Mothers' Club - Achieving Results

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@ 2006 Mothers' Club Family Learning Center
980 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena CA 91103
Office: (626) 792-2687 Fax: (626) 793-1832

Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center
Summary of 2008-2009 Program Evaluation Results

Early Childhood Education

DRDP-R: The Desired Results Development Profile Revised (DRDP-R) is an observation-based assessment instrument used by teachers to determine how each child is developing towards achieving the four Desired Results for children: social/emotional, cognitive, physical, and health/safety. The DRDP-R is the authorized evaluation instrument used in all Head Start and state preschool programs in California. Pre-assessments are completed within 60 days of enrollment, and post-assessments are completed after 6 months of instruction. Results of the ratings along with other teacher collected information are used for planning instruction.

For Children Birth through Three-Years-Old: All children ages 0-3 who completed 100+ hours of instruction time were assessed with the DRDP-R for Infants/Toddlers. Analyses of pretest/posttest data show that on average, children were rated one point or higher on each of the nine indicators measured by the instrument. The largest average gains were observed in the following areas: Safety and Health, Self Regulation, Social Interpersonal Skills, and Literacy.

PPVT and PALS Pre-K: With the receipt of the William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy grant in September 2005, Mothers’ Club implemented two additional assessments for preschoolers. The first is the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) English Oral Language Assessment. This individually administered, norm-referenced instrument is a wide-range measure of receptive vocabulary for standard English, and a screening test of verbal ability. The Even Start indicator is that 60% of children ages 3-5 will make a 4 point gain between pre-testing and post testing. Mothers’ Club exceeded the indicator with 91% of preschoolers achieving a 4 point gain.

The second assessment is Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening (PALS), which measures preschoolers' developing knowledge of important literacy fundamentals. The Even Start indicator is that 60% of the children ages 4-5 who are entering kindergarten will recognize 15 or more letters. Mothers’ Club exceeded that indicator with 67% of preschoolers recognizing 15 or more letters.

ECERS – R: On May 14, 2009 an independent evaluator from WestEd observed our Pre-Kindergarten classroom using the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale Revised (ECERS-R). The ECERS-R tool provides an overall picture of the surroundings that have been created for the children and adults who share an early childhood setting. The ECERS consists of 43 items that assess the quality of the early childhood environment including use of space, materials and experiences to enhance children's development, daily schedule, and supervision.

This 43 item scale covers seven categories: personal care routines, space and furnishings, language-reasoning, activities, interactions, program structure and parents and staff. Each item is ranked from 1 to 7. A ranking of 1 describes inadequate conditions while a ranking of 7 describes excellent conditions. Mothers’ Club’s Pre-Kindergarten classroom received a very high rating, with an overall average score of 6.85 out of 7.

Adult Education

Of the adults studying ESL who were post-tested after 100 hours of class time, 80% achieved a 3-5 point gain in their CASAS test score, demonstrating a significant increase in their English language writing skills.

We also tracked results in our leadership training:

81% of parents took on a leadership role in 2009, chairing or serving on a committee at Mothers’ Club, exceeding our goal of 70%.
Seven mothers served as officers over two semesters on the Parent Advisory Council;
Twenty-six events were designed and implemented to help parents practice leadership skills; and
Four parents presented a workshop on parent leadership at the 5th Annual Hawthorne Parent Family Literacy Conference and 29 parents attended the conference.

Family Literacy and Parenting Education

I. For families in our family literacy program (comprised of four components: adult ed, parent ed, early childhood education, and parent/child interactive literacy activities), we utilize the new Family Literacy Parent Survey to measure the amount of literacy activities in the home and parental support of children’s education. Of the 45 families in our four component program in 2008-2009, 81% were returning families, having been served by Mothers’ Club for more than 12 months. Of those families, after participating in a minimum of 50 hours of family literacy instruction, the Parent Survey revealed the following growth:

100% of parents reported reading to their children 3 or more time per week
92% of parents reported having a visited the library at once a month to check out books
96% of parents reported maintaining a home library consisting of a minimum of 25 children’s books
100% of parents reported engaging in 3 of 5 interactive reading behaviors

II. Parent’s Support for Children’s Learning in the Home Environment: After participating in parenting and interactive literacy for a minimum of eight months, 86% of parents created a home environment that supports their children’s literacy development as demonstrated by the PEP Scale I: Parent’s Support for Children’s Learning in the Home Environment. We exceed the state indicator of 60%.

III. Parent’s Role in Interactive Literacy Activities: After participating in parenting and interactive literacy for a minimum of eight months, 88% of parents engaged in parenting behaviors that support their children’s literacy development as demonstrated by the PEP Scale II: Parent’s Role in Interactive Literacy Activities. We exceed the state indicator of 60%.

IV. 95% of parents that were enrolled in our program for a minimum of nine months attended 20 or more parent education classes.

Attendance & Retention

For families enrolled in all four components of core family literacy program - Attendance Rate Goal was 80%. Families achieved an attendance rate of 85%.
For families enrolled in all four components of core family literacy program - Retention Rate Goal was 80%. Retention rate was 91%, meaning that 91% of families remained in the program for the entire year or they met their goals and completed the program.
For all other families in our programs - Attendance Rate Goal was 70%. Families achieved an overall average attendance rate of 76%.