The Impact

The Impact

LINC North Texas has developed the following program outcomes:

• 75% of SALI students who have had at least 2 years of SALI will reach the benchmarks for “Outstanding” character and leadership and “Outstanding” family strength
• 75% of SALI students will report feeling more confident in their education because of SALI
• 25% of the upperclassman SALI students will report considering changing careers due to their involvement in the community
• 95% of SALI students who have been in the program for at least 4 years will go on to post-secondary education

A recent survey of 702 SALI students shows the impact of the program is significant. After SALI, 294 of these students said they resolved a conflict with what they learned. More than fifty percent of them said they argue less with their parents due to their new conflict resolution skills. In addition, 83% of students said they would take some form of action when witnessing a student being bullied. These numbers indicate lives being changed through the program. Even more encouraging results are expected to be developed in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years, as new baselines are measured and two-year results discovered.

SALI will have a long-term impact on families and on their communities. First, while character, leadership, and parenting training are valuable by themselves, they also further impact educational outcomes. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that quality character education programs lead to academic results. Character education has been further linked to academic motivation and aspirations, social behavior and values, conflict-resolution abilities, moral-reasoning skills, self-esteem, school discipline, pregnancy rates, substance abuse, and more.

Research further indicates that parent engagement programs are effective academically. When families are involved in the education of their children, the students achieve academically, attend regularly, exhibit positive attitudes, and are more likely to graduate and enroll in higher education. Effective parental involvement can even have benefits for the parents as well, enhancing their own sense of efficacy as a parent and their perceptions of their kids. One study found that at schools where teachers were reporting strong outreach to parents, test scores were growing at a rate 40 percent higher than at schools where they were not reaching out.

Citations:

• Henderson, Anne T. , & Mapp, Karen L. A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. Retrieved 20 March 2012 from http://www.sedl.org/connections/resources/evidence.pdf. Published in 2002.
• Berkowitz, Marvin W., and Bier, Melinda C. “Research-Based Character Education.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 591, January 2004, pages 72-85.
• Funkhouser, Janie E., & Gonzales, Miriam R. “Family Involvement in Children’s Education: Successful Local Approaches.” Retrieved 20 March 2012 from www2.ed.gov/PDFDocs/97-7022.pdf. Published October 1997.