Scaling Up Research in Philadelphia
February 19, 2013
Project Principal Investigator Adam Gamoran at the podium during the packed press conference in Philadelphia City Hall
A diverse and highly motivated team of educators and researchers met in Philadelphia in early February to begin a scale-up of the Families and Schools Together (FAST) program in Philadelphia Schools.
The FAST program was developed by former University of Wisconsin social work faculty member Lynn McDonald more than two decades ago. While it is still is based in Madison and has its research headquarters at WCER, the program has also been administered in Philadelphia for some time, under the leadership of a nonprofit organization called Turning Points for Children. Thanks to a $15 million grant awarded in January by the U.S. Department of Education, FAST is being scaled up in The City of Brotherly Love.
FAST works by removing barriers to student achievement: It improves relationships within families, and between families and schools. FAST has received funding from many sources and has been proven effective by a number of agencies. It now operates in 46 states and 13 countries. The Philadelphia project will last five years, involve 60 schools, and improve the cultural capital of hundreds of families. Program effectiveness will be measured by staff from the American Institutes for Research.
Each of the 15 or so organizational representatives contributed unique skills and resources. They represented groups with distinct missions but shared overlapping interests. In long meetings held over two consecutive days, the group nailed down agreement in three major areas: How to best implement the project among 60 elementary schools, how to best evaluate the project’s effectiveness, and how to best disseminate the importance of the work.
Meetings were held at Turning Points headquarters. During the second day attendees attended a press conference at City Hall to announce the collaboration and explain its goals of boosting student achievement. Held in a palatial room, the press conference featured Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools Dr. William R. Hit Jr., a spokesperson from the office of Mayor Michael Nutter, and representatives from collaborating organizations. Journalists from print media and TV filled the aisles. Parents who participate in the FAST program were there to offer support.
More about the project’s scope, background, and funding:
http://news.education.wisc.edu/news/2012/12/27/uw-madison-researchers-win-$15-million-grant-to-improve-student-achievement
