The Leadership School at Kieve

Learning Together Program for Parents

Qualitative Research Report

For Kieve Wavus Education, Inc.

Anthony Roberts, Jr.11/6/2009

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Table of Contents

Part 1: Executive Summary 3

Part 2: Purpose and Mission Purpose of the Qualitative Research Plan 4 Organization Mission Statement 4 Organization History 5 Organization Chart 6

Part 3: Situational Analysis Current Service(s) 7 Current Target Market(s) 12 Current Distribution & Communication Effort(s) 13

Part 4: Research Methods, Strategy and Objectives Research Objectives 13 Research Strategy 13 Research Methods 14

Part 5: Results & Recommendations 14

Part 6: Appendix Parent Information Night Report Form 24 Parent Information Night Survey 25 Learning Together for Parents PowerPoint Slides 26 Learning Together Parent Workshop Survey 31 Learning Together Parent Initiatives Flyer 32

Part 1: Executive Summary

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The qualitative research plan proposed will identify various attitudes and ideas parents

have at participating schools regarding the Learning Together program. The plan’s overall

objective is to better understand parent’s perceptions of the Leadership School and ultimately

increase parental connection to their child’s Leadership School experience.

The Parent Information Night (PIN) Power Point slides were shown to parents

attending the PIN at the host school. After participating, parents were then asked to complete a

brief survey which was designed to gather thoughts and initial perceptions about The Leadership

School. The Leadership School teacher facilitating the PIN was also asked to complete a PIN

Report Form after the conclusion of their experience. Information was gathered from four

schools participating in The Leadership School throughout the month of October; Jefferson

Villiage School, Brooksville Elementary School, Sedgwick Elementary School, Center for

Teaching & Learning and RSU 1 Middle Schools.

Overall, there were one hundred and forty seven parents who attended the four PIN’s.

Out of those attending thirty-nine of them signed up on the contact form with thirty-four parents

completing a survey at the conclusion of a PIN.

The results gathered in the survey displayed that parents are being well informed during the

PIN of their child’s involvement while at the Leadership School. The majority of parents are

extremely comfortable with sending their child to The Leadership School at Kieve.

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Part 2: Purpose & Mission

Purpose of the Qualitative Research Plan

This qualitative research plan shall serve as an attempt to increase overall parent

interaction and involvement in the Learning Together Program. These results will be

accomplished by planning, executing and critiquing a qualitative research plan for the

Leadership School at Kieve’s Learning Together program. The qualitative research plan

proposed will identify various attitudes and ideas parents have at participating schools regarding

the Learning Together program. The plan’s overall objective is to better understand parent’s

perceptions of the Leadership School and ultimately increase parental connection to their child’s

Leadership School experience.

Organization Mission Statement

Kieve (kee-ave') is a Celtic verb which means to strive in emulation of – to work hard to

acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes from others so as to improve yourself. Kieve-Wavus

educates and empowers young people and adults to contribute positively to society. The mission

of the organization is to foster spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical growth in order to

increase self-confidence, raise personal aspirations, and generate enthusiasm for life-long

learning. Working at our spectacular camps on Damariscotta Lake, in the wilderness, in schools,

and in communities, we promote the values of teamwork, kindness, respect, decision making and

acceptance.

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Organization History

Kieve was founded in 1926, with the Leadership School, formerly known as the

Leadership Decisions Institute beginning in 1981. At the time, the school’s purpose was to

address the alarming rate of teens and young adults involved in poor life decision making, along

with substance abuse. The initial focus of the school was to equip students with everyday life

skills that could assist them in bettering themselves. Since its conception in 1981, the school’s

name was changed in 2005 to the Leadership School at Kieve. This limited purpose private

school on the coast of Maine develop leaders and strengthen communities by challenging

students, teachers and parents to think in new ways when it comes to the growth and

development of the citizens of Maine.

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Organization Chart

Board of Directors

Henry Kennedy, Executive Director

Jean Hager, Director Leadership School

Samantha Richard, Program Manager

Maria Millard, Management Trainee

Sara Ricker, Program Coordinator

Diane Little, Assistant

Teachers

Interns

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Part 3: Situational Analysis

Current Service(s)

The Leadership School at Kieve’s program is grounded in three principles:

1. Social connections and skills are critical to the success of students.

2. Active learning techniques engage students of all abilities and backgrounds.

3. Solvable challenges of increasing difficulty that enables students’ to accomplish more

than they ever thought possible.

The Leadership School at Kieve operates on five core programs including:

A five-day residential experience which includes an entire middle school grade, plus their

teachers

Partner Teacher workshop, including classroom materials (earning Professional

Development contact hours)

Parent Workshop: “Learning Together”

Partner Teacher follow-up workshop at school

Visitor’s Night for family and friends of students

Presently, the Leadership School at Kieve serves approximately 7,000 students from across

Maine in the Residential and Outreach programming offered. Hundreds of students from

surrounding states like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, are also affected by

The Leadership School at Kieve through similar programming. The Leadership School at Kieve

combines rigorous and relevant group work, individual reflection and interactive and adventure-

based initiatives to its students.

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At The Leadership School at Kieve, students, teachers, and parents are encouraged to take

positive risks, set meaningful goals, and make healthy decisions, in a comfortable and supportive

environment. Topics of discussion in Skills, Decisions, Communication Skills, Relationships and

Solo classes focuses giving students tools and resources to tackle problems such as:

bullying

sexual harassment

conflict resolution

stereotypes

drug and alcohol abuse

In Communications Skills class, students learn the 8 guidelines to being a clear and effective

communicator, where the importance of nonverbal communication is discussed. Time is spent

defining assertive, aggressive and passive behavior and what part verbal and non-verbal

communication plays in those situations. Initiatives and language address the issue of bullying

in schools and communities, allowing students the opportunity to practice positive conflict

resolution.

In Relationships class, students identify the qualities of a healthy relationship. Discussion

occurs around the concepts of stereotypes, judgments and generalizations. Sexual harassment is

discussed for some of the grade levels. Students learn the importance of considering the values

and beliefs of others. An emphasis is placed on celebrating similarities and honoring difference.

In Solo class, students are tasked with defining what qualities they strive to develop in

themselves. An emphasis is placed on defining a goal for themselves and mapping out a strategy

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to best meet or accomplishing that goal. Students also brainstorm mentors or allies, who they can

turn to for help in achieving their goals.

In Decisions class, students brainstorm what risky behaviors they are witnessing and/or

facing in their own school and community. Students are asked to investigate what individuals are

looking for when getting involved in a risky behavior, versus what they often end up getting.

Initiatives are used to exemplify how quickly risky behavior can complicate young adult lives.

Students discuss positive ways that they can achieve some of the feelings they are looking for

when getting involved in risky behavior, and are challenged to brainstorm and identify positive

risks to take in their own lives.

During adventure class, students learn to identify and respect their own comfort zones, and

the comfort zones of others in their class. An emphasis is placed on challenging oneself in a safe

environment. The initiatives that are placed before participants focus on who in their school and

community are members of their support team, both physically and emotionally. At the same

time, students are tasked with creating a space that is physically and emotionally safe for each

person. Students are also introduced with the S.M.A.R.T. acronym when introduced to goal

setting which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

While participating in teambuilding class, students practice working with one another to

achieve a common goal or to solve a common problem. They are asked to consider what makes a

good team, and what part they as an individual play to help out that team. Skills learned during

other class periods are applied during teambuilding initiatives.

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Kieve's Leadership School offers a variety of programs which all share the common goal of

encouraging responsible decision-making in adolescents. This is done by increasing self-

awareness and self-confidence, providing accurate information, and teaching important coping

skills. In all programming, the teaching methods are "affective". Instead of being lectured to,

participants are presented with concepts, vocabulary, issues, and problems, and then interact with

each other in activities that address the particular topic.

Residential Programs-

Residential programs are traditionally five days in length. Over half of the cost is

underwritten by Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc and schools and communities are responsible for

fundraising the remaining balance. While at the Leadership School, students attend daily classes

from the hours of 9am to 3pm. The course work centers on raising student aspirations, creating

safer school climates; both physically and emotionally, helping students set and map out goals

for themselves, encouraging students in good decision making, positive risk taking, and the

formation and maintenance of healthy relationships. After 3pm, students have the choice to

select from staff supervised Choice Time activities either active or passive. During the evening

hours, a large group or “pod” gatherings take place to challenge students physically and mentally

to use the skills they have obtained during the school day in a large group setting called evening

program. Students eat 6 times a day (3 full buffet meals, and 3 snacks). Students are housed in

energy efficient, winterized cabins. They are under the care and supervision of The Leadership

School staff twenty-four hours a day. Pricing for the residential program varies depending upon

the length of the program. A three day residential program costs $165.00 per student. A four day

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residential program costs $180.00 per student. A five day residential program costs $195.00 per

student.

Teacher Workshops

Teacher workshops are designed to expand teachers' professional and personal goals.

Continuing Education CEU and/or Professional Development Points can be earned at these

courses. Teachers engage in discussion on how to relate the tools, techniques, and principles of

The Leadership School message back to their home schools. This program is designed to

strengthen the in-school teacher team and are available free of charge to teachers who attend the

Residential Program with their students.

Parent Workshops

The Learning Together Parent workshops are a one day program which runs from 10 am

to 3 pm during the Residential Program week. This program allows parents an opportunity to

connect with other parents from their community, to discuss parenting of middle school students,

while sharing common experiences. The cost of participation in the Learning Together Parent

workshop is $20.00; however, no parent is turned away if they cannot afford this fee.

Visitor’s Night

Visitor's Night traditionally occurs on Wednesday evening of the Residential Program.

For parents it’s an opportunity to meet The Leadership School staff and experience a snapshot of

The Leadership School. The evening begins at 5:15pm and ends at 7:00 pm. Parents watch a

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slideshow of pictures taken so far of the week and the opportunity to participate in a classroom

activity. Dinner is optional for parents and costs $5.00 for the buffet.

Outreach Programs

Many times schools are either too far or cannot afford to visit the leadership school.

Outreach Programs are a way to bring the Leadership School to that school or community while

still engaging them in the program’s curriculum. Outreaches are traditionally three days and

takes place at the participating school and/or community. They include a condensed course work

similar to the Residential Program. The facilitation ratio is one Leadership School teacher per

twenty students. Parent Night is held during the week to discuss the materials that the students

are being exposed to, as well as giving tools to bring the messages of The Leadership School into

the home and community. The Leadership School has a portable climbing wall which is

available for an additional fee. Half the cost of outreach programs is also underwritten by Kieve-

Wavus Education, Inc. A three day outreach program costs $93.00 per student. A two day

outreach costs $68 per student. A one day outreach costs $39.00 per student.

Current Target Market(s)

Primary Target Market: fourteen to sixteen year old, middle school students, male and female,

either living in Maine or in a neighboring state.

Secondary Target Market: high school students, sixteen to eighteen years old, high school

students, male and female, either living in Maine or in a neighboring state.

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Current Distribution & Communication Effort(s)

Currently, all marketing, promotion, and communication regarding The Leadership

School is done by the host schools. The Leadership School does not actively engage in the

efforts of the home school other than providing information regarding the programs. Schools

may choose whether to mention program dates in school newsletters or other communication

means to parents.

Part 4: Research Methods, Strategy and Objectives

Research Objectives

Problem

To increase parent connection to the Leadership School.

To increase overall awareness and participation of parents in the Learning Together

program.

To identify various ways to market learning together programs to parents of participating

schools.

To increase parent participation in their child’s Leadership School at Kieve experience.

Research Strategy

To plan, prepare, execute and critique a qualitative research plan for the Learning

Together program

To reinforce positive connections between students, parents, teachers and the Leadership

School

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Research Methods

To identify and analyze parents participation in the Learning Together program.

To survey and analyze parents perceptions in specific Learning Together program

relevance and content.

Parents will be surveyed during the Parent Information Night (PIN)

Teachers will complete a PIN Report Form at every PIN

Parents are asked to complete a survey after participation in the Learning Together parent

workshop

Parent contact information (phone and/or email) is gathered at PIN for communication

with Learning Together

Part Six: Results & Recommendations

Survey Results

The Parent Information Night (PIN) Power Point slides were shown to parents attending

the PIN at the host school. Parents were then asked to complete a brief survey after participating

in the evening. The survey created was designed to gather thoughts and initial perceptions about

The Leadership School at Kieve. The Leadership School teacher hosting the PIN was also asked

to complete a PIN Report Form after the conclusion of the evening. Information was gathered

from four schools participating in The Leadership School throughout the month of October;

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Jefferson Village School, Brooksville Elementary School Sedwick Elementary School, Center

for Teaching & Learning and RSU #1 Middle School.

The Center for Teaching & Learning PIN was held on October 7, 2009. Fifteen parents

were in attendance and four contact sign-ups were made. The program was expecting to have

fifteen to seventeen students at The Leadership School. Parental concerns addressed included:

If staff have background checks

Homesickness

Anxiety at bed time

Lots of climbing

Possibility for canoeing

Immediate follow-up included completing the school’s curriculum with the Program Manager.

No surveys were completed by any parents who attended the PIN; however, the overall

participation/success of the PIN was excellent.

Jefferson Village School’s PIN was held on October 6, 2009. Seventeen parents were in

attendance, where eight contact sign-ups were made. The program expected to have twenty

students at The Leadership School. Two surveys were completed by parents who attended the

PIN, with most of the parents attending being veteran parents who had previous experience with

children coming through The Leadership School. There were no immediate follow-up requests

mentioned, and the overall participation/success of the PIN was good. Two out of two of the

parents had a clear understanding of their child’s typical day at The Leadership School. Two out

of two of the parents reported they had a clear understanding of their child’s involvement in The

Leadership School. Two out of two parents recorded that they had the opportunity to address

their concerns. Two out of two parents felt as if there questions were answered about The

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Leadership School. One out of two parents reported on their comfort level being extremely

comfortable in sending their child to The Leadership School. No response was given by the other

survey respondent. Concepts that parents would like their child to gain from this experience

included confidence and the ability to be a team player.

RSU #1 Middle School was held on October 19, 2009. One hundred parents were in

attendance and eighteen parent contact sign-ups were made. Twenty surveys were completed by

parents who attended the PIN. The program is expected to have one hundred and twenty students

attend The Leadership School. There were no immediate follow-up requests noted. Parental

concerns addressed included:

challenge by choice preventing injuries cabin space medications

Twenty-one out of twenty-one parents had a clear understanding of their child’s typical day

at The Leadership School. Twenty-one out of twenty-one of the parents reported they had a clear

understanding of their child’s involvement in The Leadership School. Twenty-one out of twenty-

one of parents felt as if there questions were answered about The Leadership School. Twenty-

one out of twenty-one parents recorded that they had the opportunity to address their concerns.

Four out of twenty-one parents reported on their comfort level being comfortable in sending their

child to The Leadership School. Seventeen out of twenty-one parents reported on their comfort

level being extremely comfortable in sending their Child to The Leadership School. Concepts

that parents would like their child to gain from this experience included:

(An * denotes a trending concept shared by two or more parents.)

working together

be a more confident speaker/leader

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challenge himself/herself*

have fun

being comfortable with herself

learn new things

communication

problem solving

ability to reflect

self confidence

love of good adventures

confidence*

respect*

teamwork

confidence

ability to tackle fear of trying something new

team building

working with others

that there is life without a cell phone.

taking good risks

compassion

leadership*

adaptive skills

problem solving strategies

friendship building

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self confidence

being able to communicate clearly

self control

dealing with peer pressure

learning how to deal with conflict.

working well with all walks of life

accepting what she is dealt.

Additional comments included:

The Leadership School sounds like it has a great set-up. I am confident that my son will come home a better person.

This is a great opportunity for my daughter.

Slow down the slides and discuss classes and the day more in depth.

The PIN was given a good rating for overall participation/success.

Brooksville/Sedwick Elementary School PIN was held on October 20, 2009. Fifteen

parents were in attendance, with ten parent contact sign-ups made. Eleven surveys were

completed by parents who attended the PIN. The program is expected to have eleven students

attend The Leadership School. There were no immediate follow-up requests noted. Parental

concerns addressed included:

Are males/females segregated in cabins? Food allergies Will students get to meet new people? Specific questions about parent night Will students be forced to do things they don’t want to do?

Eleven out of eleven parents had a clear understanding of their child’s typical day at The

Leadership School. Eleven out of eleven of the parents reported they had a clear understanding

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of their child’s involvement in The Leadership School. Eleven out of eleven of parents felt as if

there questions were answered about The Leadership School. Eleven out of eleven parents

recorded that they had the opportunity to address their concerns. Six out of eleven parents

reported on their comfort level being comfortable in sending their child to The Leadership

School. Five out of eleven parents reported on their comfort level being extremely comfortable

in sending their Child to The Leadership School. Concepts that parents would like their child to

gain from this experience included:

(An * denotes a trending concept shared by two or more parents.)

to be more communicative and expressive.

to gain an awareness of others needs and concerns.

teamwork*

tolerance

trying new things

self confidence*

time away from parents and learning to deal with homesickness.

meet new people and interact with them.

challenge herself, be proud of herself

team work

have fun

gain more self esteem*

Communication skills*

decision making skills

pushing yourself to accomplish goals

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leadership

work on communication skills

able to deal with not always being the best

challenge self with new things

self esteem

self confidence

problem solving skills

self control

empathy*

respect for self and others*

The PIN was given an excellent rating for overall participation/success.

A Learning Together Workshop for Parents was held on October 28, 2009. Eleven

Parents participated in the program and eleven out of eleven completed surveys. Eleven out of

eleven found the information in the workshop useful. Eleven out of eleven reported that the

content of the workshop was engaging. Eleven out of eleven parents stated that sometime in the

future they will make use of the skills learned with their child or children. When asked what

three things you will take away from these experience attendees indicated the following:

(An * denotes a trending concept shared by two or more parents.)

communication is key.

we all have individual. strengths.

as parents, we are all experiencing similar problems with our kids.

new people

fresh ideas

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how to work with a team.*

socialize*

patience*

teamwork*

different ways of communicating with my teenager

trust

teamwork with my teenager

was able to identify new strategies for raising our kids

was able to gain some satisfaction and reinforcement for some of the things we’re doing

right as parents.

Useful acronyms such as B.E.S.T. and L.E.A.D.S.T.A.R.

Bonding with other parents.

Shared responsibility for community building.

When asked what additional information and/or resources can we provide to support you and

your child’s experience at The Leadership School parents relayed the following:

Follow up assembly at school

Explanation of guiding principles prior to attendance at The Leadership School = better

preparation.

Useful links and information for parents on the Kieve website

Overall, there were one hundred and forty seven parents who attended the four PIN’s. Out of

those attending thirty-nine of them signed up on the contact form.

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Recommendations

In an effort to increase parental participation in the Learning Together Parent initiatives I

encourage The Leadership School to consider the following recommendations:

Continue tracking PIN progress via the PIN report at all participating schools.

The Leadership School more aggressively communicates directly with parents through

the use of an e-mail campaign.

The Leadership School create a wiki or similar discussion group or forum for

participating parents to join, interact and learn from experts and others.

The Leadership School provides resources and links to parent’s regarding partnership

organizations services.

Creation of a pocket business card sized resource card with services and Learning

Together program coordinators information.

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Appendix

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Parent Information Night Report Form

Parent Information Night (PIN) Report Form

Kieve Teacher: _________________________________

School Name: __________________________________

Date of PIN: _____/_____/_____ Time of PIN: ______________

# of Parents: ________________ # of Parent Contact Sign-ups: _______________

# of anticipated students attending The Leadership School: _____________

Parent Concerns:__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Immediate Follow-Up Requests:______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Rate Overall Participation/Success of PIN (Circle One)

Excellent Good Fair Poor

Signature: _________________________________________

(Completed PIN Report Forms are to be filed in the school’s folder.)

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Parent Information Night Survey

Parent Information Night (PIN) SurveyPlease take a moment to complete the following survey.

(Circle one response for each question)

Do you have a clear understanding of your child’s typical day at the Leadership School?Yes No

Did you have a clear understanding of your child’s involvement in The Leadership School program? Yes No

Do you feel that you had an opportunity to address your concerns about The Leadership School?Yes No

Were your questions answered about The Leadership School? Yes No

After hearing the information provided in the PIN, are you comfortable in sending your child to The Leadership School? Extremely Comfortable Comfortable Uncomfortable Extremely Uncomfortable

What are the three most important concepts that you would like your child to gain from this experience?

1. ________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________

Additional Comments: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Office Use Only School Code ______________

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Learning Together for Parents PowerPoint Slides

Learning TogetherLearning TogetherParent InvolvementParent Involvement

Learning Together

Parents will have an opportunity to explore ways to:– Support their child’s needs and goals in school

and life.– Improve on communicating successfully with

their child.– Discuss and find solutions to challenges in

raising a child in today’s ever-changing society.

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3 Components of the Learning Together Program for Parents

• Parent Information Night (PIN)

• Visitor’s Night

• Learning Together Workshop

Parent Information Night (PIN)

• Meet Leadership School staff

• Discuss a typical program day and student involvement.

• Opportunity to address concerns and questions.

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Visitor’s Night

• Spaghetti dinner

• Slide show

• Meet your child’s Leadership School teacher

• Opportunity to participate in a classroom activity

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Learning Together Parent Workshop

• Hosted at Kieve or home school. • Content for Learning Together is based upon

recent research in child development and behavior.

• Collaboration of the following organizations:– The Leadership School– Child Abuse & Neglect Councils of Maine– Family Planning Association of Maine– Maine Parent Federation– Chuck Saufler, presenter/consultant

Learning Together Recognition

• Recognition for parents who participate in 2 out of 3 Learning Together initiatives.– Parent Information Night (PIN)

– Visitor’s Night

– Learning Together Parent Workshop

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For More Information

Contact

Sarah Ricker

Programs Coordinator

Phone: 207.563.6212 x34

E-Mail: sarahr@kieve.org

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Learning Together Parent Workshop Survey

Thank you for attending the Learning Together program for Parents. Please take a moment to answer the following questions so that we may best serve you.

Was the information in this workshop useful? _____ Yes _____ No

Was the content of the workshop engaging? _____ Yes _____ No

In the future, will you use any of the skills you learn with your child(ren)?_____ Yes _____ Maybe _____ No

What three things will you take away from this experience?

1.____________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________

What additional information and or resources can we provide to support you and your child’s experience at The Leadership School?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Thank you.

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Learning Together Parent Initiatives Flyer