Sustaining an Evidence-Based Student Engagement Intervention: The Case of Check & Connect

Abstract

Sustaining an Evidence-Based Student Engagement Intervention: The Case of Check & Connect Educators across the U.S. struggle to provide an equitable education to their diverse students. Since the 2020 COVID pandemic and the national call to end racism after George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, chronic absenteeism and students’ substantial mental health challenges have disrupted their efforts. Schools have struggled more than ever to simply educate their students, much less utilize evidence-based interventions to ensure that students graduate from high school prepared for success in postsecondary education and adult life. Evidence-based programs, which have been shown to support educational goals, cannot produce outcomes if they are not sustained, which, unfortunately, is frequently the case. Check & Connect (C&C), an evidence-based student engagement/dropout prevention intervention, was piloted in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) in 1990 and has been implemented ever since. Although there have been multiple internal and external evaluations of it, none have looked at what factors contribute to its unique continued implementation in the district. This dissertation describes the factors leading to the sustainability of implementation of C&C in this large midwestern, urban school district. There is relatively little literature on what conditions are necessary to sustain a program, in part because most program evaluations typically cover two-five years, and programs are often ended before they can produce results. Understanding what contributes to the sustainability of programs as they are implemented over time can lead to improved outcomes. Several studies have found practices that lead to sustainability, including internal and external champions, staff involvement, relationships with the community, and adaptability. Given the current impetus to using evidence-based interventions, understanding what leads to sustainability is a critical issue for education. This study identified four factors that explain the longevity of C&C in MPS: C&C supported evolving district strategies and priorities; C&C responded to changing circumstances; C&C staff were adaptable to changing contexts; and C&C and school staff were relatively stable. These align with the factors identified in the sustainability research as integral to success and have potential to produce improved outcomes for students as evidence-based programs are sustained for longer than the usual two-three years common in educational settings.