I.  RESEARCH IN KANSAS CITY SCHOOLS

Connect with Kids Education Network (CWK)  and five school systems in the Kansas City area undertook a large-scale study to measure the impact of the Connect with Kids programs. The 800 participating students and 50 teachers included represented urban, rural and suburban settings from 12 schools, 5 school systems. The study was conducted throughout a full school year and included a control group. The pre- and post-measures were administered to both students and teachers to determine the extent to which students improved in their classroom behavior from the beginning of the school year to the end. Many students participating in the Connect with Kids program improved over the course of the year while students in comparison classes without the program actually declined in their behavior. The study confirms that through the proper implementation of the Connect with Kids program, student classroom behavior improves significantly in each of the following important youth areas:

Bullying and Violence Prevention:

• Less likely to solve problems by fighting.
• Less likely to pick on or bully other students.
• Less likely to attempt to retaliate against those who made them angry.
• Less likely to tolerate bullying from others.

Academic Motivation:

• More likely to do their best even when schoolwork is hard.
• More likely to continue to pursue goals despite setbacks and failures.
• Less likely to give up when faced with problems.

Classroom Management:

• More likely to report violations of school rules to teachers
• Less likely to blame others when they get in trouble
• More likely to obey the teacher and follow class rules
• More likely to help others even if they are not friends
• More likely to be patient with one another and share things with fellow students.

Based on this research, Connect with Kids was selected by the U.S. Department of Education’s coveted What Works Clearinghouse as an evidence-based program and the Company was named as an “Effective Producer” of programs.

II.  RESEARCH IN WASHINGTON D.C. SCHOOLS

Harvard research scientists from The Center on Media and Child Health (CMCH) conducted

a nine-month study on the impact of Connect with Kids programs that involved parents, teachers, and students in Fairfax County Public Schools and District of Columbia Charter Schools.  The study revealed the following compelling results:

Parent Involvement

• The Connect with Kids model, which includes classroom and community outreach strategies, significantly improves youth behavior and communication between parents and their children.
• Connect with Kids programs serve as powerful teaching tools and help to facilitate conversations between parents and children around important topics.
• Parents see the Connect with Kids programs as providing a valuable viewing experience and covering topics that are often difficult to discuss with their children.
• Many parents reported that viewing the video with their child opened lines of communication that would not have otherwise been available.
• Parents believed that the videos allowed for in-depth discussions and processing that would not have been possible in an unaided dialogue.
• After watching a Connect with Kids program, 91% of parent respondents in the DC Metro area study reported that “This program, Silent Witness, encouraged me and my child to discuss the topics addressed in the show.”

Classroom Management, Bullying Prevention and Communication

• Increased respectful and responsible behaviors.
• Decreases in selection of physical and verbal aggression as a behavior choice while students in the control group actually exhibited an increase in this behavior.
• Increased communication among students and adults.

III.   RESEARCH IN NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS

A three-year study at 18 New York City archdiocesan high schools showed that in schools using CWK programs, students were less likely to use drugs and alcohol and more likely to rely on effective strategies for refusing illegal substances.  Results from analysis indicated the following:

Drug and Alcohol Prevention

• A positive impact on a change in attitude regarding use of harmful substances. Increased confidence in having clear strategies for removing oneself from situations if offered substances, as well as clear reasons for refusing substances if they are offered.
• Significant increase in awareness of the dangers of using harmful substances.
• Increased awareness that infrequent use of a substance, even if only once, can have negative consequences.
• Significant decrease in the likelihood of using tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, and prescription drugs.

IV.   METHODOLOGY

“See-Feel-Change”

What really motivates and encourages the education, the decision-making and the perseverance that kids need on the path to a thriving adult life? Harvard Business School ‘s John Kotter calls it “see-feel-change,” an approach that fuels action by sparking  emotion.

Connect with Kids calls it educating the heart… using the power of storytelling and peer-to-peer connections to empower students, parents and educators with the tools to create powerful, heart-felt associations. Helping people to make the intelligent and emotional connections that spark long-lasting changes in behavior – and ultimately academic and personal success. 

The Mutual Aid Model for Group Work

Connect with Kids multimedia resources also embrace the Mutual Aid Model for group work. This approach, developed by William Schwartz, emerged from the field of social work and has been expanded as an action research approach to implementing and sustaining change (Gitterman, 1989, 2004, 2005; Shulman, 1986, 2005).

The Mutual Aid Model recognizes the power of one’s peer group as a vehicle for solving common problems. The peer group provides a forum for trying out new behaviors; giving and receiving feedback; providing positive support; and, most important, learning to help and support others through the aid of a trusted adult. It takes advantage of the positive roles that peers can play in working together to find new solutions to old problems.

The Medium is the Message

Research proves that video is a primarily an emotional medium – evoking the response that drives changes in behavior.  Connect with Kids video programming conveys behavior-changing messages, as kids, families and educators see themselves in real stories shared. Supporting materials launch the discussions and activities through which students, parents and educators learn from their peers and develop responses to the topic and challenge at hand.

Strength in Numbers

Another potent force in Mutual Aid is the discovery that one is not alone in his or her thoughts, feelings, and emotions, sometimes referred to as the “strength in numbers” phenomenon.  There is something special in hearing others articulate similar feelings and experiences.  Allowing adolescents to support each other in their struggles is developmentally appropriate and makes use of the power of the peer group.  Such mutuality produces support that energizes learning and provides the impetus that can ultimately change behaviors, develop life skills and lead to academic and lifelong personal achievement.