Emergency Response and Crisis Management
Technical Assistance Center (ERCM
TA)
What Works
Clearinghouse (WWC)
Evaluation of the Ohio
Mathematics Academy Program (OMAP) and
the Ohio Science Institute Initiatives
Evaluation of Student Drug
Testing Programs
Evaluation
of the Communities in Schools
(CIS) Program
Junior
Achievement: K–12
Education Programs Evaluation
Center
for Public Education Topical
Content Development Project,
National School Boards Association
Association
for Supervision and Curriculum
Development (ASCD)
Educational
Materials on Children’s
Health
High School Schools Tool
High School Journalism Public Service
Announcement (PSA) Contest
Educational Materials on Recycling
New Jersey Department of Education Mathematics and Science Partnership Program Evaluation
Regional Educational Laboratory (REL), Mid-Atlantic
Emergency Response and Crisis Management
Technical Assistance Center (ERCM
TA)
ICF operates the Emergency Response
and Crisis Management Technical Assistance
(ERCM TA) Center under contract with
the U.S. Department of Education to
support schools and school districts
in disseminating guidelines for school emergency management plans and procedures. ICF works closely with the Department of Education to:
1) develop and maintain the plans in collaboration with community partners, such as local law enforcement, and public safety, health, and mental health agencies
2) provide emergency procedures for all hazards
3) develop and tailor plans based on a school’s geographic location, structure, activities, and environmental, weather, or biological risks
4) ensure the safety of the whole school community, including students, staff and visitors with disabilities and special needs
5) incorporate the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) The ERCM TA Center provides assistance, training and produces a variety of materials:
- ERCMExpress: A newsletter providing comprehensive information on key issues in school emergency management.
- Lessons Learned: A series offering brief summaries of actual school emergencies
and crises, alongside the resulting lessons learned by schools.
- Helpful Hints: A series providing a brief overview of school emergency management topics.
- http://www.ercm.org: A Web site that provides information and resources aimed at building school emergency management capacity.
Center
activities include training and technical
assistance, information dissemination,
and guidance addressing the four
phases of emergency response: prevention
and mitigation, preparedness, response,
and recovery. 
What Works Clearinghouse
(WWC)
In partnership
with the Campbell Collaboration,
the American Institutes for Research,
and Aspen Systems, ICF's education
experts developed and maintain
the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC),
which assesses and reports evidence
of what works in diverse education
topic areas. Through the WWC, it
is possible to access on-line databases
that describe the effectiveness of
different educational programs, products,
and practices that claim to enhance
important student outcomes. The WWC
also includes a registry of evaluators
who are willing to conduct evaluation
studies that meet high-quality standards
of scientific rigor as determined
by the clearinghouse.
Evaluation of the Ohio
Mathematics Academy Program (OMAP) and
the Ohio Science Institute Initiatives
ICF is evaluating the effectiveness
of the Ohio Mathematics Academy
Program and the Ohio Science Institute
professional development initiatives,
which are designed to improve Ohio
teachers’ knowledge and skills
relative to effective classroom
mathematics and science instruction.
The initiatives are supported through
the U.S. Department of Education’s
Mathematics and Science Partnership
Institutes. Evaluation results are being used to:
- Identify challenges that teachers
encounter when transferring knowledge
from professional development experiences into classroom practice
- Provide feedback
to curriculum developers and
trainers to improve professional
development sessions
- Verify that teachers are
learning the intended knowledge
and skills
- Determine the impact of professional
development on the extent and
quality of implementation of new
strategies in the classroom
Numerous data collection
activities, including an assessment
of teacher content knowledge, will
yield important information to
help the Ohio Department of Education
make key decisions about the initiatives.
Evaluation of Student
Drug Testing Programs
The U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools,
awarded a Demonstration Grant for Student
Drug Testing to PASS: The Noble Idea,
Inc., (PASS) of Autauga County, Alabama.
The purpose of the grant is to implement
and evaluate the school-based drug
testing programs for students. The
Autauga County Independent Decision
(ID) Program is a voluntary student
drug testing program that offers rewards
and incentives to students who test
negative for drugs. PASS will enhance
this program by adding a voluntary
Student Athletic Drug Testing program
with a local high school athletic department.
Under this three-year contract, ICF
will conduct implementation and outcome
evaluations of the ID and Student Athletic
Drug Testing programs.
Evaluation of the Communities
in Schools (CIS) Program
Communities In Schools, Inc.,
(CIS) is a nationwide initiative to
help students learn successfully, stay
in school, and prepare for life. Since
2002, we have provided evaluation
services to CIS, including development
of a comprehensive process and outcome
evaluation of the program. The design
calls for a mixed-method approach that
reflects variation in state, local,
and national organization efforts,
and provides an underlying theoretical
core that applies across projects and
levels in this program. Together
with CIS, we presented our research
plan to Atlantic Philanthropies.
In May 2005, this philanthropic organization
began funding a three-year evaluation
designed to answer questions about
the effectiveness of the CIS model
and its impact on served youth as
well as the school setting. This
highly rigorous study also will incorporate
tools for building evaluation capacity
at national offices and local sites.
Junior Achievement: K–12
Education Programs Evaluation
Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide
is the oldest, largest, and fastest
growing not-for-profit economic education
organization in the world. JA Worldwide
was awarded funds from the U.S. Department
of Justice to design and implement
new after-school programs for elementary,
middle, and high school students,
focusing on business, citizenship,
economics, entrepreneurship, ethics,
financial literacy, and life skills
and career development. ICF's education
researchers began with a comprehensive
evaluation of JA’s six-module,
elementary after-school program to
identify student outcomes. This
work was followed by a formative
evaluation of JA’s
new school after-school program, which will be followed by a formative evaluation
of the redesigned after-school JA
Company program for high school age
students. These evaluations involve
development of a program logic model,
sampling plan, evaluation design,
and a variety of data collection
instruments. Pre- and post-test data
are collected to measure change in
student knowledge and attitudes based
on exposure to individual modules in each curriculum, with follow-on outcome
data collected for the summative evaluations. Our analyses allow JA Worldwide
to refine its curricula as part of
the formative evaluations and to
identify key student outcomes and
best practices as part of the summative
evaluations.
Center for Public
Education Topical Content Development
Project, National School Boards
Association
Many organizations, including local
school districts and their school
board members, are being challenged
to identify and use evidence-based
information to guide decision making
and aid in the design and implementation
of programs. The Center for Public
Education, an initiative of the
National School Boards Association,
has responded to this need by developing a Web-based information source that
provides its membership (local school board officials) and secondary audiences
with “plain English,” research-based information on various topics.
ICF supplied the Web site content. We package and deliver topical information
to the center as four
products:
- a synthesis of the research
- a
tip sheet highlighting “need to know” information
- a
question-and-answer document
geared toward parents
- an organization list
pointing users to additional
resources
More
information about the National School
Boards Association is available at
its Web site: http://www.nsba.org/publiced.
Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
The
Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development (ASCD)
is a membership-based organization
that represents school administrators,
classroom teachers, and other
educators. We have contracted with
ACSD to produce its quarterly
publication Infobrief,
the association’s
primary policy-focused publication.
Infobrief provides concise
information on current education
issues for policymakers, key decision
makers, journalists, and others
who seek reliable information about
the connections between education
policy and effective, evidenced-based
practice.
Educational Materials on Children’s
Health
ICF International worked in partnership
with EPA, the Girl and Boy Scouts
of America, 4-H, and United National
Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) to design
and develop content for a "youth
book" to build environmental
health awareness among adolescents,
ages 10-15. The design of the book
mimics a CD jewel case and cleverly
communicates the theme, Live,
Learn, Play—Tune in to Your
Health and Environment, by using
stereo symbols and youthful, vibrant
imagery and color schemes. The content
speaks directly to the audience using
a hip, urban tone. The book includes
background educational information
about a variety of environmental
health issues, followed by fun, interactive
activities and proactive safety tips
to allow youth to develop a hands-on
understanding of how to address and
minimize environmental risks among
their friends, families, and communities.
ICF International also developed
a suite of educational materials
to inform parents and caregivers,
teachers, government agencies, organizations,
the media, and others of Children’s
Health Month, with information on
disease and injury prevention, environmental
safety, and school health.
High School Schools Tool
The Schools Tool is a Microsoft
Excel-based tool recently developed
by ICF International that walks high
school students through the process
of performing an inventory of their
school’s greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. Along the
way, the tool’s user-friendly
environment educates students on
a range of topics, including GHGs, climate
change, and the nuances of performing
an inventory. The tool also helps
students conceptualize ways to reduce
emissions and design an action plan
to implement those reductions at
their schools. This tool represents
EPA’s ongoing efforts to provide
local places with tools to estimate
and reduce their emissions.
High School Journalism Public Service
Announcement (PSA) Contest
ICF International provided public
relations and advertising support
to a number of PADEP environmental
programs. For one of these efforts
in support of PADEP’s efforts
to include youth in its education
efforts regarding recycling and waste
reduction, ICF International designed
a new promotional piece to advertise
the High School Journalism/PSA Contest.
This creative piece was two-sided
and folded to provide a pocket for
application materials and give guidance
to educators as to how to promote
the contest. The opposite side targeted
the students themselves and was printed
so that it could be unfolded and
mounted on a wall like a poster.
This packet of information was followed
up with a reminder postcard using
the same design elements to encourage
the broadest distribution and expanded
participation.
Educational Materials on Recycling
ICF International completed an 18-month, award-winning
social marketing campaign for
the City
of San José Environmental
Services Department to ease residents
into the city’s new recycling
and waste management services.
The campaign, known as Clean ‘n'
Green San José: Services
with Curb Appeal, incorporated
a wide variety of strategies and
tactics, including creating educational
materials for cable television,
children in grades 4-6, and adult
life skills classes.
Mathematics and Science Partnership Program Evaluation
New Jersey Department of Education
ICF and its partners, Assessment & Evaluation Concepts and Education Resources Group, are conducting a program evaluation of New Jersey’s Mathematics and Science Partnership program. The goal of the program is to increase the academic achievement of students in mathematics and science by enhancing the content knowledge and teaching skills of classroom teachers. The New Jersey Department of Education has partnered with three lead agencies—Rutgers University, Rowan University, and Montclair University—to develop three unique curriculum and professional development schedules across 68 school districts and 73 public and nonpublic schools. The ICF team will work with the three lead agencies and the New Jersey Department of Education to implement a quasi-experimental research design comparing the development of teachers receiving Mathematics and Science Partnership professional development with nonparticipating teachers’ development. Findings from the quasi-experimental study will be supplemented by secondary analysis of available student assessment data; teacher, school, and district data; observations of teacher training; review of professional development curricula; and a school climate survey.
Regional Educational Laboratory (REL), Mid-Atlantic
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences
ICF partners with The Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, The Metiri Group, ANALYTICA, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) to comprise the Mid-Atlantic REL, one of the ten RELs under a five-year contract with the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The mission of the Mid-Atlantic REL is to use applied research, development, dissemination, training, and technical assistance to introduce the latest research and proven practices into school improvement efforts in the mid-Atlantic region. ICF is actively involved in nearly every facet of REL Mid-Atlantic’s project work. We participate in identifying regional needs that drive the prioritization of research topics and technical assistance, and in the development and implementation of outreach strategies. We also contribute to the execution of Fast Response Projects that provide analysis of education issues to help policymakers and practitioners base their decisions on scientific evidence. ICF also takes part in the rigorous studies that examine the effects of proposed policies, programs, or practices on academic achievement and related high-priority needs of the region. The studies have used experimental, randomized control trial designs, and collectively employ an array of research methods. |
