Highlights of the National Evaluation of Cities in Schools

• NCJ Number: 193892
• Author(s): Shelli B. Rossman; Elaine Morley
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 21 pages
• Grant Number(s): 91-JN-CX-K001
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: The Urban Institute
• Sale Source: The Urban Institute
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report summarizes the key findings of a multi-year evaluation of the Cities in Schools (CIS) program, a school-based intervention for at-risk youth.

Abstract

Cities in Schools, Inc., is a nonprofit organization that provides training and technical assistance to promote the replication of the CIS dropout prevention program in communities and schools. The CIS model involves the establishment of community-based CIS programs that develop projects in school sites that provide services to youth at risk of dropping out of school. The objective of the model is to integrate existing community services and resources and relocate them to the school site to achieve dropout-reduction and mitigate related problems, such as substance abuse, gang involvement, violence, and other risky behaviors. This report summarizes findings from a process and impact evaluation that assessed the CIS national organization's replication process and its training and technical assistance efforts, as well as the degree to which the CIS model has been implemented at the community levels, along with the effects it has had on schools and students. The evaluation, which began in October 1991 and was completed in February 1994, involved interviews with strategic persons; the observation of training sessions; field visits to 17 programs; surveys of staff, students, and parents; data extraction from relevant files; and site visits to 10 communities. Fifteen key findings pertain to the CIS national organization and replication activities; 12 findings pertain to community programs and school-based projects; and 8 findings address student outcomes and client satisfaction. The report recommends that the CIS national organization place greater emphasis on providing training and technical assistance to bolster those areas where weaknesses have been identified, notably the development of procedures to monitor client and system outcomes and the broadening of accountability to include the maintenance of data that permit assessment of program effects on students served. 3 tables, 5 figures, and 4 references