Kitsap Strong’s Collaborative Learning Academy: A Program Evaluation

Abstract

Participants from the 2019-2020 Collaborative Learning Academy (CLA) cohort were asked to tell stories in five domains about the most important way their relationships changed with themselves, their students, their colleagues and supervisors, and their district since participating in the CLA. Analysis of the program was aimed at answering 3 main research questions:1. Overall, did the CLA participants make positive efforts to implement trauma-informed practices after attending the CLA? 2. What are the factors that made implementing trauma-informed practices after attending the CLA more likely? 3. Did some schools do better than others at implementing trauma-informed practices after attending the CLA? Analysis of the interviews revealed participants had made efforts to implement trauma informed practices after attending the CLA. They had dedicated time to training teachers on social emotional learning (SEL) theory and had provided tools such as fidget toys, regulation spaces and alternative classroom seating. They were using circle meetings in the classroom and during staff meetings. They were more likely to implement trauma-informed practices if they reported a high level of support, especially from their colleagues, school leadership and district leadership. They were still struggling on how to engage parents and the lack of support from parents was holding back implementation. Participants in the CLA also struggled with implementing the CLA strategies because only 3-4 staff members attended the CLA and were responsible for dissemination to the rest of the school. Of the 3 schools, one school was outperforming the other two at implementing trauma-informed practices; factors responsible included more district goal alignment, more resources dedicated to SEL, buy-in from other colleagues and more support from parents. As an evaluator, I made recommendations to increase the effectiveness of the CLA program based on the analysis of the interviews. The CLA program would likely be more successful if it increased district, colleague, and parent involvement in implementing SEL in schools. I also recommend schools amend their mission to declare their commitment to becoming trauma informed schools. The CLA might provide more implementation modeling to the schools to aid with logistics of implementing trauma-informed practices in their schools. Finally, I recommend the CLA program develop a system for measuring program outcomes.