Search Institute CADRE Program Information
Search Institute CADRE Program Information
At Monday night’s School Board meeting, School Board members approved BCSC to participate in the Search Institute’s CADRE Project. Some may remember that BCSC and Flat Rock-Hawcreek Schools also participated in Search Institute’s Resilience Through Strengths Survey during the 2022-2023 school year. In an effort to communicate with families, staff, and Bartholomew County community members about future plans, we are sharing this information to help answer some of the questions we have heard in the past few days about previous and upcoming initiatives.
History
As stated on the Council for Youth Development Bartholomew County’s (CYD) website, “In December 2020, Bartholomew County joined an international research team led by the International School Psychology Association (ISPA), the International Institute for Child Rights and Development (IICRD), Search Institute, IUPUI School of Education and the Indiana Department of Education to advance current work in the area of positive youth development and child well-being.”
Bartholomew County (BCSC and Flat Rock-Hawcreek Schools) participated as a community pilot and have worked closely with the international team to explore whether asset-based practices reduce the effects of childhood trauma and improve youth resiliency. To learn more about Council for Youth Development Bartholomew County, please visit their website here.
In search of communities applying these asset-based principles, Bartholomew County was selected because of the pioneering efforts over the last four years to invest in strength-focused, community-wide strategies that continue to prioritize the social, emotional, mental, and physical well-being of all local children and teens. Beginning in 2017 with the launch of Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation’s Counseling Counts Initiative and the Council for Youth Development’s Youth Master Plan, a collective effort has been made to integrate Search Institute's Developmental Assets® and Developmental Relationships frameworks in local initiatives and throughout the community.
Resilience Through Strengths Survey
On August 19, 2022, BCSC sent a district-wide ParentSquare newsletter to all staff and families in its database about an upcoming optional survey being offered to 4th through 12th graders called Resilience Through Strengths. Under the section entitled Healthy, Safe, and Welcoming Environments, it read as follows:
As part of BCSC providing safe and welcoming learning environments in which every learner has positive relationships and access to resources needed to thrive, our corporation is participating in a survey titled Resilience Through Strengths. The purpose of this survey is to have accurate knowledge of the well being of our young people by determining the strengths and support that youth have and need in their lives. Also, we hope to gain insight on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other traumas that young people have endured. This survey will help our organization work with you to ensure that the young people we work with have the opportunities they need to be successful in life.
BCSC Director of Wellness Kristin Beck would like families to know that a letter will be sent home next week about this optional survey that will be offered to all BCSC students in grades 4 through 12. BCSC values student voice and this is an opportunity to gather information about what our young people are experiencing and how to improve services and supports to ensure our students thrive academically. You can find a link to the letter being sent home here. If your student will not participate in the survey, please sign the letter and have your child return it to the main office. For questions on this survey, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Beck at beckk@bcsc.k12.in.us.
The same letter found above was sent home to families with their students during that time period.
On September 7-9, 2022, BCSC and Flat Rock-Hawcreek students participated in this optional survey.
On March 3, 2022, the Council for Youth Development Bartholomew County presented the results of the survey to the community. If you were not able to attend that presentation virtually, you can watch the presentation here. You can also download the results of the Resilience Through Strengths Survey here. (pdf attached)
Search Institute CADRE Program (middle school only program)
What is CADRE?
The Cultural Adaptation of Developmental Relationships in Education (CADRE) project is a
partnership between your school and a research organization called Search Institute to
strengthen developmental relationships between teachers and students. Developmental relationships are close connections through which young people discover who they are, cultivate abilities to shape their own lives, and learn how to engage with and contribute to the world around them.
CADRE is both a research study and a professional development opportunity. Your school will
form (or repurpose) a team of 6-10 individuals composed of educators, support staff, students, and community members. Search Institute will work alongside your school team to identify the strengths and needs of your school, educators, and students to co-develop a plan
for strengthening equitable approaches to relationships in your school. Search Institute will provide knowledge and education around developmental relationships and the school team will provide expertise on your experiences and knowledge of your school. Throughout this process, we will collaboratively investigate the needs and barriers that you face in strengthening developmental relationships and design an implementation plan for your unique school context. Search Institute will also learn from you how to improve upon CADRE for future iterations.
This project is not an SEL program or a stand-alone online training course; rather, it is a partnership designed to support you in identifying and implementing sustained change to improve relationships in your school.
What distinguishes CADRE from other professional development opportunities is the continuous support and assistance Search Institute will provide over the course of multiple years to ensure your school team’s plan for developmental relationships is implemented and built to sustain itself for years to come. As well, we will use relationships screening data from your unique school context to support you and build a plan for strengthening relationships that can last.
Overview of CADRE Activities PDF download available below
School Team Participation and Commitment
Your commitment as a school team member in CADRE includes:
1. Building equity and developmental relationships into your school culture and classroom practices.
2. Thought partnering with Search Institute on how to best integrate this work into your school system and teaching practices.
3. Diving deep into your school culture and needs to create a schoolwide implementation plan.
4. Supporting colleagues throughout implementation.
5. Engaging the entire school community in implementing CADRE.
Search Institute will support your school team in the following ways:
1. Assist school teams and educators by providing guidance on how to use the Developmental Relationships(DR) Framework, practices, and measures to build Developmental Relationships with students.
2. Support school teams and educators in making Developmental Relationships fit your school context and be culturally relevant to your students.
3. Support school teams and educators in adapting, implementing, and continuously improving implementation of the DR Framework, practices, and measures in your school and classrooms.
4. Provide school teams and educators with ongoing capacity building (e.g., new resources, training, and coaching) to support understanding, adaptation, and implementation of the DR Framework, practices, and measures in your school and classrooms.
CADRE Format
• CADRE will take place across 3 primary mediums: a Learning Management System called LearnWorlds where you will engage in individual asynchronous learning, school team meetings, and partnership meetings between your school team and Search Institute.
• CADRE will occur in 4 phases from Fall 2023 to Fall 2025: Prepare, Plan, Implement, and Sustain.
• Activities for CADRE will not exceed 5 hours/month.
Cultural Adaptation of Developmental Relationships in Education (CADRE) PDF download available below
Investments and Gains for School Partners
Investments: What we are asking for from participating schools –
❖ Commitment to building equity and developmental relationships into their school culture
and classroom practices.
❖ Willing to be a thought partner with Search on how to best integrate this work into existing
school systems and teaching practices.
❖ Dedicating a school team (5-10 educators, youth, school staff) to champion this work.
➢ Each member of the school team is willing to do some individual work (learning and reflecting) as well as team work on a monthly basis during the Plan and Prepare phases.
➢ Committed to diving deep into the school culture and needs to create a schoolwide implementation plan.
➢ Prepared to support teachers, staff, and students throughout implementation.
➢ Willing to engage with Search to provide ongoing feedback on both the successes and challenges of the project.
❖ Engaging the entire school community in implementing CADRE
➢ Teachers adopting and integrating CADRE into their teaching practices
➢ Teachers and students completing surveys and giving feedback at several time points throughout the project.
Gains: What school district partners will receive for participating in CADRE –
❖ A voice and hand in creating an implementation system that can guide schools in creating
equitable and relationship rich climates nationwide.
❖ Free access to CADRE and Search tools.
❖ Ongoing technical assistance and customized feedback.
❖ $10,000/year for the participating school.
❖ Additional stipends for participating staff and students.
If you would like to download Search Institute’s CADRE Overview, please use this link.
If you would like to download the CADRE Timeline, please use this link.
