Browsing by Author "Garcia, Silvia"
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Item Building Trusting Relationships. Evaluating a School-Based Community Health Worker Program to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism(2023-10-12) Garcia, Silvia; Roelecke, Kate; Grim, Jim; Mohlman, Rachel; Peterkin, AllysonIn 2021, MCCOY and the Daniel Webster School 46 (DWS) were awarded two grants1 to implement a Community Health Worker intervention at DWS to increase student engagement as a protective factor to prevent juvenile delinquency and improve youth outcomes. The project took a holistic approach to engage families and students who were chronically absent throughout the school year. Relying on multiple evidence-based and promising practices in youth violence and juvenile delinquency prevention, a certified Community Health Worker partnered with the school social workers and teachers to encourage consistent student attendance using coaching, referrals, goal setting, and family engagement activities to facilitate learning and address family needs. The evaluation, conducted one year after implementation, yielded the following results: The CHW at DWS has proved valuable for students, teachers, and families in several ways. The CHW provides services and builds trusting relationships with families, eventually influencing how families engage with the schools and their students' education. The CHW also connects directly with students, providing emotional support and encouragement, hence supporting the teachers’ work. Being part of the community where parents came from and previously volunteering in the school made the difference in becoming the bridge between the school, the families, and the community. Regarding absenteeism, several improvements in reducing the number of absent days were observed in students receiving support for themselves and their families. Some of the students reduced their absent days to less than half. More importantly, three chronically absent students became “improved attendees” after the first year. The short time the CHW has been in the school (10 months) has brought small but significant changes in students’ behavior.Item Closing the Gap between Schools and Community: University/Community Collaboration Addresses Identified Barriers to Student Learning(Office of Community Engagement, IUPUI, 2023-03) Roelecke, Kate; Grim, Jim; Garcia, SilviaItem Co-Constructing Culturally Relevant College & Career Readiness Resources for Latinx Families(2021-04-15) Wolfe, Devin; Garcia, SilviaRecent studies show that Latinx newcomer parents are not prepared to support their children throughout the college preparation process due to a lack of understanding of the U.S. college process, the complex financial aid system, and the diversity of post-secondary choices. Utilizing a design-based implementation research methodology, the research team (1 faculty member, 1 staff member, 1 graduate student, and 3 community partners) conducted virtual meetings with Latinx parents and 2 college students to understand and address their major questions and concerns about college and career readiness, as well as their approach to better communicate this content. Based on the knowledge gained so far, the research team is co-developing prototypes to discuss, implement and co-evaluate with parents.Item Co-creating culturally responsive resources with communities. The challenges of online research(2022-04) Garcia, Silvia; Colgan, Susana; Gil, CindyThe presentation is about the experience of a team of IUPUI and community researchers doing online research with the participation of a group of parents in the IPS Newcomer program. The research was aimed at producing culturally relevant college and career resources for parents of Newcomer Latino students. The presentation summarizes the challenges of online community-engaged research.Item Cocreating Culturally Responsive Resources With Communities Using Design-Based Implementation Research: The Challenges of Online Research(SAGE Research Methods, 2022-03) Garcia, Silvia; Wolfe, Devin; Fox, Sarah; Gil, Cindy; King, Gloria; Colgan, SusanaThis case study highlights the methodological and practical implications of modifying an investigation with community partners to fit an online format. Research interactions took place between November 2020 and June 2021, under the social distancing restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve Latinx parents/caregivers participated in co-designing culturally relevant college and career readiness resources for Latinx families. A research partnership of two school faculty and a community partner collaborating with university faculty, staff, and students led the study using design-based implementation research (DBIR) as the primary methodological approach. The means of communication and resource sharing with parents were Zoom videoconferencing, WhatsApp text messaging, social media, and phone calls. Parents also received printed materials sent through students attending school under a hybrid modality (face-to-face and online classes). The use of online environments posed challenges in getting participants fully engaged in the co-design process. Some parents lacked technological skills or access to adequate technology, leading to communication barriers in some cases. The implementation phase, a significant component of DBIR, could not be achieved online. This case is about the strategies put forward by the research team to overcome the restrictive research conditions, the adaptations made throughout the process to facilitate community engagement, and lessons learned. It is an invitation to think about the implications of the decisions made by the research team and reflect on creative solutions to address the challenges faced.Item Community Engagement: Evaluation of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation - IUPUI Near Eastside Legacy Initiative(2014-04-11) Garcia, Silvia; Bennett, Teresa; Fitzpatrick, ChristineIn early 2011, the IUPUI Solution Center received a $75,000, two-year grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation to facilitate faculty and student involvement in the Near Eastside of Indianapolis to promote community health and wellness. The project emerged from the community’s stated need to increase efforts that improve the overall health and fitness and provide affordable access to fitness, wellness, educational opportunities and health-related resources to residents of the Near Eastside. A comprehensive assessment to measure the program efficacy, cost-effectiveness and impact yielded that the JPMorgan Chase Foundation – IUPUI Near Eastside Legacy Initiative (CHASE/NELI) increased awareness of and activity in the Chase Near Eastside Legacy Center and promoted health and wellness, through targeted communication and public health awareness strategies.Item Community-Engaged Research. How IUPUI faculty engages the community in research activities(2019-05-21) Garcia, SilviaAcademic researchers who conduct research with and in the community use different approaches that reflect the richness of epistemologies and disciplinary backgrounds that inform community scholarship. Although there is extensive literature explaining the principles and methods of “community-engaged research”, there seem to be different understandings of how these principles translate into the research practice. This work describes how IUPUI faculty members that claimed in a survey to be community-engaged scholars involve the community in research activities. We analyzed the narratives of fifty-one tenured and tenure-track faculty members who were interviewed to explore their lived experiences in their work with communities on research or creative activity projects. Four predominant practices of engagement were identified in their narratives. These practices reflect differences in their research paradigm, the expected research outcomes, and their conceptualization of the participant community.Item Creating with Confidence. Design Thinking for Public Art. Evaluation Report(2017-07-30) Garcia, SilviaWarren Central High School in collaboration with Arts for Learning explored design thinking, a creative and collaborative process that is user-centered and solution-focused to engage students in the process of designing public art. The project engaged thirty 12th grade, art-major students, in a series of workshops presented by the Herron School of Art and Design, and Arts for Learning as they learned to be mindful of the audience, navigate real situations and revise their work to get to a truly original, personal, and professional product. Students also developed practices to involve residents of their community in a public art project to enhance neighborhood identity and foster a real spirit of place. The report presents the main results of the Evaluation of Creating with Confidence: Design Thinking for Public Art project that took place in the school in the school year 2016-2017.Item DISCOVER NEAR WEST INDYS TRANSFORMATIONAL IMPACT FELLOWSHIP. Two-Year Evaluation Report(2017-01-15) Garcia, SilviaIn April 2016, Discover West Indys contacted the IUPUI Office of Community Engagement to develop a strategy for evaluating Bryan Fonseca's Transformational Impact Fellowship (TIF) with the Arts Council. The program would be implemented during 2016 and 2017 in four neighborhoods of the Near West of Indianapolis. The agreement between Discover Near West Indys and IUPUI established that Discover Near West Indys would discuss and approve the evaluation plan; collect the required data according to the evaluation plan, and provide the evaluation team with data and reports to inform results. The IUPUI Office of Community Engagement would provide Near West Indys with the evaluation plan; analyze the data provided by Near West Indys, and report on program results by December 2017. The report gathers information collected by Discover Near West Indys and additional information gathered through interviews and document review conducted by the IUPUI-OCE to inform about the program outputs and short-term outcomes, and lessons learned from implementation.Item Evaluating Partnership Functioning and Sustainability(2016-04-15) Garcia, SilviaAfter five years in operation, MBAES partners wanted to understand the alliance and how they engage in collaborative efforts, the gains and investments of their organizations in this partnership throughout these years; and the aspects they must pay attention to in order to make the alliance sustainable. This research brief shows the quantitative results of this study.