Transcript READY BY 21 Action Campaign

Changing the Odds for Youth:
A Call for Organizational and
Community Leadership
Presented by Karen Pittman, Executive Director,
The Forum for Youth Investment
© 2006
American Dream: All Youth Ready; Every Family and
Community Supportive; Each Makes a Difference
American Reality: Only 4 in 10 ready, only 1 in 3
supported; too few making a difference. Why?
© 2006
Fragmented Efforts
Outcomes
Ages
Settings
Supports
Stakeholders
Strategies
© 2006
The Ready by 21 Challenge:
To Change the Odds for Children and Youth
by Changing the Way we Do Business.
Outcomes
Ages
Settings
Supports
Stakeholders
Strategies
© 2006
We Advocate for the Use of a Big Picture Approach
• Take Aim
• Take Stock
• Take Action
• Make Progress
© 2006
We Provide Basic “Conceptual” Tools
Such as those in the Workbook
About Young People
How “Ready” are your Young People?
Who’s Not Ready?
What’s Behind the Numbers?
About Communities
How Supportive is Your Community?
How Many Promises Have Been Met?
How Well do Systems and Settings Provide Needed Supports?
About Leaders and Change
Does your Community Have the Change Horsepower it Needs?
© 2006
We Provide Training and TA for those needing “power” tools
•
•
•
•
Program Landscape Mapping
Program Quality Assessment
Workforce Status Surveying
Program Quality Improvement Planning
– Workforce Development Asset Maps
– Training curricula and Turnover reduction planning
•
•
•
•
Public/Private “Demand” development
Resource Assessment
Community and Cross-System Strategic Planning
“Change maker/change structure” coaching
© 2006
Wanted:
Fully Prepared Youth
© 2006
The Need: Well-Prepared Youth
“The continued ability of states to compete in the
global economy hinges on how well they enable their
younger citizens to attain the competencies and
social attributes necessary to ultimately fuel
economic growth and contribute to the well-being of
their families and communities.”
— National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices
October 2003
© 2006
To Deliver 21st Century Skills & Content:
The Common Core of Ensuring All Youth are Ready
Ready for Work
Youth Employment
Outcomes
Specific
Vocational
Knowledge
& Skills
21st Century
Skills & Content
Information & Media Literacy
Communication
Critical & Systems Thinking
Problem Solving
Creativity, Intellectual Curiosity
Interpersonal Skills
Self-Direction
Accountability and Adaptability
Social Responsibility
Financial Literacy
Global Awareness
Civic Literacy
Cultural, Physical & Behavioral
Health Knowledge & Skills
Ready for Life
Youth Development Outcomes
© 2006
Ready for
College
Academic
Outcomes
Subject
Matter
Knowledge
Community
partners are
calling for and
contributing to
the development
of broader skills
and knowledge.
Too Few Young People Are Ready
© 2006
New Employer Survey Finds Skills in Short Supply
On page after page, the answer to the report title –
Are They Really Ready to Work? –
was a disturbing “NO.”
Employers ranked 20 skill areas in order of importance.
The top skills fell into five categories:
» professionalism/work ethic,
» teamwork/collaboration,
» oral communications,
» ethics/social responsibility
» reading comprehension.
© 2006
Employer survey
How critical are these skills?
• 7 in 10 employers saw these skills as critical for
entry-level high school graduates,
• 8 in 10 as critical for two-year college graduates,
• more than 9 in 10 as critical for four-year graduates.
How prevalent?
• Employers reported that 4 in 10 high school
graduates were deficient,
• Only 1 in 4 of four-year college graduates were
highly qualified.
© 2006
We Know What It Takes to Support Development
The National Research Council reports that teens need:
• 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
© 2006
Do these Supports Really make a Difference?
Even in Adolescence?
ABSOLUTELY
50
Gambone and
colleagues show that
youth with supportive
relationships as they
enter high school are
5 times more likely to
leave high school
“ready” than those with
weak relationships.
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Youth w/ Supportive
Relationships
Youth w/ Unsupportive
Relationships
Ready by end of 12th grade
Not Ready
SOURCE: Finding Out What Matters for Youth:
Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development
© 2006
2.6
Do these Supports Make a Difference in Adulthood?
80
… and those seniors
who were “ready” at
the end of high
school were more
than 4 times as likely
to be doing well as
young adults.
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Ready by 21
Not Ready by 21
Good Young Adult Outcomes
Poor Young Adult Outcomes
SOURCE: Finding Out What Matters for Youth:
Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development
© 2006
2.7
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…
from 4 in 10 doing well
to 7 in 10 doing well*
.
© 2006
Wanted:
High Quality, Coordinated
Community Supports
© 2006
National Research Council Report Recommendations
Communities should provide an ample array of
program opportunities… through local entities
that can coordinate such work across the entire
community.
Communities should put in place some locally
appropriate mechanism for monitoring the
availability, accessibility, and quality of
programs…
- Community Programs to Promote Youth Development, 2002
© 2006
Education Expert’s Recommendations
Paul Hill, a leading education researcher at the University of
Washington suggests that:
.. the traditional boundaries between the public school system’s
responsibilities and those of other community agencies are
themselves part of the educational problem…
and asks
“How can [a] community use all its assets to provide the best
education for all our children?”
His answer:
Community education partnerships
Paul Hill, It Takes a City
© 2006
The Challenge for All Community Stakeholders:
Filling the Developmental White Space
Ages
???
Outcome
Areas
•prevention to participation
•cognitive, social, civic, physical
school
after-school
Times of Day
© 2006
At it’s best,
school only fills
a portion of
developmental
space
Who is Responsible for the Rest?
 Families
 Peer groups
 Schools and Training Organizations
 Higher Education
 Youth-serving organizations
 CBOs (Non-profit service providers and associations)
 Businesses (jobs, internships, apprenticeships)
 Faith-Based organizations
 Libraries, Parks, Recreation Departments
 Community-based Health and Social Service Agencies
© 2006
Why are all these stakeholders needed?
• All learning doesn’t happen in schools. Critical learning can
and does happen outside of schools for every kind of
student.
• All students are not in school. Not all students who need to
learn are in school (nationally,32% do not graduate on time).
• All students in school are not learning. Those in school are
frequently not absorbed in learning because teachers have
not had to master the art of creating youth-centered learning
environments.
These are not indictments of schools. They are facts that have to
be considered if we are going to ensure that every student is
ready for college, work and life.
© 2006
To Provide Consistent Supports:
across the settings where young people spend their time
WHERE?
In the School Building
W
H
E
N
During the
School
Day
School
Classrooms
& Spaces
Extracurriculars
Community
Schools
Out of
School
Time
© 2006
In the Community
Libraries,
Museums,
Colleges,
Businesses
Families,
CBOs, Faith,
Parks & Rec,
Community
Centers
There is increasing
evidence that the
characteristics of
good learning
environments are
the same across
the range of
settings where
learning happens.
To Foster Initiative:
All settings have equal potential, all do not currently deliver
Research on Initiative
Development of Initiative
Intrinsic M otiva tion
Conce ntra tion
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
Clas s
W ith Friends
C ontext
Reed Larson: American Psychologist, January 2000
© 2006
S ports
P rogram s *
*Art,
*Art, Hobbies, Org.
Wanted:
Cross-System Commitments
to Quality
© 2006
The NRC Report Affirms that Some Environments are Actually Toxic
© 2006
The Systems and Settings Where Youth Spend their
time
© 2006
Can we measure quality across them?
Use a common lens to assess systems and settings
Developmental
Supports
Basic Services
Physical and
Psychological Safety
Appropriate Structure
Supportive
Relationships
Opportunities to
Belong
Positive Social Norms
Support for Efficacy
and Mattering
Opportunities for Skill
Building
© 2006
#1
Education
#3
#2
Juvenile
Justice
#4
#5
Doing
Well
Doing
Harm
Doing
Well
Doing
Harm
Doing
Well
Doing
Harm
Doing
Well
Doing
Harm
Doing
Well
Doing
Harm
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YES. If we get to the core of youth-adult interactions.
• Point of service quality is the space where kids,
adults and resources come together. It emphasizes the
after-school experience from the perspective of the
youth – meaning that quality is defined in terms of
access to key experiences by all youth in the program.
• Converging research suggests improving POS quality adds
value in the most important youth outcome areas.
High/Scope 2005
© 2006
Maintaining and Improving Program Quality:
New Research, New Impetus for Investments
High/Scope
Educational Research
Foundation:
Engagement
•Reflect
•Make choices
•Set goals and make plans
“Point of service”
assessments
Interaction
•Lead and mentor
•Partner with adults
•Be in small groups
•Experience a sense of belonging
Supportive Environment
•Reframing conflict
•Active engagement
•Appropriate session flow
•Encouragement
•Healthy food and drinks
•Skill building
•Welcoming atmosphere
Safe Environment
•Physically safe environment
•Emergency procedures and supplies
•Program space and furniture
•Psychological and emotional safety
High
Expectations
• Staff development
• Supportive social norms
• High expectations for
young people
• Committed to program
improvement
© 2006
Youth Centered
Policies & Practices
• Staff qualifications support positive
youth development
• Tap youth interests & build skills
• Youth influence setting and activities
• Youth influence structure and policy
Access
• Staff availability and
longevity
• Program schedules
• Barriers addressed
• Families, other orgs,
schools
Program Quality Drops as the Expectations increase
Scores Across Diverse
Samples
Trained outside observers
Self assess
21st Elem
21st MS
N=140
School
Age N=12
N=15
N=26
I. Safe environment
4.35
4.10
4.38
4.39
II. Supportive
environment
3.75
3.14
3.69
4.16
III. Interaction
3.11
2.97
2.93
3.73
IV. Engagement
2.83
1.70
2.71
3.37
Mixed
Program Offering Level
© 2006
Program Quality Improves with Training and Capacity Building
Across settings, POS Quality decreases with
movement up the pyramid from safety to engagement.
The High/Scope research strongly suggests that best
way to improve “POS Quality” is to:
– Reduce staff turnover
– Increase training, professional development and onsite support
– Increase opportunities for young people to have input
and share control
© 2006
QUALITY COUNTS, QUALITY COSTS, and YOUR LEADERSHIP
IS REQUIRED
• Improving youth outcomes requires improving community
supports.
•Improving community supports requires adequate
investments in infrastructure – in the things that ensure that
learning environments are plentiful and positive.
• This means redoubled commitments from public and
private leaders to focus on increasing the quantity and
quality of supports for youth.
© 2006
How do We Change
from Business as Usual?
© 2006
We Need to Think Big
Incremental change can be easier to attain, but
limited policy improvements for children can
frustrate policy advocates and parents when
conditions for children are slow to improve.
— Who Speaks for America's Children?
© 2006
Even the smallest communities have too many
initiatives
Civic
Engagement
Educational
Attainment
Social &
Emotional Health
© 2006
Physical
Health
Core Supports
&
Opportunities
Vocational
Readiness
& Success
We Need to Alter Our Response Set:
… See a Problem, Convene a Task Force, Create a Program….
Has created a tangle of inefficiencies
Children’s Services in LA County
© 2006
SOURCE: Margaret Dunkle
Think Differently
the more we focus (on narrow pieces),
the more we fragment (the responses),
the more we fail (our children and youth).
C=DxVxP
Change = Dissatisfaction x Vision x Plan
The Harvard Change Model suggests that the likelihood of change increases
exponentially as any of these factors gets stronger.
But disconnected change efforts may actually dissipate the energy for
change.
© 2006
Big Picture Vision: Core Assumptions About Youth
Communities Need to Ensure That
throughout their developmental years
and throughout their waking hours
Age Groups
e.g., Early childhood, High
School, Young adults
Time
e.g., During School, After
School, Summer
All Children and Youth
need constant access to a range of
services, supports and opportunities
Supports
e.g., Basic Care, Challenging
Experiences,
Relationships
in the settings where they spend time
Settings
e.g., Families, Youth
Organizations, Schools
Goals
e.g., Protection/Treatment,
Prevention, Preparation
in ways that address challenges,
strengthen skills and connections
in order to be well-prepared for
college, work and life
Outcomes
e.g., Learning, Working,
Thriving, Contributing
Achieve to Their Full Potential
and get additional supports, if needed.
© 2006
Challenges
Poverty, Race, Disability, ESL.
Big Picture Vision: Building on the Core
Assumptions about Youth
Big Picture Vision
»Youth-Centered
»Research-based
»Actionable
– using the core assumptions
taking what we know about
young people and how they develop
to build our strategic planning framework.
© 2006
Take Aim on the Big Picture of Youth Outcomes
Pre–K
0–5
Ready
for
College
Cognitive/
academic
development
Ready
for Work
Vocational
development
Physical
development
Ready
for Life
Social/
emotional
development
Civic and
cultural
development
© 2006
Children
6–11
Youth
12–17
Young Adults
18–20+
Create Big Ticket Assessments: Take Stock of Youth Outcomes
Using a Set of Key Indicators
Pre–K
0–5
Ready for
College
Cognitive/
academic
development
Ready for
Work
Vocational
development
Physical
development
Ready for
Life
Social/ emotional
development
Civic and cultural
development
© 2006
Children
6–12
Youth
13–19
Young Adults
20–24
Families an
Communitie
Take Stock of Public & Private Community Supports
Using a Common Set of Performance Measures
Setting A
Safety & Structure
Relationships &
Belonging
Skill-Building
Opportunities
Opportunities to
Contribute
Basic Services
© 2006
Setting B
Setting C
Setting D
Setting E
Alternative: Keeping Focused on the Big Picture
Pre–K
0–5
Ready for
College
Cognitive/
academic
development
Ready for
Work
Vocational
development
Children
6–12
Youth
13–19
Young Adults
20–24
Families and
Communities
shifting red
to yellow,
yellow to
green
Physical
development
Ready for
Life
Social/ emotional
development
Civic and
cultural
development
Pre–K
0–5
Big Picture
Change
Planning
Ready for
College
Cognitive/
academic
development
Ready for
Work
Vocational
development
Physical
development
Ready for
Life
© 2006
Social/ emotional
development
Civic and cultural
development
Children
6–12
Youth
13–19
Young Adults
20–24
Families and
Communities
The Ready by 21 Roadmap
Big Tent Partnerships that take Shared Accountability
for a Big Picture Vision and work to develop
Integrated Strategies, and
Sustainable Change Structures, to achieve
Big Impact Results
© 2006
Support Big Picture Change Makers: Support the Individuals
and Organizations Who Are Trying to Connect the Dots
Individuals and organizations with
the capacity, motivation and authority
to work across initiatives and entities
to achieve a shared goal.
© 2006
The Ready by 21 Challenge:
To Change the Odds for Children and Youth
by Changing the Way we Do Business.
Moving the
small gear
makes a big
difference
© 2006
www.forumfyi.org
© 2006