| To help address the problem of poor literacy skills among young adolescents, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) established the Adolescent Literacy Initiative to “identify research-based program models appropriate for providing reading and writing instruction to an adolescent population.” To meet this goal, DYCD funded eight experienced providers to plan and implement 11 school-based, after-school adolescent literacy programs. PSA’s evaluation examined programs funded under this initiative in their first year.
Consistent with DYCD’s expectations, the 11 programs demonstrated a variety of approaches to helping young adolescents develop their literacy skills. All featured explicit literacy instruction as a key component of their strategies. Six programs were theme-based and five adopted a more traditional approach to literacy instruction.
The evaluation found that 10 of the 11 programs established generally positive working relationships with host schools during the first year of operation. Five partnerships were especially supportive, as reflected by close collaboration between program and school staff in initial planning and ongoing operations. Consistent with the variation in program design, the evaluation found variation in program staffing, with staffing plans generally reflecting program designs and literacy approaches.
Overall, the programs funded under this initiative served a total of 307 youth in 2006-07. Just over half of the participants for whom 2006 English Language Arts (ELA) scores were available scored at ELA Level 2 in winter 2006, the year prior to program implementation. Twenty-two percent of participants were classified as English language learners, with almost all of these participants concentrated in three programs. More than half of participants in seven programs attended five or six months, with one program retaining all of its participants for six months. The remaining programs retained the majority of participants for four months or less.
The evaluation examined two outcome indicators: scores on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment and results from the Readers’ Self Perception Scale (RSPS). Participants in several of the traditional programs achieved positive results on the DIBELS, although the lack of complete data on reading fluency in other programs, especially the theme-based programs, prevented any conclusions about the effectiveness of particular configurations of program activities and services.
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