BRIDGE: Building Responsible Individuals, Developing Great Leaders

PITW #5 Multiply the power of everything!

The dictionary defines multiply as increasing in number, spreading in effect or using in several ways. Multiplying is a powerful tool for social change. Almost everything we do at City Year can and should be multiplied so that its effect produces more inspiration, more service, more idealism, more civic engagement, and more resources for the common good. BRIDGE was born in response to a number of challenges identified by Corps Members, School Partners, and Team Leadership. Some of these challenges were heavy caseloads with not enough planning, student behavior/disengagement, and homework center in the After School Program. Our service model required Corps Members to implement up to 5* initiatives during the day in addition to the planning for 3.5 hours of After School Program!
*Math & Literacy Tutoring, Behavior Groups, Team Role & Committee Responsibilities

WHY?

In partnership with our Service Partner we designed four unique centers for the After School Program which would provide Corps Members with more planning time during the day and allow us to impact even more students overall. Computer Center (40 minutes) 1 CM Students use individualized learning technology to help boost their math fluency and mastery of CA state standards. Physical Education (40 minutes) 1 CM Students receive standards-based lessons focused on teaching the value of movement, healthy living, and teamwork Project Based Learning (40 minutes) 1 CM Students participate in academic enrichment activities focused on providing extended learning opportunities. Response to Intervention (RtI) (80 minutes) 4 CMs Instead of homework, students work collaboratively in small groups to complete literacy activities at their own ability level. Additionally, students receive differentiated skills-based practice based on their individual needs. We also experienced amazing gains in Community Engagement. When City Years Mid-Year survey was released only 25 percent of teachers receiving our services responded. After experiencing the BRIDGE model we achieved a whopping 100 percent! We attribute this growth to the dramatic increase in collaboration between teachers and City Year.

HOW? RESULTS

Instead of planning activities for everything one student needs, Corps Members specialize in one content area and deliver this content to all grade levels!

because of cm specialization, students at dorsa accelerated their ST Math completion by 300%

Red-Before BRIDGE Yellow-After BRIDGE

During the programs 4-month pilot we held 10 community engagement events. Our data show that every parent with an enrolled student attended at least two of these events, compared with approximately 80% of parents prior to the pilot.

The BRIDGE pilot at AJ Dorsa Elementary School has taught us valuable lessons about the implementation of After School programming.

LESSONS LEARNED

Adjust, Readjust, and Adjust Again BRIDGE was not perfect in its first iteration nor is it perfect now. We have achieved our results through frequent meetings with the schools administration. These meetings aimed to identify gaps in service delivery and to fix those problems with timely solutions.

Bring a Backup Plan

Due to unforeseen circumstances we lost a CM within the first few weeks of BRIDGE. Then another. Then another. We never expected such a high rate of attrition in the second half of the year and were relatively unprepared to fill those spots. Think about your deployment carefully.

Communicate & Collaborate

This model assumes that all stakeholders are communicating and collaborating effectively. It is essential that CMs are trained in how to communicate and interact with teachers professionally, represent the needs of the organization, and advocate for struggling students.

Data, Data, Data.

Before implementing this model, think carefully about how data will be collected, tracked, and reported. We failed to collect data on two of our 4 centers (Physical Education & Project Based Learning) and were unable to report on the amazing impact these centers had on students.