IDEAS THAT WORK: Changing the Odds for Our Nation’s Children

and Youth

Aspen Ideas Festival 2009

Panelists: Karen J. Pittman, President & CEO, the Forum for Youth Investment Shane J. Lopez, Senior Scientist in Residence, GALLUP Justin Bibb, Associate Partner, Director of Community Strategies, GALLUP

AfterSchool

Ages

Times of Day

Civic Social Emotional Physical Vocational Cognitive

OutcomeAreas

??

?

Thinking Outside of the Box

Morning . . . Night

21+

.

.

.

0

School

At its best, school only fills a portion of developmental space

Child care After-school Civic/Social/Work Social & Strategic Placement Providers Programs Opportunities Supports & Coaching

LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT SUPPORTS

Insulating the Education Pipeline

BASIC SERVICES transportation, health, mental health, housing, financial

K – 12 SystemEarly Childhood

Post Secondary

Work & Career

P-20 EDUCATION PIPELINE

Message #1Too few students are ready for

college, work or life. More high school diplomas are not the only

answer.

Graduating Seniors Job ReadinessP

erce

nt 4

s an

d 5s

Gallup Student Poll Item

5Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Graduating Seniors EntrepreneurshipP

erce

nt 4

s an

d 5s

Gallup Student Poll Item

6Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

New Employer Survey Finds Skills in Short Supply

Employers ranked 20 skill areas in order of importance. The top skills fell into five categories:

• 7 in 10 employers saw these skills as critical for entry-level high school graduates

• Employers reported that 4 in 10 high school graduates were deficient in these areas

Professionalism/Work Ethic Teamwork/Collaboration Oral Communications

Ethics/Social Responsibility Reading Comprehension

Message #2

Too few students are getting the supports they need.

What Research Tells Us

SAFE PLACES

CARING ADULTS

OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP OTHERS

EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

HEALTHY START

America’s Promise Five Promises

• Basic Services (implied)

The National Research Council List

• Physical and Psychological Safety• Appropriate Structure• Supportive Relationships• Opportunities to Belong• Positive Social Norms• Support for Efficacy and Mattering• Opportunities for Skill-Building• Integration of Family, School and

Community Efforts

One Third of 6-17 Year Olds Lack the Supports They Need

50%37%

13%

6 – 11 Years Old

45%30%

25%

12 – 17 Years Old

• According to the America’s Promise Alliance National Promises Survey, only 31% of 6-17 year olds have at least 4 of the 5 promises. 21% have 1 or none.

• The likelihood of having sufficient supports decreases with age

37% of 6-11 year olds have at least 4 promises;

13% have 1 or none.

Only 30% of 12-17 year olds have at least 4;

25% have 1 or none.

Message #3

We can change these odds if we change the way we do business

43% are doing well in two life areas and okay in one

- Productivity: Attend college, work steadily

- Health: Good health, positive health habits, healthy relationships

- Connectedness: Volunteer, politically active, active in religious institutions, active in community

22% are doing poorly in two life areas and not well in any

- Productivity: High school diploma or less plus unemployed or on welfare

- Health: Poor health, bad health habits, unsupportive relationships

- Connectedness: Commit illegal activity once a month

2 in 10 4 in 104 in 10

35% are doing okay – doing poorly in no more than one life area and doing well in at most one – and doing okay in the rest

Researchers Gambone, Connell & Klem (2002) estimate that only 4 in 10 young people are doing well in their early 20s.

from 4 in 10doing well

to 7 in 10 doing well

Providing These Supports CAN Change the Odds

Gambone/Connell’s research suggests that if all young people got the supports they needed in early adolescence, the picture could change…

Powerful Solutions for Passionate Leaders

Bigger GoalsBolder StrategiesBroader Partnerships

Message #4

Better, Broader Data Needed:Beyond academics

Beyond school attendanceBeyond access

Data that helps us link student outcomes to student experiences,

exposures and states of being

Gallup Student Poll Finding:

Only 1 in 4 students is hopeful, thriving and engaged in school.

Gallup Student Poll MeasuresHope predicts college GPA and retention over and above HS

GPA and ACT/SAT I can find lots of ways around any problem

Engagement distinguishes between high performing & low performing schools

At this school, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

Well-Being drives academic and vocational success | Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale

& Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?

17Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gallup Student Poll OverviewThe Gallup Student Poll is a 20-item measure of hope, engagement, and well-being. Students complete the poll in an average of 8.5 minutes.Scorecards are shared with each of the participating schools and districtswithin two weeks. Gallup researchers target these three variables becausethey meet the following criteria:

1) They can be reliably measured.

2) They have a meaningful relationship with or impact on educational outcomes.

3) They are malleable and can be enhanced through deliberate action.

4) They are not measured directly by another large-scale survey or testing program.

18Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gallup Student Poll Well-Being Index

Thriving – 63%

Suffering – 1%

Struggling – 36%

GrandMean = 8.42 (out of 10)

Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 19

Gallup Student Poll Hope Index

Hopeful – 50%

Discouraged – 17%

Stuck – 33%

GrandMean = 4.38 (out of 5)

Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 20

Gallup Student Poll Engagement Index

Engaged – 50%

Actively Disengaged – 20%

Not Engaged – 30%

GrandMean = 3.95 (out of 5)

Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 21

Message #5

School, business and community leaders can use these types of data to spark

change.

Mea

n Sc

ore

Well-Being: Positive Yesterdays

Grade in School

Positive Yesterday Item %YesRespect yesterday 52 Smiled/laughed yesterday 80Interesting yesterday 70 Enough energy yesterday 72

23Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perc

ent E

ngag

edPercent Engaged Respondents

Grade in School

24Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dropouts not included

Ready by 21 Partnership

Powerful Tools for Passionate Leaders

Gallup Student Poll Participation by State

26Copyright © 2009 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ready by 21 Technical Partners

Youth Outcomes (Risk & Assets)

Program Participation Tracking

Program Costs

Program Quality

Program Landscape Mapping

Staff Quality/Workforce Profiles

Public & Private Resources

Public & Family Demand

National Companies

School Administrators

national multi-sector partners

Legislators

Community Catalysts

National non-profit youth development organizations

Children’s Cabinets, Youth Councils, child & youth constituents

Community Coalitions

Ready by 21 National Partners

Utilizing Community Organizations to Increase Student Success

Total Jefferson County Public Schools Youth Population

KidTrax Students tracked in OST

Program Benefits & Capabilities

• Increased Efficiency• Improved Data/Accuracy• Time saving for staff• Access to historical data• Improved collaboration

Results from Data Sharing Collaboration

• Increased school attendance• Reduction in Suspension behaviors• 9% reading improvement• Improved PAS Scores• Reduction in Tardy Behaviors• Increased family participation• Accurate attendance/participation numbers for OST programs

nFocus Software 2009 Copyright all rights reserved

KidTrax software solutions are developed by nFocus Software

Help leaders improve what they do, how they do it and rethink why they do it…

Enabling increases in the availability and quality of family, school and community supports needed to help children and youth…

Leading to positive outcomes and raising the probability that young people are ready for college, work and life by 21

What’s needed?

30

CHILDREN& YOUTH

FAMILY COMMUNITY& SCHOOLLEADERS

Accountability Supports Outcomes

© The Forum for Youth Investment. Ready by 21 and the Ready by 21 Logo are registered trademarks of the Forum for Youth Investment.

Change the oddsfor youth

Change the waywe do business

Change the landscapeof communities

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