OCE Outreach

Presentation developed by: Anne Ruoff, Counseling Intern 2013-2014

Population of Interest
Cary node, 24 students
Primarily lower-income, 16 students are ELLs from Hispanic, Spanish-speaking Sensitive Data Removed families ~45 minute commute to campus 19 out of 24 also identified as academically at-risk based on
Sensitive Data Removed

Case-21 scores, M-CLASS, EVAAS

Needs
Highlights of Teacher Parent Communication Data
Teachers report in-person conferences are limited to either 1 meeting or no meetings
Noted that language and/or transportation issues were barriers
Phone/email communications scattered Main form of communication through students There is a disconnect between information sent home and responses back Some suggested a conference night devoted just to Cary node families

Needs
Highlights of Academic Data
19 out of 24 Cary Node students considered at-risk academically
14 of which are Hispanic, 2 are classified LD

6 students scored not proficient on Case-21 Reading and Math both the 1st and 2nd assessment
None of the students scored a projected 3 on any Case-21testing
Sensitive Data Removed, 2 subsequent slides have been removed as well to protect privacy of academic data

Students tended to do slightly better on Case-21 Math assessments

Scores mostly lowered or stayed near the same across 1st and 2nd Case-21 7 students scored proficient on M-CLASS, 12 scored not proficient

Teacher Input
Q: In your opinion, how needed is an intervention for Cary Node students to promote their success in school?

1 Strongly Disagree 2 3 4

0 0 2 1

0% 0% 22% 11%

5 Strongly Agree

67%

Q: In your opinion, how needed is an intervention for Cary node Families to promote student success in school?

1 Strongly Disagree 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree

0 0 0 2 7

0% 0% 0% 22% 78%

Teacher Input
Which of the following do you feel would be most helpful in promoting the success of Cary Node students? Intervention Cary Node Parent/Teacher Conference Night with Interpreters Reading Comprehension Skills Group Confidence in Cultural Identity Group Integration of Multicultural Spotlights and Awareness into School-Wide Environment Multicultural Workshops for Professional Development School Outreach to Recognize and Include Cary Node Families Other # of Percentage of Votes Votes 7 30%

9 0 1

39% 0% 4%

2 4 0

9% 17% 0%

An Advocacy Plan: Questions to Consider

Helpful to address the following points prior to an advocacy related intervention: Identify individual or group that is/are the focus of your advocacy and the plan you have developed for the advocacy effort Which moral and/or legal (e.g., IDEA, FERPA, etc.) issue or issues underpin your advocacy plan? What data do you have that supports the need for the advocacy identified in your plan? What do you hope to accomplish as a result of your advocacy efforts? What are your objectives? What are the barriers that must be overcome if advocacy is to be successful? Identify potential collaborators in your advocacy plan. What expertise will they bring to the effort? What risks are associated with the advocacy effort? What are the potential rewards? What evaluation method(s) could be used to determine the effectiveness of your advocacy effort?

Proposed Intervention

Parent-Teacher Conference Event

PT-Conference Night @ Cary Node Community 2x year, Fall and Spring Study Skills groups Skills taught determined by needs of Cary node students

Group Counseling

Parent-Teacher Conference Night

Moving Pieces: Personnel Present
Teachers Administrators Counselors Volunteers Social Worker

SSW can address outside-school needs if they are brought up, ex: food assistance

Absolute Must: Translators Present

Bilingual school staff Community Resources
Are there any organizations that can contact or contribute translators? University/college organizations? Contact university/college Spanish departments, Education departments, or Counseling/Social Work departments calling for translators

Community Volunteers

Location: Cary Node Community Building

School, church, or similar community building near node center Contact to see if space can be donated or rented for a night

Preliminary Logistics
Multiple tables set up with teachers and translators Volunteers to sign in parents and call out names for conferences Parents sign in and fill out 2 name tags Event date/time/location communicated to school faculty and Cary node families Presence of incentives to increase parent participation:

Parent of ___, Teacher ___ 1 name tag is worn, the other given to the caller Parents are called to conference tables in order they arrived

Hand out school supplies in fall, prizes (stickers/toys/etc.) in spring Possibly provide dinner or some snacks Possibly provide child-care for younger siblings on site

Benefits
Potential Benefits
Provide space for teacher-parent communication, which is essential to student success

Create a school community These families are trusting their children to a school they may never have visited 45 min away, we have to give them reason to trust us Send the message that these families are an important part of the school community
Increase students/parents sense of school-connectedness Research shows that when individuals believe they matter to a school, they are more likely to positively engage in that environment Positive academic outcomes influenced by above factors and group counseling

Evaluation
Evaluating the Intervention
Ask parents to fill out feedback surveys at the end of conference night Open ended questions: What was beneficial about this? What did you find helpful (or not) and why? Etc. Closed ended questions: Rate how connected you feel to the school, Rate how confident you feel in the school. Etc. Teacher survey to determine any changes to parent-teacher communication Pre/post ratings on school connectedness could be gathered from students before and after intervention Monitoring students academics for interventions effectiveness

Collecting perception data from group counseling