January 2010
CARE for Kids is having a positive impact on school culture and achievement
Like all of us, students do their best work in environments where they feel wanted and appreciated. To help us create such environments in every school and in every classroom, we are implementing a program called CARE for Kids. With the help of CARE for Kids, we are actually transforming the character of our schools—creating positive climates where students feel welcome and, in turn, are motivated to excel academically.
CARE for Kids helps students develop a sense of social responsibility and positive relationships with both adults and other students. The program includes a range of community-building activities, such as daily class meetings that encourage team spirit and “buddy matches” that pair older and younger students for collaborative learning. All of the activities promote not only academic achievement but also social, emotional, and ethical learning.
To develop CARE for Kids, JCPS incorporated ideas and best practices from other educators and national organizations and integrated them with the work of district staff members who have many years of experience in the fields of social and emotional development. The result is a unique program that is being phased into all JCPS prekindergarten classrooms, all 90 elementary schools, and all 25 middle schools over several years.
Now in its second year, the program is already proving to have a significant impact on both school culture and student achievement. For example, Breckinridge-Franklin Elementary Principal Alicia Averette says her staff has seen “a tremendous improvement in the respect our students have for each other and adults as a result of CARE for Kids. This is due to the merging of the social, emotional, ethical, and intellectual development of the students. By taking a proactive approach, we lose less instructional time because students are able to solve their own conflicts if they arise.” The CARE for Kids initiative aims to create supportive relationships between Jefferson County students, teachers and staff; so everyone from the principal to the janitorial staff receives training to become part of the CARE for Kids team.
Surveys and test data also indicate that CARE for Kids is having a positive impact. For instance, a student survey found significant gains in several areas, including the following:
• School Discussion—Students at schools that offer the CARE for Kids program responded more positively to such survey statements as “I can give opinions in class that disagree with the opinions of other students.”
• Positive Character—CARE for Kids students responded more positively to such survey statements as “I care about the feelings of others,” “I try to help when I see people in need,” and “I always try to tell the truth.”
Compared to the 2007-08 school year (the year before CARE for Kids began), schools that implemented the program during 2008-09 showed more improvement in student attendance than did schools that had not implemented the program. CARE for Kids schools also had higher teacher attendance.
A survey of teachers found that 83 percent enjoyed learning and implementing CARE for Kids and would recommend the program to other schools. Approximately 80 percent of teachers believed that CARE for Kids made a positive difference in the social and emotional development of their students and the climate in their classroom.
JCPS also researched the implementation level of CARE for Kids in relation to elementary student achievement from 2008 to 2009. Implementation level was defined as teachers’ implementation of morning meetings, class meetings, end-of-day meetings, partner work, and small-group work. Results showed that higher implementation of CARE for Kids was related to the following:
• A higher percentage of students scoring Proficient or Distinguished in reading on state tests (high implementers: 63%, low implementers: 61%)
• A higher Reading Index score (high implementers: 86.9, low implementers: 83.6)
• A higher percentage of students scoring Proficient or Distinguished in math (high implementers: 62%, low implementers: 56%)
• A higher Math Index score (high implementers: 89.0, low implementers: 82.6)
• A lower percentage of students scoring Novice in math (high implementers: 15%, low implementers: 18%)
• A higher Science Index score (high implementers: 80, low implementers: 78)
• A higher Social Studies Index score (high implementers: 76.6, low implementers: 70.1)
• A decrease in the overall percentage of students scoring on the Novice level (high implementers decreased by 0.5%, low implementers increased by 1.7%)
The positive outcomes we are achieving with this program have caught the eye of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. The foundation has published an article and produced a video about the success of CARE for Kids in JCPS. You can view the video on the Web site www.edutopia.org.
CARE for Kids is important to our work in many areas, from raising academic achievement to reducing suspensions. But most important of all, CARE for Kids is helping us create schools where every child feels safe, respected, and valued—schools where students enter and leave each day with confident smiles on their faces.
Sincerely,
Superintendent Sheldon H. Berman, Ed.D.
