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Citation:

Desimone, L., Finn-Stevenson, M., & Henrich, C. (2000). Whole school reform in a low-income African American community: The effects of the CoZi Model on teachers, parents, and students. Urban Education, 35(3), 269-323. EJ612404.

Annotation:
The purpose of this quasi-experimental evaluation is to measure the effects of the CoZi model of school reform in a school serving primarily African American, low-income students. The CoZi model is based on the work of James Comer (1980) and Edward Zigler (1989). It seeks to address the needs of children and families by providing social services through the school and a system for reorganizing school decision making and service provision to develop a cohesive community of parents, teachers, and students. There were significantly higher parent and community participation rates in the CoZi school than in a comparison school with similar staff and student demographics. The CoZi school also reported more positive attitudes toward parent involvement and more programs to bring parents into the school. In addition, the CoZi school also had a significantly better school climate, especially as reported by teachers. Teachers in both schools perceived their classroom effectiveness as relatively high, with no significant differences between the schools. CoZi parents had significantly larger social networks, but reported no differences in levels of stress or self-esteem from parents at the comparison school. CoZi preschoolers did not outscore comparison students on measures of receptive vocabulary, which may be partly due to an emphasis on reading instruction at the comparison school. An analysis of district test score data, however, showed that the CoZi students increased their reading and math scores dramatically over the five-year period of CoZi implementation and that they outscored all schools in the district with similar student populations. The evaluators used surveys, in-depth interviews, and classroom observations to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from parents and teachers. Preschool student achievement was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (Dunn & Dunn, 1981). This evaluation gives a comprehensive analysis of a specific school reform approach that emphasizes parent involvement and the impact that it had on school climate and culture, parent and teacher satisfaction, and student achievement.