The R-CITY Project: A Collaborative Intervention With Teachers and Youth

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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R-CITY refers to the Collaborative Intervention with Teachers and Youth to practice and apply the 4 Rs of equity literacy skills in the classroom - Recognizing, Responding, Restoring Relationships, and Resilience. R-CITY is a collaborative teacher- and youth-focused prevention intervention that offers equity literacy lessons to accompany the Second Step social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. The lessons are designed to build teachers' and students' equity stamina and promote SEL skills to create safe and positive learning environments for all. The R-CITY Project uses a school-level randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to test the integration of the Second Step universal classroom-based evidence-based SEL program that Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) had been scaling up district wide with the R-CITY equity lessons. The purpose of the RCT is to determine the value-added of the SEL + Equity Condition, compared to the SEL curriculum alone (SEL Only) in AACPS elementary and middle schools. Students in both conditions get access the Second Step SEL content, there is no true control condition, but rather an active comparison condition.

Detailed Description
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The study aims to test the R-CITY intervention in 30 elementary and middle schools in AACPS in Maryland. The investigator team plans to enroll the schools across 3 cohorts. The first cohort of schools included 8 elementary schools (2021-2022). Seven to 8 elementary and middle schools are in the process of being recruited for cohort 2 (2022-2023). The third and final cohort will be recruited in fall 2023.

Official Title
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R-CITY: A Collaborative Intervention With Teachers and Youth

Conditions
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Violence

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: SEL + Equity
* Behavioral: SEL Only


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: - General education teachers of core subjects (Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, English/Language Arts).

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: School-level randomization of teachers to arm.
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: SEL Only<br>SEL Only Condition supports include: School wide support for implementation of Second Step curriculum (e.g., technical assistance professional development, facilitated professional learning communities) Support to Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) and Multi Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and equity teams with alignment of initiatives Individualized technical assistance with Second Step SEL implementation | Behavioral: SEL Only<br>* For the SEL Only (active comparator) condition schools, activities involve school-wide technical assistance and implementation support for SEL curriculum implementation, as well as individualized technical assistance for the SEL curriculum. In the year following participation, SEL Only condition schools are offered access to and training and technical support for the classroom equity lessons.<br>|
| Experimental: SEL + Equity<br>SEL + Equity (Second Step + Equity) supports include supports from the SEL Only condition plus: Training and implementation support for teachers to deliver 6 equity literacy lessons tailored to each grade level (4th and 5th for elementary schools; 6th - 8th for middle schools) and aligned with Second Step core content Five 45-minute school-wide equity focused Professional Development (PD) sessions to complement AACPS Equity PD Individualized teacher coaching to support implementing equity practices and equity-focused classroom lessons | Behavioral: SEL + Equity<br>* For the SEL + Equity (experimental) condition schools, activities include those in the SEL Only condition, as well as equity lessons designed by the project team, as well as training and individualized support for implementing classroom equity lessons, five 45-minute equity professional development sessions, and one-on-one coaching to support equitable practices and the implementation of the 6 classroom equity lessons.<br>* Other names: R-CITY Intervention;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ASSIST Classroom Observations | The ASSIST is a direct observational measure that assesses the classroom interactions between students and teachers. Observation cycles are 15 minutes and scales include tallied counts of teacher and student behaviors, as well as global ratings of interactions based on a Likert-style scale. | Post-intervention, within one month following the completion of the intervention. | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| R-CITY Teacher Self-Report Survey | This survey assesses teachers' cultural competence and self-efficacy. Each item on this scale was scored on a 6-point Likert-type scale where 1 is strongly disagree and 6 is strongly agree. | Post-intervention, within one month following the completion of the intervention. | 
| Suspensions | School-level student suspensions (publicly reported and accessible). | Post-intervention, within one month following the completion of the intervention. |