Assessing the Effectiveness of the Community School Model in Closing the Achievement Gap for Low Income Students of Color: A Case Study

Most urban public school districts, including Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS), are committed to closing a persistent and entrenched achievement gap between White and middle class students and low income students and students of color. As resources remain stagnant or diminish educators need to determine where to invest District resources to maximize academic gains and quickly close gaps for the largest number of students. One option being considered in SPPS and nationally is to invest greater resources in the community schools model. The heart of the community school is a set of partnerships between the school and community organizations to create an integrated program that combines academic and family support (Fratt, 2006, p. 67). This research is designed to assess the effectiveness of the community schools model in improving academic achievement for low income students of color, both nationally and in Saint Paul Public Schools. Using a mixed methodology including an electronic review of national research, collection, synthesis and analysis of Saint Paul Public Schools specific comparative trend data and supplemental interviews with Saint Paul educators, this research also seeks to clarify whether the model as an independent variable is enough to close the gap or whether it is a critical component in a multi-dimensional approach to this national dilemma. Based on a survey of the current and historical research done on the effectiveness of the community school model in improving achievement and closing the learning gap for low income students of color, it is clear that this model holds promise for Saint Paul Public Schools leaders. In making a recommendation to Saint Paul Public Schools leadership on whether the investment in additional community schools to support its goal of closing the achievement gap for low income students of color, the research findings suggest support for an investment in the community schools model for that purpose based on comparisons of achievement data

Affective Engagement: Teaching Young Kenyans about Safe and Healthy Sex

Research suggests that young people are arriving at sex education sites mostly through campaigns on social media and paid sites. Whilst not everyone is accessing porn, it is essential to find creative ways to engage with young people to strengthen and build on existing online sex education. In this study, a team of researchers, international project staff, musicians and multimedia artist worked effectively together on mobilising audiences based on research evidence on sex education for young Kenyans. The approach taken was innovative but it was also rooted in high-quality research evidence. This article focuses on two areas of learning from the programme – how research can support a creative team to discuss sexuality in a radically open fashion and how to remain focused when working in multidisciplinary teams

Barriers to Discharge: A Retrospective Medical Record Review Examining Potential Barriers to Patient Discharge at the End-of-Life

It is estimated that 70% of Americans would prefer to die at home, but less than one-quarter do so. Patients near the end of life often face several barriers that prevent them from successfully transitioning from an acute care setting to their preferred place of death. These barriers include but are not limited to a lack of trust between facilities and community care providers, ineffective communication, delayed discharge planning, difficulty accessing medications and supplies, lack of control, feelings of uncertainty, and feelings of burden. This study utilized a survey of 102 medical records of patients who died in the hospital to identify barriers experienced by end-of-life patients in one Midwestern acute care hospita

Attention control comparisons with SLT for people with aphasia following stroke: methodological concerns raised following a systematic review

Objective: Attention control comparisons in trials of stroke rehabilitation require care to minimize the risk of comparison choice bias. We compared the similarities and differences in SLT and social support control interventions for people with aphasia. Data sources: Trial data from the 2016 Cochrane systematic review of SLT for aphasia after stroke. Methods: Direct and indirect comparisons between SLT, social support and no therapy controls. We double-data extracted intervention details using the template for intervention description and replication. Standardized mean differences and risk ratios (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) were calculated. Results: Seven trials compared SLT with social support (n  =  447). Interventions were matched in format, frequency, intensity, duration and dose. Procedures and materials were often shared across interventions. Social support providers received specialist training and support. Targeted language rehabilitation was only described in therapy interventions. Higher drop-out (P  =  0.005, odds ratio (OR) 0.51, 95% CI 0.32–0.81) and non-adherence to social support interventions (P  <  0.00001, OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.09–0.37) indicated an imbalance in completion rates increasing the risk of control comparison bias. Conclusion: Distinctions between social support and therapy interventions were eroded. Theoretically based language rehabilitation was the remaining difference in therapy interventions. Social support is an important adjunct to formal language rehabilitation. Therapists should continue to enable those close to the person with aphasia to provide tailored communication support, functional language stimulation and opportunities to apply rehabilitation gains. Systematic group differences in completion rates is a design-related risk of bias in outcomes observed

National evaluation of Diplomas: cohort 1 - the second year

The introduction of Diplomas for 14-19 year olds represented a major innovation in educational opportunity for young people in England. The Diplomas are being offered at three levels and across 14 subjects and have been implemented in three phases (from September 2008, 2009 and 2010). Following the establishment of the Coalition government in May 2010, a number of changes to the implementation and delivery of the Diploma qualification were introduced. The Minister of State for Schools announced that development of new Diplomas in science, humanities and languages, which were due to be introduced from September 2011, would be discontinued. Additionally the Diploma entitlement, whereby all young people within an area would be able to access any of the Diploma subjects, would be removed and that the decision about which Diploma subjects would be available to students would in future be made by schools and colleges. Moreover, it was decided that the Gateway application process whereby consortia (of schools, colleges, training providers, employers and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs)) had previously submitted an application to the Department for Education (DfE) for each Diploma subject they wanted to offer would no longer be required for provision commencing from 2012. Other changes included the freedom for institutions to decide whether or not they wanted to work collaboratively to provide Diploma provision

Sex Education in the Digital Era

Exploring sex and sexual relationships is an important part of adolescence, and therefore sex education should have a central role in adolescent emotional development as well as dealing with crucial public-health issues. Good sex education reduces maternal and child mortality by helping to prevent unwanted, early and risky pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, yet in many parts of the world unmarried teenagers are excluded from receiving information and sexual health services because – according to unrealistic and conservative religious and socio-cultural norms – they are not supposed to be sexually active. Much of the research on sexuality in the digital era is moralistic and slanted, so for those working on sexual/reproductive health and youth/digital development issues, learning more about the subject is a major challenge. There has never been a collection of scholarly work on this topic for a mixed audience of researchers, policymakers and practitioners until this issue of the IDS Bulletin. A collaboration between Love Matters and IDS, articles discuss experiences with digital sex education in many countries and in a range of settings. The issues confronted are diverse, yet the common themes encountered are often as striking as the differences. Young people need help in critically examining the sexual messages they receive, as well as access to new types of digital sex education environments that are realistic, emotionally attuned, non-judgemental and open to the messages they themselves create. Contributions in this IDS Bulletin suggest an urgency for academics and practitioners to understand and develop digital literacy skills in order to help build such environments

Introduction: Sex Education in the Digital Era

Young people all over the world are keen to learn about sex and relationships but are not finding the information they seek in their immediate environment. The internet provides them with a welcome alternative. In response to the rapid increased connectivity of young people, international organisations that work on comprehensive sex education for young people have moved online. While there are new opportunities to reach young people in these digital spaces, sex educators also encounter restrictions. They face the immense power of new supranational commercial digital gatekeepers such as Facebook and Google and must respond to digitally mediated sexual and gender-based violence. This article introduces a special issue of the IDS Bulletin on experiences with internet‑based sex education in 14 countries. The authors explore how familiar forms of exclusion and inequality, as well as empathy and solidarity, manifest themselves in these new digital spaces in highly diverse national settings

Affective Engagement with Research Evidence about Young People’s Sex Education in Kenya

Sex and relationships have a big impact on young people’s lives. For most young people in the world getting information about sexual pleasure, apart from pornography, can be difficult. And it’s even harder if you live in parts of the world where you often aren’t able to decide who to date or marry, or how many children you want to have. For this reason online information on sexuality is hugely popular. Research suggests that young people are arriving at sex education sites mostly through campaigns on social media. As not all young people are using these sites it is essential to find creative ways to engage with them in a way that strengthens and builds on existing online sex education. Our recent study used affective engagement as part of a multi-layered and multi-me- thod participatory action research process on online sex education for young Kenyans online. We worked with a group of students from the Sauti music academy, to explore the meaning and relevance of themes that emerged from analysis of online behaviour on the Love Matters sex education platform and off-line research on gender roles and sexuality by young people. Young musicians wrote songs based on the research analysis and recorded these on YouTube. We found that the issues raised by young people using online platforms were also relevant to Kenyan offline non-users. Interpersonal exchange between the young people directly involved in the study, the sexual health experts and international creative team were key to stimulating critical reflection on meanings of sex and love, and creativity in the production of the 15 original songs that were produced during the project. The musicians involved said they had learned how to communicate effectively about sexuality, expectations and affection. Participants also learned how to use their own experiences to connect with people, and most said they realized their responsibility and potential as artists to make progressive social change. Learning on reaching audiences was one of the main unintended benefits for the artists of this project