Charter vs. Non-Charter schools

In the past three years we have worked in 24 non-charter and 8 charter schools. This is roughly representative of the percentage of charter schools in LAUSD (148 out of 658 schools = 22%).
The table below rates the various partners (from 1-5, 1 being very poor and 5 being awesome) on the quality of administrative support, the partner teacher and parental involvement.

In general what I have observed is that there really is no difference between charters and non-charters. The three things that determine school performance and quality are:

1. The principal's dedication to the students, resourcefulness, courage and leadership abilities.
2. Small class sizes
3. Parental involvement (which is linked to point no.1)

Charter schools tend to perform better (as seen in the slides from our USN Map) primarily because of small class sizes.Some charter schools also mandate parental involvement and that results in improved performance as well.

In my interactions with researchers and funders I have seen a distinct bias towards charter schools which is not founded on hard data. On the other hand, I have also seen school administrators in non-charter schools be very hostile towards charter schools without basing their opinions on any credible evidence. I would like to change that! As we partner with more schools, I hope to populate the above Factual table with more data. As it is an editable table, you are invited to discuss any content.
In addition I hope the USN map will help users make more data-driven decisions about partner schools.

Results from our Parents' Needs Surveys

Robyn Hightower helped develop, conduct and analyze two parent surveys (in Fall 2008 and 2009) that would help inform our decisions on how to develop programs that directly addressed our target audience's needs in the most organic and efficient manner. Here are some key findings.

Fall 2008

We sampled 361 parents from eight partner schools at Back-to-School Nights. These schools were mainly situated in South Los Angeles and represented a mix of charter and non-charter schools that serve primarily low-income Hispanic and African-American students.

Parents were asked about reasons they would enroll their child in Iridescent’s science programs, positive outcomes they expected from the program, and things they currently do to support their child’s education.
“Why would you sign your child up for this program?”
Main reasons why parents were interested in having their children attend Iridescent’s science workshops were:

1. So that their children could learn new things
2. That their child wanted to attend
3. They wanted their children to make new friends

“What would you like to gain through this program?”
Main positive outcomes parents hoped to gain were:

1. Increased knowledge about science. Nearly one quarter of parents (23%) said they would like to learn about science.
2. Increased ability to “help my child(ren) with their homework” (22%).
3. Getting information about and access to USC (19%)
4. Learning about new community and school resources (18%)

“What do you do to help your child in his/her education?”
Only 22% of parents said that they made sure their child did their homework and one in five parents (19%) said that they helped their children with their homework.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Parent’s low involvement in their child’s homework habits could possibly be improved by getting them involved with Iridescent’s programs, as parents viewed Iridescent as a great resource to learn how to better support their child’s education. Thus one way to get parents involved would be to focus on the message that Iridescent could empower parents with science content knowledge and the ability to help their children with their homework.

More details from this survey can be found here.

Fall 2009
We sampled 943 parents from 14 partner schools in South Los Angeles that primarily serve low-income Hispanic and African-American students. The goal of the survey was to inform decisions on whether Iridescent should develop an online Parent Social Networking Ning Site, what features to incorporate on that site and what resources to develop that would help parents engage their children in science after the workshops. The survey also had some questions determining interest in co-investing and the Parent Leadership Program.
OVERALL INTEREST IN FOUR PROGRAMS IRIDESCENT OFFERS/COULD OFFER
On the whole, parents were very positive toward all four of the programs that Iridescent tested. Almost three out of five parents were very interested in the Iridescent’s programs on the whole. Parents thought that Iridescent’s in-class science sessions were the most appealing, with 87% being positive toward those courses. These courses were defined as “4 week class led by USC engineers for your children during their science class at school.”
Almost nearly as popular were the science courses that focused on student projects. The student science project was described as a “2 month long project for your child on a topic of her/his choice. Your child will be mentored individually by an engineer and will have access to sophisticated tools and equipment like microscopes, robots and computers.” Although it was the third most highly rated series, the family science classes, described as “4 week evening class led by USC engineers, in which you conduct experiments and learn science along with your children”, still garnered 72% total positive interest and nearly half of all parents (46%) were ‘very interested’ in family science classes. Even the family science project, which was rated the lowest, had 67% total positive interest.
Parents seemed most comfortable with classes that stayed in the classroom and did not involve parents teaching science at home. This is consistent with what we have experienced in the past. Parents who haven’t participated in our Family Science Program or seen videos from the sessions are unable to overcome their biases against science and their own feelings of inadequacy regarding supporting their child’s science education. Videos are very effective in showing parents that others like them are participating in the sessions, supporting their child’s activities meaningfully and having fun! Here is a sample video we have been showing at Back to School Nights.


ONLINE PARENT SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE
Parents’ Internet Usage
Almost 4 in 5 parents use the Internet at least once a week. This is encouraging as it suggests that online forms of communication may be an efficient way to contact and interact with parents directly. This finding supports trends seen in the research Iridescent conducted in Fall 2008 in which 87% of parents said they had computers at home and 82% said they had internet access.

Interest in features of an online forum for parents
As over 80% of parents log on to the Internet at least once a week, an online forum where parents can check in on their child’s education could prove to be a value resource for parents. Iridescent asked parents how interested they would be in an online forum for parents that would give them resources to support their child’s education, adding that the parents would be provided a class to teach them how to use the forum. Parents were asked to rate different features that could be included in the online forum, including, videos of engineers explaining concepts and showing how to conduct experiments; the ability to share pictures/videos from the science sessions with friends, family and other parents; learning how to send their child to university, such as USC; access to engineers; monthly science stories; and lesson plans on how to conduct science experiments with children at home.
Overall, positive interest in an online forum appears very strong. On average, three quarters of parents were positively interested in each website feature. Parents were most interested in gaining access to resources outside their local community, including access to information about institutions of higher education and access to engineers. This finding supports trends seen in the parent research Iridescent completed in fall 2008. The partnership that Iridescent has with USC is a beneficial one, as it helps attract the interest of parents who may not otherwise be interested in science programs.

SCIENCE RESOURCES
Amount spent on home entertainment products
In the past six months, almost one in four parents (23%) spent $50-$100 on movies, including DVDs. Parents spend slightly more than average on movies rather than video games or music. As parents spend a significant amount of their home entertainment budget on movies, than other forms of entertainment, offering parents educational, science DVDs would be a great way to encourage at-home engagement with science lessons. One example of a video that we could burn onto the DVD is below:


Interest in buying science-related products to excite kids about science
Surprisingly, storybooks (80%) garnered more interest than t-shirts (72%).


PARENT CO-INVESTING
Amount of possible donations to Iridescent
Most parents were willing to spend a small sum of money to support the Family Science Courses. Nearly three out of four parents (73%) were willing to donate between $5 and $20. Fifty one percent of parents were most interested in donating $10 or less. Only 9% were interested in donating more than $20. Nearly one in five (18%) reported that they were not interested in donating anything.

Parents’ interest in volunteering for Family Science Courses
Iridescent evaluated parents’ commitment to the Family Science Courses by asking them to rate their interest in volunteering for the program. Iridescent described the time commitment and tasks the volunteers would need to complete*.
Half of the parents (51%) indicated that they would be interested in helping Iridescent organize Family Science Sessions at their child’s school. Nearly one quarter of parents (23%) stated neutral, and the last quarter said that they were disinterested in volunteering.
The finding that 51% of parents who completed the survey were interested in volunteering is encouraging. The survey has ascertained that parents are not only willing to invest money to support Iridescent in their child’s school, but they are also willing to provide support with their own time and resources. Their willingness to provide support will help ensure sustainability of the Family Science Courses at each site.
* “We are looking for motivated parents who would help us organize the Family Science Sessions at your school. We would provide a 1-2 session leadership class led by USC Business students. Time commitment = 30 hours for one month. Responsibilities would include organizing food, materials and funds.”

More details on the survey can be found here.

How to get hired? INITIATIVE

Lately I have been reviewing a lot of resumes (both for volunteer and paid positions at Iridescent), going to career fairs and interviewing candidates and came to a few conclusions about hiring.
I used to be an international graduate student not too long ago and distinctly remember the feeling of desperation when you submit your resume to 5000 black holes.
But now I realize that good people are very hard to find and employers have the same feeling of desperation that they won't get the right person for the job. So if you know you have the right stuff, then there are two things you could do that would get you hired in a heartbeat.

1. Be picky.
   
2. Show initiative.

That sounds easy, but it actually requires a ton of work. Here is what the above two steps entail:

• Identify 2-3 organizations that you would like to work with.
• Study the organizations very very carefully and review their websites at length. This requires a lot of work and you shouldn't skimp on the work.
  
• Google the employees and find out about them (this is super easy to do these days with LinkedIn profiles, blogs etc).
  
• Find out what philosophy the administration subscribes to. If the organization is big, find out if they have any books about themselves and read them!

THEN comes the fun creative part!

• Determine what the organization needs. This is not easy. Sometimes the organization could have job postings on their website that could guide you, but this step requires you to think like an owner. "How could I run this organization better?".
• Determine how your strengths could help address the organization's needs.
• Plan and execute a small project (along the lines of the organization's needs and your strengths) that you can finish in 2-3 weeks. Or if it is not possible to do a small project, then think through (in detail) a larger project that could benefit the organization AND that you would love to execute.

Last step is to get hold of someone from the organization and show them your work. You are guaranteed to floor them! Many times they may not be hiring in your field or for the position you are interested in. Do not despair. Be persistent and patient. Volunteer to work on that project for 2-3 months (shorter period of time is useless to all). And you will be guaranteed to be hired after that period!

Conclusion: If you are passionate about working in a particular field, go for it with all you have got. Don't be afraid of hard work. Think long-term. And you will be supremely happy!
Here is one of my favorite inspirational pieces on "Living a Fruitful Life" by Frank Oppenheimer.

How to build a working model of a heart using tupperware?

We are playing with a new tool (called Knoodle) that enables you to synchronize powerpoint presentations with a video. I think this is a very powerful approach.
Here is an example from our cardiovascular mechanics course.

Community Within the Community

For the past three years Iridescent has provided hands-on science courses at ~ 30 schools in the downtown Los Angeles area. However, in order to provide the community families with a workspace for long-term projects, we are now looking for a physical space that can be used for teaching and preparation work.
In order to get a sense of the Los Angeles community and gain insight on ways that Iridescent could become a thriving and functional partner in the neighborhood, I took a look at various successful non-profit organizations in the area: The Center for Life Long Learning (CLLL), The Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), The Salvation Army Youth Center, and Challengers Boys and Girls Club (CBGC). Although very different from each other, these organizations also had striking similarities. There’s a beautiful sense of hope that lies deep among their staff and members. Sure the community is filled with thousands of families trying to provide their children with the basics; but alongside these people and their aspirations are hundreds of non-profits trying to do the same thing, struggle to survive. So how do they do it? There were a few words that never failed to come up during an interview, “respect”, “growth”, and “commitment”. These words not only applied to the children involved in the community programs but also the volunteers, workers, and parents.

• RESPECT: In order to earn the respect of the community families, each organization reaches out, they provide a comforting atmosphere and a haven for its members. The CLLL painted their gates and walls with spirited colors. HOLA has begun to clean up the Lafayette Park for community use. The Salvation Army painted a large mural on their wall. The CBGC created schools and day care programs within the area. Once the people of the community gained a sense of trust for the organization, they were able to become involved and follow the high standards that the organization placed for its members.
• COMMUNITY GROWTH: Each organization makes it their responsibility to rear the children towards being successful and moral members of society. The volunteers and teachers pinpoint where a child’s talent lies then build off it. They help the children to excel in their best abilities while also offering other resources. The growth of the parents is also always a goal. In this time of economic instability many families have great intangible demands; whether mental, emotional, or supportive, the families need a safe place to connect and work with each other. The organizations often build strong bonds between parent and child. As the members grow, so does their desire to give back to the community, thus the organization can grow.
• COMMITMENT: There must be a commitment to the cause. The organizations’ volunteers and workers must be selfless and the child members must be self-fulfilling. The commitment of the community provides a full proof plan for learning and change.
  

Giving goes both ways. No organization can function without the shared resources of another. The organizations provide activity, health care, and education for those that need it, and in return the community wants to give back. The WANT to give back is how the communities function within the community. Mortimer Jones executive director of the Salvation Army Youth Center said, “In order to succeed, this can’t be a job it has to be a passion.”

Organization	Center for Life Long Learning	Heart of Los Angeles	Salvations Army		Challengers Boys and Girls Club
Establishment	· Small · 6 years in its location · Transient Families · 7-18 year old members	· 5 directors · Over 1,000 kids · 20 years in its location · Application process · 6-19 year old members	· Serves over 4,000 youth and their parents · 7 years in its location · No age limit on members		· 3,500 children · 40 years in its location · 6-17 year old members · Application process
Volunteers	· College students · Local professionals · Retired teachers · Elderly Services	· College students · Local professionals · SAT prep tutors	· College students · Corporate and Local professionals · Center for student Missions. · Archdiocese Youth Employment.		· College students · Local professionals · Parents · Teachers · Junior Members
Fundraising	· Grant writing · Individual donations	· Grant writing · Individual donation · Golf/Bowling competitions · Summer camp drive · Hosting major events	· Grant writing · Individual Donation		· Grant writing · Individual donations · Golf Tournament · Pancake Breakfast · Citibank Gala
Effective programs	· After-school Tutoring and homework help · Computer Lab · Free Snack Bar	· After-school Tutoring and homework help · One-on-one focus · Soccer and sports activities · 12 week courses of the child’s choice. · Art, Cooking, LGBT, Sex Ed, college prep… · Offers Mental Health Care for families	· After-school Tutoring and homework help · Family services · Licensed day care · Dance, fitness, kitchen, library, arts, game rooms, food, skate park · Computer Lab		· After-school Tutoring and homework help · Transportation · Character and Leadership development · Health and life skills · Radio Broadcasting, film editing, arts, music, dance, fitness, sports, cooking · Field trips
Partnerships	· Teachers without boarders · City scholars foundation · LA food bank · Dole Foods	· Salvation Army · Bresee · Boys and Girls Club · LA Lakers	· Archdiocese · Youth Admissions · LA Clippers · USC · LA food bank · Center for student missions		· Disney · United Way · McDonalds Teaching Healthy Habits · Hola · Q Fraternity
Security	· Background checks Gate · Police cooperation · Surveillance camera	· Background checks · Gate · Police Cooperation · Constant Chaperon · Alarm	· Background checks · Gate · Police Cooperation · Constant Chaperon · Alarm · Windows in every room · Surveillance cameras · Everyone is searched		· Background checks · Gate · Police Cooperation · Front Desk check · Alarm · Strict non gang related dress code for civility of children within the grounds
Essentials	· Gain the trust of the community · Have a good PR plan · Competitive staff · Know your demography	· Asset Based: Build of the individual child’s talents · Equality and respect · High moral values · Confidence	· Gain the trust and respect of the community · Passion for the cause		· Build confidence within the child · Involve the parents · Build of the talents of the child · Parental volunteers · Shuttle transportation
Problems	· Tagging · Homeless wanderers · Awareness · Family Attendance · Parents with limited education · Inconsistency with student volunteers during the summer	· Parental want for child to work or be domesticated instead of continue school. · Cultural misunderstandings. · Values clashing. · Parents with limited education	· Transient culture · On the Gang Separation line · Not enough volunteers · Transportation · Parents with limited education · Awareness for the youth centers services: Breaking the stereotype that the Salvation Army is one big thrift store.	· Discipline · Parent disputes over fees and attendance · Optional tutoring: The children aren’t forced to attend homework help and often pick an activity over learning.

What 106 Los Angeles teachers think and believe

Robyn Hightower developed and conducted a teacher survey for the teachers in 8 of our partner schools (N= 106). Here are some of the interesting correlations that we observed in the data. You can access the survey here.


Effect of age

• The older the teacher, the more they believe that “No matter a student's home environment, a teacher can help a child succeed in school” r(107)=.240, p=.012.
• Not statistically correlated. The older the teacher, the more likely they will agree that “My school provides resources to those who are willing go through the difficult approval process” r(100)=-1.81, p=.72.

Awareness of Iridescent

• Awareness of Iridescent is positively correlated with interactive activities in the classroom. R(108)= -.20, p=.038. The more hands-on or social activities that teachers incorporate into their classroom, the more likely they are aware of Iridescent.
• Awareness is also negative correlated with “My school does not encourage teachers' continued education” r(113)=-.269, p=.004. The more a teacher believes that their school does not support continued teacher education, the less aware the teacher is of Iridescent. In other words, when the teachers believe the school doesn’t encourage their education, the less aware of outside resources they are.

Interest in Iridescent
“I think that I’m a better teacher than other teachers at my school” almost statistical significantly correlated with interest in Iridescent. R(100) = .195, p= .052. Thus, the more interested a teacher is in Iridescent, the more likely the think that they are a better teacher than other teachers at their school.

Participation in after school activities

• Participation in after school activities is positively correlated with starting extracurricular groups. R (115) = .601, p=.000. Significant at .01 level.
• Participation in after school activities is negatively correlated with “There are teachers at my school who are more involved in extra-curricular activities than me.” R(116)= -.363, p=.000. Significant at .01 level. This makes intuitive sense as teachers who are highly involved in extracurriculars would rightly believe that few teachers are more involved in activities than they are.
• Start after-school groups is also negatively correlated with “There are teachers at my school who are more involved in extra-curricular activities than me.” R(115)= -.332, p=.000.

What is the difference between an engineer and a teacher?

I have been reading a really interesting book on engineering called, "To engineer is human: the role of failure in successful design". One insight from the book is that engineers naturally have or are trained to have a high tolerance for change. That is why they are always looking for better ways to design and build things. This directly goes against our general love for the status quo, the known and comfortable.
This insight helped me frame our interactions with teachers a bit better. I realized that teachers need to provide a consistent, safe environment for their students (especially inner-city students who have tumultuous family lives) and change doesn't come very naturally to them. Thus a teacher's ability to innovate would be directly proportional to his/her tolerance for chaos in the classroom.
So which side of the spectrum would result in the best learning for the students? I would hypothesize that inculcating a spirit of innovation and courage would stand the student in better stead than a very orderly environment. I come from a girls-only, convent school run by nuns and there are probably some jails in the world that are better than that school. There was tremendous discipline and order and every girl had spotless white, knee-length socks - and I did not learn anything.
Maybe if the teacher were to be openly honest with the students and admit that they all (the students and teacher) were going to try out a new experiment that even the teacher didn't know the outcome of, then it could be a powerful learning exercise for all. I know some teachers on the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) listserve share similar strategies and protocols, but I wonder what it would take to have every teacher expand their comfort zone and be more receptive to change.