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Ask Questions, Collect Data

SP_Chpt 4p2

You have assessed your program's needs, established new partnerships and built strong relationships. How will you know if your partnerships are ultimately successful when it comes to your students and families? To get the most from your investment of time and resources, actively gather and use data to measure and improve your partnerships. 

Recommended Approach

Decide how goals will be measured: Start by looking at your goals and targets for the partnership, which should be in your original 21st CCLC grant proposal or the partnership memorandum of understanding. Next, develop a list of ways to measure whether each goal has been successful (in other words, whether the target has been met). Some may be more straightforward than others. For example, sign-in sheets can easily tell you whether the partner is meeting goals related to attendance and participation. Goals related to student performance or achievement can be measured by a variety of methods, such as looking at student grades, or pretests and posttests. Meet with your program partners to keep them informed of this process, and ask for input. 

Identify Data Sources: Decide where and how you will gather data. Does the school or district have relevant data? Meet with key school staff to discuss additional data sources. Can you create a few simple tools to facilitate data collection? Make sure everyone understands how often you will collect data and how it will be used.

 

Share Progress with Partners

Create a process for how you will share performance and student-level data with partners. This may involve regularly sitting down with key partner staff to review targets and make suggestions for improvements. 

My Notebook

Strengthening Partnerships

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Glossary

Strengthening Partnerships

A group of school staff, partner representatives, and possibly students, that monitors partnership progress toward meeting its goals; recommended for all partnerships but most beneficial for schools and districts with a large number of partners

A term often used to describe programs that offer student instruction and enrichment activities during nonschool hours (see also:  out-of-school time, increased learning time)

Practical process for locating resources, knowledge and expertise in a community

Ability to work effectively with diverse team members to achieve shared goals

Any of several types of organizations that serve or are located in your community, including businesses, educational institutions, faith-based organizations, health care organizations and government agencies

Federal legislation that protects a student's personally identifiable information (PII)

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires that every school district and every school receiving Title I dollars must have a written parent engagement policy and must build school capacity to effectively implement the policy.  The policy must be developed jointly with, approved by, and distributed to parents of participating children and the local community.  As a school partner, a 21st CCLC program can be very important to implementing and sustaining the parent engagement plan.  Copies of the plan should be available from school and district offices, and may be available on their websites.  

A written agreement that establishes a formal working relationship between two partnering organizations; generally includes details such as the services to be provided, the responsible party, and the time period

A formal or informal process to identify and prioritize the differences between services that are currently available and services that are necessary to serve students and families; for example, a lack of a dance program and a high interest level among students indicating the need for a dance program

A formal or informal process to identify and prioritize the differences between services that are currently available and services that are necessary to serve students and families; for example, a lack of a dance program and a high interest level among students indicating the need for a dance program

The ability of a school or community organization to provide resources or services for students

Hours outside of the regular school day, and they are often used for student enrichment activities that augment regular school-time instruction. Out-of-school time can occur before or after school, or in the summer.

A systematic process designed to build understanding about how a program works and what results it produces; this could include monitoring participation and attendance or comparing students who participate in a program with those who do not participate

A process used to identify potential partners in a geographic area; this can be initiated through direct contact with organizations or by reviewing Internet websites

A partnership that includes a common vision, goals, defined roles and shared responsibilities; one that involves both open communication and regular data sharing

Students are invited to express opinions and make choices about planning and implementing their own learning experiences