Afterschool

National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE)

NCHE is the U.S. Department of Education’s technical assistance and information dissemination center in the area of homeless education. NCHE supports the work of administrators, educators, service providers, and agencies in removing barriers to the enrollment and success of homeless children and youth and, in the implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act.

Client: U.S. Department of Education
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: homeless education, homeless and unaccompanied youth, McKinney-Vento
Contact: George Hancock

North Carolina Homeless Education Program

The NCHEP administers the homeless education program for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The program provides guidance, technical assistance, staff development, and oversight to all local education agencies in the state in removing barriers to the enrollment and success of homeless children and youth, and in implementing the provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act. The program conducts and oversees the process of providing subgrants to local education agencies in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Act.

Client: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Funding Agency: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Topics: homeless education, homeless and unaccompanied youth, McKinney-Vento 
Contact: Lisa Phillips

North Carolina Foster Education Program

The SERVE Center administers the foster education program for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The program provides guidance, technical assistance, staff development, and oversight to all local education agencies in the state in removing barriers to the enrollment and success of children and youth in foster care. 

Client: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Funding Agency: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Topics: child welfare, foster education
Contact: Sara Bigley

Increasing School Readiness in the Face of Homelessness

Planed and conducted an interagency summit to increase service providers’ capacity to improve school readiness for young homeless children; developing training materials, publications, and a needs assessment customized for Indiana early childhood service providers to increase their capacity to serve homeless children.

Client: Indiana Head Start Collaboration Office
Funding Agency: Indiana Head Start Collaboration Office
Topics: homeless children, early childhood
Contact: Christina Endres

Migrant Education Program Service Delivery Plan Toolkit, Comprehensive Needs Assessment Toolkit, and Program Evaluation Toolkit

Development of three toolkits designed to assist state Migrant Education Programs in carrying out required planning, implementation, and program evaluation activities. Each toolkit includes planning tools and practical strategies shared by Migrant Education Program state directors.

Client: U.S. Department of Education Office of Migrant Education
Funding Agency: Texas State University-San Marcos
Topics: migrant education, migratory children and youth, program planning, program evaluation
Contact: Diana Bowman

Migrant Education New Directors’ Orientation

Development of a 14-module tutorial that provides essential information, interactive quizzes, and planning tools for new state directors for the Migrant Education Program.

Client: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education
Funding Agency: Texas State University-San Marcos
Topics: migrant education, migratory children and youth, professional development
Contact: Beth Thrift

NAEHCY Higher Education Toolkit and Higher Education Initiative Evaluation

Development of a toolkit for educational administrators, school social workers, and school counselors to assist homeless students in accessing higher education; (2) conducting an evaluation of NAEHCY’s higher education network initiative that included an analysis of data from help requests, interviews with network participants, and meeting observations.

Client: National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)
Funding Agency: NAEHCY
Topics: homeless youth, higher education, program evaluation
Contact: Christina Dukes or Kathleen Mooney

Region X – HEO Texas Toolkit 

Development of an Education for Homeless Children and Youth program implementation manual for local homeless liaisons in Texas, which builds on NCHE’s Homeless Liaison Toolkit and the Texas Homeless Educators’ Source Book. The eight-chapter manual includes planning tools and implementation strategies tailored for the Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth program and designed to enable local liaisons to implement a homeless education program customized for their school district.

Client: Region 10 Education Service Center
Funding Agency: Region 10 Education Service Center
Topics: homeless education, homeless children and youth, program planning
Contact: Diana Bowman

Evaluation of Project COMPASS

This is an evaluation of the impact of Project COMPASS, which seeks to improve students’ outcomes in online courses. Funded by a First in the World grant, the project integrates technology-based (High Tech) strategies with increased efforts to reach out to students (High Touch strategies).  The evaluation uses an experimental design in which students are randomly assigned to treatment or control sections.

Client: Wake Technical Community College
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: community college, online learning, technology, experimental design, program evaluation
Contact: Julie Edmunds or Beth Thrift

Crystal Island: Developing Science Problem-Solving Skills and Engagement Through Intelligent Game-Based Learning Environments

The objective of this project was to design, build, and empirically evaluate an intelligent game-based learning environment for fifth grade science education. To promote effective science learning, the project created intelligent game-based learning environment technologies that leveraged the rich interactive 3D game environments provided by commercial game engines and the artificial intelligence capabilities of intelligent tutoring systems. The project investigated the impact of intelligent game-based learning environments on problem solving, engagement, and STEM learning.

Client: NC State University (William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Topics: student engagement, STEM, science, problem Solving, game-based learning

Evaluation of Horry County Historical Inquiry Project

This is a mixed method evaluation of Horry County’s Historical Inquiry Project, a project funded by the Teaching American History program. Using survey data, content knowledge assessments, and student achievement data, the evaluation looked at the impact of the project on teachers’ content knowledge and historical thinking skills, as well as on student outcomes.

Client: Horry County Schools
Funding Agency: US Department of Education
Topics: professional development, student achievement; teacher content knowledge

Educators’ Perceptions of the First Year of Read to Achieve: A Statewide Formative Evaluation for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2013-2014)

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction contracted with SERVE Center to collect data during spring 2014 regarding the statewide implementation of Read to Achieve (RtA). SERVE collected data intended to reflect the experiences and perceptions of educators with RtA and included: online surveys, interviews in six districts, and focus groups held in all eight regions of the state. Each of the three data collection approaches focused on five affected role types: 1) district superintendents, 2) district elementary supervisors or others who were the Read to Achieve contact/leader for the district, 3) elementary principals, 4) 3rd grade teachers, and 5) K-2 teachers.

Client: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 
Funding Agency: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Topics: reading, literacy
Contact: Wendy McColskey

Efficacy of North Carolina’s Learn and Earn Early College High School Model

A partnership effort with the North Carolina New Schools Project, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Duke University, Abt Associates, and RTI International, this longitudinal experimental study is examining the impact of North Carolina’s Learn and Earn Early College High School Model. Participating schools used a lottery to select students; the study then followed students who were randomly selected to both attend and not attend the school. The study compares both sets of students on a broad range of outcomes including achievement, coursetaking, attendance, dropout, and student attitudes and behaviors. In addition, the study is collecting information on model implementation to identify any particular components of the model that are associated with better student outcomes.

Client: Institute of Educations Sciences (IES)
Funding Agency: US Department of Education
Topic: Early College High Schools, program evaluation 
Contact: Julie Edmunds

Evaluation of the Early College Expansion Project

This is a quasi-experimental evaluation of a five-year project funded by an Investing in Innovation grant.  The project is implementing early college strategies in comprehensive high schools in Texas and Colorado.

Client: Jobs for the Future
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: early college, dual enrollment, quasi-experimental design, program evaluation
Contact: Julie Edmunds or Karla Lewis

Evaluation of the STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP)

This is a quasi-experimental evaluation of a five-year project funded by an Investing in Innovation grant.  The project is seeking to integrate early college efforts with STEM instructional strategies. SECEP is being implemented in school districts in Michigan and Connecticut. 

Client: Teachers College Columbia University
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: STEM, early college, dual enrollment, quasi-experimental design, program evaluation
Contact: Julie Edmunds or Nina Arshavsky

Evaluation of the Central Ohio College and Career Readiness Partnership

This is an evaluation of a five-year regional effort to increase the number of students in Central Ohio who are prepared for college and career.  Funded by an Investing in Innovation grant, the Partnership is implementing early college approaches in comprehensive high schools.  The evaluation uses a quasi-experimental design in which participating schools are matched to similar, non-participating schools.

Client: Columbus State Community College
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: early college, dual enrollment, quasi-experimental design, program evaluation
Contact: Julie Edmunds or Eric Grebing

Exploring Why Students Leave Early College High Schools

This project uses school enrollment data, survey data, and site visits to explore the number of students leaving Early College High Schools and to identify reasons they might leave. The project will look at Early College High Schools across the country with the goal of providing information that will help the schools serve their students more effectively.

Client: Jobs for the Future Funding
Agency: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Topics: professional development, Early College High Schools, program evaluation 
Contact: Julie Edmunds

High School Mathematics and Science Pipeline Study

As co-investigators with the Urban Institute in Washington, DC, SERVE is looking at the impact of varying reform models on students’ enrollment and success in college preparatory mathematics and science courses. The study design includes a comparative interrupted time series analysis and a multilevel survival analysis of student coursetaking in different high school reform models. These analyses are supported by surveys and site visits designed to understand school-level policies and practices that support success in these courses.

Client: National Science Foundation Funding
Agency: National Science Foundation
Topics: mathematics, science, coursetaking, college prep, program evaluation
Contact: Nina Arshavsky

The Impact of Early College High Schools

This is a twelve-year longitudinal study studying the impact of early college high schools in North Carolina. The study uses a lottery-based experimental design to compare results for students who were randomly accepted to the early college with results for students who were randomly not accepted. Results have shown positive impacts on high school and postsecondary outcomes.

Funding Agency: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Topics: early colleges, dual enrollment, experimental design, program evaluation 
Contact: Julie Edmunds 

SERVE Center is partnering with The Friday Institute (NCSU) and the Carolina Institute of Public Policy (UNC-CH) to conduct the evaluation of the implementation of the North Carolina Race to the Top project (2010-2014). The purpose of the evaluation is to provide formative feedback for program improvement as well as to determine project impact on target goals for each initiative and for overall state-level outcome goals.

Client: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: teacher & leader effectiveness, supply and equitable distribution of teachers, regional leadership academies, new teacher support (induction) programs, educator incentives, Virtual Public Schools blended-learning STEM courses, teacher recruitment, professional development, district and school transformation, STEM Schools Network, local spending, cloud computing
Contact: Nina Arshavsky

Alabama State Department of Education School Improvement Grant (SIG) Evaluations (2010-2013)

Under contracts with the Alabama State Department of Education, SERVE Center assisted in a variety of evaluation and reporting activities related to the state’s USED School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding from 2010 to 2013. In 2010-11, SERVE used an online reporting system to assist with monitoring implementation in schools awarded SIG grants. That is, SERVE collected and reported data entered quarterly by 13 SIG schools. In 2011-12, SERVE generated a second report for the ALSDE that summarized three years of publicly available state achievement data in reading and mathematics for 11 SIG funded schools in seven districts. In 2012-13, SERVE generated a third report that summarized four years of publicly available state achievement data in reading and mathematics for 12 SIG funded schools in seven districts. SERVE described the extent to which SIG-funded schools registered increases or decreases in reading and mathematics state test scores—from baseline to Year 1, from Year 1 to Year 2, Year 2 to Year 3, and overall from baseline to Year 3. Also in 2012-13, SERVE collected interview and other qualitative data on SIG schools’ perceptions of their use of external vendors in the school turnaround process. 

Client: Alabama Department of Education
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education: Authorized under Title I section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and supplemented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the SIG program targeted $3.5 billion toward the goal of turning around the nation’s lowest-performing schools. Each state’s allotment of SIG funds was determined by formula based on Title I allocations. Following US Department of Education guidelines, states, in turn, awarded SIG funds to LEAs and schools that met criteria established by the federal guidelines and in accordance with state determinations of LEA capacity and commitment to support school turnaround.
Topics: School Improvement
Contact: Wendy McColskey

South Carolina Department of Education School Improvement Fund Evaluation (2010-2014)

Under contracts with the South Carolina Department of Education, SERVE Center provided evaluation reports related to the state’s USED SIG funding from 2010 to 2014. In 2010-11, SERVE’s descriptive study summarized four sources of information: (a) SIG school applications; (b) quarterly reports generated by SIG schools (c) interviews with teachers, principals, and district staff in four schools; (d) and achievement data provided by the SCDE.  In 2011-12, SERVE’s report summarized data collected on the implementation of the Transformation Model requirements in a sample of eight SIG funded schools and up to three years of publicly available state achievement data in English language arts and mathematics for 25 SIG funded schools. In 2012-13, SERVE reported on data relative to four evaluation questions regarding: a) similarities and differences in SIG-activities implemented across schools; b) teachers’ perceptions of the importance and implementation of key Transformation Model requirements, c) teacher satisfaction and plans to remain at their current school and d) student achievement trends across SIG schools. Finally, in 2013-14, SERVE’s report used two data sources (data from an online year-end report submitted by SIG schools at the end of the 2013-14 school year and up to four years of publicly available state achievement data for SIG schools).

Client: South Carolina Department of Education
Funding: U.S. Department of Education: Authorized under Title I section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and supplemented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the SIG program targeted $3.5 billion toward the goal of turning around the nation’s lowest-performing schools. Each state’s allotment of SIG funds was determined by formula based on Title I allocations. Following US Department of Education guidelines, states, in turn, awarded SIG funds to LEAs and schools that met criteria established by the federal guidelines and in accordance with state determinations of LEA capacity and commitment to support school turnaround.
Topics: School Improvement
Contact: Wendy McColskey

University of North Carolina – General Administration Leadership for Turnaround School Training Evaluation

The purpose of this process evaluation was to examine participants’ reactions to the professional development training, understand the extent to which participants acquired the intended knowledge and skills, identify what organizational support is in place or currently being developed to support the use of knowledge gained, describe how participants are applying the new knowledge and skills gained from the professional development training, and assess the extent to which student achievement in the participating schools is improving. Each of these questions was explored for Elementary, Middle, and High Schools participating in the professional development training.

Client: Center for School Leadership Development
Funding Agency: University of North Carolina – General Administration
Topics: Elementary school; Middle school; High school; Leadership; Professional development; Student achievement

Winston-Salem Forsyth County (WSFC) Schools Rigorous Magnet Evaluation

The purpose of this rigorous evaluation was to examine the impact that magnet schools have on students and subgroups of students and to identify mediating factors. The external evaluation provided staff at WSFCS with useful information for formative project improvement as well as overall program outcomes. The evaluation design was a multi-site analysis based on (1) surveys with students and staff, (2) quantitative analysis of achievement data, and (3) focus groups with each magnet school.

Client: Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, Magnet School Program
Funding: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: Magnet School; Rigorous; School Choice

Guilford County Schools Mission Possible Evaluation

The purpose of this 5-year evaluation was to determine the extent to which: (1) the most highly qualified teachers and administrators are being recruited and retained; (2) the Mission Possible training and incentives impact teacher and student outcomes at Guilford County’s Mission Possible Schools; (3) the Mission Possible teachers and administrators are trained as proposed. Propensity score matching will be used to identify comparison schools within North Carolina. Other data collected by SERVE included a climate survey and publicly available state data.

Client: Guilford County Schools, NC
Funding: Guilford County Schools Teaching Incentive Grant
Topics: teacher incentive pay, teacher recruitment and
retention, math, English

New Schools Project—Redesign 2.0 Initiative

The Redesign 2.0 Initiative was a collaborative partnership among SAS, the North Carolina New Schools Project (NCNSP), the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, and school districts to create highly effective schools that demonstrate effective teaching practices through the use of technology. The intent of these schools, with the active support of their districts, was to demonstrate effective instruction and student support with the overarching goal of graduating 100% of students prepared for work and for the option of college.

Client: SAS, the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation
Funding: The North Carolina New Schools Project, SAS, Inc., the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation
Topics: effective teaching practices through the use of technology

Scale-Up: Scaling up STEM Learning with the VCL

This Scale Up project uses advanced cyber infrastructure in combination with sustained, relevant professional development to support teachers’ use of advanced software tools in algebra and geometry. All of these components have been demonstrated as promising approaches to addressing STEM workforce shortfalls among under-represented populations. Together, they form a powerful strategy for effectively scaling up regionally and nationally. This project focused on a set of rural school systems in North Carolina as a test bed for conducting a rigorous evaluation of scale-up. Opportunities for students to engage in problem-solving and inquiry approaches to learning mathematics in technology-rich environments to address knowledge, skills, and dispositions are crucial for STEM workforce readiness.

Client: NSCU, The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation
Funding: National Science Foundation
Topics: teacher professional development, STEM learning

TechMath: Real World Math, Technology and Business Connections

TechMath was a three-year program linking businesses, teachers, students, and higher education to enhance rural, underserved student career potential in northeastern North Carolina. TechMath addressed the current educational gap between real-world business and education by arranging partnerships between local businesses and mathematics and science teachers. The tangible products of these partnerships were instructional modules incorporating local, real-world business problems into mathematics instruction. The local partnerships and the resulting instruction was expected to empower the high percentage of underserved, underrepresented students of rural North Carolina to pursue a wider range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career options.

Client: East Carolina University Funding
Agency: National Science Foundation
Topics: STEM learning, student engagement
Contact: Kathleen Mooney

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 21st Century Community Learning Centers External Grant Review

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction contracted with SERVE Center in 2014 and again in 2016 to conduct an external, third party peer review of applications submitted to the Division to operate 21st CCLC Community Learning Centers. SERVE established procedures and rubrics for scoring the applications and managed the grant review process. Activities included:  a) recruiting and selecting qualified reviewers, b) planning and conducting reviewer training on the rubric and program, c) assigning applications to reviewers to avoid any conflicts of interest, d) collecting scores (3 reviews per application) via an online entry system, f) submitting the results to NCDPI.

Client: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Federal Program Monitoring and Support Division
Funding Agency: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Topics: afterschool, extended learning
Contact: Wendy McColskey

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 21st Century Community Learning Centers Statewide Evaluation

The NCDPI has contracted with SERVE Center annually since 2013 to use existing data on the 21st CCLC grantees combined with state test score data to develop a statewide evaluation report on this federal funding to the state. NCDPI first contracted with SERVE to analyze existing statewide data on the participation, attendance, and achievement on state tests of students participating in 21st CCLC programs during the 2012-13 academic year. SERVE developed a methodology for describing year-to-year change in test scores for the students served in the 21st CCLC program relative to the overall state population year-to-year change (calculating year-to-year standardized change scores as compared to the state population change for each regular attendee).

SERVE’s second descriptive report on students participating in 21st CCLC programs statewide focused on two cohorts of grantees operating programs in 2014-15 (Cohort 10 with 48 grantees in its second year of funding and Cohort 11 with 67 grantees in their first year of funding).

The third SERVE report summarized data from two cohorts of grantees operating programs in 2015-16 (i.e., Cohort 10, with 47 grantees in their third year of the four-year grants, and Cohort 11, with 65 grantees in their second year of the four-year grants). The report is organized by NCDPI’s goals and objectives for the 21st CCLC program, which incorporate required federal 21st CCLC objective and performance measures.

Client: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Federal Program Monitoring and Support Division
Funding Agency: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Contact: Wendy McColskey
Topics: afterschool, extended learning
Available Reports: Cohort 9 Report

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction After-School Quality Improvement Grant Review and Annual Program Reporting (2014-2017)

In the summer of 2014, The North Carolina General Assembly appropriated state funds for the After-School Quality Improvement Grant Program to be administered by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI)—as part of the Competitive Grants to Improve After-School Services Act [Session 2013—Section 8.19. (a-e)], the NCDPI contracted with SERVE Center to conduct the grant review using trained, external reviewers and to complete the required annual reporting on grantee progress and outcomes to the legislature.  Twenty-one grants were awarded in the competitive review process managed by SERVE. Two annual reports and a final culminating report were submitted to the NCDPI.

Client: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Federal Program Monitoring and Support Division
Funding Agency: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Contact: Wendy McColskey
Topics: afterschool, extended learning
Available Reports: Annual Reports