Thriving Minds Erin Offord, director of parent & family engagement Funmi Okunbolade, communications...

Thriving Minds

Erin Offord, director of parent & family engagementFunmi Okunbolade, communications managerSeattle, WAJune, 2009

Building a Responsive System

© June, 2009 by Big Thought. Thriving Minds is managed by Big Thought.

Technology Advocacy

Fundraising Curriculum & PD

Communications Research &

Evaluation

Our community

believes

that it’s the relationship

between

a variety of

high quality

creative learning

experiences,

designed to

build over time,

that results in

lasting benefits.

© June, 2009 by Big Thought. All Rights Reserved.

A Common Vision & Working Strategy

Listen: Build feedback loops

Learn: Use research

Respond: Customization

Overarching Steps


Listen: Build feedback loops

Overarching Steps


ResearchSurveys - 5k kids, 2k caregivers, 2k educatorsFamily Interviews

Ongoing Feedback LoopsNeighborhood Leadership TeamsCampus Parent EngagementPartners

Listening


Learn: Use research

Overarching Steps


Percent of Student Surveyed Said: This Discipline is “Very Important” to Me

Grades 4-6 Grades 7-8 Grades 9-120

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

29 31 29

1829

24

36 69

33

16 18

Dance Music Theater Visual Arts

Learning: Survey Results Demand


Arts Learning Opportunities Citywide and By Quadrant

8,257

2,543 2,290 1,758 1,666

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

Citywide Northeast Northwest Southeast Southwest

All Disciplines

31% of Total

28% of Total

20% of Total

21% of Total

Learning: Survey Results Supply


Arts Learning Opportunities by Age

0500

1000150020002500300035004000

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18Age in Years

All Arts

Middle School

High School



Arts Learning Opportunities Excluding School Courses by Age

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18Age in Years

All Arts

Middle School

High School



When families engage in creative activities together:

Homes become hubs for learning & sharing

They learn about one another & their heritage

They develop skills they value

They have skills & products they can contribute to their communities

Learning: Family Interviews Preliminary Findings


Learning: Family Interviews Preliminary Findings

Dallas families want creative learning but some struggle

Young people use creativity 24 / 7

There are new ways to reach parents & caregivers

Timing of information is important

Materials should appeal to students


Respond: Customization

Overarching Steps


Personal Experience: Connect message to real experiences

Education: Provide access & information

Involvement: Neighborhood Leadership Teams

Advocacy: Mobilize parent leaders

Awareness: Craft message & spread the word

AwarenessPersonal

Experience Education Involvement Advocacy

Responding: Parent Engagement Pathway


Meet with

Neighborhood

Leaders

Share

Research

&

Learnings

Reach

Community

Consensus

on

Values &

Goals

Identify

Neighborhood

Resources

& Gaps in

Services

Host

Community

Orientation

&

Summer

Planning

Meeting

with

NLT Members

& Community

Providers

Allocate

Funds &

Implement

Summer

Programs

for

Kids &

Families

Information

Session

with

Community

Providers

Document

& Report

Partnership

Impact

Review

Program

Delivery

to Kids

Look at

Overall

Summer

Process

Develop

Neighborhood

Plan &

Identify

Target

Programs

Responding: Neighborhood Leadership Teams


School Board

Superintendent

City Council

City Manager

Private Funders

Business Community

Community Boards

Arts Commissioners

Parents

Dallas ISD

City of Dallas

Park & Recreation

Police

Library System

Churches

CBOs

Parents

Fine Arts Specialists

General Classroom Teachers

Cultural Providers

Individual Artists

Park & Rec Staff

Librarians

Childcare Workers

Church staff

CBO staff

Trained Volunteers

Parents

All Dallas children

Parents

Influencers Implementers Instructors Beneficiaries

Responding: Partners


Responding: Customization

Customized plans @ the neighborhood level

Customized plans @ the campus level

Communication tools


Additional Discoveries

OST is a goldmine of opportunity

Schools are the neighborhood hubs

Need to be culturally responsive on a systemic level – not just programmatic



Access & Quality Distribution

Neighborhood problems Wasting time, unproductive activities Unsafe outdoor play Low achievement, over-emphasis on

testing Vandalism

Creative learning solutions Multi-age programs Programmatic pathways fostering

progressive learning Mentorship & leadership opportunities Community building & networking

Parent Demand Survey


Parents: Key Learnings

Where learning takes place varied informal settings

How learning takes place broad definition of arts

How learning is delivered school & OST must be linked

Why families take part beyond learning a skill

What kids need programs that are diverse, relevant, multi-age

Programmatic challenges uneven quality, availability, sequencing, inequity

Accessibility challenges lack of info & advice, cost, transportation

Who’s needed teachers, role models, supportive family, transporters, facilitators


Importance of Arts in OST

Improved engagement in learning & school attendance

Increased academic achievement

Kids handle conflict more effectively

Students at greatest risk show greatest gains

Keeps kids safe, healthy & on track for success

Helps working families

Improved engagement in learning & decreased drop-out rate

Increased academic achievement

Helps decrease involvement in delinquent behavior

Helps students overcome obstacles of disadvantaged backgrounds

Improves attitudes about themselves & the future

Benefits of Afterschool Learning Benefits of Arts Learning

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/after_out.cfm

Working for Children and Families: Safe and Smart After-School Programs, U.S. Department of Education, April 2000

Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the Arts Education Partnership

Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School by James S. Catterall, Ph.D.


Importance of Arts in OST

Quality arts education can help students develop the four C's:

Cognition think critically, solve problems, analyze & synthesize information, evaluate & make decisions

Culture understand people, traditions & symbols … bridge gaps in a diverse & complicated world

Communicationuse sights, sounds & movement to convey meaning beyond words. …interpret & understand complex symbols

Creativitydevelop imagination, invention & innovation…. linked to scientific discovery, business planning & negotiation

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/After_School_Programs/Arts_Programs.html


Creative Citizens

Pre-Professional Creatives(Students)

(Unincorporated)Professional-level Creatives

Professional Teaching Artists

Creative Workforce Enhance Skills

Sharing Your Creativity

How People Learn

Planning Learning Experiences

Sharing with Groups

Working in Schools, After Schools & Community

settings

Special Issues in Sharing Creativity

Culmination Team Volunteers

Guides/ Assistants

Low Intensity Workshops

Low - Mid Intensity Workshops &

Residencies

Variety of involvement levels

High Intensity Workshops

& Residencies

Performance/ Exhibition

Training

Responding: Creative Learning Workforce


Elementary School

Middle School

High School

Library

Rec Center

CBOs ReligiousInst.

Current presence Planned Future

Neighborhood Hubs


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