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Youth Engagement and Service Learning
The AED Center for School and Community Services has worked with many programs and projects geared to the healthy and positive development of youth. These programs take an "assets," rather than a "deficit" approach to helping youth, fostering their active involvement in their own development. See also the "Youth" page on AED's main website.
Two Social Policy Research Associates publications on youth media available.
The first, Youth Media's Impact on Audience and Channels of Distribution (PDF), offers a framework for measuring the impact of youth media on individuals and systems. The second, Youth Media Evaluation Toolkit (PDF), guides youth media organizations through the process of planning and evaluation, conducting the evaluation, and analyzing the data to inform and improve practice. It includes sample evaluation tools and helpful worksheets. PDF youth media evaluation toolkit here. For additional information about these resources please contact Jessica Bynoe.
Youth Media Reporter (2006-08)
In 2006, AED became the new managers of Youth Media Reporter (YMR), an online professional journal started by Open Society Institute to sustain and "grow" the youth media field. AED understands that the successful building of this field requires investment in the knowledge base as well as the field's workforce and leadership, especially the workforce and leadership in communities traditionally lacking power and access. As the professional journal for youth media, YMR is an essential part of these field-building strategies. In order for YMR to fulfill its potential, AED will ensure it reaches a wider, more diverse audience, increases its visibility as the intellectual resource for any professionals interested in youth media domestically or abroad, and establishes transparent and accessible processes for grassroots youth media leaders to have ownership of this publication.
AS+River Study (2002-04)
AED conducted a study of the AS+/River Project, a collaboration between Educational Equity Concepts (EEC), the New York City River Project, and the afterschool program at P.S. 20 in Manhattan. The program combines EEC's Afterschool Science PLUS (AS+) curriculum with the River Project's hands-on field experience. It enables fifth-graders enrolled in AS+ at P.S. 20 to participate in hands-on urban ecology, using the rich resources of the Hudson River. The AED study explored how the AS+/River Project fosters social, cognitive, and creative competencies in youth and how they affect academic success.
BEST Initiative Evaluation (1999-2002)
An evaluation of Building Exemplary Systems for Training Youth Workers, an initiative of the National Training Institute for Community Youth Work to help communities build comprehensive systems for youth worker staff development based on AED's Advancing Youth Development curriculum. BEST Strengthens Youth Worker Practice: An Evaluation of Building Exemplary Systems for Training Youth Workers (PDF).
Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools
(2003-08)
The Campaign is working with a coalition of 40 organizations to renew and elevate civic education in the schools. The purpose of the Campaign is to bring about changes in state, local, and national policy to implement the recommendations in the Civic Mission of Schools report, published by CIRCLE and the Carnegie Corporation. The Campaign has an initial phase of five years and will operate on two advocacy tracks: one at the federal/national level and the other directed to selected states. At the national level, it will target policymakers in Congress and the administration, the national media, and opinion leaders, as well as the public. At the state level, advocacy is in the hands of 18 grantees, selected from the 43 states responding to the RFP.
Duramed EC User Survey (2007-08)
In this project, AED seeks to learn about women who have used Plan B emergency contraception subsequent to its availability as a dual-label product in August, 2006. AED is seeking to gain a better understanding about women's knowledge of and attitudes about Plan B, the sources of information about the product they use, women's experience with access including interactions with pharmacists and health care providers, and their use of the product and subsequent reproductive health care. The target population for the study is women in the US, ages 18 and older, who used Plan B in 2007 or 2008. Links to a web-based survey will be posted on many websites. The survey will be conducted two times-once in October-November 2007 and again in February-March 2008.
New Jersey School-Based Youth Services Program Evaluation (1995-1999)
A multiphase evaluation of the New Jersey School-Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP), which provides a comprehensive range of support services to youth and their families in 29 school-based centers throughout the state. The first phase of AED's evaluation included an analysis of the political development and evolution of the SBYSP initiative and an extensive cross-site implementation analysis; the second phase entailed an intensive outcomes-based study of SBYSP, following the progress of the incoming 1996-97 ninth-grade cohort in six selected sites. Report available; contact Elayne Archer.
New York City Beacons Initiative Evaluation (1997-2001)
An evaluation of the New York City Beacons, school-based community centers run by not-for-profit agencies providing a range of activities for children, youth, and families. The evaluation included an overview study analyzing the evolution of the initiative, an implementation study documenting how the vision was transformed into action at individual sites, and an outcome study of six sites. (For more information about the Beacons, go to the website of the Fund for the City of New York. Report available (PDF).
Promoting Change in Conditions that Impede Effective Leadership in K-12 Public Education on the State/District Levels (Wallace Foundation, 2007-09)
In this two-year initiative, AED is building on its recent Wallace Foundation-funded work on "conditions change" to support effective leadership in education. The prior work resulted in the development of research-based rubrics, workshops and resource materials titled, Conditions that Impede or Support Effective Leadership: Guidelines to Promote Reflection and Action, and an initial pilot-testing of the rubrics with two states. In the next phase of the work, the rubrics will be revised and six states and selected districts in these states will use them to promote changes in conditions that affect leadership effectiveness. AED will provide technical assistance in the use of the rubrics to promote powerful discussions and the development of action plans; convene a community of practice among the six states and original pilot states to discuss challenges and progress in changing conditions that affect governance, data- informed decision making, and human and financial resource allocation; and document progress in this work in the six states.
New York City Beacons Initiative Evaluation (1997-2001)
An evaluation of the New York City Beacons, school-based community centers run by not-for-profit agencies providing a range of activities for children, youth, and families. The evaluation included an overview study analyzing the evolution of the initiative, an implementation study documenting how the vision was transformed into action at individual sites, and an outcome study of six sites. (For more information about the Beacons, go to the website of the Fund for the City of New York. Report available (PDF).
Young Adult Capacity Initiative (YACI) Evaluation (Fund for the City of New York; 2003-06)
AED is evaluating this initiative, which focuses on the capacity-building of 13 organizations funded to address the needs of youth aged 16 to 24 who are "disconnected from family, school, and employment and other essential supports." The funded organizations will provide a wide range of supports and opportunities for helping youth build relationships and develop social, academic, and career-related skills. YDI has identified the key short-term outcomes as 1) youth attachment to the program; 2) youth participation in skill-building activities; and 3) reduced obstacles to youth participation in the program. Long-term outcomes might include 1) continuation of education and achievement of a GED or high school diploma, 2) entry into an institution of higher education, and 3) employment on the part of youth.
Youth Innovation Fund (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2002-07)
The National Service-Learning Partnership created the Youth Fund to support young people, in partnership with community institutions, in addressing public issues and problems using a service-learning framework. Through the Youth Fund, young people are positioned as investors of financial, social and intellectual capital as well as conveners, advocates and evaluators of community change agendas. The Fund fosters their engagement in civic inquiry and action, ranging from youth grant-making and youth governance, to youth social entrepreneurship, youth media and youth organizing. In July 2003, the Partnership and the Youth Fund Advisory Council reviewed over 215 applications and selected eight Youth Fund sites in Chicago, Cleveland, Hampton, VA, Nashville, Portland, ME and Portland, OR, San Francisco, and Ypsilanti, MI. Since then, each site created a Youth Board, supported by a site coordinator and a local consortium of organizations. The Youth Boards completed an in-depth analysis of their communities to understand pressing issues and power structures, and to identify opportunities for youth engagement. Boards then made grants for youth-directed civic action projects addressing the root causes of the issues identified. For more information, visit www.youthinnovationfund.org.
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Youth Media Reporter (2006-08)
In 2006, AED became the new managers of Youth Media Reporter (YMR), an online professional journal started by Open Society Institute to sustain and "grow" the youth media field. AED understands that the successful building of this field requires investment in the knowledge base as well as the field's workforce and leadership, especially the workforce and leadership in communities traditionally lacking power and access. As the professional journal for youth media, YMR is an essential part of these field-building strategies. In order for YMR to fulfill its potential, AED will ensure it reaches a wider, more diverse audience, increases its visibility as the intellectual resource for any professionals interested in youth media domestically or abroad, and establishes transparent and accessible processes for grassroots youth media leaders to have ownership of this publication.
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