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Education & Literacy

From Pre-K, to K-12, to higher education, to institutions focused on literacy at all ages... There is perhaps no higher calling than providing equal access to education. However, accomplishing this profound aim can be especially challenging in these times of budget constraints, regulatory burdens, need for greater equity & inclusion, aging infrastructure, and pressures to demonstrate results among other issues. Apter & O'Connor can help. With deep expertise in consulting for all levels of the education spectrum -- and with proven skill and success at all points of the continuum of organizational need (strategy, program evaluation, outcomes measurement, professional development, and group facilitation) -- we are uniquely equipped and qualified to help your institution reach its goals.

Below, we've included some of our clients in the education sector, including insights into particular projects. Contact us today, to learn more about what we can do for your organization. 

Addison Central School District: Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL): Read To Learn Project

The Addison Central School District is comprised of rural communities in New York State’s southern Tier. A&O has a long-standing relationship with the District including successful evaluation work on their multi-year federally funded Early Reading First project and, the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Read to Learn Projects. A&O has also assisted them secure additional funding to support these and other related projects. Each of these initiatives was designed to promote early literacy among families, motivate students to read and increase student achievement through improved classroom instruction, the use of school libraries, book distribution to families and high-quality family literacy activities. We used both quantitative and qualitative analysis with observations, interviews, surveys and student performance data to determine progress toward goals and ultimate impact of the project. The evaluation demonstrated that the professional development activities have enhanced teacher’s skills for literacy instruction and the new library collections and supports have strengthened classroom reading instruction. Addison used their evaluation results to successfully apply for continued federal funding and was one of 46 school districts in the county to be refunded for a 2nd cycle. This enabled the District to expand its scope to serve children from age 3 through Grade 6.

Testimonial

Apter & O’Connor has been a tremendous asset to our school district.  Their professionalism and knowledge of grant implementation has given us the upper-hand when it comes to gathering data and compiling information to promote best practice and keep our project moving in the right direction. I can’t thank them enough for the multiple conversations, suggestions, and pieces of advice to encourage participation and discover alternative ways to reach our goals.

- A comment from our client...
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Early Reading First

Early Reading First (ERF) was an early literacy program targeting preschoolers from low income families at high risk of reading failure. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, each of these projects was a multi-year contract (3-6 years) with features unique to each district. Apter & O’Connor provided rigorous evaluations to support continuous program improvement and to assess both fidelity of implementation and the impact of the ERF interventions. Each scope of work required a detailed evaluation plan, extensive data collection and analysis, and extensive and detailed reporting to satisfy all US DOE GPRA requirements. Our evaluation outcomes enabled the districts to design and sustain changes in professional development practices and classroom instruction, gain a place on the federal What Works Clearinghouse for early childhood best practices, initiate further research on critical factors for student gains, and leverage their data to support applications for additional grant funding. 

Testimonial

Apter and O’Connor Associates are highly skilled and committed to ensuring a balanced, fair and well written program evaluation. They always research the topic thoroughly including interviewing staff and visiting the sites to observe the project.  They are able to gather the necessary data, both qualitative and quantitative, to evaluate the outcomes of the project. They meet with staff to develop the evaluation plan before the project, and monitor the implementation of the plan and data collection during the project to ensure the data is correct.   They are always willing to meet with staff to offer recommendations for program improvements.  Their approach is hands-on, face-to-face and research-based. They are committed to excellence, have never missed a deadline and also have outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. 

As evaluators, Apter & O’Connor provide extensive, ongoing information, feedback and recommendations that pave the way for clear, focused direction of the Early Reading First grant I presently oversee as the coordinator. They ‘tell it like it is’ and offer valuable analysis, recommendations and resources that make a significant difference in the process. Their professional expertise and guidance is a driving force for success of any grant or project. I highly trust and value Apter & O’Connor Associates, Inc. for their exemplary services and would strongly recommend them as evaluators.

- A comment from our client...
View Case Study

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the Extended Day/School Violence Prevention (ED/SVP) programs

A&O conducts evaluations for several 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the Extended Day/School Violence Prevention (ED/SVP) programs. These programs are federally, and state funded to support tutoring, academic enrichment and a broad array of youth development opportunities before and after school to complement the school’s regular academic program. It features partnerships with school districts and community-based organizations to programs target students from high-poverty neighborhoods and attending low-performing schools.

A&O’s evaluation activities include systematic observations at all sites, interviews with staff and administrators, surveys of all stakeholder (students, staff and parents) and extensive analysis of student academic data. A&O has worked with large multi-site school districts as well as smaller community agency sites, including The Syracuse City School District, Watervliet Central School District, The YMCA of Central New York, and the Center for Community Alternatives.

Program Directors consistently note the value of these rigorous evaluations and the ongoing feedback and technical assistance for program improvement that the A&O team provides. These independent evaluations have provided the needed evidence and critical information to convince legislators at all levels of government to continue funding these after school programs.

Testimonial

We so appreciate the multi-year evaluations so we can note differences from year to year and reflect on improvements. Very helpful to share with our board, the principal and even our staff so they can see what impact they are having. The Student surveys are especially useful.

- A comment from our client...
View Case Study

O’Connor Mentors Next Generation of Leaders through Marsellus LeadUp Program - January 2023 

For the 5th year, Cynthia O’Connor, in partnership with Katie Doucette from The Leading Element, is providing mentorship, support, and instruction to the next generation of leaders of nonprofit agencies in Onondaga and Madison Counties in Central New York.

The Marsellus Family Fund at the Central New York Community Foundation created LeadUp to invest time and resources in future leadership development. Cynthia and Katie work with the program’s annual cohort of ten to twelve participants selected from small or mid-sized organizations with limited professional development resources. They help each participant create an individualized development plan to allow for demonstrated growth toward their goals.

Through one-on-one coaching, half-day group learning sessions, panel discussions, and networking with key community leaders, participants gain exposure to many perspectives within the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Cynthia and Katie bring their unique real-world experiences and a genuine and straightforward approach to the program’s activities. The participants provide glowing reviews each year:

LeadUp changed us all for the better and in doing so presented Syracuse with ten leaders more able to lead with compassion, confidence, and connections. LeadUp changes the community for the better.

LeadUp gave me the opportunity to take the goals I’ve had in my head, get them down on paper in an achievable format and finally execute on them! The networking with other local, like-minded leaders was so valuable. That coupled with the individual coaching sessions made for one of the best professional development opportunities I’ve had the pleasure to take part in. I would recommend this to anyone looking to grow their networks, achieve new goals and sharpen their leadership skills

The coaching sessions were amazing. I am not sure that I would have accomplished some of my personal and professional goals this year without Katie and Cynthia's mentorship.

 

 

Central New York Community Foundation: The Literacy Task Force

Apter & O’Connor led the CNY Community Foundation’s initiative to develop community wide indicators to assess literacy in Central New York. A&O conducted background research, guided the management team and facilitated a task force of 25 community leaders and literacy stakeholders through a six-month strategic planning process. Throughout the process we prepared materials and planned & facilitated all Community Stakeholder meetings, provided regular summaries and feedback to the management team and produced a final report with indicators that served as the foundation for the establishment of a community wide literacy coalition that continues today, five years later.

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Process & Outcome Evaluations of a Multifaceted Child Care Improvement Effort

Child Care Solutions is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1975 to provide information and resources to parents, providers, employers, and community leaders in Onondaga and Cayuga Counties (NY) who seek solutions to their child care needs. In partnership with the Early Childhood Alliance, Child Care Solutions has been working tirelessly to assure child care options are not only available but of high quality.

Beginning in 2021, The Child Care Quality Improvement Pilot (CCQI) funded by Onondaga County, provided extra resources to this effort. This year the pilot’s focus is on family child care. Key components include training family care providers to implement an evidenced-based curriculum (The Creative Curriculum), one-on-one coaching in using assessments (a curriculum fidelity tool, the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale [FCCRS], and the Ages and Stages questionnaire) to inform lesson planning, and communication with parents. There are also stipends for the providers.

As the independent evaluator of the pilot, A&O’s work will have two key components. First, a process evaluation. This is designed to assess CCQI’s progress implementing the project components they’ve planned.

Second, an outcome evaluation will measure progress toward the intended outcomes and describe the activities’ early impacts. Stakeholder feedback and assessment data will be important to that evaluation, and A&O will synthesize data from a variety of sources to formulate suggestions for improvement.

 

 

Child Care Solutions of Onondaga and Cayuga Counties (CCS): A Child Care Needs Assessment

In the past, Apter & O’Connor has worked with Child Care Solutions several times to support their needs assessment related to the current state of child care. A&O designed specific inquiries to examine child care supply and demand. The final product illustrated the child care needs unique to these geographic areas and the related work-life issues for both child care providers and the families they serve. The assessments included: a detailed review of national, state and local data; focus groups with child care providers, local government officials, funders and human service experts; surveys for parents and providers; and interviews with human resource professionals.  The rigorous methodology employed for each study provided child care advocates with a powerful tool to design new interventions and educate state and local legislators and funders.

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Cities First Readers (CFR) is a collaboration of numerous nonprofits and all three public library systems across New York City designed to support the development of a literacy rich ecosystem. Their overarching goal is to ensure young children and their families receive needed supports to become successful readers. The collaborative partners are implementing numerous services and programs including parent education, book distributions, guided reading programs, professional development, home visiting and public awareness campaigns. A&O led the partners through a process of clarifying their goals, outcomes and strategies as well as each partner’s capacity for evaluation and their role within the collaborative. They were then ready to take the next step and document the benefits or impacts of this extensive endeavor.   A&O conducts several independent evaluation inquiries each year utilizing a variety of methods analysis for statistical significance using standardized assessments, geocoding and mapping, descriptive illustrations of service statistics, interviews, observations, and surveys of numerous stakeholder groups. A few of these recent and current inquires have examined:

  • the strength and maturity of the coalition using the lens of Collective Impact[1],
  • whether targeted CFR interventions lead to improvements in knowledge, skill, and behavior among parents to support early literacy for young children
  • the concentration of CFR services as related to poverty levels across all NY City council districts
  • if attendance is improving at library story times within high-risk neighborhoods? Is there a correlation with the CFR public awareness campaign?
  • how has CFR adapted and responded in the time of the COVID19 pandemic
  • is there consistency across CFR partners in the use of evidence-based/ best practices for book distribution and associated educational messaging to support home environments and early literacy development?

A&O was chosen for their years of evaluation experience in early childhood and literacy related programming and is thrilled to support this important initiative. 

[1] Preskill, H., Parkhurst, Marcie, Juster, J.S., Guide to Evaluating Collective Impact; Collective Impact Forum, FSG.

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Rigorous Inquiries into Trends and Impacts of The Early Childhood Alliance of Onondaga

The Early Childhood Alliance of Onondaga County (ECA) was launched in 2015 to advance a comprehensive, coordinated, well-funded system of high-quality, prenatal-to-age-five early childhood programs and supports. It is a diverse cross-section of community stakeholders with a shared vision that all young children in the county are healthy, thriving, and successful in school and life, and that all families of young children are supported in their parenting. A&O was engaged to examine two of teh ECA’s key areas of effort: funding support and parent engagement.

In 2022, we completed a study of recent early childhood funding levels and trends nationally, statewide, and within Onondaga County. The results serve as an updated baseline for monitoring future growth and to measure ECA’s advocacy impact.

Methods for this inquiry included a document review of past ECA reports, a literature review on early childhood funding levels and trends at state and national levels, interviews with ECA staff, and a spring 2022 funding survey of local anchor systems (nine key early childhood services and supports).

That report, Funding to Support A Strong Early Childhood System 2019–2021, detected an 8% decrease in funding for the early childhood ecosystem from 2019 through 2021 in Onondaga County. Several survey respondents noted that COVID-related challenges, closures, and lockdowns skewed service delivery data and, in some cases, resulted in underutilized services which could explain some of the funding decreases.

The second inquiry, also completed in 2022, examined the Parent Advisory Council (PAC), the primary mechanism for the ECA’s parent engagement work. A group of parents of young children meet regularly to discuss improving the early childhood system, leveraging their own experiences to provide the ECA with input about its initiatives.

The ECA funded this study to learn how the PAC was functioning, what impact the members have on ECA planning and decision-making, and if the parent participants perceive any value or benefit for themselves. ECA was also interested in gaining new knowledge and ideas from other parent engagement professionals and endeavors statewide and nationally to help inform their overall parent engagement strategy.

A thorough report, Parents in Partnership: An Initiative of the Early Childhood Alliance of Onondaga County, offered valuable insights to the Alliance and strong recommendations and references to strengthen their early efforts.

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The Family Reading Partnership is a coalition in Ithaca, NY, comprised of individuals, businesses, schools, libraries, and other organizations acting to “create a culture of literacy” to assure all children have early, frequent, and pleasurable experiences with books, as a special part of everyday family life, right from the start!  A&O worked with the Partners to build evaluation capacity, guide a literature review, and develop programmatic logic models. A&O conducted external evaluations of three programs and with a participatory1 approach built the Partnership’s capacity to continue their evaluation work internally.

 [1] Whitmore. E (Ed) (1998).  Special Issue:  Understanding and Practicing Participatory Evaluation.  New Directions in Evaluation.  Vol. 80, pp. 1-99

Testimonial

The A&O team provided us with thoughtful, engaging and realistic leadership for our evaluation project. They helped us understand the data and provided recommendations and ideas for our organizational growth (to address what we discovered in the evaluation.) Our organizational culture is shifting – we are “evaluation ready” and are now using data to inform our program planning thanks to the patience, skill and talent of the A&O team!

- A comment from our client...
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Jowonio School

The Jowonio School in Syracuse, NY is an internationally recognized model for inclusive education of young children with a wide range of abilities. A&O facilitated a diverse group of stakeholders including parents, staff, early childhood professionals, program supporters, funders and board members to develop a concise logic model to articulated their many program facets. From there, A&O provided guidance and technical assistance to Jowonio staff to build their capacity for systematic tracking, measurement and reporting of the school’s impact on children, families and staff. Armed with clear knowledge of their data collection needs and methods for collecting useful data they were able to secure funding to develop the technology for a performance management system which they implemented and continue to use today. 

Testimonial

A&O took the time to thoroughly understand our organizational needs and project expectations. They worked quickly and efficiently, gave us multiple opportunities to provide feedback on draft reports, and were always responsive to our questions and concerns. We are delighted with the product of our efforts together!

- A comment from our client...
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Apter & O’Connor led the CNY Community Foundation’s initiative to develop community wide indicators to assess literacy in Central New York. A&O conducted background research, guided the management team and facilitated a task force of 25 community leaders and literacy stakeholders through a six-month exploration and planning process. The final report served as the foundation for the establishment of a community wide literacy coalition that continues today. The Coalition provides home delivered books and activities through the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, has won awards as a Pacesetter from the Campaign for Grade Level Reading and initiated numerous programs and activities in the Central New York community.\

Testimonial

As the facilitators of the Literacy Impact Task Force, Dianne and Cynthia helped us frame our task, refereed 'arguments,' got us to the goal. We now use the Indicators developed with them as the community measures of success. Dianne and Cynthia are practical, sensible data geeks.

- A comment from our client...
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Early Reading First

Early Reading First (ERF) was an early literacy program targeting preschoolers from low income families at high risk of reading failure. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, each of these projects was a multi-year contract (3-6 years) with features unique to each district. Apter & O’Connor provided rigorous evaluations to support continuous program improvement and to assess both fidelity of implementation and the impact of the ERF interventions. Each scope of work required a detailed evaluation plan, extensive data collection and analysis, and extensive and detailed reporting to satisfy all US DOE GPRA requirements. Our evaluation outcomes enabled the districts to design and sustain changes in professional development practices and classroom instruction, gain a place on the federal What Works Clearinghouse for early childhood best practices, initiate further research on critical factors for student gains, and leverage their data to support applications for additional grant funding.

Testimonial

Apter and O’Connor Associates are highly skilled and committed to ensuring a balanced, fair and well written program evaluation. They always research the topic thoroughly including interviewing staff and visiting the sites to observe the project.  They are able to gather the necessary data, both qualitative and quantitative, to evaluate the outcomes of the project. They meet with staff to develop the evaluation plan before the project, and monitor the implementation of the plan and data collection during the project to ensure the data is correct. They are always willing to meet with staff to offer recommendations for program improvements.  Their approach is hands-on, face-to-face and research-based. They are committed to excellence, have never missed a deadline and also have outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. 

As evaluators, Apter & O’Connor provide extensive, ongoing information, feedback and recommendations that pave the way for clear, focused direction of the Early Reading First grant I presently oversee as the coordinator. They ‘tell it like it is’ and offer valuable analysis, recommendations and resources that make a significant difference in the process. Their professional expertise and guidance is a driving force for success of any grant or project. I highly trust and value Apter & O’Connor Associates, Inc. for their exemplary services and would strongly recommend them as evaluators.

- A comment from our client...
View Case Study

21st Century Learning Communities

A&O conducts local evaluations for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), a federally-funded program supporting high quality learning centers for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students. It features partnerships with school districts and community based youth development agencies.  The programs target students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools. Tutoring, academic enrichment and a broad array of youth development opportunities are offered to complement the school’s regular academic program.

In addition, literacy and other educational services are offered to families of students participating in the program. Evaluation activities include systematic observations at all sites, analysis of student academic data provided by the school district as well as surveys completed by the students themselves. A&O has worked with large multi-site school districts as well as smaller community agency sites.

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On Point for College: The Freshman Success Project

Led by Senior Associate, Dr. Donald Cibula, A&O completed an outcome evaluation for On Point’s Freshman Success project. We used rigorous statistical methods to determine progress toward the intended goals of the project and to reveal challenges to consider for future program planning. Specifically our analysis demonstrated that after completing the Summer Institute (SI), mean scores on a standardized math and reading assessment (TABE) for intervention students were significantly and substantively higher than scores for a comparison group with baseline equivalence (intervention and comparison groups were very similar demographically or in skill level prior to the intervention). We were able to conclude that the impact of the SI program was likely responsible for the student gains.  

Additionally, we assisted the agency to develop their own evaluation capacity by enhancing their existing data system to better track, measure and report program implementation and its impact on student success.

On Point for College, founded in 1999 by Virginia D. Donohue, is a unique college access and success (retention) program for enrolling inner-city, first generation college youth. The Freshman Success Program operate over a three-year grant period, January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2016. The program activities begin with advisement of prospective college enrollees and include an intensive college preparation academic component during the summer, assistance with resources for success and transition to school and on-campus advisement throughout the year.

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High School Graduation Initiative

SCSD was awarded a four year Federal grant to tackle high dropout rates and low graduation rates.  The District has contracted with Apter & O’Connor to evaluate the program and document implementation successes and challenges. The High School Graduation Initiative (HSGI) supports any student currently out of school, at-risk of dropping out or not on track for graduation. HSGI adds a strong focus on school attendance with the formation of Attendance Teams to track students early on and assist those with attendance issues through additional supports or alternative programming.  Another important component are the Graduation Initiative Specialists (or Case Mangers) who work directly with students and their families. A&O is conducting a formative and outcome evaluation, utilizing data from the Basic Educational Data System (e-School), standardized test scores, attendance records, and disciplinary referral reports as well as survey/interview with students, counselors and teachers and administrators to examine success of implementation and impact of the interventions. The findings and recommendations will inform further decision making for student supports and improved achievement.

Early Reading First

Early Reading First (ERF) was an early literacy program targeting preschoolers from low income families at high risk of reading failure. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, each of these projects was a multi-year contract (3-6 years) with features unique to each district. Apter & O’Connor provided rigorous evaluations to support continuous program improvement and to assess both fidelity of implementation and the impact of the ERF interventions. Each scope of work required a detailed evaluation plan, extensive data collection and analysis, and extensive and detailed reporting to satisfy all US DOE GPRA requirements.  Our evaluation outcomes enabled the districts to design and sustain changes in professional development practices and classroom instruction, gain a place on the federal What Works Clearinghouse for early childhood best practices, initiate further research on critical factors for student gains, and leverage their data to support applications for additional grant funding.

Testimonial

Apter and O’Connor Associates are highly skilled and committed to ensuring a balanced, fair and well written program evaluation.  They always research the topic thoroughly including interviewing staff and visiting the sites to observe the project. They are able to gather the necessary data, both qualitative and quantitative, to evaluate the outcomes of the project. They meet with staff to develop the evaluation plan before the project, and monitor the implementation of the plan and data collection during the project to ensure the data is correct. They are always willing to meet with staff to offer recommendations for program improvements. Their approach is hands-on, face-to-face and research-based. They are committed to excellence, have never missed a deadline and also have outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. 

As evaluators, Apter & O’Connor provide extensive, ongoing information, feedback and recommendations that pave the way for clear, focused direction of the Early Reading First grant I presently oversee as the coordinator. They ‘tell it like it is’ and offer valuable analysis, recommendations and resources that make a significant difference in the process. Their professional expertise and guidance is a driving force for success of any grant or project. I highly trust and value Apter & O’Connor Associates, Inc. for their exemplary services and would strongly recommend them as evaluators.

- A comment from our client...
View Case Study

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the Extended Day/School Violence Prevention (ED/SVP) programs

A&O conducts evaluations for several 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the Extended Day/School Violence Prevention (ED/SVP) programs. These programs are federally and state funded to support tutoring, academic enrichment and a broad array of youth development opportunities before and after school to complement the school’s regular academic program. It features partnerships with school districts and community-based organizations to programs target students from high-poverty neighborhoods and attending low-performing schools.

A&O’s evaluation activities include systematic observations at all sites, interviews with staff and administrators, surveys of all stakeholder (students, staff and parents) and extensive analysis of student academic data. A&O has worked with large multi-site school districts as well as smaller community agency sites, including The Syracuse City School District, Watervlieit Central School District, The YMCA of Central New York, and the Center for Community Alternatives.

Program Directors consistently note the value of these rigorous evaluations and the ongoing feedback and technical assistance for program improvement that the A&O team provides. These independent evaluations have provided the needed evidence and critical information to convince legislators at all levels of government to continue funding these after school programs.

Testimonial

We so appreciate the multi-year evaluations so we can note differences from year to year and reflect on improvements. Very helpful to share with our board, the principal and even our staff so they can see what impact they are having. The Student surveys are especially useful. 

- A comment from our client...
View Case Study

21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the Extended Day/School Violence Prevention (ED/SVP) programs

A&O conducts evaluations for several 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the Extended Day/School Violence Prevention (ED/SVP) programs. These programs are federally, joand state funded to support tutoring, academic enrichment and a broad array of youth development opportunities before and after school to complement the school’s regular academic program. It features partnerships with school districts and community-based organizations to programs target students from high-poverty neighborhoods and attending low-performing schools.

A&O’s evaluation activities include systematic observations at all sites, interviews with staff and administrators, surveys of all stakeholder (students, staff and parents) and extensive analysis of student academic data. A&O has worked with large multi-site school districts as well as smaller community agency sites, including The Syracuse City School District, Watervliet Central School District, The YMCA of Central New York, and the Center for Community Alternatives.

Program Directors consistently note the value of these rigorous evaluations and the ongoing feedback and technical assistance for program improvement that the A&O team provides. These independent evaluations have provided the needed evidence and critical information to convince legislators at all levels of government to continue funding these after school programs.

Testimonial

We so appreciate the multi-year evaluations so we can note differences from year to year and reflect on improvements. Very helpful to share with our board, the principal and even our staff so they can see what impact they are having. The Student surveys are especially useful.

-
View Case Study