Description:
The School District of Philadelphia (District) received a five-year Project Prevent grant for $2.5 million from the US Department of Education in 2019. This grant was awarded for the purpose of improving support systems for students and families in schools in high-crime communities, and building District capacity to provide similar services to other schools. Schools in Learning Network 11 were selected based on crime data in the surrounding communities.
Why is this contract needed?
These contract extensions are needed to continue to support the services provided through the end of the grant period. The services provided by these vendors are required work under the terms of the Project Prevent grant.
How is this work connected to the District’s plan to achieve Goals & Guardrails?
Project Prevent supports the Board's Guardrail 1: Safe and Welcoming Schools, Guardrail 3:Partnering with Parents & Family Members, and Guardrail 4:Addressing Racist Practices. The Tier 1 efforts supported by the named partners will help ensure welcoming school environments that equitably meet the needs of all students through a focus on social and emotional learning and restorative practices. The grant also leverages the work of these partners to bolster support for students in need of mental and behavioral health intervention. In addition, the project includes a focus on engaging families and caregivers.
How will the success of this contract be measured?
Each vendor has clear deliverables that are stipulated as part of Project Prevent. Lakeside will deliver training to LN 11 schools using its Neurologic Approach to Trauma Awareness Training. The University of Pennsylvania will support the District in developing and implementing a system for monitoring and documenting implementation of evidence-based interventions for purposes for continuous improvement.
If this is the continuation of a contract, how has success been measured in the past and what specific information do we have to show that it was successful?
Both vendors have existing contracts as part of the Project Prevent grant. The University of Pennsylvania has been involved with the work since the grant was awarded and has supported our staff in developing new tools and systems for understanding and better supporting schools in implementing best practices. The University of Pennsylvania helped the Office of School Climate & Culture develop its new cloud-based tool for monitoring implementation and identifying barriers to implementation. They also attend meetings for the Project Prevent project, collect data, and provide formative feedback to the project team. Lakeside needs additional time to provide the planned services to the schools due to 1) COVID, and 2) difficulty in finding time in schools’ schedules to deliver this training. They were able to begin the work in some of the schools in the 2022/2023 school year, and services will be able to be provided more consistently in the coming school year.
When applicable, is this an evidence-based strategy? If so, what evidence exists to support this approach?
As a stipulation of the Project Prevent funding, all strategies supported through this project are evidence-based. An extensive literature review detailing the evidence base of all project activities was included with the grant application.