Turnaround currently works with elementary schools PS 132 and 115 in Manhattan’s Washington Heights/Inwood neighborhood. The area is comprised largely of Dominican and African American families, many of whom are immigrants living below the poverty level. Our partners in the Collaborative include:

Agenda for Children Tomorrow
Alianza Dominicana
Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian
Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University
New York City Department of Education, Region 10
The After-School Corporation

With their assistance, Turnaround has established key components of its model in these schools.

Mental Health
PS 132 has its own full-time onsite clinic managed by the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian (CHONY). Services provided to PS 132 by CHONY’s bilingual/bicultural staff include:

• Psychiatric, psychosocial, and psychological evaluations
• Crisis intervention and consultation
• Teacher and school consultation
• Parent and teacher outreach

PS 115 receives services through CHONY’s Mobile Outreach, Referral, and Education Program (MORE). MORE’s multidisciplinary team offers the school:

• Comprehensive psychiatric and psychosocial evaluations within one week of referral
• Linkage to offsite services and family advocacy

Education Facilitation
An Education Coach works with the schools as a leadership consultant and provides coaching in implementing supervisory strategies, accountability, efficient resource allocation, and organizational practices. The Coach has facilitated professional development activities, including training by renowned educational consultant, at PS 132 and 115 focused on:

• Observing classrooms and offering feedback;
• Presenting effective models and practices to the Student Intervention and Instructional Support Teams; and
• Holding workshops on such topics as improving school climate, how to reach all students whatever their level of understanding, and effective interventions/structures/supports for students at risk.

Family/Community Engagement
At PS 132 Turnaround participated in a school-wide health fair and also distributed more than one hundred turkeys to families for the Thanksgiving holiday. With Agenda for Children Tomorrow, Turnaround will soon be assigning a full-time coordinator for PS 132 and 115.

To benefit staff and families at PS 132, 115, and other public schools in this district, Turnaround collaborated with the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in the creation of a resource directory. The easy-to-use guide comprehensively identifies and maps all manner of support services available in the community. Telephone numbers, program descriptions, hours of operation, and other pertinent information are included for each listing.

The After-School Corporation implemented an after-school program, operated by Alianza Dominicana, at PS 132 during the 2004-2005 school year. The addition of the after-school program created the opportunity to educate a new group of community members about the mental health and other issues with which children of PS 132 struggle. Turnaround coordinated the following two activities with regard to the after-school program: (1) staff development and training for after-school staff that emphasizes relevant cultural differences in mental health presentations and service utilization, and that helps to develop an important link to the on-site mental health clinic and other resources in the community; and (2) family outreach that both informs parents and other caretakers about when and how to seek mental health services for their children, and engages them in a dialogue about obstacles and perceptions that make it harder for them to approach or access mental health services. Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian conducted training sessions for after-school staff and family, and as a result, after-school staff was better able to identify children at academic and emotional risk and could more effectively link them with appropriate services, either through the on-site mental health clinic or other community-based programs.

Evaluation
Dr. Christina Hoven and her staff at the Mailman School have been involved with the Washington Heights Collaborative since its initial planning phase. During the 2003-2004 school year they utilized a cross-sectional design to collect data on the effectiveness of our interventions and will continue to do so over the next three years. This ongoing evaluation will collect and report information on such performance indicators as:

• Reductions in suspensions, violent incidents, and substance use;
• Improvements in attendance; and
• School personnel awareness and acceptance of social and emotional learning strategies.

Such data will be invaluable as Turnaround seeks to replicate its work in the years ahead.