Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project – June, 2010

YEAR ONE and TWO: The Progress on Three Outcomes

OUTCOME 1 A youth art evaluation language and methodology is developed, based on the existing research and literature and the experiences of Boston youth art programs. Target: Investigate evaluation tools, philosophies, and frameworks from across the nation. Incorporate the suggestions and opinions of Boston youth arts nonprofits and consultants nationwide, to help focus the framework for BYAEP. Progress: Over 400 hours of research was conducted. The Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Forum was held on October 24, 2008 where 52 youth arts or-ganizations were invited and 31 participants registered and attended the event. We facilitated four Core Collaborators meetings as well as monthly phone meetings. Logic models were completed by all five collaborators, which were instrumental in developing the BYAEP framework, utilizing a com-mon language with goals and outcomes.

OUTCOME 2 This methodology is used to design, pilot and disseminate evaluation systems for RAW and four Boston youth arts programs. Target: Develop the Framework in year one. Develop and facilitate the pilot evaluations in year two. Progress: We have completed the BYAEP framework which includes a logic model and definitions as well as indicators for short-term, intermediate and long-term outcomes. We piloted several new evaluation tools in Year 1 at RAW that helped us design the actual evaluation system and tools for year two. In 2009-2010 we piloted all five evaluation tools across all five sites. In summer, 2010 we are working to analyze the results from Year 2 and further refine the tools to be used in Year 3.

OUTCOME 3 Programmatic findings of the project and pilot are documented and shared. A publication is designed to help others implement evaluation systems for youth arts programs. Target: A publication will be released at the end of Year 3 with evaluation methodology and tools that will also be available through the BYAEP website. Progress: In June 2009 we established a website (www.BYAEP.com), and made it available to the entire youth arts community in July 2009. We are currently assess-ing data from Year 2 and are working on creating a presentation of the findings for the Grantmakers in the Arts Conference in October 2010 and for the second BYAEP Forum for Youth Arts Evaluation, which will convene in Boston, MA in November 2010.

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The Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project Framework

 

The Boston Youth Arts Evaluat ion Project Br ief Report

 

•Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project

CONSULTANTS Involved with BYAEP Dr. Suzanne Bouffard, is a Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education working on the School Reform and Beyond Project. The past five years she was dedicated as a Research Analyst at the Harvard Family Research Project where she focused energies on original research, data analysis, and out-of-school time programs. She was also the managing editor of the Evaluation Exchange. Along with her expert skills all aspects of evaluation, she also has Ph.D. In Psychology from Duke University and teaches and performs as professional tap dancer. Dr. Dennie Palmer Wolf, Principal Researcher at international consulting firm WolfBrown, specializes in design, implementation, evaluation and research that examines young people and their families’ access to culture and creativity. Trained as a researcher at Harvard Project Zero, she led studies on the early development of artistic and symbolic capacities. More recently, she has pioneered evaluation studies that build the capacities of organizations, funders, and communities co-authoring More Than Measuring, a longitudinal study of the effects of arts-based learning, sponsored by Big Thought, an 80-organization consortium in Dallas. She is currently the evaluator for similar projects in Pennsylvania and Oregon. Bill Bullick founded Creative Planning, Inc. in 1999 after nearly 20 years in high-level nonprofit and arts leadership roles. For ten years he was Executive Director of the Regional Arts and Culture Council of Portland, Oregon. In 1998 he co-led a consortium of local arts agencies from Port-land, San Antonio and Atlanta that conducted a national demonstration project to develop effective arts programs for at-risk youth, including publi-cation of the multi-media YouthArts Toolkit. He has also designed and facilitated a comprehensive arts education assessment working with the arts community, school districts and community leaders of the Greater Memphis Arts Council. He co-designed and facilitated the regional workshops for the Americans for the Arts in Indianapolis and Florida entitled Reaching Youth through the Arts: Building Best Practices. Dr. Julia Gittleman, is a Principal of Mendelsohn, Gittleman and Associates, LLC, a small consulting firm that specializes in program evaluation, best practice research and strategic planning for non-profit, community-based organizations. Julia began her career as a direct service provider, and then spent more than a decade designing and managing human service programs. Julia has a doctorate in social policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University where her re-search concentrated on welfare, substance abuse and family policy. H. Mark Smith, YouthReach Program Manager of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Dr. Steve Seidel, Ed.D., Director of Project Zero at Harvard University. Michael Sikes, Senior Associate in Research and Policy at the Arts Education Partnership.