IDEAS THAT WORK: Changing the Odds for Our Nation’s Children and Youth Aspen Ideas Festival 2009 Panelists: Karen J. Pittman, President & CEO, the Forum for Youth Investment Shane J. Lopez, Senior Scientist in Residence, GALLUP Justin Bibb, Associate Partner, Director of Community Strategies, GALLUP

After School Ages Times of Day Civic Social Emotional Physical Vocational Cognitive Outcome Areas ? ? ? Thinking Outside of the Box Morning... Night School At its best, school only fills a portion of developmental space

Child care After-school Civic/Social/Work Social & Strategic Placement Providers Programs Opportunities Supports & Coaching LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT SUPPORTS Insulating the Education Pipeline BASIC SERVICES transportation, health, mental health, housing, financial K – 12 System Early Childhood Post Secondary Work & Career P-20 EDUCATION PIPELINE

Message #1 Too few students are ready for college, work or life. More high school diplomas are not the only answer.

Graduating Seniors Job Readiness Percent 4s and 5s Gallup Student Poll Item 5 Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Graduating Seniors Entrepreneurship Percent 4s and 5s Gallup Student Poll Item 6 Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

New Employer Survey Finds Skills in Short Supply Employers ranked 20 skill areas in order of importance. The top skills fell into five categories: 7 in 10 employers saw these skills as critical for entry- level high school graduates Employers reported that 4 in 10 high school graduates were deficient in these areas  Professionalism/Work Ethic  Teamwork/Collaboration  Oral Communications  Ethics/Social Responsibility  Reading Comprehension

Message #2 Too few students are getting the supports they need.

What Research Tells Us SAFE PLACES CARING ADULTS OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP OTHERS EFFECTIVE EDUCATION HEALTHY START America’s Promise Five Promises Basic Services (implied) The National Research Council List Physical and Psychological Safety Appropriate Structure Supportive Relationships Opportunities to Belong Positive Social Norms Support for Efficacy and Mattering Opportunities for Skill-Building Integration of Family, School and Community Efforts

One Third of 6-17 Year Olds Lack the Supports They Need 50% 37% 13% 6 – 11 Years Old 45% 30% 25% 12 – 17 Years Old According to the America’s Promise Alliance National Promises Survey, only 31% of 6-17 year olds have at least 4 of the 5 promises. 21% have 1 or none. The likelihood of having sufficient supports decreases with age  37% of 6-11 year olds have at least 4 promises;  13% have 1 or none.  Only 30% of year olds have at least 4;  25% have 1 or none.

Message #3 We can change these odds if we change the way we do business

43% are doing well in two life areas and okay in one -Productivity: Attend college, work steadily -Health: Good health, positive health habits, healthy relationships -Connectedness: Volunteer, politically active, active in religious institutions, active in community 22% are doing poorly in two life areas and not well in any -Productivity: High school diploma or less plus unemployed or on welfare -Health: Poor health, bad health habits, unsupportive relationships -Connectedness: Commit illegal activity once a month 2 in 104 in 10 35% are doing okay – doing poorly in no more than one life area and doing well in at most one – and doing okay in the rest Researchers Gambone, Connell & Klem (2002) estimate that only 4 in 10 young people are doing well in their early 20s.

from 4 in 10 doing well to 7 in 10 doing well Providing These Supports CAN Change the Odds Gambone/Connell’s research suggests that if all young people got the supports they needed in early adolescence, the picture could change…

Powerful Solutions for Passionate Leaders Bigger Goals Bolder Strategies Broader Partnerships

Message #4 Better, Broader Data Needed: Beyond academics Beyond school attendance Beyond access Data that helps us link student outcomes to student experiences, exposures and states of being

Gallup Student Poll Finding: Only 1 in 4 students is hopeful, thriving and engaged in school.

Gallup Student Poll Measures Hope predicts college GPA and retention over and above HS GPA and ACT/SAT I can find lots of ways around any problem Engagement distinguishes between high performing & low performing schools At this school, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. Well-Being drives academic and vocational success | Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale & Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday? 17 Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gallup Student Poll Overview The Gallup Student Poll is a 20-item measure of hope, engagement, and well-being. Students complete the poll in an average of 8.5 minutes. Scorecards are shared with each of the participating schools and districts within two weeks. Gallup researchers target these three variables because they meet the following criteria: 1) They can be reliably measured. 2) They have a meaningful relationship with or impact on educational outcomes. 3) They are malleable and can be enhanced through deliberate action. 4) They are not measured directly by another large-scale survey or testing program. 18 Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gallup Student Poll Well-Being Index Thriving – 63% Suffering – 1% Struggling – 36% GrandMean = 8.42 (out of 10) Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 19

Gallup Student Poll Hope Index Hopeful – 50% Discouraged – 17% Stuck – 33% GrandMean = 4.38 (out of 5) Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 20

Gallup Student Poll Engagement Index Engaged – 50% Actively Disengaged – 20% Not Engaged – 30% GrandMean = 3.95 (out of 5) Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 21

Message #5 School, business and community leaders can use these types of data to spark change.

Mean Score Well-Being: Positive Yesterdays Grade in School Positive Yesterday Item%Yes Respect yesterday 52 Smiled/laughed yesterday 80 Interesting yesterday 70 Enough energy yesterday Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Percent Engaged Percent Engaged Respondents Grade in School 24 Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. Dropouts not included

Ready by 21 Partnership Powerful Tools for Passionate Leaders

Gallup Student Poll Participation by State 26 Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ready by 21 Technical Partners Youth Outcomes (Risk & Assets) Program Participation Tracking Program Costs Program Quality Program Landscape Mapping Staff Quality/Workforce Profiles Public & Private Resources Public & Family Demand

National Companies School Administrators national multi-sector partners Legislators Community Catalysts National non-profit youth development organizations Children’s Cabinets, Youth Councils, child & youth constituents Community Coalitions Ready by 21 National Partners

Utilizing Community Organizations to Increase Student Success Total Jefferson County Public Schools Youth Population KidTrax Students tracked in OST Program Benefits & Capabilities Increased Efficiency Improved Data/Accuracy Time saving for staff Access to historical data Improved collaboration Results from Data Sharing Collaboration Increased school attendance Reduction in Suspension behaviors 9% reading improvement Improved PAS Scores Reduction in Tardy Behaviors Increased family participation Accurate attendance/participation numbers for OST programs nFocus Software 2009 Copyright all rights reserved KidTrax software solutions are developed by nFocus Software

Help leaders improve what they do, how they do it and rethink why they do it… Enabling increases in the availability and quality of family, school and community supports needed to help children and youth… Leading to positive outcomes and raising the probability that young people are ready for college, work and life by 21 What’s needed? 30 CHILDREN & YOUTH FAMILY COMMUNITY & SCHOOL LEADERS Accountability Supports Outcomes © The Forum for Youth Investment. Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Logo are registered trademarks of the Forum for Youth Investment. Change the odds for youth Change the way we do business Change the landscape of communities

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