Research and Public School Partnerships: Razor C.O.A.C.H Program Arie Greenleaf, Counseling Gary Ritter, Education Policy Co-Principal Investigators Razor C.O.A.C.H Program

Our Discussion What is the Razor C.O.A.C.H. Program Collaboration? How is the program implemented and evaluated? What are the Razor Coaches doing in our schools? Our Discussion

Collaboration between NWAC, COEHP, and local public schools. Funded at $1.5M over 3 years, this program aims to serve at-risk high school students in Washington and Benton Counties. MA students in counseling from the U of A COEHP mentor at-risk students on a weekly basis. Razor C.O.A.C.H. Program Creating Opportunities for Arkansans’ Career Hopes The Program

Leadership Team Razor C.O.A.C.H. Program - Collaboration Dr. Kristin Higgins – Principal Investigator/Project Coordinator Dr. Dan Kissinger – Co-Principal Investigator/Training Coordinator Dr. Arie Greenleaf – Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Gary Ritter – Co-Principal Investigator/Coordinator of Evaluation Josh Raney – Program Director Leadership Team

Implementation and Evaluation Higher demand than anticipated Big 5 districts 51% FRL and 15% dropout rate (Rural 10 - 53% and 12%) Smaller than average but in a district of 15,000 students, 300 students from each cohort will dropout Evaluation Coaches can serve 20-30 Estimated slots 25*15 = 375 Initial applications (targeted 1700, apps to 1400, returned 640) Random assignment (@ 56%) Implementation and Evaluation

Student Recruitment Challenges Want widest possible targets for recruitment, yet can’t serve all Need consent forms early on in hectic time Signing up for unknown Difficult to get students to agree to additional supervised time – not really fun! Reluctance with RA Schools of varying sizes .. Not one coach per school Student Recruitment

Total Applications Collected = 643 in 16 high schools … minus Wildcards and Sibling Exclusions = 40 Final Analytic Sample = 603 in 16 high schools Participant Students = 321 (53%) Control Students = 281 (47%) Evaluation Sample –

Outcomes for Evaluation Measures of Student Success High School GPA Absences Application for Financial Aid Application to Post-Secondary Education ACT Participation and Performance Graduation Rates/Promotion to the Next Grade Attendance at Post-Secondary Education Some data collected from Students with surveys Other data collected from School Administrators Outcomes for Evaluation

Example Outcome Figure Figure x: Summary of Coaching Impact (I acknowledge that this chart is awful – feel free to mess around with it) Example Outcome Figure

Who are Coaches? What will they Do? 15 MA students in Counseling (prestigious fellowships) Applied from various backgrounds from across the country Most have worked in schools (TFA, counselors, teachers) Will help HS students with: Checking up on academic work On track toward promotion and graduation Answer questions about college prep, finances, etc. Answer questions about other post-secondary options Caring/Interested adult …. And … information broker Who are Coaches? What will they Do?

Other Affective Outcomes Students get to see the benefits of college through their coach Coaches serve as good role models for students Students will be more comfortable and more likely to relate with coaches given their age Other Affective Outcomes

Day-to-day work of Coaches Social cognitive career theory (SCCT): theoretical basis for new career coaching model Components of SCCT model: Academic self-efficacy Outcome expectations Perceived barriers/resources S.M.A.R.T goals Day-to-day work of Coaches

More post secondary options Outcome Expectations More post secondary options Self-Efficacy Continued practice of beneficial behavior in college/career What do you all think about this??? Perceived Supports Perceived Barriers More resiliency

Academic Self-Efficacy Scale

Outcome Expectancies Scale

Perceived Barriers Scale

SMART Goals Transition from discussion of Self-Efficacy and Outcome expectations into encouraging students to set goals and helping them do so with this "formula“: Break down the Overall goal into more managable steps Acknowledge the Barriers that they will have to overcome Identify the Motivations that will keep the student working towards their goal Accountability partners

Roleplay/Case Study Low Self-efficacy: Balancing schoolwork with home responsibilities, focusing in class, distractions affect studying High Self-efficacy-feels confident in breaking down large assignments into smaller one, strong motivation, confident in talking to someone working in her desired occupation. Outcome Expectancy-believes when motivated you can accomplish more, studying is beneficial, gpa will affect how she performs in her career Perceived/Real Barriers: Time Barriers, focus on time management, not having a place to study, transportation barrier What should we work on? Supports, goals, motivational factors, bridges to perceived barriers

Research and Public School Partnerships: Razor C.O.A.C.H Program THANK YOU!