Strengths and Opportunities

What are the program’s strengths and opportunities for improvement?

This section outlines the strengths and opportunities for improvement for the Kent Learning Together program. It is based on results related to program goals and objectives, as well as interviews with the two site coordinators and program director at the end of the 2024-25 program year that included questions about successes and challenges from the past year, and hopes for the future.

Program Strengths

Strengths from the 2024-25 program year include strengthening connections and relationships with students, school leaders, and community partners.

  • With students: Compared to 2023-24, both sites served more students in 2024-25 and had a higher proportion of participants who were regular attendees. Both sites met both objectives related to regular attendees:
    • 10% of the school population would be regular attendees (2024-25 results: 12% at East Hill and 20% at Springbrook).
    • 60% of regular attendees attended for 60 days or more (2024-25 results: 77% at East Hill and 77% at Springbrook).
  • With school leaders and staff: The program at Springbrook maintained their strong partnership with school leaders, and collaboration with the principal at East Hill deepened, with more regular meetings and communication compared to the first year of the grant. East Hill also worked closely with staff and families to implement the school’s behavior policy and support students through collaboration with the behavior interventionist, counselors, administration, and families, including the addition of home visits.
  • With community partners: Both sites added a new community partner this year (Seattle Universal Math Museum), which supported expanded program offerings for students.

Both sites focused on ensuring student safety and providing support and resources to families during the stress and uncertainty of increased immigration enforcement. Each site coordinator attended Know Your Rights training and connected with partners and staff before establishing a plan if immigration enforcement was to come on campus. All parents understood the plan, including what they could do if this situation were to occur at school pick-up or at bus stops.

Additionally, Safe Space (the SEL PQA domain) had the highest average score and most improved from 2023-24 (4.0 to 4.2). Additionally, Springbrook built from the SEL PQA data to focus on Emotion Coaching, which staff incorporated into their practice and interactions with students.
 

Opportunities for Improvement

Opportunities for improvement from the 2024-25 program year include:

  • Staffing: Both sites experienced staffing challenges during 2024-25, including staff retention, turnover, and absences, and a need for more experienced staff. Both sites had high school students on staff, who required a high degree oversight and did not have the experience to take on leadership roles. In planning for 2025-26, both sites were hoping to have more consistent staffing and more staff who could take on a lead role.
  • Family events: At Springbrook, there is an opportunity to build on the strong connections with students, families, and school staff they have built through their program to collaborate more closely on family events. While Springbrook had several family events in 2024-25, most of them were PTSA meetings where the 21st CCLC program did not have a big role in planning or hosting them. Both sites can increase family feedback and input by collecting more family event surveys.