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Community Research for Youth and Families Amy Gerstein Children and Families Policy Symposium March 4,

Agenda About The John W. Gardner Center Community Research for Youth and Families Chronic Absenteeism: Redwood City Early Warning Indicators: San Francisco Key Takeaways

About the Gardner Center

Our Mission The Gardner Center partners with communities to develop leadership, conduct community-driven research, and effect positive change in the lives of youth RESEARCH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CAPACITY BUILDING CHANGE

The Youth Sector YOUTH AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS SUMMER PROGRAMS HEALTH SERVICES FAMILIES RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS NEIGHBORHOODS SCHOOLS SOCIAL SERVICES

Our Strategies Implementation research Integrated longitudinal data analysis Community engagement

Community Research for Youth and Families Cross-sector collaborations Identification of problem area Community engaged throughout process Iterative discussion of questions, methods, findings, and possible solutions Conversations, behaviors, and policies change

Chronic Absenteeism in Redwood City

Redwood City 2020 Concerned about chronic absence Believed that response should be community-wide Engaged Gardner Center in collaborative research process

Research Question 1 What is the extent of the problem? How many and what percent of students are chronically absent or truant? What are the demographic characteristics of these students? How has the arc of the problem changed over time?

Research Question 2 In what ways does this affect student outcomes? What demographic characteristics and other factors are correlated with students’ absenteeism? What are educational outcomes for students with absenteeism issues over time?

Data and Analyses Used longitudinal linked data from the elementary and high school districts through the Youth Data Archive Conducted descriptive and regression- adjusted analyses Examined chronic absence across school years to understand the persistence of the problem

Extent of the Problem What percent of Redwood City students are chronically absent? Grade Level

Being an English Learner Having been suspended Having a parent who did not graduate from college Having made a school or district transition Having been tardy 3+ days PROFILE OF CHRONIC ABSENCE Chronically absent elementary-school students had higher rates of...

Being an English Learner Having been suspended Having made a school or district transition Being female PROFILE OF CHRONIC ABSENCE Chronically absent high-school students had higher rates of...

Key Indicators Strongest predictors of chronic absence in a school year include... ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL Prior year chronic absence XX Accumulated 3+ tardies X Suspension X

Key Effects Number of days absent had significant negative effect on students’ California Standards Test (CST) percentiles in Math and ELA in elementary grades Grade point average (GPA) in high school grades

Implications for Policy and Practice Community-wide interventions System-wide response to chronic absence School-based focus on chronic absence

What Happened? Elementary district hired attendance coordinator Police shifted strategies Health system re-assessed role Community awareness increased

Early Warning Indicators in San Francisco

Project Goals Ensure that more students are graduating from high school in a timely manner Develop Early Warning Indicators to identify 8 th and 9 th grade students at risk of not graduating Provide extra supports to help move them back on track Engage in a collaborative research process

Research Objective Develop a 3 Part Indicator System that... Identifies 8 th grade students who may benefit from a summer program that eases transition to high school Helps high schools identify incoming 9 th grade students who might benefit from added supports Monitors students during 9 th grade to ensure they stay on track for high school graduation

Data and Analyses Regression analysis of SFUSD administrative data SFUSD selected two 8 th grade indicators or risk factors: (1) GPA below 2.0 (2) Attendance rate below 87.5%

Student Graduation Rate by 8 th Grade Risk Factor

Students Entering 9 th Grade with At Least One Risk Factor

Questions for Policy and Practice What role can school staff (principals, teachers, counselors) and non-school staff (parents, external partners) play in assisting or monitoring these students? Given the differences in school populations across high schools, do schools need to adopt new strategies? What resources could help schools effectively assist these students?

What Happened? Students are progressing through high school Schools, partners & district created interventions Confidence that students have services they need Families, DCYF, and CBOs are working in partnership Now investigating identifying students even earlier

Key Takeaways

Focusing on questions raised by community partners supports solutions that communities can put to work—in policy and practice. Regular and iterative exchanges throughout the research process generate actionable knowledge Working in deep partnership with communities forges relationships that extend beyond the life of a study Much of the work is as good as your data

Thank you for joining us today!