Measuring the Success of a Collaborative Youth-Development Program

Working Together to Build Beacon Centers in San Francisco, by Karen E. Walker and Amy J.A. Arbreton, describes and analyzes the Beacons Initiative, a project started in 1994 by a group of San Francisco leaders determined to transform public schools in low-income neighborhoods into youth and family centers. Based on research conducted by Public/Private Ventures on the first five Beacon Centers from 1998 to 2000, the report highlights the program’s progress toward fulfilling its mission. The centers, inspired by a program in New York City, provide before- and after-school, weekend, and summer programs that are designed to serve the local needs and conditions of a specific neighborhood. Services include sports, organized activities such as movies and arts and crafts, tutoring, and career-development classes. The report concludes that the Beacons program has accomplished most of its short- and intermediate-term goals, and can trace much of its success to the partnership of parents, city departments, business leaders, the schools, foundations, and community organizations. The program was evaluated based on enrollment, attendance, participation at the centers, surveys given to schools to determine where their students spend their time outside of school, and records from the school district on grade-point averages, standardized-test scores, suspension and attendance rates, and documents provided by the program.

Publisher: Public/Private Ventures, 2000 Market Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; (215) 557-4400; fax (215) 557-4469; http://www.ppv.org; 91 pages; free for download from the P/PV Web site.