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Focus on Mentee-Mentor Relationships: The 10th Grade Implementation of iMentor's College Ready Program

November 22, 2016

The iMentor College Ready Program is a school-based mentoring program that aims to help students build the mindsets, skills, and knowledge necessary to enroll and succeed in college. iMentor works with partner high schools that serve low-income students, and places at least one full-time staff member in each partner school to help implement the program. In each school, iMentor engages in four key activities:Matching mentees and mentors,Supporting mentee-mentor pairs,Teaching college knowledge and non-cognitive skills through a weekly iMentor class, andProviding mentees and mentors opportunities to interact, in person and online.The Research Alliance is conducting an in-depth evaluation of the iMentor College Ready Program in eight New York City high schools. With support from the Social Innovation Fund, the Research Alliance is examining iMentor's roll-out and implementation in these schools, as well as its impact on a range of outcomes related to students' preparation for college.Focus on Mentee-Mentor Relationships examines how the College Ready program was implemented for 10th graders in all eight evaluation schools. According to iMentor's leaders, the development of close mentee-mentor relationships is the most important outcome for 9th and 10th grade students in the program, because these relationships will provide a foundation for the college readiness, application, and enrollment work that pairs take on in 11th and 12th grade. Therefore, this report focuses on the development of these relationships, as well as the overall quality of program implementation for 10th graders.The report provides a detailed description of the four key components of the iMentor College Ready Program and assesses the implementation of these program elements against specific benchmarks established by iMentor. It also assesses how specific types and quantities of interaction (e.g., emails, text messages, phone calls, in-person meetings) between mentees and mentors are associated with the closeness of their relationships.

Creating Supportive Bonds of Brotherhood: A Guide for Educators

September 27, 2016

Research suggests that strong relationships between teachers and students—and between students and their peers—contribute to academic success. The schools highlighted in this guide offer male-only programs designed to build such relationships and promote a sense of brotherhood and camaraderie through:Rituals and ceremonies;Conversations about personal experiences and challenges; andPeer mentorship. 

Bridging the Gap

June 24, 2016

School districts across the country are increasingly seeking out digital tools to support the work of educators, in the hopes of improving students' academic achievement. With the rapid emergence of this new market, many districts have been challenged by the task of identifying and procuring educational technology (ed-tech) products that match the needs of their educators and students.The NYC Department of Education's "Innovate NYC Schools" division, supported by a U.S. DOE Investing in Innovation (i3) grant, aims to address this problem, in part by promoting "user-centered design," an approach that puts the needs and preferences of products' intended users (in this case, teachers, students, and parents) front and center in the development and procurement of new technology.Bridging the Gap describes the design and implementation of three Innovate NYC Schools initiatives grounded in user-centered design theory:School Choice Design Challenge (SCDC),an effort to develop apps that would help students explore and narrow down their choices of high school.#SharkTankEDU events, during which ed-tech developers present a product to a panel of educators who provide feedback on the tool.Short-Cycle Evaluation Challenges (SCEC), a classroom-based, semester-long pilot of ed-tech tools intended to inform product development, as well as the ultimate procurement decisions of school staff.The report focuses on four phases of work involved in bringing ed-tech companies and the users of their products together: defining a problem; selecting users and ed-tech companies; implementing pilot-based initiatives; and evaluating products. It describes strategies used and challenges faced, and offers practical lessons gleaned from the experiences of the individuals who designed and participated in these efforts.

Culturally Relevant Education: A Guide for Educators

May 16, 2016

Since 2012, the NYC Department of Education's Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) has provided funding and professional development to 40 City high schools with the goal of helping them develop new strategies (or expand existing efforts) aimed at increasing college and career readiness for Black and Latino male students. As part of our larger evaluation of ESI, the Research Alliance is conducting in-depth case studies in five ESI schools, observing programs in action, and speaking with educators, school leaders, and students about the specific practices they have changed as part of ESI. Drawing on these sources, we have compiled a set of guides that provide concrete examples of how ESI schools are attempting to boost college readiness for young men of color. Each guide describes a specific approach and offers tips, discussion questions, and resources for educators who may want to pursue this strategy. This guide focuses on Culturally Relevant Education, a topic that principals, teachers, and guidance counselors across ESI schools identified as important for creating an environment that supports and welcomes young men of color. CRE is a way of teaching that strives to empower students by incorporating their cultures, backgrounds, and experiences into the school environment and classroom activities. CRE also attempts to help schools address underlying biases educators may have about their students -- particularly Black and Latino males. The guide highlights practices three ESI schools use to bring CRE to life, including: Taking advantage of CRE professional development opportunities;Incorporating students' experiences and interests into curricula;Addressing teachers' mindsets and beliefs;Applying CRE in the classroom;Supporting English language learners and bilingual students; andEmbracing diversity within and across cultures.

Early Exposure to and Preparation for College: A Guide for Educators

May 16, 2016

Since 2012, the NYC Department of Education's Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) has provided funding and professional development to 40 City high schools with the goal of helping them develop new strategies (or expand existing efforts) aimed at increasing college and career readiness for Black and Latino male students. As part of our larger evaluation of ESI, the Research Alliance is conducting in-depth case studies in five ESI schools, observing programs in action, and speaking with educators, school leaders, and students about the specific practices they have changed as part of ESI. Drawing on these sources, we have compiled a set of guides that provide concrete examples of how ESI schools are attempting to boost college readiness for young men of color. Each guide describes a specific approach and offers tips, discussion questions, and resources for educators who may want to pursue this strategy. This practice guides focuses on Early Exposure to and Preparation for College, a topic that principals, teachers, and guidance counselors across ESI schools identified as important for creating an environment that supports and welcomes young men of color. Helping students envision themselves in college;Supporting the college search and application processes;Providing access to college coursework and career training; andIncreasing opportunities and supports in math.

Strategies for Improving School Culture: Educator Reflections on Transforming the High School Experience for Black and Latino Young Men

May 16, 2016

Researchers and practitioners increasingly recognize that a positive school culture not only enhances students' day-to-day experiences, but also plays a role in raising student achievement. Yet many schools struggle to create a welcoming and supportive schoolwide culture. Indeed, there is evidence that students of color in particular -- and perhaps most notably Black and Latino young men -- often face cultural barriers at school. Beginning in 2012, New York City's Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) provided 40 NYC high schools with financial resources and professional development to help them create or expand supports for Black and Latino young men. Many of the schools implemented strategies that were either implicitly or explicitly aimed at improving school culture. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and case studies conducted as part of the Research Alliance's ongoing evaluation of ESI, Strategies for Improving School Culture highlights ESI schools' efforts to strengthen school culture in four key areas: Developing Culturally Relevant Education (CRE). Educators received training in CRE and reported using a variety of approaches to make their curriculum and instruction more relevant to students' everyday lives; to foster an environment that affirms students' cultural backgrounds; and to address underlying teacher biases about students.Adopting Restorative Approaches to Discipline. In a conscious effort to reduce the use of suspensions, educators described implementing new practices (e.g., peer mediation, conflict resolution training) and prioritizing positive relationships with students as a way to manage behavior.Promoting Strong Relationships in Schools. Educators described programs (e.g., mentoring, advisories) designed to support relationships between students and school staff, as well as between students and their peers.Providing Early Support for Postsecondary Goals. Educators reported shifting their expectations from high school graduation to college readiness; they described strategies aimed at increasing students' sense of belonging in college and providing support for the concrete steps involved in preparing and applying for college.The report also identifies three important values that connect and help undergird the strategies educators describe: teaching as reflective practice; taking responsibility for student learning and success; and building on student strengths.

Schools as Organizations: Examining School Climate, Teacher Turnover, and Student Achievement in NYC

March 24, 2016

During the last decade, education research and policy have generated considerable momentum behind efforts to remake teacher evaluation systems and place an effective teacher in every classroom. But schools are not simply collections of individual teachers; they are also organizations, with structures, practices, and norms that may impede or support good teaching. Could strengthening schools -- as organizations -- lead to better outcomes for teachers and students?This study begins to address that question by examining how changes in school climate were related to changes in teacher turnover and student achievement in 278 NYC middle schools between 2008 and 2012. Drawing on teacher responses to NYC's annual School Survey, as well as student test scores, human resources data, and school administrative records, we identified four distinct and potentially malleable dimensions of middle schools' organizational environments:Leadership and professional development;High academic expectations for students;Teacher relationships and collaboration; andSchool safety and order.We then examined how changes in these four dimensions over time were linked to corresponding changes in teacher turnover and student achievement. We found robust relationships between increases in all four dimensions of school climate and decreases in teacher turnover, suggesting that improving the environment in which teachers work could play an important role in reducing turnover. (The annual turnover in NYC middle schools is about 15 percent.)We also discovered that improvements in two dimensions of school climate -- safety and academic expectations -- predicted small, but meaningful gains in students' performance on standardized math tests.Taken together with other emerging evidence, these findings suggest that closing achievement gaps and turning around struggling schools will demand a focus on not only individual teacher effectiveness, but also the organizational effectiveness of schools. The policy brief outlines several potential areas of focus for districts that want to help schools in building healthy well-functioning organizations.

Connecting Teachers and Ed-Tech Developers: Lessons from NYC's Gap App Program

January 11, 2016

In 2011, with support from a federal Investing in Innovation grant, the NYC Department of Education launched Innovate NYC Schools. The initiative was designed to address two related challenges to effectively integrating education technology (ed-tech) into classrooms: First, procurement of ed-tech tools is often hampered by a disconnect between teaching and learning demands on one hand, and developers' supply of tools and services on the other. Educators are not always informed about the tools and interventions that are available, while developers may not fully understand students' and teachers' needs. Second, because the DOE's traditional procurement process via formal Requests for Proposals is lengthy, it may be prevent some developers from bidding, and technology that was brand new when an RFP was released may be outdated by the time it reaches schools.This report focuses on Innovate NYC's Gap App challenge and pilot program, which invited developers to submit an app aimed at solving a specific learning challenge. A number of the apps were then piloted in NYC public schools. During the pilot period, the apps were used in classrooms, and teachers had opportunities to provide feedback directly to developers, in an effort to help make the apps more useful.The report describes the design of the Gap App challenge and the implementation of the pilot program in schools. It then considers whether using a Gap App influenced the way participating teachers and students approached technology in the classroom and provides a set of lessons that may inform future Innovate NYC Schools projects or similar initiatives in other districts.

High School Closures in New York City: Impacts on Students' Academic Outcomes, Attendance, and Mobility

November 19, 2015

In the first decade of the 21st century, the NYC Department of Education implemented a set of large-scale and much debated high school reforms, which included closing large, low-performing schools, opening new small schools and extending high school choice to students throughout the district. The school closure process was the most controversial of these efforts. Yet, apart from the general sense that school closures are painful, there has never been a rigorous assessment of their impact in NYC.To begin to fill this gap, the Research Alliance undertook a study of the 29 low-performing high schools that were designated for closure in New York City between 2002 and 2008, looking particularly at the impact of these closures on students' academic performance, attendance, and mobility.

Bringing Together Mentoring, Technology, and Whole-School Reform: A First Look at the iMentor College Ready Program

July 1, 2015

The iMentor College Ready Program is a unique model that combines elements of school-based mentoring, whole school reform, and technology in an effort to help students develop the knowledge, behaviors, and skills needed to reach and succeed in college. It is an intensive, four-year intervention offered in schools that serve low-income students. Students are paired with volunteer, college-educated mentors and enrolled in an iMentor class led by a school-based iMentor employee.The program has four central elements: A whole school model, which aims to match all incoming 9thgraders with a mentor, and keep them engaged for their full high school careers;A college-readiness curriculum developed by iMentor, taught by iMentor staff in weekly classes, and reinforced during monthly events for mentees and mentors;A "blended" approach to developing relationships between students and their mentor. Students communicate with their mentor primarily through email, but also meet in person at the iMentor events; andA pair support strategy based on a case-management model for tracking mentee-mentor relationship development.The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is conducting an in-depth evaluation of the iMentor College Ready Program in eight New York City high schools. With support from the Social Innovation Fund, the Research Alliance is examining iMentor's roll-out and implementation in these schools, as well as its impact on a range of outcomes related to students' preparation for college. This report is the first in a series from our evaluation. It focuses on iMentor's first year of implementation, which targeted 9th graders in all eight schools. The report provides a detailed description of the four key components of the iMentor College Ready Program and assesses the implementation of these program elements against specific benchmarks established by iMentor. The report also presents a first look at iMentor's effects on 9th graders' outcomes, including their perception of adult support, their aspirations for the future, a set of important college-related "non-cognitive" skills, and several markers of academic achievement.

Changing How High Schools Serve Black and Latino Young Men: A Report on New York City's Expanded Success Initiative

May 21, 2015

A growing number of initiatives around the country are attempting to tackle longstanding inequities, including higher rates of school dropout, incarceration, and unemployment among Black and Latino men. New York City's Young Men's Initiative (YMI) has been at the forefront of these efforts since it was launched in 2011 to address disparities in education, employment, health, and criminal justice.YMI's educational component, the Expanded Success Initiative (ESI), focuses on the issue of low college readiness among Black and Latino male students -- a problem that has persisted in NYC even as high school graduation rates have risen. ESI is providing funding and professional development to 40 NYC high schools, aimed at helping them improve outcomes, particularly college and career readiness, among their Black and Latino male students.The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is conducting a four-year evaluation of ESI's implementation and impact. This report, Changing How Schools Serve Black and Latino Young Men, presents our findings from Year 2 of ESI (the 2013-2014 school year), drawing on interviews and focus groups with staff at ESI schools and a set of matched comparison schools, a student survey, and an analysis of student achievement data.

Pathways to an Elite Education: Application, Admission, and Matriculation to New York City's Specialized High Schools (Working Paper)

March 5, 2015

New York City's elite public specialized high schools have a long history of offering a rigorous college preparatory education to the City's most academically talented students. Though immensely popular and highly selective, their policy of admitting students on the basis of a single entrance exam has been heavily criticized. Many argue, for example, that the policy inhibits diversity at the schools, which are predominately Asian, White, and male. In this paper, we provide a descriptive analysis of the "pipeline" from middle school to matriculation at a specialized high school, identifying group-level differences in rates of application, admission, and enrollment unexplained by measures of prior achievement. These differences serve to highlight points of intervention to improve access for under-represented groups. We also look at the role of middle schools in the pipeline, examining the distribution of offers across middle schools and testing for middle school effects on application and admission. Finally, we simulate the effects of alternative admissions rules on the composition of students at the specialized high schools.