ARC serves a wide range of clients

Many of ARC's projects have been large, multiyear evaluations, some involving data from thousands of youth.  However, we have also consulted to programs serving as few as 20 students, and to projects lasting only a few months.  We work where we can help.

Clients have included nonprofit programs, academic researchers, school systems, government agencies, and other consultants.  Presented below are four representative projects ARC has completed.

Academic Research

Smaller Projects

Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters (YBBBS)

YBBBS manages more than 800 active mentoring matches serving children in Yavapai County, Arizona.  In partnership with Dr. Michael Nakkula, of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, ARC investigated the match relationship quality and academic outcomes in several mentoring models. Funded by the Department of Education (DOE), the mixed-methods design included ARC's surveys and annual onsite interviewing.

The study was the first to incorporate students’ full academic histories, account for the effects of modified curricula on grade changes, and analyze data through growth modeling.  This unique approach resulted in powerful findings showing that the mentoring significantly improved younger students’ grades.  Separate analyses showed how mentors’ approach and students’ perceptions about the match related to academic outcomes.

Interviews with served parents, youth, and mentors yielded a depth of perspective that revealed the dynamics and activities that contributed to strong matches.  The qualitative research also produced insight on the value of school-based mentoring and initiatives such as the use of high school mentors.

In part because of their participation in the Harvard-affiliated study, YBBBS was the only mentoring program in Arizona to receive funds from the DOE grant.  The research demonstrated that YBBBS is sustaining strong matches and resulted in improved intake and supervision tools. 

With Dr. Nakkula, ARC coauthored a chapter in the Handbook of Youth Mentoring that listed the most important elements of match relationship quality and reviewed instruments used in the research.  The surveys are now used in numerous studies nationwide.

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Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Inc. Hi-Five Program (EYA)

EYA’s Hi-Five programming serves several thousand South Florida students with school-based violence prevention and social competencies services.  In partnership with Dr. Michael Nakkula, of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, ARC studied students’ development of skills relating to conflict resolution, empathy, and impulse control.  Funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the mixed-methods design included surveys ARC coauthored for the study and onsite interviewing and observation. 

Statistical analyses of longitudinal data from more than 2,000 served and 1,000 comparison students showed that students receiving multiple years of the programming made substantial cumulative gains on the self-reported measures.  Teachers also perceived substantial improvement in classes of served children. Students, teachers, and administrators saw the program as having a broad and profound influence on individuals and classrooms, and even on entire schools where the program was particularly well-established. 

Analyses also revealed the skills and personal characteristics associated with the most effective Hi-Five staff and school teachers and yielded a model of the environmental interactions necessary to promote outcomes. These findings informed program development and provided clear criteria for hiring future staff.  The research also produced strong student- and teacher-reported surveys of social competencies that Hi-Five used in association with sites not included in the research.

The study was presented at the National Prevention Network Annual Conference in 2003 and a manuscript has been prepared for publication in a peer-review journal.

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Jobs for the Future

JFF works to create educational and economic opportunity for youth and adults.  ARC consulted to JFF’s development of a survey assessing the relationships between early college high schools and their postsecondary institutions partners.  Working from an existing JFF survey and with information gathered from interviewing and focus groups, ARC developed prompts to measure desired topic areas and organized them into subscales that could yield useful scores.

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Mentorworks

Mentorworks oversees school-based mentoring provided to students in the Fairfax (VA) Public Schools. ARC helped Mentorworks set organizational goals and consider variations in practices across different sites by conducting interviews with program staff and participants.  ARC also helped Mentorworks prepare to perform an internal evaluation of its own services. 

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