Browsing by Author "Mattheis, Allison"
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Item 360 Communities: An Evaluation of the Partners for Success Program for the School Year 2010-2011(Center for Applied Reseach and Educational Improvement, 2011-09) Kundin, Delia; Wahlstrom, Kyla; Rickers, Susan; Mattheis, AllisonThe Partners for Success® (PFS) Program, serving Dakota and Scott counties, provides basic needs assistance (e.g., food, clothing, school supplies) to students and families. In addition, for over 15 years, Family Support Workers (FSW) have collaborated with teachers, principals and school staff in 39 schools to help boost students’ educational progress. The two main program goals of PFS are: 1) Establish a standard level of services across districts; and 2) Effectively partner with schools to ensure that all students reach proficiency in reading by third grade. During the 2009-2010 school year, CAREI evaluators focused on the formative aspects of the program. In the second evaluation (2010-2011), CAREI evaluators collaborated with PFS program staff to formulate three specific goals for the evaluation: 1) Determine the extent to which FSWs communicate and collaborate with parents/guardians and teachers to build relationships and improve students’ educational performance; 2) Continue to monitor PFS professional development processes and determine how 360 Communities can continue to support and strengthen program activities; and 3) Identify how the program impacts students, families and teachers by focusing on observed changes from the perspectives of teachers, parents/guardians, FSWs, and from analysis of student data. The second year’s evaluation was implemented in 10 elementary schools located in six Minnesota cities: Burnsville, Farmington, Hastings, Lakeville, South St. Paul, and West St. Paul. This report summarizes the evaluation data collected from September 2010 through June 2011.Item Confronting complexities of public school integration: School district leaders of diversity and equity navigating the professional, the personal, and the political(2013-08) Mattheis, AllisonThis dissertation is an in-depth ethnographic investigation of how local school district equity and diversity coordinators work within policy constraints and respond to particular local demands. The findings presented in this document are drawn from four years spent exploring the implementation of school integration policy in the state of Minnesota through observation of leaders' professional networks, legislative and department of education meetings and hearings, visits to three communities selected as case study sites, and a statewide survey of leaders in districts receiving integration revenue. Using a sociocultural approach to policy studies along with critical discourse analysis, this research examines community values and actions in the wider context of demographic shifts in public schools across the country, and highlights the localized nature of much educational policy. This work seeks broadly to explore practices designed to develop multicultural understanding, and examine the impact of policies that address racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic integration in public schools.