Youth Participatory Evaluation in a Public School District November 10, 2017 Maren Henderson, Evaluation Specialist Accountability, Innovation, and Research

Context

Context: School Attendance

Context: Suspensions

Context: School Climate Student perception of school climate is, on average, lower than parents and school staff Reinforces need to ask young people about their school experience!

Youth Participatory Evaluation Youth as: -Evaluators -Community organizers -Decision-makers Youth voice influences school and district policy Social justice framework

Program Overview

Office of Civil Rights Agreement YPE at MPS Compliance Model Transformation Office of Civil Rights Agreement Racial disproportionality in school discipline Student committees give input on behavior policy School and district administrators respond to student suggestions Each middle and high school involves 6-8 students Schools select representative student group who have received behavior referrals or are less engaged in school than peers Students review discipline policy and make recommendations Youth build evaluation skills to address school issues that matter to them (REAA evaluation team as coaches) Team collects data to represent student body voice Student voice influences district decisions and accountability

Collecting & elevating authentic youth voice YPE Theory of Change Building shared power Collecting & elevating authentic youth voice Advisors Leaders Students Increase student engagement by asking traditionally marginalized voices to identify root causes of disproportionality and inequity, and propose innovative solutions

Student Participants Underrepresented voices Representative of student body Race/ethnicity Gender FRL status Experience with the school discipline system Encourage returning YPE students, especially 9th graders

Adult Support Project Coordinator: School Advisor: REAA Coach: Provides leadership for the project Develops monthly agenda Communicates with school staff Supports coaches School Advisor: Often school social worker or other support staff Meet with team twice/month during school day Support authentic youth voice through partnership Serve as adult ally and advocate for team among school leadership REAA Coach: Evaluation specialists Technical assistance Teach methods to legitimize data collection and use

Research Agenda School Distractions Student-Teacher Relationships #knowme Student Relationships Increase the Peace Curriculum We Deserve Better #teachme School Policies #respectgoesbothways School Distractions #stayfocused Both years Improved teacher and student relationships Student-centered learning Active Culturally relevant Project-based or collaborative More time to understand content and ask questions 2016 Need for both students and staff to model exemplary behavior 2017 Asked that MPS do a better job connecting with parents. Develop more support at home for student learning and success. Student Voice Youth Need Voice and Choice Resource Distribution #wrongpriorities Motivation for the Future #prepareme

Examples of 2017-2018 Questions Do teachers, staff and students believe that students have a bright future in life? Do student/teacher relationships impact student outcomes? Do students feel like their voice is heard? How can youth leaders develop opportunities for students to creatively share their voice? How does school policies and teacher efforts impact students’ self- worth and also feeling disenfranchised?

Program Identity “A leadership group that allows youth to be heard” How do you describe YPE to a friend? “A leadership group that allows youth to be heard” “I explain to my friends that YPE is a group for us to point out things that we don’t like in our school but come up with ideas to solve them as well and act on it” “I say it’s a group where we talk about issues and social injustices in school/district and how to change them to make everybody happy and for school disciplining to be more consistent”

Program Value “To make a change” Why do you say you do it? “To make a change” “Because it is a change to get our/my voices heard and make my school a better learning environment for me and my peers that is fair” “I do it because its somewhere your voice can be heard, somewhere where you can do something outstanding” “Because student voice matters and is the only way school can be changed to fit needs”

Program Impact I feel like our research was important for impacting my school. I feel like I am a leader in my school. Adults at our school are open to hearing our ideas.

Factors Needed for Youth Voice to Drive Institutional and System Impact

Overview of Factors Shared Understanding of Purpose and Value Supportive Adults and Leadership School Culture System Accountability

Shared Understanding of Purpose and Value School as a youth-serving organization Teachers and staff as youth workers School designed to serve youth Youth should have a say in the design

Supportive Adults and Leadership Advisor allows youth to lead Other adult allies support team and their project Partner with existing teacher leader groups, i.e. Positive School Wide Engagement School leadership seeks and responds to youth voice

School Culture Continuous improvement Growth mindset Democratic and participatory Shared ownership

System Accountability Youth voice is institutionalized Strategic Plan School Improvement Plans Moved Accountability functions to REA

Institutionalizing Youth Voice: Strategic Plan Key Strategy: Focus on students and families as partners to strengthen academic, social and emotional success of students Provide opportunities for students to actively lend their voices to their leadership, learning and college/career readiness. Key Strategy: Build continuous improvement capacity Develop and implement authentic feedback processes for district and schools that is inclusive of diverse student and staff voices.

Discussion