Planning Grant Draft  (Incomplete)

INTRODUCTION
The proposed planning grant aims to establish a solid base for developing university partnerships with public schools that serve at risk students, particularly in the elementary grades and after school. The goal is to reduce the achievement gap that generally increases as these children stay in school. Within a socio-cultural framework,  the problem faced by these children is multi-layered yet one that can be understood within an assisted performance model (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988). Outside of school, at risk students generally do not have access to the assistance necessary to fare well in school for fairly well known reasons. Within school, small developmental lags tend to increase in relative terms, and as task demands increase in difficulty. Relative to middle class children, those at risk do not have the access to the assistance mix (quantity & quality of guided participation) necessary to thrive in school. The big idea or organizing principle for this work is simple. If universities could be convinced to require or help organize a minimum of service learning activities from college students to serve as mentors to at risk students after school on a regular basis, what would be the necessary arrangements to ensure effective and reliable delivery systems that are scalable. At the same time, how may we document and test for improved school performance as a direct result of the after-school assistance across various program variations? A major premise is that if at risk students' early development in school could be connected to models whom would also provide steady academic assistance and emotional support, their performance and sense of self-efficacy would improve. If so, a variety of other related effects could be examined in terms of helping teachers working in whole classrooms with these students and the college students' own development. 
This grant is designed to support a full-scale proposal to the IERI that would target initially junior and senior education, math, science and English college majors.  A major goal of the project is to identify the institutional and social requisites necessary for aligning a reliable and effective source of cognitive supports for young students in a systematic, scalable fashion. To accomplish the proposed work, a number of preliminary issues must be addressed in a planning grant. The effectiveness on ongoing after-school educational K-12 programs will be examined and measured in school districts that have such initiatives already in place. For schools that do not have after school programs in place to serve at-risk students, the question will be focused on what are the most economic ways to develop and sustain such programs based  on what is learned and our own work.
Secondly, many teacher education programs have fieldwork assigned to their students and experiences that approximate the goals of this proposal. A major focus of the planning grant is to explore the process through which various institutions, departments and programs of study can formalize a service learning component that would be necessary to establish a sustainable delivery system. A number of options exist that might range from graduation or program of study requirements and elective course hours to financial aid or straight volunteerism.
A third area for the planning grant involves the process of coordination with school districts and schools with respect to the actual arrangements for bringing university and elementary and older students together in the community.  In some cases where such arrangements are already in place, the issue will be one of supplementing and expanding the site's activities. In others, it may require some restructuring or the actual development of a new activity setting and delivery system. In both cases, the thrust of our work will be assessing the impact on ongoing mentoring or volunteer efforts as well as those  that constitute the corps model.
 
Various programs to improve reading, mathematics and science skills for a diverse range of students after school exist that range in focus from establishing foundational levels of literacy to providing homework help and computer-based educational activities.  These often operate independently at the pre-school, elementary school, middle and high school levels. They often rely on community volunteers. Unfortunately, the effect of these varied, after school programs on academic achievement is not clear. Nor can it be established that such efforts are sustainable and reliable enough to ensure  a cognitive assistance safety net for at-risk studentsA major goal of the proposed project is to assess the types of, and extent to which, existing programs focus on academic skills and assess student performance. With the cooperation of the school district, efforts to assess the academic progress of students involved in after-school programs will serve to inform the development and implementation of a large-scale proposal.

ENVISIONING A FULL PROPOSAL
In the full-scale proposal, an interdisciplinary team of from local school district and resource centers, and university faculty and graduate students will join to complete a multi-tier plan of work. 
Tier I. - University/Community Support for  a Steady Flow of Service Learning 
The first phase will be located at the university level where;
	A variety of proposals will be considered to augment the number and quality of support to area schools. Faculty, graduate students, alumni will be asked to volunteer in guiding and providing assistance to 1-2 students during one school year. 
	For the service learning pipeline or mechanism to be developed in the long term (Full proposal), policy makers in and outside the university will be asked for support in finding specific ways that college students can obtain academic credit for service learning in the proposed  (CoRPS) program. The local university, (as will be the case with other college and universities to be included as this Partnership Program is scaled eventually to other sites), has a mission to serve the community. A service-learning component may be sought for all undergraduates or graduate level students to assist young (elementary), at-risk students after school. Three hours a week on site with assigned student(s) for a semester represents the average commitment. The goal will be to define a mechanism for assisting community schools with at risk-students in a systematic fashion year after year. This activity will include discussions  with policy makers such as the university president, provost, deans and chairs, Service learning Director as well as department of education officials in the state. A University-based outreach center will be proposed to ensure continued support for developing university-community-school partnerships if one does not exist already. Where service learning centers are already established in the university, collaboration will be sought to incorporate our research-oriented CoRP model.
While plans for the above are concretized, a call for college student volunteers in math, science, English, and particularly, teacher education will be made. These will be the target areas initially for focusing the development of service learning credits and program of study requirements. Financial aid and loan forgiveness options will be explored for those who serve. This activity will include deans, program chairs and faculty.
Overview of  Initial (CoRP) Model
The first core of volunteers will receive training as part of college credit coursework before going to a select number of after school sites. The training will be included in part through current course offerings in educational psychology and human development. The ongoing  set of activities  across the school district’s after school programs (see School District section below)  will be observed during the planning grant.
These after school programs in the local district will be base lined with respect to student achievement data, assistance characteristics, hours of weekly contact and characteristics of volunteers. The latter will serve as a control condition. During the last part of the planning grant, the first corps (College Organization for Research and Practice in Schools) of volunteers will be deployed in after school programs across district schools to serve 100 at risk, elementary students across various sites. Along with site coordinators, educators and community volunteers, the activities in these sites will be documented to ensure that they conform to a replicable approach and method. Student achievement will be monitored. Contact with elementary students' families will be made and their support enlisted. Regular contact by phone and e-mail will be established between the corps' volunteers, and students. Parent workshops will be delivered to students' parents on site to inform and foster effective parenting skills. Use of technology will be a priority from the very inception of  models to develop computer literacy and computer-based academic assistance via laptops, educational software and internet use. 

The Public School District as Host
A main concern for the full scale proposal is to consider how a new, university-based program can affect K-12 student achievement, particularly for at-risk groups and consequently, for the nation. Recruiting this level of assistance from a steady, qualified source represents a formula for a major educational policy shift. The impact is potentially at a comparable level to Head Start. The difference between the two delivery systems is substantial in terms of costs yet the two initiatives are interrelated. National dissemination to other state universities and colleges of university-Public School Partnerships represents the long-term goal. First, the model explored and piloted during the planning grant period will have to be  tested and refined across the local and other out-of-state districts. Each higher education institution can adopt some at-risk schools (or better described, communities in the nation), and provide the assistance necessary to make a significant and positive difference for all. That is, by  focusing on the improved academic performance of at-risk students, the average performance of  these schools is predicted to promote excellence as currently defined. In effect, the model calls for excellence through equity. 
If public schools could count for some extra time on task for at risk students in their formative years, it might not only be appreciated but such action may provide a new and effective direction for public policy and practice.

The Current District as a Prototype
In this section, describe the variety of programmatic efforts currently being implemented in JCPS after school programs. Let's get a copy of this to Daeschner….via Doug…..

Scalability and Policy
The question addressed in this project centers squarely on scalability.  The proposed project the development and study of a mechanism(s)  that can be exported and adapted in other school system across the nations where there are high concentrations of at-risk students and communities. The project is not only designed to improve academic  performance but more importantly, to provide an avenue for increased numbers of the future "underclass" to break free from the cycle of poverty. It is also designed to extend the effect of head Start, Even Start and similar initiatives. The design calls for analyses that will serve to detect potential Head Start long-term effects. To prevent a "wash-out " of academic intellectual gains in literacy associated with Head Start, it  is our view  that the proposed level of socio-cognitive supports is necessary, and in some determined proportion of cases, sufficient, in achieving a significant improvement in academic competence. By definition, the at-risk samples will be defined by those in the lowest quartile of standardized achievement who are in  living in poverty. While we may not change socio-economic conditions directly or redistribute wealth equitably, our aim is to provide the strategic supports necessary to assist child intellectual competence and performance, regardless of their parents status or level of education or cognitive support. The proposed plan is founded on the affective -relational bonds that once established, facilitate academic motivation and performance.
In essence, this approach considers that children should not be doomed large on the basis of  their parents' background or current characteristics. Any child should be assured a chance to compete fairly in working towards meritocracy in our society.
We are thus breaking from tradition by considering that whether parents may  be held responsible or not, their child's development should not be compromised bt our educational system. Evidence exists that in the latter, at-risk students generally fall further behind their more advantaged peers (Portes, 1996).
This position is in line with the goals of social science and policy. Just as society sometimes must take a child from a dysfunctional or neglectful parent, we are essentially taking control of a part of the child's developmental context in hand and attempting to remove obstacles for those individuals within the at-risked groups, which have been colored for us in the popular lingua, as poor white, black, Latino, Asian or Native American who will inevitably give rise to a multicultural majority. As Scott-Miller (1998) notes, the issue is one of education for what is to be a growing majority in demographic terms constituted by groups who are disproportionately represented in poverty.
Assuming this approach  makes a significant difference with the proposed model in place, and, replication would be needed next. In the present case, the full proposal calls for integration of CoRPS into the 26th largest urban district in the nation, among other sites in the nation (Miami, San Diego, Chicago,  rural  Appalachia e.g.,) after the planning grant. If success is achieved across sites, this idea may call for a policy initiative that may have major consequences in our educational system. In addition, a host of related implications for how this activity affects teacher practices and morale, the volunteer mentors, the community and target children should be considered.
In the full proposal, these replications would precede dissemination to all colleges and universities. Block grants and other mechanisms are to be considered in the proposal by selecting a congressional advisory body and policy decision-makers. They will help form the conclusions at the end of the project. Long-term support in considered essential for an initiative of this caliber.
Once the CORP integrated activities are evaluated across selected sites, the delivery approach/system will be evaluated in the rest of the local school system and three to five other test areas in various geographical locations. One contrast will be in collaboration with the San Diego City Schools, CREATE, and the UCSD team that is working on a related project relevant to service learning and after-school programs.

The Corp Model
The model to be developed for training college mentors and community volunteers consists of a specific curriculum to be offered via extant coursework, courses to be developed or adapted, and full-day workshops using tapes and models. The latter represents variables to be studied after they are properly scaled. The training will employ a tool-mediation approach based on sociocultural theory which is described elsewhere. In addition, the effects of the latter will be contrasted with an active control condition which is already in place by the school district (again representing a variety of delivery approaches). Once the program is exported, a comparison with other sites attempting similar goals will be completed. Specifically, a model network of after-school informal mathematics and science activities, using principles and procedures developed over the past two decades at the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition will be contrasted with the CoRP model. 
The goals of the Corp model are to develop a potent delivery system that is staffed by competent college students to monitor and assist in completing homework and project assignments. As with others organizations like the Boys & Girls clubs, the at risk child will count on 12-15 hours of after school, academic assistance per month. A teacher liaison will serve as a bridge between college mentors and teachers to ensure consistency in grade-appropriate homework. Community volunteers (grandparents, retired educators) and university alumni may serve to support activities in a variety of ways.
Another component will be the development and piloting of parent workshops. Parents of participants will be required for the most part to attend at least 1 workshop where they can be informed and receive training in assisting their children's school performance at home.

Project Goals
In effect,  the research effort is pivotal and aimed to: 
•	demonstrate the effectiveness of various modalities and models for creating an after school delivery system and a pipeline of volunteers.
•	promote literacy, math and science by constructing activity systems in after school sites during the early, foundational years.
  		develop a model for gaining university/college support for this plan through specific courses or course requirements, financial aid mechanisms (work study e.g.) that can be shared with other sites.
•	develop structures that support the integration and sustainability  of the extra-school activities
•	 distill the essential features of the integrated system to form a generalized model that is cost-effective
•		test and refine the model as it is implemented so that it can be extended to whole school systems in other locations
•		demonstrate the effectiveness of the integrated after-school informal systems to complement formal, school- based programs.
•	 disseminate the results of this effort in other school systems close to universities. 

Margaret,
Below are sections from a sample proposal that I am still adapting and which may help our organization  possibly or content. I will be speaking with NSF program officer today at 2pm

I just spoke with UofL's Service Learning coordinator and will relay info when we talk. Let me know when  we can…

:
During our initial twelve month planning grant we shall:
Build contacts in both the University and JCPS to coordinate the proposed plan.
Begin the Development of the CoRP model that will be used piloted, tested and adapted for the full proposal. This component includes recruitment strategies but more importantly, the training of the volunteer core that will be deployed to select sites as the experimental condition 
Examine the existing programs in JCPS for at-risk students. These will be assayed and measured during this period as the control groups.
Document the development collaborations within the University in arranging for the full proposal
Etc…

During the summer, evaluation of the project will center on what arrangements and collaborations were established. Analyses of current after school activities will be completed and a baseline of achievement established for participants and non-participants
.Learnings from the pilot study will be reported to inform the development of the CoRP model.

 During the culminating months of the planning grant, the full span of participants will meet monthly for summative evaluation and completion of a final report and full proposal to the IERI.  
Draw a timeline….
IERI BENCHMARKS
BENCHMARK I. Valid and Reliable Research Methodology.  
Our methodology combines educational research strategies to explore the effectiveness existing and experimental conditions in quantitative terms. Ethnographic methods will also be included to examine processes in establishing the assisted performance mechanisms in after-school sites, the attitudes and motivation of participants (both volunteers and elementary at-risk students "EASS")
1)	Data from the school system using a variety of standardized and specially designed tests will serve to detect the efficacy of the existing and CoRP  models. 
Conceptually, in defining the sample, both institutional and human subjects will be considered.  The institutional sample consists of the programs offered by the local school system and the overarching officer that coordinates them. At the university level, the study will also consider the practices and reach of the extant service learning center and its varied activities. In those cases, the main criterion will be the extent to which such programs assist schlastic achievement. 
Human subjects will involve not only  50-100 at risk students  but also 50-100 CoPs volunteers after  training. 

BENCHMARK II. Scalability.  
The main thrust of the planning grant is to establish the conditions necessary for scaling  our assisted performance initiative to other school systems as a matter of  state educational policy. While there is reason to believe that the proposed assistance mechanism will result in significant improvements in student academic performance, at this time there is little evidence to support this hypotheses at the elementary school level. A major question to be resolved before scaling is possible is the extent to which assisted performance can be operationalized. Among the most obvious factors that need to be measured and analyzed are;
1.	Time on task after school
2.	Expertise and training of CoRp volunteers. For example, are the CoRp  mentors  producing a stronger effect than those without the training and educational background. It may be that just developing  this relationship and emotional support over time is sufficient for improvement?
3.	The role of the parent training component. Is this component necessary? Is it a marker of support that is not  necessarily based on program goals and suggestions?
4.	
BENCHMARK III. Technology.  We will use technology in a variety of  ways:
i)	Among the toolsfor training student volunteers-
ii)	 Educational software that can be use in interacting and reinforcing target students. Training tapes by expert teachers.
iii)	E-mail to connect target students to mentors in off hours, phone contacts
iv)	 The education of  target students using laptop computers, the world wide web, video, electronic mail) as tools that may be lent
v)	 students  post questions on e mail for faculty assistance as they deal with at-risk students that peers learn from  etc..

vi)	Propose a multi-level support system whereby by students receive assistance directly for homework  from CoRp mentors who in turn receive assistance from certified elementary teachers and university faculty via these tools. The latter in turn will serve as data and also to form virtual communities where peer mentors can compare notes.
vii)	  We will use computers to establish a data based to be available to other researchers and for baselining individual student achievement. Video taped for training and modeling interactions are included for  parent workshops and volunteer training.
viii)	 Local database track student achievement, at-risk student pools for future participation and to store field notes and other relevant information.es allow s
ix)	Technology will also serve as a  tool for linking programs / developing shared materials / dissemination.  
x)	In sum, these applications of technology will serve to link with other programs, evaluate individual performance, and assist in the distribution of model activities.

BENCHMARK IV. Interdisciplinary team and approach.  

APPENDIX:  ACTIVITIES IN THE PILOT STUDY.
I.	The Model -Activities & Content
 
II.The Role of the University   rewrite, expand edit below..
Our method for fostering university - community relations is to create a system whereby each partner has multiple incentives for collaborating in and around a given activity setting.  From the university perspective, it is important to create a system that can simultaneously address its threefold mission: research, teaching, and service.  A proven model for achieving such a goal is to create a university laboratory course which couples each of these elements.  At present,  for example, model classes: CORE ! & II classes in  Child Development, Learning and teaching…. 

creating a stronger, more sustainable network of activities.

RESULTS FROM PRIOR NSF FUNDING
There are no results from prior NSF funding on this project, because there has been no prior funding from the NSF.  This planning grant is designed to develop a team of researchers and set of tools for a full-scale proposal to the IERI.