Monitoring and Evaluating 21st CCLC and SES Programs

Thursday, April 6, 2006 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm (Eastern Time) This call was a follow-up to a previous audioconference on monitoring and evaluating supplemental educational service providers (SES) held in September 2005. in contrast to that earlier call, this audioconference focused on a common challenge facing state education agency (SEA) staff that administer the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and SES programs; namely, gauging program impact and determining effectiveness in raising student achievement. Related concerns include using program data and evaluation findings to ensure compliance and, more importantly, drive improvement. To do this well, SEAs need to continue to build their capacity to collect student and program data, conduct valid and reliable evaluations, and provide training and technical assistance for program improvement purposes. The purpose of this call was to engage experts from the field and hear from states that are developing state systems to effectively monitor and evaluate SES providers and 21st CCLC programs. On the call, Ms. Carol McElvain and Mr. Neil Naftzger, from Learning Point Associates, provided a brief overview of 21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System (PPICs), discussed how states are using PPICs, and shared the benefits/limitations of the system. Geraldine Kidwell, from the Texas Education Agency, gave an overview of key elements of the state’s online data collection system for monitoring and evaluating 21st CCLC programs. Steven Ross, from the University of Memphis, provided general comments on the challenges and successes that states are having in developing evaluation systems for SES, and Sandra Gray, from the Tennessee Department of Education, shared with call participants the system the state is developing for evaluating providers. Please download presentation materials and transcripts of the call: 21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System (PPICS) Texas 21st CCLC Nutures Example 21st CCLC Report Compliance Survey Draft Decision Tree (SES) Draft Procedures for Monitoring (SES) Draft Monitoring Instrument (SES) Draft Compliance Report (SES) Transcript of the Audioconference PRESENTER BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Steven M. Ross Steven M. Ross received his doctorate in educational psychology from Pennsylvania State University. He is currently a Faudree professor and Executive Director of the Center for Research in Educational Policy at the University of Memphis. He joined the University of Memphis in 1974 and is a noted lecturer on school programs and educational evaluation. Dr. Ross is the author of six textbooks and over 120 journal articles in the areas of educational technology and instructional design, at-risk learners, educational reform, computer-based instruction, and individualized instruction. He is the editor of the research section of the Educational Technology Research and Development journal, and a member of the editorial board for two other professional journals. In 1993, he was the first faculty recipient of the University of Memphis Eminent Faculty Award for teaching, research and service, and recently held the Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence in Urban Education. He has testified on school restructuring research before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families, and is a technical advisor and researcher on current federal and state initiatives regarding the evaluation of technology usage, supplemental educational services, charter schools, Reading First, and Comprehensive School Reform. Sandra Gray Sandra Gray is the Director of Charter Schools and Choice at the Tennessee Department of Education. Her responsibilities include working with charter schools and implementing public school choice and supplement educational services under No Child Left Behind. Previously, she administered statewide secondary programs as the Director of Special Projects in the Division of Vocational-Technical Education. Prior to joining the Tennessee Department of Education she taught family and consumer sciences in an affluent “bedroom community” of Nashville, and in an inner city high school. During that time, she was selected as a Top Ten Finalist for Teacher of the Year by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Her success in teaching, experience working with at-risk high school students and coordinating a Teen Learning Center for pregnant and parenting teens acquainted her with the disadvantaged and struggling students to whom supplemental educational services target. Carol McElvain Carol McElvain is a Senior Program Associate at Learning Point Associates in Chicago, IL. In this capacity, she assists in building tools and applying proven practices to create schools where all students can develop their skills and abilities. Her recent work focuses on providing afterschool programs with the tools to improve quality. Carol worked as co-project manager of the Analytic Support to the 21st CCLC Program developing a system to implement, manage, and analyze data collection for state-level programs. In addition, she is a contributing member of the Afterschool Technical Assistance Collaborative to help states build strong afterschool networks, and served as a member of the National 21st CCLC Training Taskforce and the North Central Regional Advisory Committee through the National Center for Community Education. She is the co-author of Beyond the Bell™: A Toolkit for Creating Effective After-School Programs (1st, 2nd and the new 3rd Edition, The Principal’s Guide, and the Start-Up Guide), and has provided training on effective afterschool programming throughout the country. Trained as lawyer, she has worked as an advocate for special needs children in the Chicago Public Schools and in educational policy, is a member of her local School Board and the mother of two teenagers. Geraldine Kidwell Geraldine Kidwell received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baylor University, a Master of Arts from University of Northern Colorado. Additional graduate study was done at Northwest University, in Evanston, Illinois, Texas Tech University, and West Texas State University. Teaching experiences include elementary strings, 8th grade English, music, and Head Start. In 1997, she came to the Texas Education Agency. Since then her program responsibilities include directing the Texas After-School Initiative for Middle Schools, Ninth Grade Success Initiative, Optional Extended Year, the Texas Read for Excellence Grant, Head Start, Ready to Read, and 21st CCLC Grant. Her extensive background also includes serving on the advisory board for the Mid-South Region collaborating with the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Also she has worked on the Evaluation Taskforce with Learning Point Associates and on the SEA planning committee. She is currently the Program Manager at the Division of High School Completion and Student Support Grant Programs coordinating the 21st CCLC Grants and the Optional Extended Year program. She recently became a member of Foundation’s Inc. National Advisory Committee. Neil Naftzger Neil Naftzger contributes extensively to the Learning Point Associates online analytic support contract with the U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Center program and is responsible for the design and deployment of the 21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System. He also designs and conducts other evaluations in the extended learning arena and is presently working on a study of extended learning time programs in South Carolina and the evaluation of Supplemental Educational Service (SES) providers in Illinois. He has provided training and technical assistance to program staff in conducting evaluations and using data for product/service improvement, project management, and the development of quality-assurance procedures.

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document last updated 8/21/2009