After-School Adventures:

Polk City and Loughman Oaks Elementary Schools

1. PROJECT SCOPE OF WORK

A. Program Design - The School Board of Polk County seeks $352,044 to serve 235

students in grades K-5 at new 21st Century Community Learning Centers at two elementary

schools. After-School Adventure centers are our answer to opening doors for kids with too

few life experiences to know how much they can accomplish. Polk is launching extended

learning centers, ultimately supported by multiple funding streams, which change the self

concept of reticent students into innovators and leaders.

Each center will open five afternoons per week, after school, with a nutritious snack,

homework help and late activity bus to take students home. Monthly family evenings will

include activities based on current student projects, with activities addressing immediate

community needs such as gang resistance and financial literacy. Services will start October 28,

2013, and run through the end of May, opening again in August, 2014, at the start of the school

year. Certified teachers will teach integrated, core subjects in student-led projects based on

issues that touch the lives of local families. The centers will open at the following schools:

Polk City Elementary in Polk City, opening at 2:45 daily for an average 2.5 hours to 75

students for 154 days over 33 weeks.

Loughman Oaks Elementary north of Davenport, opening at 3:00 p.m. daily for an average

2.5 hours with 160 students for 154 days over 33 weeks.

Each center will have certified teachers at a 1:20 ratio daily, additional trained volunteers

from the community for enrichment, and hourly college students to lower the adult-to-student

ratio, and to supervise recreation and small group activities. Faculty will host parent and family

sessions with numerous, local, volunteers bringing a variety of activities responsive to requests.

B. Facilities - All campuses have modern media centers, computer labs, commercial-

grade kitchens and cafeteria, classrooms equipped to accommodate young children, and

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security fencing with camera surveillance at entrances and in most student traffic areas. All

campuses have wireless Internet connectivity, SMART Boards in most classrooms, "clicker"

student response systems, and document cameras.

A fulltime, district, 21st CCLC Program Coordinator will carry out the After-School

Adventures project plan, with work directed by an Advisory Board that includes expertise about

families in the immediate community, about implementing rigorous curriculum, about local

business and industry, and about supporting students with various disadvantages. Each school

has recruited qualified advisors to serve on this board, that will meet at least quarterly.

2. EVIDENCE OF EXPERIENCE

A. Prior Experience - Polk Schools operated a 21st CCLC program between 2003 and

2009, opening with three schools and building to 14 centers. The program enjoyed favorable

audits and program reviews. Coordinator Noreta Bish was a presenter at state conferences.

Late in that period, Polk nearly led the state in both unemployment and mortgage

foreclosures. Revenues from sales taxes and property taxes plummeted. The district declined

to renew its final 21st CCLC grants when the economy forced budget cuts and reduced staff.

Prior Operations - The 2007-2008 final report of the third-party evaluator said, "Polk’s

21st CCLC program has … impressive communication and collaboration between the director

and coordinators (e.g., regular meetings to discuss objectives and programming), [and] the

entire administration was knowledgeable about their responsibilities as well as those of their

colleagues. The program offered students a wide variety of well-established activities that blend

academics, enrichment, recreation, and character development. It also has methods of

collecting and analyzing data beyond what is required by the state department of education in

place. For instance, the program utilized additional parent and student opinion surveys and

performance assessments. Moreover, the program adjusted activities and processes based on

findings. Take-home materials were provided for parents to engage participating students at

home. Such efforts have resulted in a large number of parents expressing interest in

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volunteering for special events. Strong communication exists between the school day and after-

school teachers, strengthening program effectiveness by allowing more accurate and consistent

monitoring of student progress, academic needs, and behavioral challenges."

Prior Outcomes - In part, this report concludes, "As stated, the 21st CCLC students

significantly outperformed their like peers in FCAT/SAT10 math gains over the previous year.

Likewise, for reading on the standardized assessments, greater percentages of the 21st CCLC

program students in the sample demonstrated improved scores when compared to their like

peers in the comparison group. Moreover, fewer students in the 21st CCLC sample were

retained a grade level compared to their like peers in the sample….The 21st CCLC program

was able to show that it had a positive impact on its students’ school attendance."

B. Leadership Capacity - District Administration - Kathryn M. LeRoy was appointed

Polk superintendent in May, 2013. She is former chief academic officer in Duval County

schools, where 21st CCLC grants started in 1998. A civic group creating community and

education alliances has continued after-school programming in 29 Duval public schools after

21st CCLC expired. Mrs. LeRoy will lay plans for similar coordination in Polk.

Grants Director Marcia Ford will render administrative services for Polk's Learning

Centers, at district expense. She meets each Monday with the Superintendent's Academic

Leadership Team. Mrs. Ford's master's degree is in Guidance and Counseling. She

coordinates Polk's $14.2 million Race to the Top grant, due to expire this school year.

Mrs. Ford is the administrator responsible for the accuracy of program records, who will

authorize payroll and purchases, and who will submit contracts for School Board approval.

Program Management - The fulltime, grant-paid, 21st Century Program Coordinator

must have at least a bachelor's degree with background in youth development; and experience

in contractual negotiations, budgeting and payroll, and public speaking. The coordinator must

know prevention programs; government regulations, policies and procedures; project

management, and evaluations. The coordinator will handle purchasing and payroll processing,

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coordinate community services and partnerships, and research best practices.

The attached organization chart illustrates what positions will be grant-supported, and

how the Program Coordinator will support the schools that host Community Learning Centers.

All school activities are supervised by Principals under management by Regional

Assistant Superintendents, who will work directly with the Program Coordinator. Polk has

multiple 21st CCLC grant applications pending, each with a project coordinator in the proposed

budget. Should the district receive two or more awards, it will still hire one project coordinator

and one, grant-paid curriculum specialist (an 11-month teacher with experience developing

and adapting curriculum). Each after-school center will have an hourly Site Coordinator

assisted by the district Program Coordinator.

The district's Business Services office will issue financial reports. Through S.A.P.

accounting, it has redundant systems in place for accurate, timely and understandable fiscal

accountability and audit trail.

Primary partners for these two elementary school centers are listed below, followed by

greater discussion of their qualifications and commitments.

Learning Resource Center (hereafter "LRC") - LRC has contracted with some of the county's

best teachers to develop fun, creative, and productive project-based units of instruction, and

is providing these resources to the district as a community service. In addition, this agency

is collaborating with district planners from the Community Involvement and Grants offices to

expand After-School Adventures, with complementary funding including LRC's United

Way supplements, to additional communities in Polk, with other funding for sustainability.

Magnify Credit Union - This credit union has teamed with TrueWealth Inc. to provide

financial literacy lessons specifically designed for students and their families. Magnify

contributes the first $5 to each student choosing to open a savings account.

United Way of Central Florida - United Way will contribute speakers and parent education

regarding early literacy, materials which support this message, and information to families so

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that they can reach out beyond schools for other early learning opportunities through various

United Way agencies. Most serve the disabled, offer services on a sliding fee scale, and

coordinate with school curriculum to promote student success.

Learning Resource Center - LRC is a non-profit, United Way agency spun off from the

Junior League of Lakeland in 1975. The Learning Resource Center has more than 500 certified

teachers who provide countywide services to more than 4,000 students ages five through adult.

It is the district's Title I contractor for many of Polk's private schools, and tutors students with

disabilities for the district. LRC already provides academic services for the 21st CCLC program

serving other schools through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lakeland. LRC enhances its

community-based services with United Way funds to benefit low-income families. In June,

2013, Polk Transit partnered with LRC to provide free transportation to LRC students in the bus

system's Universal Transit Program, which also serves Polk State College.

LRC participates in United Way-commissioned evaluation studies each year that

examine comparison-group outcomes for United Way's 27 local partner agencies offering

education programs, and consistently shows favorable results.

Dr. Pam Craven, Executive Director at LRC, is an adjunct with Florida Southern

College’s graduate program and Polk State College’s Early Childhood Department. She holds a

Ph.D. in Education from USF. Her many civic activities are Polk Businesses for WorldClass

Education, READ Polk (adult literacy) board of directors, the Leadership Polk Steering

Committee, Polk Vision Steering Committee, and the Mentoring Alliance of Polk County.

Financial Literacy for Kids Foundation - TrueWealth Ventures, Inc. supports the

charitable Financial Literacy for Kids Foundation, whose mission is financial literacy. Partnering

Magnify Credit Union provides materials and opens fee-free savings accounts for course

completers. The curriculum, "TrueWealth-KIDS," teaches "Keep, Invest, Donate, Spend." It

teaches that true wealth incorporates other life values that contribute to deeper satisfaction and

personal peace. Students explore the concepts of risk and reward, success and failure, choice,

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attitude, compassion, and wants versus needs. They emerge with the ability to intelligently

discuss investment opportunities, types of return, responsible budgeting and philanthropy.

United Way of Central Florida, - United Way in Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties

anchors the annual communitywide evaluation of student education programs among its

member organizations through DIME Systems of South Carolina. These services include

tutoring, mentoring, and summer academic camps. Continued funding is contingent upon

evidence that the investment is improving academic performance.

In addition, United Way recently added a fulltime financial literacy coach, sponsored by

the Florida Prosperity Partnership, to build financial assets for low-to-moderate income

residents. The United Way will measure the number of families who, because of improved

training, amass sufficient savings to overcome unforeseen life obstacles such as car repairs or

threats to health. This will reduce family crises that can interfere with student learning.

Students served by both Polk County Schools and United Way partner programs

outperformed a comparison group of students who did not receive services funded by the

United Way. Scores on FCAT in both reading and math were higher when students attended

United Way-funded programs, and school attendance was higher in four of the last five years.

Outreach - The district sent certified letters of notification about this proposal, inviting

input about needs and implementation, to all 49 private schools listed in Polk by the Florida

Department of Education. Staff had contacts with dozens of organizations, including: New

Bethel Christian Academy, City of Winter Haven Community Services Department, Students

Opting 4 Success, Church of Resurrection Catholic School, Winter Haven Public Education

Partnership, Word of Life School, Winter Haven Community Development Corporation, Lake

Wales Charter Schools, Doors to Change healing arts project, Boys and Girls Clubs of

Lakeland; Boys and Girls Clubs of Winter Haven, Winter Haven Public Education Partnership,

Winter Haven Community Development Corporation, Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce,

Polk City Municipal Council, Lakeland Public Transit, the United Way Community Impact

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Cabinet, ESOL services, Title I services, Professional Development services, Food Services,

Transportation Services, the Mark Wilcox Center, Architectural Services, Library Media

Services, and individual parents in Winter Haven, Eloise, and Poinciana.

3. PROJECT NEED

A planning committee of several district coordinators and school leadership teams,

together with the project partners, gathered information over three months and from several

venues to assess school needs. The students to be served need more experiences and

background information than their parents can provide, just to keep up with their peers. Some,

encountering a book about Niagara Falls, didn't know what a waterfall is. Others wondered if

sharks swim in their local lake. After-School Adventures not only aims to backfill these needs

for supports and experiences, but will extend learning to help these children become ready for

college and productive careers.

1. Poverty rates in the communities to be served

An overriding need throughout Polk schools is combating the ill effects of poverty. In

2010, the Brookings Institution reported Polk County had the nation’s fifth-highest rate of

suburban poverty. Poverty among children younger than age 18 is 21.4% in the U.S., 23.2% in

Florida, and 28.9% in Polk. A third of Polk's children who are younger than age five live in

poverty. Last year Polk City had 13 homeless students and Loughman Oaks had 38.

The economic stresses of poverty impact families in many ways. They tend to lack the

resiliency to keep small problems from becoming large problems. Their rate of having family

members incarcerated is higher than the general population. Lack of transportation and child

care adds to the stress.

After-School Adventures can impact these families quickly and with appreciable

impact by helping to relieve some of these stresses. This ranges from child supervision and

feeding to gaining coping skills and the company of peers who help each other. The students,

especially, will gain from cooperative learning in diverse groups that, through carefully

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supervised, group exploration and assistance, teaches mutual respect, the value of asking for

help, discipline, and sensitivity to intrinsic reward.

2. Percentage or growth of limited-English proficient students and adults

Loughman Oaks and Polk City both occupy far northern Polk, which stretches into the

Green Swamp west of Orlando. But their populations are very different. Polk City is an old,

traditional, ranching community. It has its own veterinarian, but residents have to go to

Lakeland for a doctor or dentist. Compared to 11% for the district, Polk City has only 6%

English Language Learners. Loughman Oaks, with 20% English Language Learners, is closer

to the Disney tourist area. This school was built since the U.S. 27 hospitality service area grew

south from Osceola and Lake counties in the 1990s.

3. Percentage of Title I students, schools in Title I improvement

Both of the targeted schools are schoolwide Title I schools. Free/reduced lunch rates

are 78% and 66%. Both schools were recently graded D.

4. Reading and math score data and trends

The percentages of students across all grades producing satisfactory reading and math

scores in 2012 at the targeted schools all are well below their non-charter peers. In reading,

schoolwide proficiency (2012 FCAT 2.0 levels 3-5) at Loughman Oaks (40%) was barely more

than two-thirds the statewide rate (58%), and Polk City (52%) also lagging. Both were and all

down significantly from 2011 (Polk City -34 points, Loughman Oaks -20 points).

In 2013, while 57% of Florida's third graders scored satisfactory in reading, the targeted

schools were again well below: Loughman Oaks 40%, and Polk City 53%.

In math, while 55% of Florida fifth graders scored satisfactory, both targeted schools

lagged far behind: Loughman Oaks 36%, and Polk City 48%.

In addition to family supports, these students need a higher level of personal

engagement to master the tested benchmarks in both reading and mathematics. This is the

primary reason we wish to offer project-based extended learning in after-school centers that 21st

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CCLC will provide.

5. Educational levels for the identified students and their families

The Lakeland-Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses all of Polk

County. Only Miami-Dade, among Florida's metropolitan districts, has a lower rate of resident

adults with diplomas. However, Dade's rate of college graduates is far higher. While 14.4%

adults ages 25+ lack high school diplomas in both the U.S. and Florida, that rate is 18.9%

across Polk and 27.6% in Haines City, the nearest U.S. Census "place" to Loughman Oaks.

Haines City has only 12.7% college graduates ages 25+, less than half the rate of 25.7% in

Florida. It is not surprising, therefore, that parents at all three schools have asked for help with

their children's homework, which they often feel inadequate to fulfill themselves.

6. Survey results that support program needs

Parents and other guardians conferring with teachers at the targeted schools frequently

make frank requests for help with their children. This is not surprising, as there are large groups

of both very young parents and of custodial grandparents. Those not fluent in English struggle

to help with homework but still want to help their children in school. Others find it difficult to

encourage and discipline their children, having lacked nurturing role models.

While births to mothers ages 15-19 average 23 per 1,000 in Florida, the rate is 48 per

1,000 in Polk, 57 per 1,000 in Lakeland, and 59% in Winter Haven, our two largest cities. The

rates of births to teens 15-19 in 2000 and 2001 were 78.4 and 74 per 1,000 respectively. While

we show improvement, it remains that Polk's struggling elementary school students have an

inordinate rate of parents who are still in their 20s, and even some still teens themselves. In

neighborhoods where substance abuse and arrests interfere with parenting, childcare falls to

other relatives or children go without.

State health department records show that among Florida's 17 largest counties, only

Dade has a lower rate of adults who always or usually receive the social and emotional support

they need (self-reported in phone surveys). These caregivers, whose own needs are unmet,

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are ill equipped to render the same support to their school-age children. Their children will

benefit at After-School Adventures from learning cooperation, curiosity, persistence and

flexibility, skills that come with well designed, project-based learning and build personal

resiliency.

We believe when parents see what problems their children are able to tackle, they, too,

will learn about engagement and gain some know-how in directing their offspring. While other

attractors will help pull parents into our educational sessions for families, interactions that them

help their children is our goal.

7. Interviews with stakeholders

Parents have expressed a need for assistance in learning how to help their children with

their homework. There is a large percentage of parents who face a language barrier when

communicating with the school or when trying to help their children with homework. There are

also parents dealing with low literacy levels themselves. Many parents work and have no one to

care for their children after school hours.

A large portion of the children depend on schools and charitable groups for school

supplies, in addition to free meals. Besides lacking sufficient incomes, some families at the

targeted schools lack role models for money management and tend toward chronic financial

crises. In a nutshell, they incur more debt than they can afford.

Polk County ranked fifth on RealtyTrac’s list of hot spots for U.S. foreclosures in 2013.

The list evaluates metropolitan areas with populations of 200,000 or more based on foreclosure

filings, inventories, and sales. By the end of the third quarter of 2011, CoreLogic reported 53%

of Polk's home mortgages had more outstanding debt than the value of the home. A year later,

that rate remained at 48%, more than twice the national rate of 22%. Local home buyers spent

more than they could afford at a far greater rate than the national average. As a result, school

children continue to suffer from high mobility, food insecurity, and related emotional stress.

The United Way of Central Florida has channeled its resources into three major funding

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streams: education, health, and income. It is partnering with After-School Adventures to

promote both education and income. By providing a venue for this outreach, After-School

Adventures is advancing the United Way mission and bringing some relief to stressed families.

8. Unemployment rate

Unemployment in Polk exceeded 12% for 19 individual months after mid-2009, and

recovery continues to lag behind the state and the nation in the extreme. The Lakeland-Winter

Haven metro area (Polk) has the nation's third-weakest hiring outlook for the third quarter of

2013, according to last month's employer survey from ManpowerGroup.

After-School Adventures will offer conversational English and GED classes for parents

through Polk's adult schools. Also, it will encourage parents and children together to increase

their financial literacy to better prepare the family against minor financial crises. These parents

will be better prepared for work, and associated expenses like apparel and transportation, as

the local economy continues its recovery.

9. Other county, school, or local education agency data

Because Loughman Oaks and Polk City serve sparsely populated areas in the Green

Swamp, their students ride a long way on the bus. They have few neighborhood amenities like

ball leagues and music lessons, and no access to facilities like health clubs or the Y. The

county library system's bookmobiles don't even venture that far, opting instead to serve areas

where demand (and thus literacy) is high, mostly for the elderly. Thus these elementary schools

are the community hubs for their families. Their families need access to healthy activities.

After school hours, many children are on their own, with no structured activities and

limited to no adult supervision.

B. List of References - All data sources are cited in Appendix A.

4. STUDENT SAFETY

All personnel for Polk schools are fingerprinted by

the district and undergo FDLE screening for criminal arrests and warrants in the state of Florida

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and the national criminal records system. The district's Office of Safe Schools obtains the

fingerprints. The prospective employee must pay the annually established cost of $54.50 for

screening . Further, job candidates are required to report any prior arrests on their job

applications. Not all prior arrests preclude employment, but failure to report results in automatic

disqualification for district employment for a period of 60 days per unreported arrest record,

regardless of the charge, the person's age at the time, how long ago it happened or the

eventual outcome.

Fingerprinting and screening also applies to contractors, vendors who access school

campuses and substitute teachers. The district re-screens continuing employees each five

years. The district does not employ felons or former felons, and also disqualifies anyone guilty

of a misdemeanor victimizing a minor by battery or enticing a child.

Applicants who intend to volunteer may never serve if they have ever been found guilty

of murder or any sex offense. Volunteer applicants pay $25 for a Level I background check.

Everyone with business on campus is issued an identification card which must be worn

at all times. Each card is read by an electronic scanner to record coming and going. Parents

and other visitors must have a driver's license or official ID card scanned to access the campus

other than the main office. All centers have emergency preparedness plans, coordinated with

the county Emergency Management Operations Center, that take into account building and

grounds features such as ingress and egress and locations of boilers and other equipment.

Every school has an evacuation plan and keeps up-to-date emergency contact information

electronically for all students. Three years ago all campus administrators were trained in

FEMA's National Incident Management System

Polk school buses, which will transport After-School Adventures students, are

equipped with video surveillance, and all drivers have radio contact with dispatchers. Regional

transportation supervisors remain on duty each evening until all students are delivered safely.

Parents may access online information about any bus delays, to alleviate worries, and may

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reach dispatchers by telephone. Bus drivers are qualified by CDL licensure and 40 hours of

classroom training, and must not suffer certain physical disabilities. Drivers are always subject

to random drug testing.

School administrators must review and ensure all activities are safe before they are

authorized on campus. Staff is trained to observe for any condition which could cause an

accident, such as a rumpled doormat or rough-edged corner. The Food Service Department

trains and supervises all food handlers, ensuring policies are followed such as for sanitation and

proper temperatures. For field trips, administrators will ensure medication and someone

approved to administer it will accompany any student for whom this is a necessity.

All centers have carefully designed traffic routing and control for student drop-off and

pickup by cars, and staff assigned to supervise all children in the area. Students and parents

sign in and out at each session, and each site coordinators archives these records for the

evaluator.

Departing from the program, those who are bike riders will be escorted by staff members

to the bike corral and the walkers to walkers’ gate. Staff members will serve as crossing guards

at the intersections adjacent to the school to ensure students cross the major intersection

safely. Car riders will be escorted to the car rider area. Staff members will match the assigned

car number with the student car riders’ number and escort them to the car. Site coordinator will

be responsible for ensuring that each child is picked up by his or her parent, guardian or

prearranged designated person.

5. COLLABORATION WITH SCHOOL

Letters from all principals, requesting 21st CCLC support and explaining why it will

benefit their schools and communities, appear in the attachments.

The district has developed project-based curriculum guides that fully support the new

Common Core State Standards on which students will be tested. The guides describe scope

and sequence of concepts students are expected to master, and embed cross content thematic

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units of instruction. District coaches--experts in curriculum, pedagogy, and data analysis--will

support schools through collaborative coaching. Their job is to heighten teachers' knowledge of

content and their comfort with guiding students through the integrated exercises. This

preparation applies equally to the After-School Adventures. The 21st CCLC curriculum

specialist who is assigned fulltime to support each center will participate in all professional

development for districtwide coaching and in their monthly progress meetings.

We anticipate most After-School Adventures teachers will be from the hosting schools.

Preference will go to those with the greatest student achievement. After-School Adventures

activities will coincide with the subject-by-subject curriculum maps so they enhance what goes

on in the classroom. Students must be in school each day that they come to After-School

Adventures. We expect to keep the children too busy to act out, but should behavior issues

arise, none will be removed. The MTSS team will counsel, observe and help establish

solutions, involving the family if needed.

Polk's 21st CCLC intranet-based information system, Beyond Academix, is described

below in connection with evaluation. It has a component that allows correspondence between

school-day and after-school teachers, styled much like mini-blogs. This way they can share

timely information, not just about upcoming studies or tests, but also good news for

reinforcement or to alert that a child is having a bad day.

6. ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Part A 1. Rationale and Goal - Luis Moll's research on bilingual literacy at the University of

Arizona has demonstrated how a sociocultural approach to literacy instruction can overcome the

more usual "deficit model." Moll contends "that existing classroom practices underestimate and

constrain what Latino and other children are able to display intellectually." He believes the

secret to literacy instruction is for schools to investigate and tap into the "hidden" home and

community resources of their students.

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Moll's home investigations revealed that many families had abundant knowledge that the

schools did not know about--and therefore did not use in order to teach academic skills. In

general, the barrio families knew about agriculture and mining, economics, household

management, materials and science, medicine, and religion. Various families with rural

backgrounds knew a great deal about the cultivation of plants, animals, ranch management,

mechanics, carpentry, masonry, electrical wiring, and medical folk remedies. They also had

some entrepreneurial skills and were familiar with archeology, biology, and mathematics. More

important, the families shared what they knew. Their knowledge, according to Moll, was

"available and accessible through social networks of exchange."

Project-based learning will capitalize on these networks, and further inspire students to

form their own. PBL differs from inquiry-based learning in that students choose topics

meaningful to them personally, just as much at home as at school. . Parents not only can

relate, but actually become the experts when lessons draw on their own contributions.

This underlies the After-School Adventures goal of invigorating and accelerating

student learning, rather than the traditional, remedial, "more-time-on-task" approach. After-

School Adventures will be better time, without the constraints of the classroom and with walls

to the community torn down. After-School Adventures will offer high interest PBL experiences

connected to relevant, local importance to increase student interest in education and promote

awareness of local career opportunities. Further, it will engage students in learning that is so

fun that they don't want to stop.

Lincoln Academy ranked fourth highest elementary school in the state this year, the only

one with 90% of students at or above proficiency in every graded area--reading, writing, math

and science. After-School Adventures has drawn from the best instructional practice modeled

at Lincoln to develop both elementary and middle school teaching units. We are applying these

to the LRC frameworks. The Lincoln plans include constant formative mini-assessments that

have already served to refine the lessons through feedback and improvement. Schools may

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negotiate to contract with LRC for any level of project management and, with other providers for

special activities as the program matures.

2. Objectives

Obj. a. A group of no fewer than 150 students from grades 3-5 who attend After-School

Adventures for at least 30 days will show a greater average gain in state standardized

reading scores between 2013 and 2014 than a comparison group of nonparticipants.

This will increase to annual gains among 175 students in subsequent years.

Obj. b. A group of no fewer than 150 students from grades K-5 who attend After-School

Adventures for at least 30 days will demonstrate improved language skills. Teachers

will measure student gains, including background knowledge, by pre-post assessments

for each interdisciplinary project students complete at the center. Students will self

assess by writing about their perceptions, as compared to customized rubrics, of their

own skills, behaviors and level of confidence. This will increase to 175 students in

subsequent years.

Obj. c. A group of no fewer than 65 students from grades 3-5 who attend After-School

Adventures for at least 30 days will show a greater average gain in state standardized

mathematics scores between 2013 and 2014 than a comparison group of

nonparticipants. This will increase to annual gains among 80 students in subsequent

years.

Obj. d. A group of no fewer than 45 students from grade 5 who attend After-School

Adventures for at least 30 days will show a greater average gain in state standardized

science scores between 2013 and 2014 than a comparison group of nonparticipants.

This will increase to annual gains among 60 students in subsequent years.

Obj. e. After-School Adventures will enroll disadvantaged students at a greater rate than their

percentage of the overall enrollment at each site. For this purpose, disadvantaged

means students who have been retained, who did not achieve satisfactory reading or

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math performance on the last FCAT administration, and from the race/gender groups

(e.g. Hispanic female, African-American male) showing lowest performance schoolwide

on periodic FAIR reading and Discovery Education math and science progress

assessments.

Obj. f. No fewer than 65 students from grades.4-5 will be able to define and give examples of

interpersonal and self-directional skills (flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-

direction, social and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership

and responsibility) by producing their own rubrics that demonstrate steps to

communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity, as defined by the

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. This will increase to 80 students in subsequent

years.

Obj. g. Parents of at least 50% of students in After-School Adventures will attend at least one

monthly parent education session and complete a post-assessment. Of these, at least

75% will show and/or perceive some measure of personal benefit as a result.

Obj. h. Each After-School Adventures center will begin the 2014-2015 school year with

increases in a) the variety of enrichment activities they will offer compared to 2013-14, b)

civic engagement from their communities as measured by a review of advisory input and

volunteer hours, and c) sustainable resources incorporated to offset the anticipated

reduction of funds in Year 3.

3. Activities - Here is a typical schedule.

10 minutes: student checks in (staff takes attendance and does a quick check on how the

student's day is going), visits with friends during snack time

20 minutes: homework help, tutoring as needed, recreational reading

45 minutes: small group work on current project supervised by certified teachers who

facilitate and act as resources for core academic subjects (Please see the attached

exemplary unit of study plans in Part B)

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45 minutes: rotation or regrouping, such as between media center, classroom, outdoor

garden/playground/ball field for experimenting, research, trial runs.

30 minutes: daily choices supported by the local community - organized sports, music

lessons, nature walks, fitness clubs, concluding with brief reflection and check out.

Examples of daily formative assessments are journals, exit tickets, response systems, white

boards and student self-assessment.

Alignment - The Polk school district is in its premier year of a system wide redesign

under Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy. Administrators and myriad stakeholders are updating the

Strategic Plan to 1) Increase Academic Achievement for All Students, 2) Increase the

Graduation Rate, 3) Employ the Best Teachers and Principals, 4) Establish Safe, Secure and

Respectful Schools, 5) Engage Family and Community Support, and 6) Deliver High Quality

Support for Schools: Management, Operations, and Customer Service.

In 2013-2014, Polk is launching a rigorous system to focus resources and training on

"turnaround" schools. It also integrates the after-school program with all other school

improvement activities by having the new, regional assistant superintendents coordinate school

resources and professional development. Principals will be supported to help teachers raise

their student performance and to help families reach the best educational advantages for their

children. This will relieve and accelerate schools with large populations of at-risk students.

Acceleration - A key purpose of After-School Adventures is for all students, no

matter their location, background, or socioeconomic status, to develop and enhance necessary

skills to prepare them for the rigor of our high school acceleration programs. Our after-school

activities will increase underrepresented student populations in our acceleration programs.

Teacher Professional Development - All After-School Adventures teachers will

attend content-specific professional development. During this initial training, teachers are

partnered by both content and grade levels. Teachers recognize that many targeted students

are not self-motivated, and thus arrive needing extra attention and assistance to achieve in

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school. The After-School Adventures teachers will first learn best practices that support

building effective teacher/student relationships, collaborative learning strategies, and

understanding stages of development prior to being introduced to the summer curriculum.

The evaluator or his designee will meet personally with the staff at all levels at each

center for project orientation.

Engaging Student Interest - After-School Adventures will to help teachers get to

know their students by learning what they enjoy to do outside of school, such as hobbies and

sports. In the past, students influenced after-school group activities by requesting activities the

adults might not have thought to introduce, such as double-Dutch jump rope and U.S. Kids Golf.

7. ADULT AND FAMILY MEMBER SERVICES

A. Adult Family Member Services - The site coordinator at each center will arrange

monthly educational sessions for parents built around preferences of parents at the individual

school. The schedule will be announced early in the school year. Sessions will include

information about local community resources, with speakers who can help break the ice for

family members to access the services. One example is district Adult School classes for

immigrants and English Language Learners for the concentration of Hispanic families at both

schools. Another example is speakers from the Polk Library Coalition and the district's Library

Media Services to guide participants to the free web sites they offer on all sorts of topics, fun

activities for kids, and anything else ranging from vacation destinations to book reviews.

Financial Literacy - Magnify Credit Union and TrueWealth Inc. will deliver financial

literacy at each center. The adult curriculum mirrors student lessons. Further, the United Way

is building capacity in local outlets, including parent groups, to teach and assist financial

responsibility and sound budgeting. The United Way will assess results according to the

number of families who manage to establish savings accounts with at least $300. This will show

ability to accumulate savings, and cushion the family against the consequences of not being

able to see a doctor, repair a car, and/or other minor emergencies.

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Each center will be open at least two hours for each evening parent event. Education

sessions will last 45 to 90 minutes each and include student performances, demonstrations

such as cooking for nutrition or how to download a podcast, and other activities that parents can

do at home with their children. The Project Coordinator will collect reports each month about

parent opinions, gains in parent knowledge (such as through brief post-questionnaires), and

lessons learned, along with sign-in sheets to document attendance for the evaluator.

B. Alignment with Student Activities - At least half of the adult sessions will be

activities together with their children through their After-School Adventures projects. Students

will demonstrate various types of school technology in their work, including SmartBoards,

document cameras, webcam visits to remote sites, and Smart Pens. Students can facilitate the

adults using "clicker" response systems to help document what they have learned that evening

and see the group results among their peers.

C. Evaluation and Proficiency - The evaluation plan describes how the staff, Advisory

Committee, and evaluator will use survey information to inform program improvement over time.

8. EVALUATION

We will contract with DIME Systems, LLC, as external evaluator. Senior Evaluator

Morgan Platt is a former evaluator for one of the nation's 40 largest districts and maintains a

working knowledge of education trends. He has a graduate degree in Secondary Mathematics

Education from The Citadel and completed course requirements for Ph.D. candidacy in

Research and Measurement at UF. He has taught secondary math and college research

methods and statistics courses, and completed numerous evaluations for state and federal

grant-funded projects. He has evaluated multiple 21st CCLC projects for more than five years.

1. Evaluation Questions

A. Are the After-School Adventures moving students toward success in high school and

beyond, especially those who began behind their peers?

B. Is the program interacting with community stakeholders in ways that are mutually beneficial

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and are likely to help sustain it?

2. Evaluation Strategy - Regional assistant superintendents and principals will lead

school faculties through ongoing evaluation studies in these schools seeking to improve their

school grades. To determine the effect of After-School Adventures on the school

performance, the third-party evaluator will blend district and DIME Systems monitoring to gather

extensive and varied information. There is no need to replicate the student progress monitoring

that goes on in the classroom: frequent mini-assessments, classwork grades, FAIR progress

monitoring assessments for reading three times a year (pre, mid and post), and Discovery

Education online assessments (a predictor of FCAT performance) for math and science two

times during the school year (beginning and pre-FCAT or pre-end-of-course exams). The

district curriculum coaches working with these turnaround schools will help After-School

Adventures teachers increase their effectiveness with student learning by helping interpret

what they learn from student performance. School leadership teams will have constant eyes on

identifying students who struggle in any area After-School Adventures will be one of several

remedies considered in the school's multi-tiered support system for both academics and

behavior.

3. Data Collection Process - Specifically for 21st CCLC reporting, the district designed

and deployed "Beyond Academix." This database enrolls participating students, accepts daily

attendance and other reports from site coordinators, and renders real-time reports to authorized

administrators, including at the central office. For reporting, this system pulls report card

grades, attendance both in the centers and in school, discipline referrals, demographics and

special program status, classroom teachers and communications, and parent participation. The

Program Coordinator will oversee data entry by the site coordinators, and the evaluator will use

the resulting aggregate data for program evaluation.

DIME Systems uses a direct data upload from the Polk school district's electronic

student records. It selects records for After-School Adventures enrollees by matching their

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student ID numbers, student demographics, attendance, behavior, grades, and standardized

test scores with student ID numbers for After-School Adventures enrollees. This will allow

him to complete state and federal reporting. Beyond those, the information the evaluator will

analyze and report is dictated by the eight project objectives for academic and personal

enrichment, as follows.

Obj. a. 2013 and 2014 FCAT reading scores for individual students from their student records

maintained by the district's Information Services Department. Beginning- and middle-

of-year FAIR assessments

Obj. b. Pre-post assessments designed with end products and curriculum maps in mind. Mini-

assessments are built throughout the curriculum to gauge student understanding and

direct teacher attention for differentiated instruction. Teachers will record scores and

site coordinators will aggregate them for the evaluator.

Obj. c. 2013 and 2014 FCAT math scores from Information Services. Beginning-, middle-,

and end-of-year Discovery Education progress reports by benchmark, for which 21st

CCLC participants are flagged for school retrieval.

Obj. d. 2013 and 2014 FCAT science scores from Information Services. Beginning-, middle-,

and end-of-year Discovery Education progress reports by benchmark, for which 21st

CCLC participants are flagged for school retrieval.

Obj. e. After-School Adventures enrollment both for 30 days and more, and for fewer than

30 days per student, disaggregated into subgroups defined by both race and gender

(i.e. two groups, male and female, for each race)

Obj. f. Records of teacher review and feedback to students about student-produced rubrics to

evaluate their own project performance in terms of 21st Century Skills as defined by the

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Obj. g. Written parent answers to post-session questions about content of the sessions;

parent questionnaires about new services or practices they have arranged for their

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children as a result; anecdotal information from staff and/or parent focus group

responses about program benefits.

Obj. h. Next-year activity plans reflecting increased variety of activities; review of Advisory

Committee minutes; increases in volunteer activity between first and second

semesters each school year, and between spring and fall each calendar year; increase

in tangible resources from the community that help sustain the program, evidenced by

program records from semester to semester.

4. Analytic Methods - The Advisory Committee will meet at least quarterly and review

updates from project staff for levels of participation, number and duration of activities, volunteer

participation, anecdotal responses from stakeholders, and school results for FAIR and

Discovery Education progress monitoring. Principals and regional assistant superintendents will

confer with staff, as the year progresses, about overall program quality in terms of how it is

filling schoolwide needs, and about how it is responding to individual student needs.

For mid-year reports, DIME Systems will compile a narrative summarizing student

outcomes to date, and describing observations from site visits to check for fidelity of practices

and stakeholder satisfaction. It will also summarize student and parent outcomes collected to

date, such as at the completions of student group projects, and make resulting

recommendations to the Advisory Committee and responsible administrators.

For annual reports, DIME Systems will group FCAT results by school and for the whole

project, comparing subgroups as prescribed, comparing group averages from one year to the

next, and comparing those who participated 30+ days with those who did not and with matched

comparison groups of nonparticipants.

5. Sharing Findings - The Advisory Committee will determine where satisfactory

progress is made and what areas need help, and bring suggestions and resources to the table

to fill gaps as needed. These could address services for English Language Learners,

Exceptional Student Education, parents and other family members, and further academic and

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social enrichment. Between 2003 and 2009, Polk's 21st CCLC Advisory Committee was a

dynamic group that met more often than required, always had principals in attendance, and

sponsored the annual Lights On evening as a special event for all centers, attracting hundreds

of families and chamber of commerce members. These committee members have been

identified from the immediate school community for their sensitivity to local family needs and

solutions.

The School Board will receive a formal update when the project administrator requests

annual approval to renew the 21st CCLC grant. The board will have opportunity to ask questions

and make suggestions during an informal work session discussion. Board members often visit

schools to stay abreast of special programs like 21st CCLC, and may interact with Advisory

Board members throughout the year through this or other civic venues.

Each center's annual School Improvement Plan will report program outcomes. These

are widely distributed, through the School Advisory Committee and linked to the school web

site. In addition, Advisory Committee members and project staff will update civic groups such

as chamber of commerce education committees as part of their volunteer recruitment.

Both the project administrator in the Grants Office and the external evaluator are

experienced using the 21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System and

the descriptive data and performance data required for the Annual Performance Report. They

will guide the Project Coordinator to collect and archive the necessary information throughout

the year for these reports as well as for the quarterly reports to the Advisory Committee. The

evaluator will format outcome reports to match the upload requirements.

9. DISSEMINATION PLAN

The Project Coordinator will help schools publicize After-School Adventures

throughout the district by first consulting with the schools and writing a coordinated marketing

plan with timeline and budget. The centers will be plugged on each school web site and through

each school's automatic phone dialer system, EdConnect, which can be programmed to reach

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households, parent cell phones and email addresses either schoolwide or to select groups.

Each principal plans to target struggling students and those with various disadvantages, who

are likely to make the greatest gains. They will send home flyers, feature the program in

newsletters, and highlight student-produced displays on campus.

Word of mouth may be the best attractor among adolescents. Therefore, After-School

Adventures will supplement the 21st CCLC grant with popular draws like pizza parties, celebrity

speakers and field trips provided by civic and business partners who are in turn invited to

participate in STEM projects. The school will invite parents on nonparticipants to tour the

activities when possible and encourage them to confer with other parents and with well-

prepared student ambassadors from the centers themselves.

The district's Strategic Communications office will feature student-produced After-

School Adventures videos on the local Bright House education channel during recruitment

periods each year--fall 2013 and each successive spring. If ongoing monitoring shows lagging

attendance at a particular site, staff will follow up with personal phone calls to targeted families,

and with posters and flyers in appropriate languages at places frequented in the neighborhoods

such as churches and laundromats. Project staff will document recruitment successes they

learn from other centers when they attend state meetings each fall, and solicit help from the

Advisory Committee to institute additional best practices.

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