51视频

02/08/2018
By Katharine Webster

When an alternative program for Lowell High School students decided to seek a U.S. Department of Education (DOE) grant to expand, its leaders asked 51视频 for help.

To get the grant, 鈥檚 leaders needed experts to evaluate their students鈥� progress. They chose UML鈥檚 Center for Program Evaluation, which offered a holistic 鈥渆mpowerment evaluation鈥� 鈥� not just data analysis, but also active collaboration to help the school improve programs and services.

The Career Academy won the grant 鈥� worth $500,000 per year for up to five years 鈥� and it is now a full-service community school that partners with community organizations to offer programs, internships and social support ranging from a food pantry to English language classes for students and their families.聽

With help from the Center for Program Evaluation, it has demonstrated improved behavior and achievement among its 150 day and evening students.

鈥淭hey provide us tangible suggestions for improvement,鈥� Principal Megan O鈥橪oughlin says of the center鈥檚 faculty and staff. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been very helpful in planning next steps.鈥�

鈥淭hey鈥檙e always interested in getting small grants to help us, too,鈥� says Lauren Campion, who manages The Career Academy鈥檚 community partnerships and programs.聽

The Center for Program Evaluation involves faculty across campus who are experts in and conduct research on evaluation methods. They also offer help with planning, grant-writing and evaluation as well as workshops on evaluation methods 鈥� both internally to university faculty, staff and students and externally to businesses and public agencies, especially schools.

鈥淭he primary focus for most of us is education, but we鈥檙e a very diverse, interdisciplinary group,鈥� says Assoc. Prof. of Education Jill Lohmeier, the center鈥檚 director. 鈥淪chool districts often have a need for program evaluation and the College of Education has a relatively new Ph.D. in research and evaluation in education, so our students can get experience using different evaluation methods.鈥�

Since its founding four years ago, the center has worked with school districts including Lawrence, Everett and Methuen, and collaborated on several grants with the Lowell public schools.

College of Education faculty and staff have gone out of their way to help The Career Academy succeed. Assoc. Prof. Xiaoxia Newton applied for and won a $1,000 Chancellor鈥檚 2020 Grant and a $2,000 College of Education grant (from the Josephine and Lucy Ragozzino Fund) to help the school pay for a day of community service last spring.

The students identified needs in the community and spent the day helping out, whether painting the gym at the church next door or weeding and preparing the school鈥檚 gardens for spring planting.

Center manager Shanna Rose Thompson and , a Ph.D. candidate in educational research and evaluation who is a part-time research assistant at the center, trained some of the students to use photography to document and reflect on the day, then talk about their photos to share their perspectives 鈥� a participatory research technique known as PhotoVoice.

, who is earning her doctorate in leadership in schooling, also assisted with the PhotoVoice training. She says she was initially skeptical of the technique but ended up being deeply moved by the students鈥� presentation.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 just on the sidelines with this grant,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 felt like I was actually a part of it and learning that this is how you gain insight into people鈥檚 stories.鈥�