Monitoring.  No matter how carefully your team plans for the implementation, some unexpected issue will arise making a mid-course correction necessary. For example:

• A key teacher has a medical issue and is on leave for an extended period.  
• Supplies don’t come in on time,
• Some students are not participating in activities or
• There is too much or too little material to cover in the allotted time. 

If such issues are not addressed in a timely fashion, the program or activity may never reach its full potential to improve climate and safety.

A point person should be identified so that your team is able to respond promptly. Clear instructions as to how to document problems should be established before implementation. The team needs to have a process to document issues and how they were resolved. This information will be helpful in planning for next year’s implementation. 

During monitoring, you will also have data to acknowledge smooth performance. Look for things that are going well to acknowledge what’s working!

Evaluating. The process of monitoring and making changes as issues arise is often called a process evaluation. Evaluating the implementation process is essential to have the program or activity operating effectively so that it has the best chance of being successful. 

Also necessary is some measure of whether the intervention is meeting your goals. For example:

• Is there an increase in the number of students feeling safe at school? 
• Do all groups of students report feeling validated by their teachers? 
• How are teachers and other school staff feeling about any changes in the school climate?

Planning for an evaluation needs to take place before the program/process or activity starts. You need to collect baseline data before the change and then collect the same data after the intervention so that you can see that any changes that happened were related to the intervention. Unless you have a person experienced with pre- and post-evaluations or access to someone at the district office or a local college or university, it is best to keep the data collection to a few simple questions such as:

• On a scale of 1 (unsafe) to 5 (very safe), how safe do you feel at school?
• I can identify one teacher or another adult at school who would help me if I had a problem.
• Students are treated fairly at this school.

People usually feel more comfortable answering questions honestly, if their answers are anonymous.  You can create a code number for each student at the baseline data collection so that you can match student responses when you survey them again. Click here for a sample short survey.

Another strategy is to have small groups of students talk about their experiences with the program/ activity or intervention.  This process also can give your team valuable insights into how you can improve implementation in the next school year.

WHAT’S NEXT: Share your evaluation findings with appropriate stakeholders including teachers who are implementing the changes, administrators, students, and others. Write a report listing the suggestions for improvements for next year, so the suggestions are not forgotten. Celebrate your accomplishments.