NEW HORIZONS II

Summer Program for Homeless High School

Students

Bernard HenniganHomeless Liaison/Title I Coordinator

Baltimore County Public SchoolsBaltimore County, Maryland

bhennigan@bcps.org 410-887-6485

Today’s Presentation

• What the program entails

• Who it serves

• How we get student participation

• How it is funded

• Data regarding its effectiveness

• How you can make this happen in your district

New Horizons II Summer Program Baltimore City program in operation since 1999, held at the time at high schools across the city

Baltimore City program moved to the Druid Hill Family Center Y in 2008 to provide more assets and better environment for youth

In 2013, Baltimore County Public Schools funded first county New Horizons II program; held at the Y’s Dundalk Swim Center

In 2014, Baltimore County Public Schools added westside site, expanding the program to two sites

84 high schoolers participated in 2014 (city and county)

New Horizons II Summer Program in Summary

• Summer program for high school children registered as homeless in the previous school year involving:

• Partial day credit attainment through online class

• Partial day skills development

• Partial day paid work

The Need…

•Homelessness is devastating for anyone, however, the risks are even greater for adolescents and young adults. National databases and shelter service providers estimate that 1.6 to 1.7 million 12 to 17 year olds are homeless in the United States.

The Need…

•Annual estimates for older adolescents (18 and 19 year olds) range from 80,000 to 170,000. Homeless youth are from very low income families and typically experience a myriad of academic, health, behavioral and emotional problems.

The Need…

•Homelessness during adolescents puts one at greater risk of becoming a high school dropout. The lack of a high school diploma places one at greater risk of continued economic disadvantage for the duration of their working years.

•Consistent research has shown that one’s quality of life improves in relation to increased education.

•The Y in Central Maryland New Horizons II 2015 summer program works to cultivate the academic and personal development of Baltimore County Public School homeless adolescents enrolled in grades 9th through 12th.

New Horizons II Summer Program Funding

• Collaboratively funded through:

• LEA McKinney-Vento grant

• Office of Workforce Development

• The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation

Group Discussion

• Do you currently run summer camps?

• Do they serve a specific portion of your homeless population?

• How are they funded?

• Think outside the box for other funders (i.e. workforce development)

Our Population

Baltimore County Public Schools

• 25th largest school system in the U.S., 3rd largest in Maryland

• 175 schools, programs, and centers

• 18,783 employees, including 8,792 classroom teachers

• 109,984 students (2014-2015 enrollment)

• 47.4% eligible for free/reduced price meals

15%6%

77%

1% 1%

Shelters

Hotel/Motel

Doubled-Up

Unsheltered

Unknown

FY 14-15

TYPES OF TEMPORARY LIVING CONDITIONS

New Horizons II Summer Program

Baltimore City – Druid Hill

Family Center Y

• 27 enrolled• Worksites:• Y of Central Maryland

(2 grant camps and the central office)

• Baltimore Housing Authority

• C & C Advocacy Camp

Baltimore County – Y Dundalk Swim Center

• 32 enrolled• Worksites:• DunmanWay

Apartments• Blue Ocean

Apartments• Turks Cleaners

Baltimore County- Woodlawn High School

• 25 enrolled• Worksites:• Baltimore Life • Irvine Nature Center• Y of Central Maryland

-Randallstown Swim Center

New Horizons II Summer Program

Primary focus on keeping homeless teens engaged and connected during the summer by providing opportunities that help them create pathways to successful futures.

A typical day includes:

A nutritious breakfast and lunch

Activities and workshops that promote professional, personal and social growth such as: resume writing and interviewing skills, Financial literacy instruction using age-appropriate Junior Achievement curriculum

Career skill attainment that includes interviewing, resume writing and a paid, hands-on workplace experience (4 hour workplace assignment each afternoon)

Overall Goals

The New Horizons II summer program works to:

• Create a safe environment that supports adolescents’ academic and personal development during the summer months. NHII provides homeless adolescents in grades 9th through 12th the opportunity to engage in eight weeks of:

Academic credit recovery and acceleration; Developing and strengthening adolescents workforce skills; Developing and increasing adolescents financial knowledge; and Engaging adolescents’ in activities that improve their leadership and teamwork competencies

• In order to achieve this, the following activities were provided: (1) Apex Learning, (2) Y Higher Education Passport Sessions, (3) Junior Achievement (JA) Finance Park virtual sessions, and (4) Workforce preparedness and placement. Activities were provided over the course of eight weeks.

2015 Data

The NHII 2015 summer program operated at two locations in Baltimore County: • (1) Woodlawn High School• (2) Dundalk High School

• Free daily bus passes were provided to all participants which enabled participants to travel safely from their residence to the program and their work site and back to their residence at the end of the day. In addition, meals (breakfast, lunch, and snacks), activities (workshops and field trips), and supplies were provided to all participants at no cost.

2015 Data

A total of 35 program days were provided to participants;

Participants attended an average of 30 program days and had a 90% attendance rate. • A total of 57 participants were enrolled in the NHII 2015 summer program. The program had a 98.2%

retention rate with just one participant leaving the program before it ended.

The majority of participants were female (23; 55%) and had an average age of 15.5 years. The participants ranged from 13 to 18 years old.

The majority of participants identified themselves as Black/African American (26; 62%), and attended NHII for the first time this year (30; 71.4%).

Of the 53 participants that took part in the Apex program, two students (3.6%) were able to earn an

English credit. The remaining participants completed 50% or more of the course.•

WHAT IS APEX?

• Apex is a virtual learning environment that uses standards-based digital curriculum in math, science, English, social studies, world languages, electives, and advanced placement. • Apex is used for original credit, credit recovery, remediation,

intervention, acceleration, and exam preparation. • NHII program participants were provided with an opportunity to earn

English course credits. During weeks two through seven for one and a half hour per day, NHII participants worked at their own pace with in-classroom support provided by a Baltimore county school teacher.

RESULTS

• Participants demonstrated gains in a number of areas. In the area of academic outlook and aspirations, participants experienced gains in:

• a) their commitment to learning• b) valuing their education• c) self-efficacy as it relates to academics

• Other positives include nearly all participants:

• a) indicated they will return to school in the fall • b) indicated they plan on attending college after high school.

RESULTS• In regards to work-readiness skills, a number of gains were

experienced. Participants experienced gains in:

• a) self-efficacy of employability • b) their likelihood of becoming employed

• All participants who completed the program did so with a resume and cover letter.

RESULTS

• Results regarding participant’s financial literacy were mixed.

• Data shows a decline in financial knowledge from baseline to post-survey for the majority of participants.

• For both surveys, participants answered less than 50% of the questions correctly. Nevertheless, participants demonstrated positive attitudinal and behavioral gains.

• WHAT DOES THIS TELL US?

RESULTS

• Nearly all participants, plan to start using a personal budget, intend to start saving their money and think about financial issues in their future.

• Overwhelmingly, participants felt they control how their future will turn out, that they can create their own future, and doing well in school is important.

• Participants expect to graduate from high school, plan on attending college for at least two years and believe they will graduate from college.

RESULTS

•The majority of participants the NHII 2015 summer program provided them with the opportunity to learn and be exposed to new things, meet new people and work on life skills.

•As a participant stated “It gives us hope for our future”

.”

THE PROGRAMS

THE PROGRAMS

• Y Higher Education Passport Sessions - passport sessions were led by Y staffers and focused on college readiness activities - setting career goals, identifying coursework needed to attend college, identifying extracurricular activities etc. Participants were also connected with mentors.

THE PROGRAMS

• Junior Achievement (JA) Finance Park Virtual – assisted students in building a foundation upon which they can make intelligent lifelong financial decisions, including those related to income, expenses, savings, and credit. The JA Finance Park® virtual sessions are a mix of hands-on, computer-based simulated activities that focus on income, saving, investing and risk management, debit and credit, and budgeting.

THE PROGRAMS

• Community College of Baltimore County (Catonsville and Dundalk locations): established in 1957, CCBC provides undergraduate education, workforce development, technology training, and enrichment.

THE PROGRAMS

• Camp L.E.A.D. (Leaders & Entrepreneurs Achieve Dreams) held at Woodlawn high: a program that serves middle and high school youth in the Baltimore metropolitan area. With a goal to educate, empower and equip youth with the tools to become successful academically and professionally.

THE PROGRAMS

• In addition to these activities participants were engaged in:• Social and business etiquette for life and workplace sessions provided

by the International school of protocol; • Weekly guest speakers who addressed an array of positive youth

development topics to include the importance of finishing high school and making positive life decisions; and• College tours to Stevenson College and the Community College of

Baltimore County (Catonsville and Dundalk locations)

THE PROGRAMS

• Workforce preparedness and placement – Workforce preparedness training and workshops were provided by Urban Alliance. Urban Alliance is a Washington D.C. based organization that works with adolescents and young adults to prepare them for work and a self-sufficient life. Table 1 displays the topics covered in a two and a half day pre-work training provided to NHII participants by Urban Alliance.

Prepping For The Future

Table 1. Pre-Work Training Topics

Basic office skills Ethnics and etiquette in the workplace

Communication in the workplace First impressions

Conflict management Punctuality and Attendance

Prepping For The Future

Table 1. Pre-Work Training TopicsBasic office skills Ethnics and etiquette in the workplaceCommunication in the workplace First impressionsConflict management Punctuality and Attendance

Table 2. Workshop topics

Time Management Ethnics and etiquette in the workplace

Career Exploration Letter of recommendation/references

Resume development Interview skills

.

DOING THE WORK

DOING THE WORK

• A partnership with Baltimore County’s Department of Economic Development summer youth employment program enabled participants to be placed at public, private sector businesses, as well as community and nonprofit organizations.

• These placements provided participants with the opportunity to gain real-world work experiences and earn a paycheck by working 30 hours per week (paid for their in class time).

WORK SITES

• Majestic Day Event Planning: providing social and corporate event and administrative services.

• Y of Central Maryland Head Start: one of the largest providers of Head Start services in Maryland. Preparing young, economically disadvantaged children for success in school and life.

• Y in Central Maryland Head start Campfield: offering part-day morning or afternoon head start services

EVALUATING SUCCESS

• The goals of the NHII 2015 summer program evaluation were to assess whether participation in the NHII 2015 summer program was associated with:• Maintained or improved academic outlook and aspirations;• Maintained or improved awareness of what is needed to attend

college;• Increased work-readiness skills; and• Increased financial literacy.

Evaluation MethodsThe evaluation consisted of both process and outcome assessments. Process evaluation activities included documenting activities provided, use (i.e. participant attendance in program activities), and program satisfaction.

The evaluation questions used to guide the process evaluation included:

• How many adolescents participated in the program? How consistently did they participate?• Who were the participants involved in the program? (I.e. age, sex,

race/ethnicity, grade, etc.)• What type of activities did participants take part in?• What are the perceptions of the participants of the NHII 2015 program?

Participant Survey

• A self-administered baseline- and post survey was used to assess participants:

• academic outlook & aspirations

• work-readiness skills

• teamwork and leadership skills

• optimism

Participant Survey

• A number of background/demographic questions were also included.• The survey was provided to participants by Y Staff before engaging

participants in any program activities (i.e. on the first day they attended the program). • At the conclusion of the program, Y Staff provided the post-survey to

participants. The post-survey had the same questions as the pre-survey with additional closed and open-ended (i.e. what worked, what they would change to make the program better) questions in order to gauge participants experience with the NHII program.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Participant sign in/out sheet: The participant sign in/out sheet was created by the Y staff. The sheet documented participant’s daily program attendance. Participants logged in the time they arrived and exited the program and provided their signature. This information was provided daily. All sheets were provided to the evaluator at the conclusion of the program for entry/analysis.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Academic Recovery Tracking form: The academic recovery tracking form was used to track the participant’s attendance in Apex sessions along with what credits if any participants were able to earn by the conclusion of the program. This form was submitted to the evaluator at the conclusion of the program for entry/analysis.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Junior Achievement (JA) Finance Park Virtual Surveys: The Evaluation and Training Institute designed the paper JA pre-/post outcome survey. The purpose of the survey was to assess changes in participant’s understanding of curriculum concepts and ideas. Participants completed the pre-survey prior to engaging in the first JA session. Participants then completed the post survey after the last JA session.

New Horizons II Summer Program

Program Weinberg Foundation

Workforce Development

School System Total Program Cost

Baltimore City $23,424 $48,938 $84,000 $156,362

Baltimore County

$55,976 $86,400 $64,300 $206,676

Discussion/ Considerations

• Who will you serve?

• How will it get funded?

• Where will it be housed?

• Who will provide the jobs?

• Set up to provide online credit attainment?

• Partnerships to provide skill building?