Whitney R.

Langley

The Effectiveness of
Communities in Schools Atlanta
 Purpose of Evaluation

The purpose of this program evaluation is to

examine the effectiveness of the Communitive in
Schools Program of Atlanta by focusing on the
proposed outcomes. This is an established program
so I completed a process evaluation.
Evaluation Questions

1. Which schools in the Atlanta Public Schools System are partnered with
Communities in Schools?
2. What services are being offered at the sites?
3. How do graduation rates for students participating in the CIS program compare
to those of previous years?
4. Teachers- Do you think that the CIS Atlanta Program has positively impacted
your classroom?
Data Collection

– This was a process evaluation that functioned as a data review

– Graduation statistics were gathered from Atlanta Pubic Schools
– Graduation rates were gathered from Communities in Schools
– Teacher perception surveys were administered
Participants

– I did not directly interview

anyone in this research.
However, senior high school
teacher perceptions were
included in the data that I
gathered from Communities in
Schools of Atlanta.
Results

– Communities in Schools Atlanta

has positive impacts on schools
– Served over 38,000 students in
2017-2018
– Nearly 4,000 received intensive
individualized support
– 92% of participants graduated
Results

1. There are 62 Metro Atlanta Schools who partner with Communities in Schools

Evaluation question 2: What services are being offered at the sites?

- 21 Century Learning - Mentors
- Emergency Aid - Partnerships
- Food Pantry - Reading Programs
- Foster Care - Real World Academy
- Risky Behaviors Program -Community Service
 Results

Evaluation question 3: How do

graduation rates for students
participating in the CIS program
compare to those of previous
years?
Atlanta Public Schools had the
highest graduation rate in the
history of the system last year
during the 2017-2018 school
year
Results
• Evaluation question 4: (Teachers) Do you think that the CIS Atlanta
Program has positively impacted your classroom?
Use of Results

 Based on my findings, Atlanta Public Schools should continue to

partner with Communities in Schools of Atlanta and possibly
include more students to continue to increase graduation rates.

 Though teachers are generally happy with CIS they should have a
program to make schools safer for students and teachers.
 Continue to foster programs to get parents involved in education
after students leave elementary school.
 CIS could create programs to foster social emotional skills for staff
to increase their morale as well.
Lessons Gleaned

 Have very strong questions because they truly guide your

evaluation. There were times when I got myself off track
by gathering information that I did not need.
 Narrow population before trying to attack an entire
school system. Trying to gather results from 60+ schools
was overwhelming.
 Make sure that evaluation type matches the focus of the
program.
Research Presentation
Whitney R. Langley