digging deeper-building higher: strategic tools for state planning

Digging Deeper-Building Higher: Strategic Tools for

State Planning2014 State Coordinators Meeting

Arlington, VA

Diana BowmanNational Center for Homeless Education

Phone: 336-315-7453E-mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

National Center for Homeless Education – www.serve.org/nche

Explore techniques to dig deeper into challenges in homeless education

Explore how these techniques can assist in the planning process for state level McKinney-Vento activities and/or State Plan revision

Discuss strategies for common challenges with your colleagues

Learn about logic model thinking

What we’ll do in this session:


How do you express a need? How do you get to the root causes of the

major challenges and barriers in your state’s MV program?

How do you craft clear, specific outcomes (goals), and intermediate outcomes or goals that will lead to the ultimate goals?

How do you select the most effective activities to reach your goals?

How do you make a plan logical and cohesive?

Some Questions We’ll Explore Today


Which of the following is the clearest articulation of need?

1. Liaisons need more training on determining eligibility of homeless students.

2. The graduation rate for students identified as homeless in their senior year in my state needs to increase from 56% to at least the state average of 85% for all students.

3. We need more home visiting programs so that preschool aged homeless children can have ready access to learning opportunities when preschool programs are at capacity.

Expressing a Need


For planning purposes, a need should express a gap between what is and what should be

Specifies a specific group for which the need exists

Should be based on data that can specify the severity of the gap

Is based on a comparison Suggests a specific outcome desired or goal to

be achievedPlanning and Conducting Needs Assessments: A Practical Guide

Witkin & Altschuld, 1995

What is a Need?


Allows you to consider root causes of the need

Allows you to consider a range of options, not just the one

Facilitates the development of a measurable goal to achieve (outcome), rather than the completion of an activity (output).◦ What you need to achieve, rather than what you

need to do◦ Describe where your program will be when the

need is addressed

Benefits of Expressing a Need as a Gap, Not a Solution


◦ Specific◦ Measurable◦ Attainable◦ Realistic◦ Time-bound

The graduation rate for students identified as homeless in their senior year in my state will increase to at least 85 % by SY 2016.

SMART GoalsNeed: The graduation rate for students identified as homeless in their senior year in my state needs to increase from 56% to at least the state average of 85% for all students.


Over the past three years, you have conducted 15 monitoring visits in high-poverty LEAs that identified less than 10 students. Nine of the LEAs received findings for not conducting outreach activities to identify homeless students.

Write a need statement on the worksheet with the pink star that expresses the gap between what is and what should be.

Now You Try


Write a SMART goal based on the need you expressed.

Is it:◦ Specific◦ Measurable◦ Attainable◦ Realistic◦ Time-bound

Now You Try


A need expresses a gap, but does not explain why the gap exists

Most situations are the result of a number of contributing factors

A strategy that addresses the wrong cause will not be effective

Getting to Root Causes


Identify a challenge◦ Attendance of students identified as homeless is 30% lower

than that of housed students in my state1. Ask why this challenge exists – develop hypotheses (and identify data sources to confirm)

◦ Districts often take over a week to set up transportation to the school of origin (parent complaints, monitoring findings)

◦ Homeless parents don’t re-enroll students quickly after they move (withdrawal and enrollment records)

2. Ask why the situations in the confirmed hypotheses exist – develop hypotheses and confirm with data Follow the process of asking why 5 times

5 Whys


The idea is to explore all the factors that contribute to a challenge

You may not really need to do this five times You can stop when you’ve gotten to a level

of contributing factors over which you have no control or for which you could not create a strategy in your program to address

Because homeless education is not a legislative priority

Because of global warming

5 Times, Really?


We will deal only in hypotheticals today Table member with the yellow “DO” sheet

will facilitate the exercise◦ Read the scenario and ask why ◦ Develop likely hypotheses ◦ Select one of the hypotheses and ask why◦ Repeat the process as many times as necessary

to identify root causes◦ Record your groups responses on the sheet

provided

Now You Try


Table member with the yellow THINK sheet will facilitate a discussion of the questions listed on the sheet

Now You Try


Provides a sequence to show how you will attain the ultimate goal

Short-term and intermediate goals are necessary to lay the groundwork for attaining the ultimate goals

Attaining short-term and intermediate goals helps determine progress toward the ultimate goal◦ You know that you won’t see the ultimate goal for

awhile, but if you are attaining the more immediate goals, you can feel certain that your are making progress

Ultimate, Intermediate, Short-term Outcomes


Ask: What needs to be in place before the

ultimate outcome (goal) can be achieved? What contextual factors need to be taken

into account in achieving the goal? Or root causes that need to be addressed?

What are some short-term outcomes (goals) that will lay the groundwork for the intermediate and ultimate outcomes?

Ultimate, Intermediate, Short-term Outcomes

Short-term Goals• LEAs have a protocol for

assessing academic needs for homeless students and planning appropriate services.

• All local liaisons meet at least once annually with Title I coordinators, 21st Century After School programs, or directors of other tutoring programs to plan access for homeless students to after school programs.

• School districts incorporate effective strategies for serving homeless and highly mobile students in annual teacher professional development activities.

Intermediate Goals• All homeless students

have an individual academic plan customized to their needs.

• All homeless students performing below proficiency have access to Title I or 21st Century after school programs or other tutoring programs.

• All teachers implement effective strategies for homeless and highly mobile students.

Ultimate Goal• Homeless students show

the same academic gains as all other students in SY 2015-2016.


Table member with the green “DO” sheet will facilitate the exercise

Now You Try


Table member with the green “THINK” sheet will facilitate a discussion of the questions listed on the sheet

Now You Try


Are they related to the outcomes?◦ Specifically focus on short-term outcomes, since they will

lead to the intermediate and ultimate outcomes Are they likely to address the identified need -

reduce the gap between what is and what should be?

Are they based in research or good practice? Are they appropriate for the context in our state? Are they feasible in terms of cost, training,

resources? Can they supplement or be supplemented by

existing programs?

Selecting Activities

Outcomes vs. Activities

Outcome (Goal) Activities

In 2013-14 all new liaisons will participate in a McKinney-Vento training

The State Coordinator will conduct a new liaison training at the annual federal programs conference

New liaisons will receive a memo upon appointment requiring them to participate in a NCHE MV 101 webinar and provide a certificate of participation to the State Coordinator

Before the end of the school year, the State Coordinator will follow up with new liaisons who have not received training


Table member with the blue “DO” sheet will facilitate the exercise◦ Read the scenario◦ Follow the instructions

Now You Try


Blue “THINK” sheet Discuss each question

Now You Try


If this …

Then that …

Then that …

What Have We Done Here Today?

Logic Model Thinking

Need Statement: Homeless parents wait on the average of one week before enrolling their children when they move to a new temporary location; to minimize educational discontinuity, homeless parents should enroll their children within two days of a move.

Intermediate Outcome

In SY 2014-2015, 100% of local homeless liaisons provide homeless parents support and guidance to help them enroll their children when they move to a new local attendance area.

Ultimate Outcome

The gap between when a homeless student leaves a school and enrolls in a new school will be reduced to two days for 85% of homeless students by SY 2015-2016.

Immediate Outcome

In 2013-2014, 100% of local homeless liaisons receive training and resources to provide homeless parents support and guidance to help them enroll their children when they move to a new local attendance area.

ActivitiesTrainers will provide parent outreach strategies for liaisons at the state conference & in webinars.

The SEA will develop a brochure for homeless parents that underscore the importance of education continuity.

Evidence of parental outreach will be included in LEA monitoring.

Local liaisons will provide “Signs of Homelessness” to teachers and school staff to help them identify families who may be leaving the school area.

Simple Logic Model


Needs are grounded in data and target a goal Important to find root causes Logical sequence to ultimate outcomes Alignment of all parts and if-then thinking Socially constructed

Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide http://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2006/02/wk-kellogg-foundation-logic-model-development-guideUniversity of Wisconsin-Extension Program Development and Evaluation http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html

Basics of Logic Model Thinking

http://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2006/02/wk-kellogg-foundation-logic-model-development-guide



http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html




Required in the 2001 reauthorization; had to be submitted by July 2002 in order to receive annual funding

Specified activities for requirements that needed to be addressed

Not based on data Did not require updates

McKinney-Vento State Plans

Proposed Activities Timeline

Posting of requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act on the state homeless education website, notice provided to all federal programs via email

Spring 2002

Regional training workshops for local liaisons conducted by the State Coordinator

Fall 2002

Provide an overview of the McKinney-Vento Act to Title I directors at state federal programs conference

Fall 2002

Establish email distribution list for all local liaisons and provide monthly updates

Ongoing

Explore opportunities to collaborate with other service providers for the homeless for outreach to families and unaccompanied youth

Ongoing

Utilize media to educate the public about homelessness, including fliers written specifically for families who are homeless

Spring 2002

B. Coordination – Such plan shall indicate what technical assistance the State will furnish to local educational agencies and how compliance efforts will be coordinated with the local educational agency liaison designated under paragraph (1)(J)(ii).Activities that apply across sections 723(g)(3) through (7) are found in the following table which outlines a plan of action to further address the requirement of Section 723(g)(2)(B).

Typical Format of State Plans Developed in 2002


What activities today could you apply to your program planning?

What will you take away from the activities today that might apply to a revision of your state plan?

Considering Application to State Planning

digging deeper-building higher: strategic tools for state planning

Documents

homeless educationphone

homeless educationexplore

need existsshould

need statement

state needs

state average

clearest articulation

todaynational center