Evaluation of Southeast Alaska Full-Service Community Schools (SAFSCS) Grant
Through Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS), students, their families, and the local community can receive academic, social, and health services, which can contribute to better educational outcomes for students.
In 2023, the Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB) received a Full-Service Community Schools Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the Southeast Alaska Full Service Community Schools (SAFCS): A Strong Start for Southeast Alaskan Students project. Through the grant, SAFCS serves six rural schools across with a high minority students populations that have been historically underserved.
To do this work, SAFCS partners with Local Education Agencies, community-based organizations, and local Indian tribes to provide trauma-informed and culturally responsive school-community supports and programs that will help students and families transition into kindergarten, middle school, and high school.
AIR's Implementation and Effectiveness Studies
AIR is conducting an evaluation consisting of an implementation study and a study of the effectiveness of proposed FSCS activities on desired outcomes (i.e. social and emotional learning and academic growth). AIR’s mixed-methods approach provides AASB and its partners with critical information about the impact of the SAFSCS project on schools, students, and families.
Throughout the evaluation process, AIR is working closely with the SAFSCS to ensure that data collection processes, instruments, and the interpretation of results are culturally appropriate and reflect the lived historical context of the Alaskan communities in the evaluation.