Letter from DYCD Commissioner introducing consultant report The Beacon Community Centers Middle School Initiative: Final Report on Implentation and Youth Experience in the Initiative.
Among the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development's significant achievements has been preserving and increasing funding for programs despite limited
resources during very challenging financial times. DYCD is particularly excited about the recent expansion of the Out-of-School Time, Cornerstone, and Immigrant Services and Literacy
initiatives.
DYCD contracted with Policy Studies Associates, Inc. (PSA) to conduct a three-year evaluation of the Middle School Initiative. The evaluation was designed to inform DYCD about program-level implementation patterns, the characteristics of youth served by the initiative, their patterns of program participation, and relationships between Beacon Middle School program features and certain youth outcomes.
DYCD contracted with Policy Studies Associates, Inc. (PSA) to conduct a three-year evaluation of the Middle School Initiative. The evaluation was designed to inform DYCD about program-level implementation patterns, the characteristics of youth served by the initiative, their patterns of program participation, and relationships between Beacon Middle School program features and certain youth outcomes
In collaboration with DYCD, five OST programs (two school-based and three center-based) were identified to gather information about STEM implementation and quality improvement efforts during the 2012-13 school year. The programs were selected based on the providers' proposals, DYCD knowledge of program implementation, and brief phone interviews with 13 program directors. Two programs served participants in grades K-5, one served grades 6-8, and two served elementary- and middle-grades. Agency submitted date as Jul-13.
This evaluation examined 10 OST programs during the 2009-10 school year. These 10 programs were part of the initial 15 in-depth study sites identified in year 1. Evaluators studied demographics, educational performance, academic motivation, and family support structures of participants. Evaluators also looked at management and staffing strategies of the OST programs as well as the content of OST programming. Agency submitted date as Mar-11.