Teams Embrace Results Count to Boost School Attendance for Teens

Sev­en com­mu­ni­ties par­tic­i­pat­ing in the U.S. Depart­ment of Education’s Promise Neigh­bor­hoods ini­tia­tive are focused on a sin­gle, shared result: reduc­ing chron­ic absen­teeism among kids tran­si­tion­ing from mid­dle school to high school.

Teams from each site are work­ing to real­ize this goal by apply­ing Results Count™, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s sig­na­ture lead­er­ship approach, which helps lead­ers accel­er­ate mea­sur­able and last­ing improve­ments for young people.

The par­tic­i­pat­ing sites are:

• Alas­ka;
• Bal­ti­more, Maryland;
• Hay­ward, California;
• Newark, New Jersey;
• Per­ry Coun­ty, Kentucky;
• Port­land, Ore­gon; and
• San Diego

The Casey Foun­da­tion has pro­vid­ed lead­er­ship devel­op­ment assis­tance to Promise Neigh­bor­hoods teams since the initiative’s incep­tion in 2010. The Depart­ment of Edu­ca­tion ini­tial­ly tapped the Foun­da­tion for this role due to its record of suc­cess help­ing lead­ers adopt a results-ori­ent­ed and equi­table approach, accord­ing to Elson Nash, a Promise Neigh­bor­hoods team lead.

The fed­er­al agency grew so impressed with this approach that it ulti­mate­ly made results-based lead­er­ship a per­ma­nent, con­trac­tu­al require­ment. ​“We asked our­selves, ​‘How can we best sus­tain pro­gram­ming in com­mu­ni­ties after the [fed­er­al] dol­lars are gone?’” Nash recalls. ​“And the answer was clear: We had to find a way to equip lead­ers with the appro­pri­ate skills to under­stand and con­vey results.”

Each team will attend sem­i­nars and par­take in webi­na­rs and coach­ing calls led by staff from the Casey Foun­da­tion and the Cen­ter for the Study of Social Pol­i­cy (CSSP), a long­time Promise Neigh­bor­hoods tech­ni­cal assis­tance provider.

“To build a cul­ture of results, you need align­ment among part­ners and a shared com­mit­ment to using data-dri­ven deci­sion mak­ing and col­lab­o­ra­tion to move from inten­tion to action,” says Bar­bara Squires, Casey’s direc­tor of lead­er­ship devel­op­ment. ​“This process begins with lead­ers who are equipped with skills and prac­tice in enact­ing those principles.”

Adds Juani­ta Gal­lion, CSSP’s deputy direc­tor of equi­ty and learn­ing: ​“In the end, we hope they see this work as the begin­ning of a shared com­mit­ment, not just a grant program.”

Relat­ed Results Count Resources

• Lead­er­ship pro­gram sup­ports New York City’s com­mu­ni­ty schools initiative
• Plan, Do, Study, Act charts course for boost­ing grad­u­a­tion rates among youth

Relat­ed Promise Neigh­bor­hoods Resources

• Focus­ing on Results in Promise Neighborhoods
• Results-based lead­er­ship devel­op­ment helps Promise Neigh­bor­hoods deliv­er results in Mississippi