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Taking Care of Our Own: Lessons Learned About Engaging Military Families in Youth Mentoring

September 30, 2014

This report offers valuable findings from the Amachi Expansion for Military and Civilian Families (AEMCF) project, one of the first large-scale efforts to provide mentoring to military-connected children across multiple states. This report examines how AEMCF served these children and illuminates strategies for reaching and serving military-connected youth and their families more effectively.

Staying On Track: Testing Higher Achievement's Long-Term Impact on Academic Outcomes and High School Choice

October 2, 2013

Higher Achievement is an intensive summer and after-school program that began in its current form in 1999 in Washington, DC. Today there are Higher Achievement programs in Washington, DC/Alexandria, VA; Richmond, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Baltimore, MD. The study includes the five Higher Education Achievement Centers that were operating in DC and Alexandria when the study began. Each center serves about 85 students, or "scholars", recruited mainly through school referral. Starting the summer before youth enter fifth or sixth grade and extending through eighth grade. Higher Achievement provides scholars with up to 650 hours of academic instructio0n per year, as well as enrichment activities and targeted, academic mentoring.

The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles

February 26, 2013

This report presents results from the nation's first large-scale study to examine how youth's levels and sources of risk may influence their mentoring relationships and the benefits they derive from participating in mentoring programs. More and more, mentoring programs are being asked to serve young people who are considered "higher risk." And while mentoring has a strong research base generally, until now relatively little has been known about programs' capacities to serve and produce benefits for these youth.Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the study involved more than 1,300 youth, drawn from seven programs serving young people in Washington State. Oversight and support for the project were provided by Washington State Mentors. The study looked closely at the backgrounds of participating youth and their mentors, the mentoring relationships that formed, the program supports that were offered, and the benefits youth received -- and examined how these varied for youth with differing profiles (i.e., levels and types) of risk."The Role of Risk" describes the study's methods and findings and considers their implications for practitioners and funders. Overall, the study's results suggest that mentoring programs can benefit youth with a broad range of backgrounds and characteristics. The findings also highlight the importance of youth risk in shaping match experiences, and suggest that programs should do more to tailor training and support based on the specific risks youth face.

The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles (Executive Summary)

February 26, 2013

This summary highlights key findings and implications from the nation's first large-scale study to examine how youth's levels and sources of risk may influence their mentoring relationships and the benefits they derive from participating in mentoring programs. More and more, mentoring programs are being asked to serve young people who are considered "higher risk." And while mentoring has a strong research base generally, until now relatively little has been known about programs' capacities to serve and produce benefits for these youth.Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the study involved more than 1,300 youth, drawn from seven programs serving young people in Washington State. Oversight and support for the project were provided by Washington State Mentors. The study looked closely at the backgrounds of participating youth and their mentors, the mentoring relationships that formed, the program supports that were offered, and the benefits youth received -- and examined how these varied for youth with differing profiles (i.e., levels and types) of risk."The Role of Risk" executive summary describes the study's methods and findings and considers their implications for practitioners and funders. Overall, the study's results suggest that mentoring programs can benefit youth with a broad range of backgrounds and characteristics. The findings also highlight the importance of youth risk in shaping match experiences, and suggest that programs should do more to tailor training and support based on the specific risks youth face.

Making the Most of Youth Mentoring: A Guide for Funders

July 1, 2012

How should funders decide what mentoring programs to support? The mentoring field has grown and diversified immensely in recent decades. There are now thousands of mentoring programs, as well as many multi-service initiatives that incorporate elements of mentoring, across the country. Some mentoring models have been rigorously evaluated, while others have yet to be tested at scale. There is, in fact, a rich research base to draw from to determine which types of mentoring make sense for which youth, and under which circumstances. But navigating that research is a challenge for even the most determined funder, policymaker or program leader.

Summer Snapshot: Exploring the Impact of Higher Achievement's Year-Round Out-of-School-Time Program on Summer Learning

October 4, 2011

Assesses the impact of a multiyear, intensive, academically focused OST program for motivated but underserved middle school students on test scores, summer program participation, and summer learning loss. Examines contributing factors and implications.

Testing the Impact of Higher Achievement's Year-Round Out-of-School-Time Program on Academic Outcomes

October 4, 2011

Presents findings from a multiyear evaluation of an intensive long-term OST program's effect on low-income middle school students' academic performance, attitudes, and behaviors. Outlines implications for financially strapped districts.

Summer Snapshot: Exploring the Impact of Higher Achievement's Year-Round Out-of-School-Time Program on Summer Learning, Executive Summary

October 4, 2011

This executive summary highlights key findings from "Summer Snapshot: Exploring the Impact of Higher Achievement's Year-Round Out-of-School-Time Program on Summer Learning". Higher Achievement is an intensive, academically focused after-school and summer program that enrolls rising fifth and sixth grade students living in low-income neighborhoods, with the ultimate goal of increasing their attendance at top high schools that could launch them toward college and careers. Part of a larger, ongoing random assignment study, the report examines the program's impact on learning and experiences during the summer of 2010.

Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time

April 1, 2010

With support from The Wallace Foundation, the Harvard Family Research Project and P/PV conducted a study of almost 200 out-of-school-time (OST) programs in six cities to better understand how they promote sustained participation among older youth.The resulting data indicated that two of the most important practices distinguishing high-retention programs were: ample leadership opportunities for youth and high levels of staff efforts to keep informed about participants' lives outside the programs. The study also compares and contrasts effective practices for middle school- versus high school-aged youth, noting the shortcomings of "one-size-fits-all" strategies. Finally, Engaging Older Youth details the influence of city-level OST initiatives on programs and identifies the types of city-level services that likely support participation.

Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time, Research Synopsis

April 1, 2010

With support from The Wallace Foundation, P/PV and the Harvard Family Research Project conducted a study of almost 200 out-of-school-time (OST) programs in six cities to better understand how they promote sustained participation among older youth. The study also explored effective practices for middle school- versus high school-aged youth and how city-level services may support participation. This Research Synopsis outlines the research strategies and methods employed in the study and explores its main findings. Implications for future investment and policy decisions about OST programming for older youth are also examined.

High School Mentors In Brief: Findings from the Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study

October 1, 2009

This issue of P/PV In Brief is based on High School Students as Mentors, a report that examined the efficacy of high school mentors using data from P/PV's large-scale random assignment impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring programs. The brief presents an overview of the findings, which suggest that high school volunteers bring inherent strengths to their role as mentors but also present notable challenges for programs; implications for policy and practice are also explored.

High School Students as Mentors: Findings From the Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study Executive Summary

September 25, 2008

Recently, high schools have become a popular source of mentors for school-based mentoring (SBM) programs. This executive summary outlines key findings and recommendations from our High School Students as Mentors report, which drew on data from our large-scale random assignment impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters SBM (Herrera, et al. 2007). Our research indicated that, on average, high school students were much less effective than adults at yielding impacts for the youth they mentor, but it also identified several program practices that were linked with longer, stronger and more effective high school mentor relationships.