Cleveland Metropolitan School District Human Ware Audit: Findings and Recommendations AUGUST 14, 2008 Submitted To: Eugene T.W. Sanders, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer Cleveland Metropolitan School District 1380 East 6th Street Cleveland, OH 44114 Prepared By: American Institutes for Research® 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW Washington, DC 20007-3835 Authors: David Osher, Ph.D. Jeffrey M. Poirier, M.A. Kevin P. Dwyer, M.A., NCSP Regenia Hicks, Ph.D. Leah J. Brown, B.A. Stephanie Lampron, M.A. Carlos Rodriguez, Ph.D Cleveland Metropolitan School District Human Ware Audit ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The report authors express appreciation for the thoughtful input of the AIR senior staff members who have contributed to the work, including Dr. Libi Gil; Dr. Jennifer O’Day; Ms. Maria Guasp, M.S.; and Ms. Sandra Keenan, M.Ed. We also acknowledge the contributions of other AIR staff, including Dr. Sarah Jones, who supported the review of qualitative data; Drs. Kimberly Kendziora and Lorin Mueller as well as numerous staff in AIR’s Assessment Program who assisted with various activities related to the Conditions for Learning survey; and Mr. Phil Esra and Ms. Holly Baker, who assisted with report editing and formatting. We recognize Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson and Dr. Eugene Sanders, chief executive officer of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (the District), for their commitment to not limiting the scope of the Human Ware Audit activities and to a systemic approach to the recommendations. We are also very grateful to the support of the District’s chief academic officer, Mr. Eric Gordon; his staff, including the District’s research team; and the mayor’s staff (in particular, Ms. Monyka Price, chief of education). Moreover, this work would not have been possible without the support of numerous agencies and organizations (listed in full in the report’s methodology section) as well as the District staff, parents/caregivers and students who participated in the Human Ware Audit activities. We are grateful to the Cleveland Foundation for its funding that supported the addition of a second elementary school to the case studies and Dr. David Hussey of the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University for his support with analyses using our Conditions for Learning survey data. We would also like to thank Rashidah Abdulhaqq, Gerry Blake, Lisa Bottoms, Claudia Coulton, Frank Fecser, Cynthia Fisher, Daniel Flannery and Terri Oldham, each of whom responded to special requests with generosity. August 14, 2008 1 American Institutes for Research® Cleveland Metropolitan School District Human Ware Audit CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ 1 LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 7 ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED AS PART OF THE GAPS ANALYSIS..................................................... 7 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................... 8 Framework for Understanding AIR’s Findings and Recommendations................................. 8 District and Community Strengths and Assets to Build On ................................................. 10 Key Findings from the Gaps Analysis .................................................................................. 13 Recommendations................................................................................................................. 21 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 24 ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT ............................................................................................. 25 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 26 CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING SURVEY ..................................................................................... 26 DISCUSSIONS WITH KEY INFORMANTS.................................................................................... 28 CASE STUDIES OF SCHOOLS..................................................................................................... 29 EXTANT DATA, DOCUMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION ...................................................... 32 VALIDATION ............................................................................................................................. 34 GAPS ANALYSIS FINDINGS .................................................................................................. 35 FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AIR’S FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................ 35 I. CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING ............................................................................................... 37 A. Safety and Positive Behavior Supports........................................................................... 37 B. Social Emotional Learning and Student Social Responsibility....................................... 46 C. Student Connectedness and Supports.............................................................................. 49 II. SCHOOL, SCHOOL DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY CAPACITY TO SYSTEMATICALLY RESPOND TO THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH ................... 57 A. Attendance and Related Procedures.............................................................................. 57 B. Human Ware Data Systems Use and Accountability ................................................... 61 C. Systems That Effectively Address and Monitor the Social and Emotional Needs of Students................................................................................................................................. 61 D. Professional Development ............................................................................................ 64 August 14, 2008 2 American Institutes for Research® Cleveland Metropolitan School District Human Ware Audit E. Quality of School and Community Services................................................................. 65 III. COLLABORATION BETWEEN AND AMONG FAMILIES, SCHOOLS AND AGENCIES ........... 67 A. Service Coordination and School-Community Partnership.......................................... 68 B. Connections Between and Among Families, Schools and Agencies............................ 69 STRATEGIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................... 71 Strategy 1: Improve Capacity to Assess, Plan, Deploy and Monitor Human Ware Resources ............................................................................................................................................... 72 Strategy 2: Improve School Procedures, Protocols, Policies and Practices.......................... 79 Strategy 3: Improve School Climate..................................................................................... 84 Strategy 4: Provide Positive Behavioral Supports and Social Emotional Learning ............. 90 Strategy 5: Develop Warning and Response Systems .......................................................... 97 Strategy 6: Enhance School-Agency Collaboration............................................................ 103 Strategy 7: Enhance Family-School Partnership ................................................................ 106 Strategy 8: Provide Focused Professional Development and Support................................ 107 Strategy 9: Focus Funding Agency Resources ................................................................... 111 Strategy 10: Collect and Analyze Key Data for Monitoring, Evaluation and Quality Improvement ....................................................................................................................... 113 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................... 116 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX A: CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL SURVEYS.................................................................................................................................. 126 APPENDIX B: CASE STUDY SCHOOL SNAPSHOTS...................................................... 134 APPENDIX C: MENTAL HEALTH AGENCIES AND NEIGHBORHOOD COLLABORATIVES ASSOCIATED WITH SCHOOLS (AND PREVENTION AND SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS PROGRAMS).......................................................... 143 APPENDIX D: OTHER DATA TABLES AND FIGURES.................................................. 147 APPENDIX E: RELATIONSHIPS AMONG STRATEGIES, RECOMMENDATIONS AND FINDINGS AND IMPLEMENTATION-RELATED INFORMATION................... 170 August 14, 2008 3 American Institutes for Research® Cleveland Metropolitan School District Human Ware Audit LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Percent of Middle School Students Responding That Their School Needs Improvement on the Conditions for learning Scales (Safe and Respectful Climate, Social and Emotional Learning, Student Support), Case Study Schools and District Overall........ 30 Figure