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              AmeriCorps LEAP Initiative Year 1 Evaluation Report October 2017 - January 2018
      Back
                The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) Early Childhood Development division administered the AmeriCorps Learning Early Achieves Potential (LEAP) initiative in southern Minnesota. The initiative sought to improve school readiness of preschool children who attend Head Start centers that were falling in the gap of the school-readiness skillset. This program focuses on increasing preschoolers’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills.**Study Goals**:The purpose of this report was to review the goals of the LEAP program, evaluation methodology, fidelity to the LEAP program, and opportunities for further development.**Research Questions**:The research questions were:What were the essential elements of the LEAP model?What social-emotional learning SEL tools and strategies were being used by LEAP members?How were tools employed?How effective were tools in building SEL skills in children?**Findings:**The evaluation found the following:The classroom observations demonstrated that all of the LEAP core strategies or tools were implemented, with direct intervention and modeling being the most common technique.Interviewed LEAP members and classroom teachers valued the LEAP program and linked children’s growth in social and emotional skills to the LEAP program.Experience in the LEAP program seemed to strengthen the extent to which the LEAP member implemented the program.While all core strategies were observed, MindUp lesson implementation was inconsistent across sites.The lack of understanding about LEAP members’ and teachers’ roles interfered with the integration of SEL into the classroom.Building positive relationships is essential for success.The value of the MindUp lesson implementation could be enhanced by improving the language and classroom activities to be age appropriate.For more information, download the full report.

      Full report
      

      Full Report
            SouthernMinnesotaInitiativeFoundation.20AC220629.Report-Revised_508.pdf
        Further information
    



      Program/Intervention
                        AmeriCorps LEAP Initiative
  

      Implementing Organization
                        Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
  

      Intermediary(s)
                        Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
  

      AmeriCorps Program(s)
            AmeriCorps State and National
  

      Age(s) Studied
            0-5 (Early childhood)
  

      Focus Population(s)/Community(s)
            Rural
                  Suburban
                  Urban
                  Low Income
  

      Outcome Category
            School readiness
  

      Study Type(s)
            Implementation
  

      Study Design(s)
            Non-Experimental
  

      Level of Evidence
            Preliminary
  

      Researcher/Evaluator
                        ACET Inc.
  

      Published Year
                        2018
  

      Study Site Location (State)
            Minnesota Back to main content Sign up to hear about our latest news, events, and opportunities.
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