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Welcome to our new series on evaluation, where we delve into the world of assessing program impact, measuring success, and driving continuous improvement. In this series, we will explore various aspects of evaluation, ranging from different evaluation methodologies to best practices in data collection and analysis. Through this series, you will gain insights into the methodologies and techniques that underpin effective program evaluation and be better equipped to make informed decisions that enhance the effectiveness and impact of your programs.

Program evaluation can unfold in many different ways, but it typically includes five key phases: planning, data collection, data analysis, interpretation and reporting, and evaluation utilization. We will kick off this series exploring the planning phase of an evaluation. 

During the planning phase, the Goldstream Group works closely with clients to clarify an evaluation’s purpose, objectives, and questions. In turn, this information guides the evaluation design, including the selection of appropriate evaluation methods and data collection instruments. We believe that engaging program staff in the evaluation planning process from the earliest stages fosters inclusivity, transparency, and shared ownership, leading to more meaningful and relevant evaluations and increased utilization of evaluation findings.

For example, one program Goldstream Group evaluated was a STEM summer camp. The program staff was specifically interested in measuring whether their summer camp contributed to participants’ STEM career interest, self-efficacy, and knowledge. Reflecting their interest in knowing about the changes in their participants’ perceptions and knowledge, we selected an outcomes-based evaluation design. An outcomes-based approach to program evaluation focuses on measuring the outcomes or results of a program rather than the program’s activities. It is a systematic way of assessing the extent to which a program has achieved its intended outcomes, and it helps stakeholders understand the effectiveness and impact of the program (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, and Worthen, 2004). The evaluation found that the camp participants did increase their STEM career interest, self-efficacy, and knowledge and this information helped to inform the development of subsequent informal science projects.

In another example, Goldstream Group evaluated a curriculum development program in which the staff used an innovative approach for developing K-12 science curriculum. The program staff were specifically interested in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their new model. In this case, we focused on documenting and describing how each part of the curriculum development model was implemented, which is an example of a descriptive evaluation design. This information guided the program staff in making evidence-based decisions about their curriculum development model and contributed to their subsequent implementation of the model state-wide. 

In our next issue, we will share information about the tools evaluators use to collect data, including surveys, interviews, observations, document review, and secondary data review. 

The National Education Finance Academy is a professional organization home to scholars, students, practitioners, and policymakers who share an interest in studying education finance. The mission of the National Education Finance Academy is to promote scholarly inquiry, to advance knowledge, and to inform policy and practice in the field of education finance. Goldstream Group’s Research Director, Dr. Delia Allen has served on the NEFA Board of Trustees from 2022 to 2023. This year, she was nominated and elected as Vice President.  

We sat down with Dr. Allen to learn about her recent election as Vice President of the National Education Finance Academy.

Dr. Allen’s professional journey to this appointment started years prior to joining the Goldstream Group. Before her leadership role at Goldstream Group, she served as a high school mathematics teacher, a visiting professor in Clemson’s Department of Educational and Organizational Leadership Development, and a Research Associate and Consultant at Furman University’s Riley Institute. Dr. Allen holds a Master of Arts in Teaching in secondary mathematics, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy with certification in Education Law and Policy – in addition to her two engineering degrees.

When asked specifically about how the process of joining NEFA began, she stated, “I was in graduate school and my dissertation chair suggested that I submit a paper to the National Education Finance Academy annual conference – it was accepted” The paper was titled, “The Legal Realism of School Funding Litigation in Abbeville v. South Carolina: What is the value of violation?” That was Dr. Allen’s introduction to the organization and from 2018 on, she maintained her membership.

During Delia’s time with the organization, she was the inaugural recipient of the William and Ann Fowler Education Finance Policy Research Fellow award in 2018, which “supports early-career researchers whose research focuses on solving applied education finance and budgeting problems that possess a direct application to improving current practice; and promotes new scholars’ entry and participation into the National Education Finance Academy academic and institutional research community.” In 2022, she was named by National Education Finance Academy as a “Distinguished Fellow of Research and Practice” in recognition of her research and influence in the field of education finance. Now in her new role as Vice President, Dr. Allen hopes to “strengthen the engagement of, and bridge the communication gap between, education finance scholars, K-12 district level leadership and policymakers.”

The Doyon Foundation, an Alaska Native tribal organization whose mission is to provide educational, career, and cultural opportunities to enhance the quality of life for Doyon shareholders, received a three-year grant from the Alaska Native Education Program to implement Doyon Languages Education. Through Doyon Languages Education, Alaska Native language speakers who want to improve their language teaching skills will participate in lesson study, a collaborative, inquiry-based approach to improving teaching and student learning. Participating teachers will benefit from opportunities for peer feedback, shared expertise, and mutual support. Participating teachers will also learn to integrate the Doyon Languages Online curriculum into their instruction. The Doyon Languages Online curriculum provides introductory courses for nine of the 10 endangered Doyon region languages:  Holikachuk, Denaakk’e (Koyukon), Benhti Kokhut’ana Kenaga’ (Lower Tanana), Hän, Dinjii  Zhuh K’yaa (Gwich’in), Deg Xinag, Dinak’i (Upper Kuskokwim), Dihthâad Xt’een Iin  Aanděeg’ (Tanacross), and Nee’aanèegn’ (Upper Tanana). The curriculum was developed through a partnership between Doyon Foundation and 7000 Languages, a nonprofit that supports endangered language learning through software donated by Transparent Language.

Goldstream Group had the privilege of facilitating a strategic planning session for Effie Kokrine Charter School on April 1, 2023. More than forty students, parents, staff, alumni, and Elders gathered at the school to discuss the vision and goals for the future of EKCS. Led by Esther Hammerschlag and the rest of the Goldstream staff, the discussions were fueled by focus groups and survey data gathered earlier in the school year. The final strategic plan will be completed and shared with the EKCS community later this year.

 

 

We sat down with Goldstream Group’s Operations Manager and Evaluation Consultant, Jen Danielson, to learn about her role as the Costume Coordinator for the North Star Ballet 

Jen has been interested in costuming since she was a teenager. She even applied to work with North Star Ballet, a nonprofit dance school, and company, when she finished graduate school. “They didn’t call me back,” Jen told us, laughing. She finally got her chance to volunteer when her daughters were students, around 2007.

Jen worked her way up through the years. “I started helping with dressing kids and minor alterations,” she said. She began to take on more responsibility under ballet mistress, Sue Perry Jordan.

Of Sue Perry Jordan, Jen said “She was a very accomplished seamstress and costumer. I consider her a mentor.”When she was diagnosed with cancer, she made a concerted effort to pass as much knowledge as she could on to me.  I met with her once a week for more than a year.  She showed me how to build tutus and how to draft patterns to fit specific dancers.  She showed me costuming construction techniques that make costumes easy to alter for new bodies.  She passed away in 2016 and I have been continuing her work ever since.” 

Jen sees volunteering as a calling. She believes that organizations focused on arts and education, like North Star Ballet, make Fairbanks a better place. “I am fortunate to be able to support them in a very specific way,” she told us. When we asked Jen what she most enjoyed about volunteering, she said, “It is very rewarding to work on a major production. Many people work together to make art that could not be created by an individual. I appreciate the opportunities the ballet gives to young people.” 

Most recently, Jen has assisted in dressing the cast and organizing volunteers for their upcoming production of “The Firebird”,a story ballet with music by Igor Stravinski. The local production is realized by the North Star Ballet artistic director Courtland Weaver and ballet mistress Wendy Walker. It will feature choreography by Norman Shelburne and design by Celeste Sullivan. This production is a part of their 35th Spring Gala, which features first “The Firebird” as well as five original repertory pieces. 

 

Goldstream Group is excited to announce our newest project, in collaboration with the Alaska Native Heritage Center!

Tin Hoozoonh (which translates to “the trail is good” in Koyukon) is a workforce development apprenticeship program, funded by an Administration for Native Americans Social and Economic Development Strategies grant. The program will give apprentices an opportunity for experiential learning in the workplace. They will also be able to gain confidence for future endeavors in cultural tourism, research and collections, business operations, cultural tourism marketing, and cultural tourism evaluation.

Our evaluation work is expected to demonstrate the project’s impact on apprentices’ professional confidence in cultural tourism. We also aim to identify the aspects of the project that contributed most to apprentices’ confidence and satisfaction with their experience.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a living cultural center located in Anchorage, Alaska that promotes active observance of Alaska Native culture and traditions.

Join us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to follow along with this exciting new project!

Goldstream Group values giving back to the communities we live and work in. With that in mind, we asked each of our employees to choose an organization to support with donations last year. Read on to learn more about some of these groups and the important work they do!

KUAC

KUAC, the first public radio and television company in the state of Alaska, operates with the mission of connecting Alaskans to the rest of the world. They aim to provide thought-provoking and trustworthy programming for the residents of Fairbanks and Alaskans as a whole.

Click here to learn more!

STAR

STAR, Standing Together Against Rape, Inc. focuses on providing services to victims of sexual assault in Alaska. They also provide prevention and education programs with the overall goal of protecting Alaskans.

Click here to learn more!

Clemson University

Clemson University is a public land-grant research institution located in the upstate of South Carolina. Clemson is also the Alma Mater of our Research Director, Delia, and where our Communication Specialist, Kylie, currently attends!

Click here to learn more!

North Star Ballet School

North Star Ballet School is a nonprofit dance school and company that has been in operation in Alaska since 1980. They emphasize individual growth through dance performance.

Click here to learn more!

Northern Alaska Environmental Center

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center advocates for the conservation of the environment of Interior and Arctic Alaska. They emphasize the importance of the use of sustainable resources and work towards protecting the beautiful and special places in Alaska.

Click here to learn more!

Fairbanks Community Food Bank

The Fairbanks Community Food Bank collects donated food to give out to individuals and agencies in need. They have been in operation since 1982, and since then have been able to distribute millions of pounds of food out to the community.

Click here to learn more!

Goldstream Group recently completed an impact evaluation of Margaret A. Cargill’s Philanthropies’ (MACP) funding to the Alaska Conservation Foundation from 2011 to 2020, which supported community-led conservation work in the Tongass National Forest Region, one of the largest remaining coastal temperate rainforests in the world. MACP’s funding contributed to interrelated community-level changes in Southeast Alaska that are necessary predecessors for long-term ecological sustainability; community engagement in shared stewardship with federal and state agencies, Native corporations and landowners, and environmental organizations; and long-term positive ecological changes in forest health, salmon habitat, and deer populations. Southeast Alaska Impact Assessment Executive Summary

Goldstream Group worked with the Alaska Native Heritage Center to complete a Community Needs and Readiness Assessment for their Tiamuna Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The Community Needs and Readiness Assessment focused on documenting the availability of culturally-reflective services and programs explicitly designed to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of Alaska Native and American Indian youth in the Anchorage area; documenting barriers to accessing supplemental educational services and programs; and identifying unmet interests and recommends priorities for new culturally-reflective services and programs. Tiamuna CNRA Report

The Goldstream Group is excited to partner with the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies on its Southeast Alaska Impact Assessment and Learning Project. The purpose of this impact evaluation is to assess the relationship between the principles guiding MACP’s environmental funding in Southeast Alaska and the expected outcomes of funded programs in areas such as attitudes, behaviors, ecology, economy, and community. This will lead to a better understanding of factors of community-based conservation strategies that engage Southeast Alaska communities and have the greatest impacts on conservation goals and community well-being.