Evaluating Alternative School Discipline Program Practices and Transition Processes

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Evaluating Alternative School Discipline Program
Practices and Transition Processes

Thomas G. Blomberg George B. Pesta
JJEEP
Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Florida State University
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Presentation Outline

• Introduction
• Alternative School Discipline Schools
• Quality Assurance Standards
• Process Evaluation and Outcome Assessment
  Overview
• Preliminary Findings
• Summary and Policy Implications

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I Introduction

• Project Purposes
• Assess the effectiveness of school discipline
  schools in achieving their goals of successfully
  transitioning students back to their home
  schools, decrease the school districts dropout
  rate, and intervene in the negative life course
  of disruptive and at-risk youth.
• The validated quality assurance system will
  provide a model accountability system that can be
  implemented in other alternative school
  discipline schools.

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Project History

• Fall 2001
• Volusia School District contacted JJEEP
• 2002
• Preliminary site visits
• 2003
• Baseline Quality Assurance (QA) review
• 2004
• Beginning implementation of the QA system,
  process evaluation and outcome assessment

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II The Alternative School Discipline Schools

• Three methods for placement in Alternative School
  Discipline Schools
• Referral system
• Excessive referrals, usually behavioral in
  nature, from home school
• District expulsion
• School superintendent placement

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Euclid Alternative School Discipline School

• Located in Deland, outside of Daytona in a low
  income residential neighborhood
• Approximately 140 students enrolled
• Approximately 50-70 of students attend on any
  given day
• Age range of students is 11 18 years
• Male to female ratio is 21
• Average teacher to student ratio is 121
• Eight classroom teachers, one guidance counselor,
  part-time school psychologist and reading
  specialist, share social worker with three other
  schools
• Facility is an older elementary school and six
  portables
• Length of school stay is approximately one
  semester

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Riverview Alternative School Discipline School

• Located in Daytona Beach in a middle class
  residential neighborhood
• Approximately 150 students enrolled
• Approximately 70 of students attend on any given
  day
• Age range of students is 11 18 years
• Male to female ratio is 31
• Average teacher to student ratio is 101
• Nine classroom teachers, one guidance counselor,
  part-time school psychologist and reading
  specialist, share social worker with four other
  schools
• Facility is well maintained
• It is important to note that the office of the
  school district principle for alternative
  education is located at Riverview
• Length of stay is approximately one semester

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III Quality Assurance Standards

• With the exception of School Behavioral Supports,
  the standards were developed from JJEEPs QA
  standards for day treatment juvenile justice
  schools with modifications to fit the goals of
  the alternative school discipline schools.
• The standards are divided into four areas
  including Transition, Service Delivery, School
  Behavioral Supports, and Administration.

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Transition Indicators

• Placement Process and School Enrollment
• Academic and Behavioral Assessment
• On-Site Transition Student Planning
• On-Site Transition Student Progress
• Guidance Services
• Exit Transition Services

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Service Delivery Indicators

• Curriculum Academic
• Literacy and Reading (Reading First
  Requirements)
• Instructional Delivery
• Support Services (Special education and related
  services)
• Attendance

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School Behavioral Supports Indicators

• Curriculum Social Skills Building
• students have the opportunity to obtain the
  skills necessary to succeed in their home school
  and to become productive citizens
• Physical and Psychological Safety
• provide a safe and healthy environment that
  enables positive student and group interactions
  and decreases unsafe or confrontational student
  or group interactions

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• Program Structure and Behavioral Expectations
• provide clear limits, consistent expectations,
  continuity, sufficient control, predictability,
  and age appropriate monitoring and supervision
  that is developmentally appropriate
• Meaningful Emotional and Psychological
  Relationships with Students, Peers, and Adults
• maintain a school environment that is
  characterized by effective communication, caring
  support, individual student guidance, secure
  attachments, and responsiveness
• Family, School, and Community Linkages
• ensure that school polices and practices address
  the integration of family, school, and community

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Administration Indicators

• Communication
• Instructional Personnel Qualifications (Teacher
  certification requirements)
• Professional Development
• School Improvement (Planning and Evaluation)
• Funding and Support (Educational resources and
  staff to student ratios)

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IV Process Evaluation and Outcome Assessment
Overview

• JJEEP will conduct a pre and post QA process
  evaluation and outcome assessment of both
  Alternative School Discipline Schools.
• The pre and post assessment will enable JJEEP to
  determine the impact and effectiveness of QA upon
  the practices and outcomes of the Alternative
  School Discipline Schools.

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DataStudent intake, academic performance, and
transition back to home school three years prior
to the implementation of QA and annually
thereafter

• Program level data
• QA scores
• Teacher qualifications
• Resources
• Class size
• Use of technology

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• Pre and Post Data will include
• student demographics
• school records
• academic gains while in the alternative
• school discipline program
• disciplinary referrals
• length of stay
• transition back to home school or other
• academic performance in home school
• graduation
• arrest records
• employment

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V Preliminary Findings Major Program
Deficiencies Identified from Initial QA Reviews
for Both Schools

• Exit transition
• Poor communication between alternative schools
  and home schools
• No transition mentoring or support
• Little social skills training
• Infrequent community involvement
• Low attendance rates
• Failure to develop individualized academic plans
  for students

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Major Program Strengths Identified from Initial
QA Reviews for both Schools

• Both schools were technologically sufficient
• Most faculty and staff exhibited positive
  interest and motivation in their jobs and
  respectful and personable behavior toward
  students
• Low student/teacher ratio
• Multiple ESE service models employed with
  different restriction levels

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VI Summary and Policy Implications

• The major goals of these alternative schools is
  to successfully return students to their home
  school, decreasing the school districts dropout
  rate and modifying the student's behavior which
  contributed to their initial placement in the
  alternative school.
• A related goal is to reduce the likelihood of
  these youths being arrested and/or referred to
  the juvenile justice system.

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SummaryContinued

• Our preliminary findings indicate that a major
  weakness of the schools is the lack of successful
  transition back to home schools.
• The findings further indicate that among the
  reasons for the lack of successful transition
  back to home schools is general resistance from
  the schools to re-admit what they consider to be
  problem students.

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Policy Implications

• Upon successful completion of the pre and post
  assessment a model quality assurance and
  accountability system will be available at other
  sites for testing and validating their respective
  alternative school discipline schools through
  appropriate on-site process evaluation and
  outcome assessments.

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Contact Us for Information

• JJEEP
• 325 John Knox Road
• Bldg. L, Suite 102
• Tallahassee, FL 32303
• _______________(850) 414-8355______________
• Visit our website for information on research,
  standards, technical assistance documents, and
  links related to juvenile justice education
• www.jjeep.org