Pathways was developed and rigorously tested in Detroit with funding from the NIH, documenting clear positive outcomes for students, increasing classroom engagement, improving grade point average and reducing risk of course failure. Therefore, we asked if we could make Pathways a tool for teachers, and partnered with Chicago Public Schools in a two-step process funded by the U.S. Department of Education (Institute for Educational Science). of Education (Institute for Educational Science).
At Step 2, we worked with three cycles of Chicago Public School teachers. Our goals were to refine our materials and training methods and test whether teachers could be trained, deliver Pathways with fidelity, train other teachers to do the same, and if delivering with fidelity mattered -- improving student grade point average and reducing risk of course failure. The answer is Yes! Teachers can do all of these things.
At Step 3, we will work with a total of 70 schools in Chicago across two cohorts. We established partnerships with 40 schools (Cohort 1) during the 2018-19 school year. Those schools were assigned by lottery to start implementing in fall 2019 or fall 2021 (delayed 1 year due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Next, we will establish partnerships with 30 additional schools during the 2021-22 school year (Cohort 2). Schools that participate in Cohort 2 will similarly be assigned by lottery to start implementing Pathways in fall 2022 or fall 2023. This will allow us to rigorously test at scale the effectiveness of our teacher-led, teacher-trained model.
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