Policy brief

Pathways to Opportunities: My Brother’s Keeper Assets-Based Trajectory Changer

Kareen, Dan, Maria, and Brandon

Friday, September 12, 2014

Department of Education | 400 Maryland Ave. SW

Secretary's Conference Room

Running head: Pathways to Opportunities 1

Table of Contents

Background .................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Support ........................................................................................................................................................................ 3

Stakeholders ................................................................................................................................................................ 4

The Effective Solution .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Sankey Diagram Examples ........................................................................................................................................... 6

What are Evidence-Based Practices? ........................................................................................................................... 7

Simple 3-Step Recommendation for Implementation Process.................................................................................... 7

Evaluation .................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Partial List References and Works Consulted* ............................................................................................................ 8

Biographical Sketches ................................................................................................................................................ 10

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Background

On February 27, 2014, President Obama disseminated a memorandum, requesting a 90-day report on the

My Brother’s Keeper Task Force’s progress. In a robust statement of progress, it was delineated that

there were systemic issues comforting young minority males. Moreover, as issues were uncovered, which

proved to contain deplorable happenings in the specific demographics, there were solutions and

opportunities uncovered, too—allowing a positive, asset-based system to counteract the status quo.

On Saturday, August 2, 2014, on the campus of Georgetown University, several creative thinkers from

varying backgrounds of culture and profession, came together to strategize ways to confront one of the

most significant issues plaguing this great nation: How can we reengineer our academic systems to

encourage success for all—reimaging and revisiting the concept of equality and equity for the United

States of America.

Primary and Subsequent Issues

As reported in the May 2014 My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Report:

 23.2% of Hispanics, 25.8% of Black, and 27% of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) live in poverty, compared to 11.6% of White Americans

 Black, American Indian, and Hispanic children are between six and nine times more likely than white children to live in areas of concentrated poverty. This compounds the effects of poverty, and further limits pathways to

success.

 Roughly two-thirds of Black and one-third of Hispanic children live with only one parent. A father's absence increases the risk of their child dropping out of school. Blacks and Hispanics raised by single moms are 75

percent and 96 percent respectively more likely to drop out of school.

 We see significant high school dropout rates—as high as 50% in some school districts—including among boys and young men from certain Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander populations.

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 Additionally, retaining, suspending, and expelling students of color has also steeped our society in a disproportionate state of being, wherein the correlations of acheivement, or the lack thereof, have an impeding

impact on many school aged minorities.

Support

The larger issue of educational gaps through ethnicity and race are not new. However, it is laudable that

President Obama and his administration are taking a concerted, targeted effort to improve educational

outcomes which have been building for many years.

Source: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/03/23/28math-s1.h24.html

While it is important to note the long way we have to go to ensure all students equally succeed, we would be

remised if we did not illustrate the evidence that we are making strides in the right way, especially as we

rethink what reform looks like (i.e. charter school adoptions, autonomous schools, diversifying school choice,

and many other initiatives).

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Source: http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/library/chart-graph/naep-gains-between-2009-2011-charter-and-traditional-public-schools

Stakeholders

This national issue affects so many people in the education and industry. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC

SECTORS of every facet of employment industries (medicine, law, education, business, management,

hospitality, finance, engineering, sciences, humanities, etc.). Diverse population and ideas are needed to

perform globally competitive work to ensure the sustaining ability of America’s workforce. PARENTS

AND LEGAL GUARDIANS who are thinking in the best interest of their children attending a school

after the successful transitioning from kindergarten through high school and onto a college and/ or career

paths. SUPERINTENDENTS, PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS, AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY

MAKERS invest countless numbers of resources and years preparing their students for success in school

based upon a continuum model that does not affect as much change as it possibly could. STUDENTS

inevitably working towards successful completion, but are met with anxiety and faced with handicaps,

much of which are uncontrollable based upon specific neighborhoods, genealogies, socioeconomic

statuses, and a myriad of circumstances. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES are liable to never see

scholars to add to the body of knowledge of specific universities because students are denied access

based upon lacking and alarming challenges throughout matriculation.

I have a great respect for incremental improvement, and I've done that sort of

thing in my life, but I've always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes.

I don't know why. Because they're harder. They're much more stressful

emotionally. And you usually go through a period where everybody tells you that

you've completely failed.

--Steve Jobs

How do we think of creative revolutionary changes that will

result in heightening the probability for our nation’s success

in education and industry?

Running head: Pathways to Opportunities 5 Potential Solutions

 Provide training and support around the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), although there are

states that have opted out of adopting the CCSS.

 Illustrate how no-/ low-cost evidence-based practices, proven to increase and improve student success, can transform and positively improve change in the lives of students

 Increase external supports to increase community resources—hoping that a causal relationship will change the current data that we possess

 Create project-based learning models wherein students (and their families) throughout the country have the opportunity to apply to career and college pathways through a comprehensive portfolio

model rather than a traditional pathway.

The Effective Solution

Utilize Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) to ensure student success throughout the entire scholastic

matriculation process, and show, through useful data visualization, that these aforementioned practices

yield and lead to success—thereby changing the trajectory of whole-groups of students.

With a simple Response To Intervention (RTI) process,

much like what is used in informally used in medicine,

business, education, etc., we can creatively show current

data and how it potentially-quickly adjust to

implemented interventions.

Although Response to Intervention is a general education

practice, there is a lack of exposure, fidelity, and

implementation.

Moreover, the effective solution is further explained and delineated throughout the

financial implications, recommendations for implementations and evaluative process

throughout this document. By further detailing the “Best Solution” we hope to

illustrate how simple and effortless this plausible solution actually is. An interactive

Sankey Diagram is how the data can be displayed.

The Sankey diagram will allow filters and the option to view data by different

categories. These categories may include race, ethnicity, geography, sex, etc. In

addition, the data visualized on the diagram will change based on the evidence based

practices chosen by the user. The user will see how implementation of these

practices would impact their interested category.

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Sankey Diagram Examples

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What are Evidence-Based Practices?

• Free, and have evaluated by nearly every major university in the nation • An intervention that is based in science (noun) • The disposition of a practitioner to base the selection of their interventions in science (verb) • Uses a sound research design. The outcomes of students receiving a tested teaching strategy or intervention

are compared to similar students who do not receive the intervention.

• Based on high quality data analysis. Researchers must ensure careful collection, storing and examination the data.

• Peer-Reviewed results. • Both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Elementary and Secondary Education

Act (ESEA) require that schools use programs, curricula, and practices based on "scientifically-based

research" "to the extent practicable."

Although many of these Evidence-Based Practices are reserved for students with disabilities, they have all

been proven to increase measures of achievement in a myriad of students with diverse backgrounds of race,

ethnicity, age, and other varying demographic factors. Evidence-based practices are good for all students—

regardless of uncontrollable variables, i.e. neighborhood, parent education, etc. Sources: CEC: http://www.cec.sped.org/Standards/Evidence-Based-Practice-Resources-Original?sc_lang=en & Reading Rockets:

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/55570

Evaluation

Over the course of three years of implementation, a summative evaluation will occur and be considered throughout

the country for this particular best solution.

Schools and districts that illustrate the highest gains because of evaluated implementation may be deemed as

demonstration sites. Funds, similar to Race to the Top, can be used as an incentive to partner with universities and

colleges to align teaching practices with Evidence-Based Practices, including, but not limited to, Parent

Implemented Intervention, Least-to-Most Prompting, Discrete Trial Training, Peer Mediated Intervention, Time

Delay, Naturalistic Intervention (especially as it relates to Work-Based Learning experiences, e.g., shadowing,

internships, volunteering, etc.), Task Analysis, Social Narratives, etc. These practices could be engineered to be

included into the training of teachers and principals through traditional or non-traditional access points into

education.

Create an interactive data visualizaiton tool that shows current data as it is--the good, the bad, the ugly

Allow the aforementioned tool to adjust once Evidence-Based Practices are introduced. Allow data to adjust in real-time to see the relationshp between current and projected measures

Create professinoal development opporutnities for Evidence-Based Practices to become enveloped in teacher training and evalution

Simple 3-Step Recommendation for

Implementation Process

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*Complete list made available upon request

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Biographical Sketches

Kareen Currey graduated from American University with her Master’s in Public Policy. Prior to her tenure at American University, Kareen graduated from University of Florida with a degree in Business Management. Her past experiences include analyzing performance data for an alternative sentencing organization; writing bill summaries for a State Representative; and working to promote inclusion of people with developmental disabilities. She currently does data analytics at the National Institutes of Health in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Kareen is currently finishing her term as Community Service Events Chair for Thursday Network, a Greater Washington Urban League Young Professionals. Kareen hails from sunny South Florida.

Dan Gallagher attended Cornell University where he received his BS in computer science. While at Cornell, he built an autonomous multi-robot system for exploring and mapping unknown environments and published a paper on multi-robot system planning. After graduating, he worked as a software engineer at Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) and was promoted to Lead Engineer. Dan left APT to found Datasembly, an open data analytics company, which he is running today.

Maria Teresa Perez is a passionate individual, who strives for the best in everything I do. Through my life’s experience, I discovered a talent to lead, a love for science, and a passion to inspire and support young minds to pursue a career in science. At the present time, I am finishing my PhD in chemistry. Once I graduate, I would like to work in the field of science policy. I envision the possibility to work towards the improvement of STEM education and academic scientific research to promote sustainable research.

Brandon Wallace graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s of arts degree in English (with a concentration in literature and language) from Bowie State University. Brandon went on to receive his master’s degree from the School of Education at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He has taught at every level of secondary education (6-12), community college, undergraduate, and graduate school. Currently, Brandon is a Faculty Associate at the Johns Hopkins University, Educational Program Specialist at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in Washington, D.C., and an English lecturer at Montgomery College.