ABCToday!

Five years ago, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri staked out a bold path – partner with public schools and jointly share the challenges of ensuring that children, specifically Little Brothers and Little Sisters Attend school, Behave when they get there and experience Classroom Success in reading and math.

Since that time, Big Brothers Big Sisters has continued to grow services in both the urban and rural markets. Currently, the agency is partnering with three school districts (St. Louis Public Schools, Cape Girardeau Public Schools and Normandy Public Schools) and serving over 1,300 Littles. The agency has a commitment to expand and serve over 2,000 Littles in these school districts over the next three years.

How It Works

Data is collected quarterly from the school districts in five areas – attendance, tardies, discipline referrals and reading and math grades. We utilize this data to gain a comprehensive view of each Little, identifying the youth most in need and working with our 4:1+1sm teams to create customized solutions aimed at correcting and/or minimizing the problems. Look at where our Littles have improved – they worked hard to get there!

ABCToday!
% of Littles succeeding in 2010-2011

Absences 65.7%    less than 10
Tardies 77.5%    less than 10
Discipline Referrals 90.4%    less than 5
Reading Grade 79.7%    grade C or above
Math Grade 80.4%    grade C or above

 

The following individual data illustrates the power of ABC, measuring our Littles' performance before and after intervention. BBBSEMO collects and organizes this data to ensure not only that areas of concern are easily identified but that each success is celebrated at the school and at home!

Name  School Year Grade level Absences Tardies Discipline Reading Math Next grade

Child #1

2009-09 K 23 0 0 Below Below Yes
2009-10 1 4 0 0 Below Below Yes
2010-11 2 4 0 0 On On Yes
 

Child #2

2007-08 1 0 n/a 0 Below Below Yes
2008-09 2 1 0 0 Below On Yes
2009-10 3 1 0 0 C+ C+ Yes
2010-11 4 1 0 0 B A Yes

      

Every day we learn something new. Every day our professional program staff work in the schools, spending time with each child, getting to know their family and working with their Big. As a result, they are able to share new information with teachers and principals allowing them to see not just the pieces, but the whole picture and help each Little achieve academic success.

Together, we can make a difference.