IMPACT: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

impact: past, present & future

Over two million youth in the United States have an Emotional/Behavioral Disorder. Youth with an emotional/behavioral disorder (EBD), such as ADHD or depression, are often labeled as “problem kids” and experience poor educational, employment and quality of life outcomes. The Who Cares About Kelsey? (WCAK) Project documents the lives of students with EBD, and shows innovative educational approaches that help these students to succeed—while improving the overall school culture and climate. Since our May 2012 premiere, WCAK has been screened and discussed with over 20,000 individuals and has highlighted successful approaches for empowering—not overpowering —youth with EBD. As the project gains momentum, we are preparing to launch the national WCAK Outreach and Engagement Campaign (O&EC). A significant development of the O&EC is a national public television broadcast that will take place in the fall of 2013, with organizing support from the Center for Public Broadcasting’s “American Graduate” Initiative.

WCAK reached an even broader audience through media coverage. Education Week discussed WCAK in the article, “New Film Explores Students with Emotional, Behavioral Disabilities.” WCAK was featured on the CBS/FOX television affiliate in Rochester, NY. WCAK aired on New Hampshire Public Television on January 19 and 20, 2013.

past accomplishments Filmmaker Dan Habib and Kelsey Carroll, the film’s central subject, have screened and presented WCAK more than 85 times in 23 states since its release. Approximately 20,000 individuals have attended screenings, including educators, school administrators, health professionals, policymakers, families and students. Key events and locations have included screenings at the 9th International Conference on Positive Behavior Support, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Leadership and Project Director’s Conferences, the National Youth Transitions Center, the Grantmakers in Health Annual Meeting and many high schools and other events throughout the country. More than 600 free copies of the WCAK Education DVD Kit have been strategically disseminated to schools and non-profit organizations. Each Kit contains the 76-minute documentary film, nine minifilms illustrating a range of evidence-based practices and 60 pages of educational materials. For more detailed information, see the WCAK Education DVD Kit at whocaresaboutkelsey.com/dvd. On October 16, 2012, WCAK Project staff and Working Films—an organization that links nonfiction film with cutting-edge activism—held a WCAK strategy summit in Washington, D.C. A coalition of 25 national organizations discussed relevant national efforts and legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind reauthorization, as well as identified events and opportunities that will maximize the film’s impact on policy and public awareness.

WCAK was featured in other major media including the Boston Globe and WBUR Public Radio. This summer and fall, we will begin reaching out to national and local media to publicize the film’s national broadcast and the WCAK Outreach and Engagement Campaign.

View media coverage at whocaresaboutkelsey.com/press

Measurable Impact Impact of the WCAK events was evaluated through surveys distributed at screenings. Responses to survey questions included: 85% of attendees indicated that they were satisfied or highly satisfied with the event. 83% of attendees indicated that they have an increased understanding of the challenges faced by youth with EBD, their families and those who serve them in school and in the community. 75% of the attendees indicated that they will be able to apply what they have learned to take actions that will positively affect outcomes for students with EBD.

Images from the WCAK mini-films Thasya, Marcel, Julio and Nicole (below).

Why a national outreach and engagement campaign? Statistics released by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders reflect the grim outcomes for students with EBD: Students with EBD have the worst graduation rate of all students with disabilities. Nationally, fewer than 50% of students with EBD graduate from high school, compared to the national average of 76%. Students with EBD are three times as likely as other students to be arrested before leaving school. Students with EBD are twice as likely as other students with disabilities to live in a correctional facility, halfway house, drug treatment center or on the street after leaving school. 75% of young adults with EBD have been involved with the criminal justice system at some point in their lives. Students with EBD typically do not respond well to traditional school discipline policies, such as “zero-tolerance” and other punitive approaches. Rather than examining the root cause of the problem behaviors, schools attempt to deter these behaviors by providing harsh consequences for misconduct such as suspensions and expulsions. These cycles of discipline referrals eventually filter many students into the juvenile justice system, hence the phrase “School-to-Prison Pipeline.”

We need to change the trajectory for these students.

how we create change WCAK is in a unique position to raise awareness and be a catalyst for change on a national scale through a newly-developed Outreach & Engagement Campaign (O&EC). WCAK has partnered with key youth-serving organizations—from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to the National Education Association—that have the ability to reach millions of members and disseminate the film to thousands of affiliates, chapters and community groups. The O&EC will highlight the ineffectiveness of “zerotolerance” and other punitive policies, and will strengthen national efforts to implement evidence-based practices that empower—not overpower—youth with EBD. The main components of the O&EC are: 1. Disseminate at least 40 free WCAK Education DVD Kits and hundreds of deeply discounted Kits to national community screening hosts so that events can be held across the country during the 2013-2014 school year. 2. Create an interactive, online “Host a Screening” guide that can be tailored to the needs of particular audiences (social workers, psychologists, camp counselors, etc.) and used in conjunction with the film’s broadcast and the Education DVD Kit. 3. Provide opportunities for the 40 inaugural screening hosts to Skype or speak directly with Filmmaker Dan Habib and work with Project Assistant Kären Clausen on event planning. 4. Develop and publicize a “Take Action” campaign to help reframe the conversations about “problem kids.” This campaign will include specific “actions for change” designed for particular audiences, including educators, families, health professionals and students.

Outreach & Engagement Goals and Outcomes WCAK has the potential to help communities and our national partners combat the use of purely punitive strategies and promote educational practices that improve outcomes for ALL students. Here is a sampling of the O&EC’s strategies: Create forums for community dialogue that can shift public awareness and attitudes regarding approaches to school discipline and reduce the stigma attached to youth with EBD. Catalyze and support collaboration between diverse stakeholders who may not otherwise have an opportunity to start a conversation. Educate and influence decision makers who can affect policy and practice on the national level. Provide an organizing tool for national efforts to implement positive approaches to school discipline. Projected objectives and outcomes include: Provide national partners with the information, resources and materials needed to help facilitate hundreds of inaugural community screenings and utilize the “Take Action” campaign and the “Host a Screening” guide for the national broadcast— resulting in an estimated 300,000 individuals reached. 70% of survey respondents at community screenings will indicate that they have a better understanding of the necessary supports for youth with EBD. 60% of community screening attendees will say that, after the film and discussion, they are likely to take some action to support evidence-based, positive approaches to school discipline.

scaling up We have already reached 20,000 people, but with two million youth with EBD in the United States, there is more work to be done. We project that our reach will increase 15-fold, from 20,000 to 300,000 people, as a result of the national WCAK Outreach & Engagement Campaign. We are excited to broaden our work to help students with EBD achieve success in school and beyond! If you have any questions or would like to get more involved with the project, please contact me at [email protected] or 603-228-2085 ext. 46. Sincerely,

Dan Habib Who Cares About Kelsey? Filmmaker and Project Director