| dc.description.abstract | The Center for Supportive Schools (CSS) in an organization committed to reengaging students and ending high school dropout through their Peer Group Connection program, which is designed with the goal of engaging students in the school community as a means to foster retention. This project will seek to determine facilitating conditions predicting a successful partnership; what organizational structure or conditions determine sustainability; and finally, what impact Covid-19 closure and subsequent transition to remote and/or hybrid learning has had on sustainability. Through a combination of existing literature; viewing the PGC program through the lens of the socio-ecological model and Coburn’s (2003) four dimensions of scale (depth, shift in ownership, spread, and sustainability); along with a mixed methods approach, where quantitative data was collected via survey and qualitative data from focus groups, the researched produced insightful findings and paved the way for recommendations for improvement. The study showed facilitating conditions, such as organizational change capacity, were key components of reform efforts; of which leadership, trust, capable champions, and PGC training emerged from the data as areas of importance. There is evidence of commitment to the sustainability of PGC programs at the school and CSS level providing indications of a shift in ownership of the PGC program, while the importance of and a need for district and community leadership emerged as an important contributor to sustainability. In addition, the data indicated Covid-19 closure and virtual learning environment created new barriers to engagement and overall PGC sustainability. | en_US |
