Age range

Website: www.sunschools.org

Mission/Goals: Local and state governments are joining Multnomah County (which contains Portland) and local communities in an initiative aimed at helping children: succeed academically and socially; increase parental involvement with schools; support and strengthen parents, families, and community residents; encourage sharing of public funds through the expanded use of schools; and achieve a better, more complete and better coordinated delivery of services to all community residents.

Source(s): www.sunschools.org

Type of Evaluation: Outcomes monitoring.

Objective: To have independent contractors conduct independent baseline assessments of each goal and document the history and process of the initiative's conception. The five goals the Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) initiative were: 1) to increase the capacity of the local schools to provide a safe, supervised and positive environment for expanded experiences that improve student achievement, attendance, behavior and other skills for healthy development and academic success. 2) to increase family involvement in supporting the school and school-based activities that build individual and community assets. 3) to increase community and business involvement in supporting schools and school-based programs that combine academics, recreation and social/health services. 4) to improve the system of collaboration among school districts, government, community-based agencies, families, citizens, and business/corporate leaders through established and written agreements. 5) to improve use of public facilities and services by locating services in the community-based neighborhood schools.

Impact/Outcomes: Beyond establishing the baseline for future evaluation of SUN Community Schools, the evaluation did conclude that collaboration amongst stakeholders had increased during the year.