Effective educational policy implementation strategy is something that we deal with on a daily basis. As grant managers for a competing experiential/academic methodology that is attempting to become part of school infrastructure with real ties to long-term school goals, vision and climate, we are constantly seeking ways to make service in the community with curriculum links a structured and research-based school learning practice.
But how do we make this happen? The educational policy field is crowded with competing interests. There are hundreds of programs, projects, policy trends, and similar educational methodologies staking claims for student improvements in consideration at every level in the policy-making process. How do we make service-learning stand out? Typically, our answer to this question is the service experience, which is what makes our program different from others, but we still have to make the case about the effectiveness of the strategy.
One method is to fully analyze the structure for implementation and to be highly organized and thorough at each step. Policy implementation can be structured in many ways, but below is a typical organizational list for the steps involved:
Pre-Implementation (typically part of “Needs Identification”)
Internal Support Determination
Feasibility Studies
Research Base
Mobilization/Adoption
Motive-setting
Training (Analysis and Provision)
Planning with forward mapping (school-level coalition)
Resource analysis (money, time, personnel, space, equipment and materials)
Implementation (initialization of programmatic activity)
Early/Late Implementation.
Cross-cutting themes:
Monitoring and feedback (policy evaluation)
Ongoing assistance
Problem coping and technical strategies (political/cultural)
Institutionalization - Final stage of a successful implementation
Post-Institutionalization - successful policy can be “scaled” to other schools or to a district-, state-, or nation-wide effort.
(Fowler, 2009, pp. 281-3,284-299, 294, 299)
Each of the policy implementation areas above should be analyzed from the service-learning viewpoint. As our sub-grantees initialize their programs at the school level, proper guidance should be provided at each step.
Implementation as an Evolutionary Process (i.e., not a one-shot deal)
It is also important to remember that policy implementation may be presented above in a linear fashion, but it should be considered cyclical and concurrent. Needs assessment and feasibility studies do not stop with the first year of implementation and should recur on a yearly basis as part of the ongoing progress monitoring effort (continuous improvement model). I n Florida, sub-grantee programs provide a detailed “needs assessment” each year, which highlights the way the program is meeting the needs of the school and the community populations. This type of recurring self-analysis can help a new implementation achieve success in the long-term and increases the chances of institutionalization.
Implementers as Learners (Teachers as Learners)
Another item to consider in terms of moving from initial implementation to effective institutionalization is the ability to maintain a continuous feedback model. Teachers who are struggling to learn new ways of working need help, and that assistance should be well planned and carefully targeted to the local situation (Fowler, 297). This also speaks to the dynamic way in which implementation challenges teachers to see past existing models of thought and teaching methodology to expand their teaching practice. Realistically, and based on behavioral and psychological understanding, most teachers in an new educational implementation process will tend to teach to aspects of the new methodology that most meet their current understanding, (Fowler, p. 279), but the eventual goal is for the expansion of practice to take place which will incorporate service-learning; this again requires a long-term viewpoint of creating the training framework that will impact daily practice in a profound way.
Being Part of the Network
Another important aspect of achieving a successful service-learning implementation is creating the idea that the teachers are part of a school-wide, statewide, and national effort that has a strong structure and research-based outcomes for defining practice. This becomes increasingly important when a new implementation begins to move toward scaling. Holding a central conference, providing best practice resources and ongoing communications about use of the new implementation model (service-learning) allow teachers to participate in a forum to evolve and develop their practice on the new method. Florida Learn & Serve provides these resources to ensure the effective implementation of the service-learning by sub-grantees and to create a dynamic network of inter-connected teacher practitioners. Indeed, active participation in the network can be considered an indicator for ongoing success. No news in this case is not good news. Typically, if a school program is not communicating with us or with the network, it means it is not off to a good start or is not implementing thoroughly. This dearth of communication would usually prompt us to check expenditures and begin an inquiry process or provide increased technical assistance and monitoring.
Student Implementation (Youth Voice)
It is also important to note that the students in service-learning programs should be encouraged to take a highly active role in the implementation process, taking on all levels of grant management tasks (typically in high schools, though it is not impossible at other levels) thus greatly expanding the efforts in ongoing training and technical assistance that are necessary for strong implementation and additionally creating a resource of student time and effort for accomplishing ongoing program tasks.
Future blogs from the Southern Cluster will explore more topics in Policy Implementation, including “Scaling up” and “working within the school culture” as well as analyzing the policy implementation steps in more detail.
Reference List
Fowler, F. (2009). Policy studies for educational leaders: An introduction.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson.
Submitted by Javier Betancourt, Learn and Serve Florida
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
State of SL Funding - What's your "State"?
Today, I will send out another update to my subgrantees to keep them informed of the status of our funding for the rest of this federal fiscal year... As I am sure you all are keeping up on the continuing-continuing resolutions (CR), we are all trying understand the various funding scenarios that evolve with each CR and the background political shenanigans that precipitate them.
I will again remind my subgrantees that because we are currently funded with 2009-10 funding we will be good until our 2010-11 grant period ends, which our case is June 30, 2011. After that time we are a the mercy of the CR/ appropriation Gods for the rest of the 2010-11 federal fiscal year. We will also continue to be at their mercy for our funding for the 2011-12 fiscal year which in our case starts four months into our 2011-12 grant period...
I will soon send out our subgrantee renewal applications for the 2011-12 school year and they will be due in early May. And my subgrantees like the rest of us, will be wondering how a plan can be written for the coming year with the uncertainty of two funding periods looming ahead.
I have been asked by my grantees, "If we are not funded, will they be allow to extend their 2010-11 grant...?" If I say yes, they will reduce their spending to save for the pending famine... If I say no, they will stockpile materials and supplies, and use our funding prior to using their other funding sources.
Then there is of course, the closely personal issue of the availability of funding to support our state level roles... If at some point in time we thrown under the bus (or off the bus as the case may be) by a 10-11 CR (or an actual 10-11 budget appropriation), what steps should we take to go on life support for the few months between the end of our 2010-11 grant and the start of a 2011-12 grant... all in the hopes that we will be funded in the 2011-12 budget?
Am I the only one thinking about this.... all the while educating the heck out of my members of congress? And, of course this is all playing out with my state level politicians participating in the same devise political games that center on allowing the voters of CA to decide on raising taxes or going ahead and systematically defunding education in CA.
We certainly are living in interesting times...
Michael Brugh, CalServe Program Director
California Department of Education
I will again remind my subgrantees that because we are currently funded with 2009-10 funding we will be good until our 2010-11 grant period ends, which our case is June 30, 2011. After that time we are a the mercy of the CR/ appropriation Gods for the rest of the 2010-11 federal fiscal year. We will also continue to be at their mercy for our funding for the 2011-12 fiscal year which in our case starts four months into our 2011-12 grant period...
I will soon send out our subgrantee renewal applications for the 2011-12 school year and they will be due in early May. And my subgrantees like the rest of us, will be wondering how a plan can be written for the coming year with the uncertainty of two funding periods looming ahead.
I have been asked by my grantees, "If we are not funded, will they be allow to extend their 2010-11 grant...?" If I say yes, they will reduce their spending to save for the pending famine... If I say no, they will stockpile materials and supplies, and use our funding prior to using their other funding sources.
Then there is of course, the closely personal issue of the availability of funding to support our state level roles... If at some point in time we thrown under the bus (or off the bus as the case may be) by a 10-11 CR (or an actual 10-11 budget appropriation), what steps should we take to go on life support for the few months between the end of our 2010-11 grant and the start of a 2011-12 grant... all in the hopes that we will be funded in the 2011-12 budget?
Am I the only one thinking about this.... all the while educating the heck out of my members of congress? And, of course this is all playing out with my state level politicians participating in the same devise political games that center on allowing the voters of CA to decide on raising taxes or going ahead and systematically defunding education in CA.
We certainly are living in interesting times...
Michael Brugh, CalServe Program Director
California Department of Education
Monday, March 14, 2011
Stamford Public Schools and Future 5
Stamford Public Schools has partnered with Future 5, a nonprofit youth development agency based in Stamford, to run service-learning activities for students in the Alternative Routes to Success (ARTS) program. Our service-learning program began with a series of Future 5-led discussions on the meaning of success, life as a teenager, and the obstacles that get in the way of success. Students came to the conclusion that a purpose was necessary to success. They then agreed to interview people in their community about the importance of having a purpose in life. They would edit the video interviews and create a video project to present to their peers.
Interviewing initially was a challenge for the students. They were afraid to interview adults outside their circle of influence. Despite their fears, the staff, especially the service-learning teacher, has coached them through the process, and to date, the student who was the most reluctant to interview another individual has now interviewed the most people, including the Superintendent of Schools. Interviewing has boosted the students’ self-confidence.
The project also presented students with the opportunity to learn about community resources. Some of them had never been inside the Stamford Government Center, or if they had, one student admitted, it was for unfortunate reasons (“they were in trouble”). They learned about the Urban League, and its programs, the resources available at the public library, the career opportunities with the Army and Navy, as well as the Center for Academic Programs (CAP) at UCONN-Stamford – to name a few. As a result of our visit to UCONN-Stamford, one student has become more motivated and determined to graduate from high school in order to enroll in the CAP program. His school attendance, traditionally poor, has improved since the start of our service-learning program. Another student, who missed two years of high school because he “did not like school,” spends his time in the CAP office in order to finish his homework and talk to college students. He has also taken the initiative to talk to the CAP director about programs for high school students, and encourages his friends, who are worried they cannot go to college, to consider the CAP program.
Currently, students are editing the interviews, and selecting clips that resonated the most with them. Initially a project about other people talking about purpose, the students have decided to include themselves in the project. They are going to share their stories, and experiences so that the video will cater to other students who are lost, and are looking for a purpose.
Agnes Quinones, Learn and Serve CT
Interviewing initially was a challenge for the students. They were afraid to interview adults outside their circle of influence. Despite their fears, the staff, especially the service-learning teacher, has coached them through the process, and to date, the student who was the most reluctant to interview another individual has now interviewed the most people, including the Superintendent of Schools. Interviewing has boosted the students’ self-confidence.
The project also presented students with the opportunity to learn about community resources. Some of them had never been inside the Stamford Government Center, or if they had, one student admitted, it was for unfortunate reasons (“they were in trouble”). They learned about the Urban League, and its programs, the resources available at the public library, the career opportunities with the Army and Navy, as well as the Center for Academic Programs (CAP) at UCONN-Stamford – to name a few. As a result of our visit to UCONN-Stamford, one student has become more motivated and determined to graduate from high school in order to enroll in the CAP program. His school attendance, traditionally poor, has improved since the start of our service-learning program. Another student, who missed two years of high school because he “did not like school,” spends his time in the CAP office in order to finish his homework and talk to college students. He has also taken the initiative to talk to the CAP director about programs for high school students, and encourages his friends, who are worried they cannot go to college, to consider the CAP program.
Currently, students are editing the interviews, and selecting clips that resonated the most with them. Initially a project about other people talking about purpose, the students have decided to include themselves in the project. They are going to share their stories, and experiences so that the video will cater to other students who are lost, and are looking for a purpose.
Agnes Quinones, Learn and Serve CT
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Administrative Leadership for Service-Learning
Administrators have a key role to play in supporting service-learning in schools. One way we can help is to share specific examples of ways that principals and superintendents can create the conditions for service-learning to take hold and flourish.
Here are a few examples that I’ve gathered with input from colleagues around the country and that were included in Empowerment Through Leadership: Quadrant D Practices, a recent publication of the International Center for Leadership in Education. Please post your examples by commenting on this blog so we can continue to add to the list!
• Integrate service-learning into the NCLB school site plan. At Rocklin Elementary School in Rocklin, California, for example, the school site plan includes service-learning as an instructional strategy for improving test results in mathematics and language arts and for supporting students who are below grade level through extended day activities and clubs.
• Require a service-learning project as an activity for a professional learning community (PLC). Administrators for Maine’s Mount Desert Island High School supported English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers as they collaborated for a year to create a new Global Literacy course, that includes service-learning, as a requirement for all 9th graders.
• Incorporate service-learning into partnerships with nonprofits, agencies, and businesses to provide opportunities for students to serve. At Quest High School in Humble, Texas, such partnerships take learning into the community by allowing all students weekly service opportunities at local agencies and nonprofits.
• Make service-learning a part of the district or campus professional development plan. This might involve bringing in a trainer from the Service-Learning Providers Network (www.slprovidersnetwork.org), having a lead teacher present to others, or structuring time for service-learning strategies in other workshops.
• Invite key teachers to participate in service-learning professional development. At Ryland Heights Elementary School in Northern Kentucky, principal Cathy Barwell purposefully invited a few master teachers to a workshop in service-learning. As she notes, “What began as a few excited teachers engaging their classes in service learning projects turned into a staff that has had 100% student and teacher participation in service learning activities for the last four years.”
• Incorporate service-learning into culminating projects. At Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Washington, students must complete a 30-hour project to graduate, write a 10-page paper, and submit logs and reflective writing in a service project portfolio.
• Leverage resources to help teachers learn with and from each other. At Amundsen High School in Chicago, Illinois, teachers in the small learning community received support to create a service-learning website that helped them integrate service-learning into their curriculum.
• Recognize principals, teachers, and students for their accomplishments with service-learning. In San Diego Unified School District, students who participate in service learning projects/activities are also eligible to receive service learning recognition on their report cards.
• Purchase practical resources for teachers such as The Complete Guide to Service-Learning by Cathryn Berger Kaye, which provides a wealth of tools to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, and social action and includes a blueprint for getting started with service-learning.
• Report regularly to the school board on service-learning. Greendale Schools in Greendale, Wisconsin, provides an annual report to the board on service-learning, character education, and civic engagement that summarizes progress on goals and objectives and highlights service-learning projects.
• Hire teachers with a service orientation and require new teachers to be trained in service-learning. In Hudson Public Schools in Hudson, Massachusetts, Community Service-Learning (CSL) Induction of new faculty is provided each August by the superintendent, CSL Committee Chair, CSL Director, teachers, and students who describe the methodology of service-learning and provide concrete examples.
• Distribute information sheets and pamphlets on service-learning from the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (www.servicelearning.org) to teachers, parents, and community partners.
• Develop board policies or resolutions on service-learning. In the Elk Grove Unified School District in Elk Grove, California, board policy 6142.4 (b) “encourages each student to participate in at least one age-appropriate service-learning activity at each grade span” and “encourages staff and students to collaborate with local public and nonprofit agencies in order to develop service-learning activities.”
• Create a budget line item for service-learning and identify allowable sources of funding such as Learn and Serve America, Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV – Part B, IDEA, etc.
• Align service-learning with district goals. For example, Round Rock Independent School District, in Round Rock, Texas, is using service-learning as a strategy for the district’s dropout prevention initiative.
• Encourage positive school climates with safe and nurturing learning environments for all students through programs such as Project UNIFY, an initiative of Special Olympics funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Submitted By: John Spence, Service-Learning Texas
Here are a few examples that I’ve gathered with input from colleagues around the country and that were included in Empowerment Through Leadership: Quadrant D Practices, a recent publication of the International Center for Leadership in Education. Please post your examples by commenting on this blog so we can continue to add to the list!
• Integrate service-learning into the NCLB school site plan. At Rocklin Elementary School in Rocklin, California, for example, the school site plan includes service-learning as an instructional strategy for improving test results in mathematics and language arts and for supporting students who are below grade level through extended day activities and clubs.
• Require a service-learning project as an activity for a professional learning community (PLC). Administrators for Maine’s Mount Desert Island High School supported English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers as they collaborated for a year to create a new Global Literacy course, that includes service-learning, as a requirement for all 9th graders.
• Incorporate service-learning into partnerships with nonprofits, agencies, and businesses to provide opportunities for students to serve. At Quest High School in Humble, Texas, such partnerships take learning into the community by allowing all students weekly service opportunities at local agencies and nonprofits.
• Make service-learning a part of the district or campus professional development plan. This might involve bringing in a trainer from the Service-Learning Providers Network (www.slprovidersnetwork.org), having a lead teacher present to others, or structuring time for service-learning strategies in other workshops.
• Invite key teachers to participate in service-learning professional development. At Ryland Heights Elementary School in Northern Kentucky, principal Cathy Barwell purposefully invited a few master teachers to a workshop in service-learning. As she notes, “What began as a few excited teachers engaging their classes in service learning projects turned into a staff that has had 100% student and teacher participation in service learning activities for the last four years.”
• Incorporate service-learning into culminating projects. At Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Washington, students must complete a 30-hour project to graduate, write a 10-page paper, and submit logs and reflective writing in a service project portfolio.
• Leverage resources to help teachers learn with and from each other. At Amundsen High School in Chicago, Illinois, teachers in the small learning community received support to create a service-learning website that helped them integrate service-learning into their curriculum.
• Recognize principals, teachers, and students for their accomplishments with service-learning. In San Diego Unified School District, students who participate in service learning projects/activities are also eligible to receive service learning recognition on their report cards.
• Purchase practical resources for teachers such as The Complete Guide to Service-Learning by Cathryn Berger Kaye, which provides a wealth of tools to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, and social action and includes a blueprint for getting started with service-learning.
• Report regularly to the school board on service-learning. Greendale Schools in Greendale, Wisconsin, provides an annual report to the board on service-learning, character education, and civic engagement that summarizes progress on goals and objectives and highlights service-learning projects.
• Hire teachers with a service orientation and require new teachers to be trained in service-learning. In Hudson Public Schools in Hudson, Massachusetts, Community Service-Learning (CSL) Induction of new faculty is provided each August by the superintendent, CSL Committee Chair, CSL Director, teachers, and students who describe the methodology of service-learning and provide concrete examples.
• Distribute information sheets and pamphlets on service-learning from the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (www.servicelearning.org) to teachers, parents, and community partners.
• Develop board policies or resolutions on service-learning. In the Elk Grove Unified School District in Elk Grove, California, board policy 6142.4 (b) “encourages each student to participate in at least one age-appropriate service-learning activity at each grade span” and “encourages staff and students to collaborate with local public and nonprofit agencies in order to develop service-learning activities.”
• Create a budget line item for service-learning and identify allowable sources of funding such as Learn and Serve America, Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV – Part B, IDEA, etc.
• Align service-learning with district goals. For example, Round Rock Independent School District, in Round Rock, Texas, is using service-learning as a strategy for the district’s dropout prevention initiative.
• Encourage positive school climates with safe and nurturing learning environments for all students through programs such as Project UNIFY, an initiative of Special Olympics funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Submitted By: John Spence, Service-Learning Texas
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Human Trafficking: Can Service-Learning Programs Address This Issue?
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Girl Scout event titled “A Girl’s World is Different”. I had heard about human trafficking prior to attending the event but had no idea so much was happening right here in the United States! Here is a brief description about the event:
Girl Scouts convene community leaders to work on prevention of Human Trafficking
More than 200 professionals - including police officers, prosecutors, social service experts and community leaders joined together on Thursday, February 25th in Phoenix to work on action we can take together - at home, at church, at school, and at the state level - to interrupt the horrific cycle of human trafficking.
While human trafficking can involve prostitution, its scope is much wider. Predators lure children away from their homes and families, kidnap them, and then sell them as prostitutes, live-in nannies and more. These girls did not choose this lifestyle; in many cases, they are too young to understand that the predator adult is not a friend and that what is happening to them is against the law. (http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/events/a-girls-world-is-different/)
What if someone you loved was in this situation? What if it was your daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, or best friend? What if it was you? Although most of the day was focused on the trafficking of girls, I also learned that boys can be trafficked too, if not for prostitution, for labor. The big message of the day was that ANYONE can become a victim of human trafficking, young or old, black, white, or brown. It does not matter who you are, how much money you have, or where you live. We are all at risk.
So how can service-learning programs address this issue? Some might ask “Is it appropriate to talk to our programs about sex and prostitution?” or “There are so many causes out there and my programs address many wonderful causes, this is just one more and it is too risky to talk about with my programs.” To those individuals I would say “Your concerns are valid, it is a risky topic to discuss, but ALL of us are at risk, especially our youth, so isn’t it worth talking about?” I would also add “There are ways to address this issue without focusing on sex and prostitution, there are many forms of human trafficking right here in America”.
I understand the criticality of youth voice in service-learning programs and truly believe that if we educate our youth about the world of human trafficking, they will want to take action. This topic can be incorporated into many academic courses.
Here are some examples:
Math:
Study the statistics on the types of human trafficking, where it happens in your state, and how your state compares to other states and countries.
Science:
Study the physical and psychological health impacts of human trafficking.
English:
Read a book or articles about the topic and write essays, letters, stories, or articles, to advocate for and raise awareness about human trafficking.
Social Studies:
Study the impact human trafficking has on society, the historical trends of human trafficking, and the laws in your state related to human
trafficking.
Please visit the following website for a list of organizations working to combat human trafficking, also known as modern day slavery:
http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/files/agwid/AGWID_Resource_Guide.pdf
Stephanie Hahn, M. Ed., Arizona Department of Education
Girl Scouts convene community leaders to work on prevention of Human Trafficking
More than 200 professionals - including police officers, prosecutors, social service experts and community leaders joined together on Thursday, February 25th in Phoenix to work on action we can take together - at home, at church, at school, and at the state level - to interrupt the horrific cycle of human trafficking.
While human trafficking can involve prostitution, its scope is much wider. Predators lure children away from their homes and families, kidnap them, and then sell them as prostitutes, live-in nannies and more. These girls did not choose this lifestyle; in many cases, they are too young to understand that the predator adult is not a friend and that what is happening to them is against the law. (http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/events/a-girls-world-is-different/)
What if someone you loved was in this situation? What if it was your daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, or best friend? What if it was you? Although most of the day was focused on the trafficking of girls, I also learned that boys can be trafficked too, if not for prostitution, for labor. The big message of the day was that ANYONE can become a victim of human trafficking, young or old, black, white, or brown. It does not matter who you are, how much money you have, or where you live. We are all at risk.
So how can service-learning programs address this issue? Some might ask “Is it appropriate to talk to our programs about sex and prostitution?” or “There are so many causes out there and my programs address many wonderful causes, this is just one more and it is too risky to talk about with my programs.” To those individuals I would say “Your concerns are valid, it is a risky topic to discuss, but ALL of us are at risk, especially our youth, so isn’t it worth talking about?” I would also add “There are ways to address this issue without focusing on sex and prostitution, there are many forms of human trafficking right here in America”.
I understand the criticality of youth voice in service-learning programs and truly believe that if we educate our youth about the world of human trafficking, they will want to take action. This topic can be incorporated into many academic courses.
Here are some examples:
Math:
Study the statistics on the types of human trafficking, where it happens in your state, and how your state compares to other states and countries.
Science:
Study the physical and psychological health impacts of human trafficking.
English:
Read a book or articles about the topic and write essays, letters, stories, or articles, to advocate for and raise awareness about human trafficking.
Social Studies:
Study the impact human trafficking has on society, the historical trends of human trafficking, and the laws in your state related to human
trafficking.
Please visit the following website for a list of organizations working to combat human trafficking, also known as modern day slavery:
http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/files/agwid/AGWID_Resource_Guide.pdf
Stephanie Hahn, M. Ed., Arizona Department of Education
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
