Gatekeepers
Marion County
Families and Communities Together
Core Result: Children succeeding in school
Benchmark: Student achievement on MAP test
February 2002
Objective
Decrease the number of discipline referrals for Palmyra Middle School students from 570 in 2001 to 484 by 2005.
Strategies
Gatekeepers
A collaborative effort between FACT, the schools and Hannibal-LaGrange College was designed to connect college students with at-risk children in the fifth grade.
The project, called Gatekeepers, began in 1996, and included fifth grade students in three schools, Eugene Field and Pettibone Elementary Schools in Hannibal, and Palmyra Middle School in Palmyra. The students involved not only receive tutoring but someone who serves as young adult mentors who set examples for the children.
Academic performance is expected to improve with a decrease in discipline referrals.
This year the program has since expanded so that it includes fifth-graders in all five of Hannibal’s elementary schools, as well as Palmyra’s Middle School. A total of 22 Gatekeepers worked with 24 students last year. This year there are 28 Gatekeepers working with about 30 students this year.
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges has been to develop strong mentoring relationship between college student and child, and to then use that relationship to help the child succeed. It’s been hard for partners to grasp the value of such a relationship to a child, and how it can in turn impact the disciplinary and social issues that caused the child to be referred to the program.
Observations/Actions
Training and focus on building that relationship has improved the GateKeepers program tremendously this year. Feedback from the college students and schools alike has been more positive.
Results
According to data supplied by the two Hannibal elementary schools originally involved in Gatekeepers, in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years the students involved in Gatekeepers showed a 25 percent decrease in discipline referrals in 2000-01 compared to 1999-2000; and a decrease of 19 percent in the number of days absent for the same period.
Palmyra, likewise has demonstrated a decline in discipline problems. This is noted on the graphic at the top right of the next column.
Still, one of the challenges to GateKeepers has been in providing more accurate, measurable results. That will be addressed in the coming year as part of FACT’s plan for this strategy.
Funding/Return on Investment
In 2000-01, the entire program was funded with a $5,000 grant from the Pillsbury Foundation. Part of that, $1,581.36 was carried over for use this year. In addition to that, $1,500 of Caring Communities funds has been budgeted for the program. In kind contributions include volunteer hours valued at $8,064, (22 Gatekeepers @ $6 an hour), $6,000 for Hannibal-LaGrange faculty coordinator and $500 for University of Missouri Extension training, for a total of $12,836 of community investment. Future funding has yet to be determined for this strategy for the 2002-03 school year.
Noteworthy
This year more of a focus has been placed on developing that relationship, with guidance coming from the college’s faculty advisor. Such a focus has increased the value of GateKeepers for both the college mentors and their elementary students.
Barriers / Road Blocks
In seeking to collect and evaluate data, the question arose as to whether the identified performance measures corresponded to the factors or criteria used to refer students to GateKeepers. Added to that is the fact that this is the first year GateKeepers has moved beyond the three original schools to encompass all of Hannibal’s elementary schools (five in all) as well as Palmyra Elementary School. This is an area FACT will address, clarify and improve this year.
