Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative

The Center for Community and School Action Research (CCSAR) will be responsible for carrying out the evaluation of a 3-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Education in Waterbury, Connecticut.  The school and community based initiative is one of 54 of its kind that were selected across the country for funding, and CCSAR will receive a subcontract from the city of Waterbury to conduct an extensive evaluation of the project.  This evaluation will be conducted under the guidance of a national project evaluator.

The goal of the overall project is to effectively replicate proven programs to reduce incidence rates for a range of problem behaviors among children, adolescents, and their families in an inner city setting.  The interventions will include a variety of after school, family, prenatal, and special psychological services aimed to reduce school truancy, juvenile assault arrests, assaults on teachers, threats of violence, and juvenile visits to the emergency room due to violent incidents. The project aims to improve school climate, expand mental health services, infuse parenting skills training, and engage the community in after school activities and school safety programs in order to support pro-social behaviors among school students and their families.

CCSAR will carry out both qualitative and quantitative evaluation research under the leadership of the national evaluator.  Process measurements that the CCSAR investigators will collect and analyze include membership and attendance school truancy and attendance data from the CT Department of Education, adherence to all project timelines and protocols, and periodic focus groups to determine the perceived effectiveness of the interventions.  Outcome measurements will include pre and post analysis of school attendance rates, self-reported drug use, frequency of violent incidents, and self-reported fear or concern about school violence.

The Waterbury, CT Public Schools, in partnership with the Waterbury Police Department, the Connecticut Department of Children & Families (DCF), local health care providers, juvenile justice agencies, and youth and family service agencies, proposes a Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative. The initiative will target infants, children and adolescents, and their families.  It will develop sustainable systems that help children become resilient against factors that push them to violence and other antisocial behaviors.  Benchmarked against the comprehensive community plan, funds are requested for five of six elements of activity specified in the federal Program Announcement.  Work in each element will be supported by process and outcome evaluation, carried out by the Center for Community and School Action Research (CCSAR) at Southern Connecticut State University, to produce reliable information on implementation progress and fidelity, track participation in evidence-based programs, and assess system effects on identified key indicators.

Element One: Local police will initiate anti-truancy programs and carry out evidence-based violence prevention activities in schools;
Element Two: The LEA and key stakeholders will implement school improvement and reform initiatives in regular and alternative schools and public/community after school programs, with the intent to reduce frequency of fighting and assaults on teachers;
Element Three: Local youth services and child/family service agencies will collaborate with the LEA, police, and courts to improve availability of mental health initiatives services for children whose behavior has led to suspension, arrest, or other difficulty;
Element Four:  The two hospitals and the community health center will infuse proven approaches across a coordinated home-based prenatal and postpartum visitation effort.  A citywide family information center, linked to neighborhood councils and churches, will engage parents in workshops to improve family functioning and reduce rates of family violence.  This work will be supported by a community wide media campaign to stimulate interest in attending family communications sessions;
Element Five:  School and community teams will apply problem-solving and action planning techniques to improve links between school and after school program content.