| Roundtable: Challenges of Evaluating a Multi-disciplinary, Multi-agency, School Based, Safe Schools/Healthy Students Project |
| Roundtable Presentation 819 to be held in Jefferson Room on Saturday, November 10, 1:50 PM to 3:20 PM |
| Presenter(s): |
| Carl Brun, Wright State University, carl.brun@wright.edu |
| Betty Yung, Wright State University, betty.yung@wright.edu |
| Cheryl Meyer, Wright State University, cheryl.meyer@wright.edu |
| Carla Clasen, Wright State University, carla.clasen@wright.edu |
| Katherine Cauley, Wright State University, katherine.cauley@wright.edu |
| Kay Parent, Wright State University, kay.parent@wright.edu |
| Abstract: The roundtable presenters compose the team responsible for evaluating a three year, multi-agency Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant implemented in a K-12 school-wide district. The evaluators represent health administration, nursing, psychology, and social work. The presenters will discuss the coordination of implementing over 25 instruments to measure more than 17 long-term outcomes, including the required GPRA outcomes for the federally funded project. The evaluators also assisted staff from 15 programs to measure short-term outcomes. The presenters will discuss several challenges to the evaluation including "program creep", changes in program implementation from the original grant, and an aversion to measuring outcomes. The staff implementing the grant funded interventions constantly sought advice from the evaluators on how to implement the programs. As evaluators, we constantly needed to clarify our role while also providing assistance in utilizing the evaluation data. The presenters will also discuss a tool used to monitor the complex evaluation plan. |