ofthese findings (e.g., strategies thatshould be promoted andreplicated,and efficientways to accelerate progress).

Policylevers–areasin which the Leadership Councilcan have the greatestimpact.

NewDirections

In responseto feedbackfromCouncilmembers, ESEalteredthe mostrecent(May23rd)Council meeting’s structure to engage participants more activelyand facilitateactionstepsto advance the Council’s agenda. Duringa presentation on dropoutand graduaterate trends forMassGradsites, ESEpersonnel encouraged feedbackfromCouncilmembersthatled to an energizingdiscussionof MassGrad’smission. ESEthenledan action-planningactivityin which membersdiscussedthe Council’s nextsteps,future directions, andpotentialcontributions. Severalmembers agreed thatthe Council’sefforts shouldbefocused on educationalpolicyreform, and the group brainstormed a listofpotentialaction stepsthatincluded creatingrecommendationsaboutalternative education,initiatinga publicinformation campaign about education trajectories, andidentifyingand addressingpolicybarriers. One member cautioned thatfocusing on a manageable setofissues would be necessaryto advance the Council’s agendaeffectively. A subcommittee wasformed to refine the listofrecommendationsdiscussed,and membersagreed thatthis work would continue between Councilmeetings.