SF Department of Children, Youth & Their Families – Educational Supports
PSA evaluated the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF) Educational Supports Service Area, designed to address disparities in educational outcomes by funding community-based organizations to deliver services that help youth achieve educational goals through Academic Supports, Literacy Supports, Summer Transitions and Alternative Education strategies. PSA collaborated with DCYF to articulate a logic model and measurement framework for this Service Area, a new funding area for the agency. PSA also negotiated access to student-level data maintained by DCYF and by the San Francisco Unified School District to map the reach and characteristics of students served by each of the strategies, to inform agency planning. In addition, in support of shifts in program activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, PSA delivered two practitioner-focused research briefs addressing youth and family engagement in remote learning, including a resource on literacy at home that was produced in multiple languages (Arabic, Chinese, Nepali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese).
Strategies to Engage Disconnected Youth
Literacy When School Is Out: Ideas for Supporting Learning at Home
Promising Practices and Strategies in Remote Learning: Lessons from the Field
Free Library of Philadelphia—LEAP
PSA evaluated a drop-in, library-based out-of-school time (OST) program in Philadelphia, with support from the William Penn Foundation. Our evaluation of LEAP (Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program), operated by the Free Library of Philadelphia, explored the program’s contribution to the City of Philadelphia’s comprehensive OST system. Our report summarizes strategies used by LEAP programs to support early literacy learning, and benefits for children in grades preK-3. In addition, three briefs share findings for program staff, funders and policymakers, and library leaders.
Literacy Learning in Drop-In Library Programs
Brief for program staff
Brief for funders and policymakers
Brief for library leaders
NYC Department of Youth and Community Development
The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) funds community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver supports and services through the City focused on youth services, community development, and workforce development. PSA has provided evaluation services to DYCD in each of those areas. PSA’s evaluations included the analysis of implementation and outcomes of the Out-of-School Time Programs for Youth (now COMPASS/SONYC), including a retrospective analysis of the first 10 years of this citywide initiative, an analysis of social-emotional learning strategies, summer learning, and promising program practices. PSA also conducted an evaluation of an initiative to build the organizational capacity of CBOs providing youth services. In addition, PSA has evaluated the Beacon Community Centers, DYCD’s Fatherhood Initiative, the Opportunity Youth workforce development program, the Young Men’s Initiative Cornerstone Mentoring Program, and the Raising Readers program implemented in partnership with the National Book Foundation. PSA has also provided capacity-building support to DYCD, including facilitation of a process to develop an agency-wide theory of change that engaged agency stakeholders ranging from the Commissioner to leaders of community-based organizations; PSA also supported the development of an Evaluation and Monitoring System designed for use by agency staff for contract management and support of quality improvement.
Retrospective Analysis of COMPASS Participation, 2004-2015
Building the Capacity of Nonprofits to Support High-Quality Youth Programs
Approaches for Integrating Skill-Based Activities in Out-of-School Time Programs
Achieving Program Quality in the DYCD Out-of-School Time Initiative: Strategies from 15 Programs
Evidence of Program Quality and Youth Outcomes in the DYCD Out-of-School Time Initiative
Strengthening the Mentoring Experience—YMI Cornerstone Mentoring Program
Engagement in Learning—YMI Cornerstone Mentoring
Levers of Impact in YMI Cornerstone Mentoring
Evaluation of the DYCD Fatherhood Initiative
Creating Opportunities: Strategies for Supported Work Experience
Raising Readers: Cultivating a Love of Reading through Adult-focused Initiatives
ExpandED Schools
PSA conducted a five-year evaluation of the national demonstration of ExpandED Schools, an initiative supported by The Wallace Foundation to expand the school day through strategic partnerships between schools and community organizations, supported by intermediary organizations. The evaluation examined the implementation of the ExpandED Schools approach; adaptations made by local communities and schools; patterns of student engagement; the role of the expanded day in supporting development of positive academic mindsets among students; and the sustainability and dissemination of ExpandED Schools approach. The PSA team also developed a fidelity of implementation rubric which was been used both to monitor program implementation and to improve program support.
PSA also evaluated an earlier pilot of the expanded learning time model in New York City (ELT/NYC) that informed the national demonstration. PSA, in collaboration with Abt Associates, conducted a comprehensive evaluation of ELT/NYC to examine the initiative’s success in expanding the availability of enriched learning opportunities and in improving students’ educational performance.
Spreading School-Community Partnerships
ExpandED Schools National Demonstration
Institutionalizing ExpandED Schools
ExpandED Schools: Developing Mindsets to Support Academic Success
Fidelity of Implementation of the TASC ExpandED Model