Youthprise Newsflash Jan. 2014 | Page 6

Initial Results from Baseline Study Released Methodology On the flip side, further studies in which participation dosage and quality are linked with school performance and social-emotional learning outcomes are currently being explored. Young people have 2,000 hours of discretionary time each year, more than rates across age, race/ethnicity, and family income in the Twin Cities. Among other things it will provide a benchmark against which we can measure future success. Phase I of the study focused on Minneapolis and was completed in cooperation with Minneapolis Public School’s Research Department and its Community Education Department as well as numerous youth programs in the community. Phase II is scheduled for Saint Paul in 2014. The study analyzed and mapped, by Minneapolis zip code, the rate of youth ages 11-18 participating in free or reduced cost OST programs. Rates were calculated by dividing the number of OST participants 11-18 residing in a zip code by the number of all youth of the same age and with the same attributes residing there. This methodology was also used to determine a citywide participation rate. twice the time they spend in the classroom. So it’s critical that we take advantage of those hours to engage young people in learning, build their leadership, Our primary data source on and increase the 21st Century OST participants is the database skills they will need to succeed maintained by Minneapolis in work and in life. Participation Public School’s Community and engagement in high quality Education Department, which out-of-school-time (OST) youth includes participant data on programs can have positive 1,477 free and reduced cost OST outcomes in a variety of domains. programs that Information “ The OST opportunity gap—loosely defined as operate at about opportunity and poor access to quality learning opportunities, which Minneapolis Public Schools’ participation could mean not enough programs or slots, or lack of sites. In disparities— Who is and isn’t transportation--poses a threat to our ability to really addition, data was collected participating in engage young people beyond the classroom. ” on partici pants these growthMarcus Pope, Youthprise in another 110 enhancing An unanticipated outcome community-based OST programs. opportunities? Are there gaps of this developmental study was Examining data at the individual or disparities by family income, level enabled the study to report geographic location, or age?—has the identification of some critical roadblocks in collecting citywide participation rates based on an been collected in a new study youth participation data—from unduplicated count. released by Youthprise and state statutes preventing Parks Rainbow Research. Two of the largest providers and Recreation (one of the largest The Baseline Study set out to youth-serving organizations of OST programming were not look specifically at participation able to share data. Minneapolis in Minneapolis) from sharing in and access to free and, or participant data, to youth programs Parks and Recreation is low-cost OST programming prohibited by state statute that don’t have the capacity to opportunities and participation from sharing participant level collect and manage these data. 5 [Youthprise] Newsflash information and the Hennepin County Library collects limited data on their patrons. The study was unable to determine how many youth participated in OST programs from which we did not collect data. Minneapolis young people, ages 11-18, who were enrolled in free and reduced cost OST programs in Minneapolis in 2012-13. This represents about one-fourth of the approximately 30,000 Minneapolis youth of that age-group. In addition, the study does For youth in free and low cost OST programs, the study found: not include data on the youth who participate in private and fee-for-service OST activities because there is no public record available. Youth participating in these programs are more likely to be from middle- and upper-class families who are disproportionately white and can afford expensive tuition, dues, fees and supplies for their private lessons in art, music, dance, drama, martial arts, and tutoring or non-profit amateur sports and athletic leagues. Near North, South Central, Camden, and then far south central including Kenny and Lynnhurst. • The three zip codes with the lowest participation rates were some of the wealthiest Minneapolis neighborhoods: Citywide 2012 OST Program Participation Rates 55430 Program Location 55412 Participation Rates Per 100 Population 55418 55413 35.1 to 50 30.1 to 35 55405 55415 55402 55455 55454 “ It does suggest however a two-tiered system of OST program opportunities with an as yet unmeasured impact on youth outcomes. ” Barry Cohen, Rainbow Research Further, of the 81 communitybased youth organizations for whom the school district does not include OST data that were contacted to participate in the study, six could not participate because they didn’t collect or retain data on most of the participant attributes of interest; seven were concerned about liability for data confidentiality and privacy, and over half (43) never replied. Results The study includes an unduplicated count of 7,323 55403 55404 x6 15.1 to 20 55414 x3 20.1 to 30 55401 x1 x8 10.1 to 15 55411 x2 55416 55408 55410 (southwest) 10.6%, 55416 (Kenwood) 13.3%, and 55403 (Loring Park) 15.2%. 55407 55406 55409 55410 55417 55419 • The four zip codes with the highest participation rates were: 55455 (Cedar-Riverside) 45.3%; 55404 (Ventura Village/ Stevens Square) 34.3%; 55411 (Near North) 33.6%; and 55407 (South Central Corridor including Phillips, Powderhorn, Central, Bryant, Bancroft, Field, Regina, Northrop). These overlapped with the four zip codes with the highest number of young people living in them: Volume NO 2 • Issue NO 1 • January 2014 • If you slice the data by race/ethnicity, the White participation rate is lowest at 12.6% as compared with the highest rate at 37.7% of African Americans, followed by Native Americans (30.1%).1 • The largest gap in participation rates is for older youth. As young people get older their participation rates drop. 1 Minneapolis Public Schools classify US born African American youth and youth of African immigrant/refugee heritage as African American in its school census data. Participation rates in free/reduced cost OST programs are 25% for Asian youth, 23% Hispanic, 19% Native American and 12% White. 6