Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR)
Program overview
Taking a comprehensive approach to school improvement: Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) is a strengths-based K-12 school improvement model that emphasizes relationship building, leveraging real-time student data, and identifying and capitalizing on the strengths of students and staff. The program aims to improve student engagement, academic outcomes, teacher experiences, and the school climate.
Strengthening relationships and encouraging collaboration: To implement BARR, schools adopt a block schedule system, in which groups of students take their core subject classes together with the same set of teachers. In addition to their core coursework, students participate in a weekly “I-Time” lesson, which focuses on social and emotional development. This structure is intended to strengthen the sense of community among students and enable teachers to work collaboratively to support students’ academic progress.
Providing data-driven student supports: The team of teachers for each block meet weekly to discuss the academic progress, assets, and challenges of their students. During these meetings, teachers review real-time student data and identify and assign responsibility for implementing interventions to support students. Students who experience persistent or more significant academic, attendance, or behavioral issues can also be referred to a risk review team, which includes school counselors, school administrators, and other support staff.
Building educators and students’ capacity: The BARR Center provides schools with three years of intensive implementation support. This includes training and coaching for teachers and school administrators focused on identifying students’ strengths and assets, addressing barriers to student success, and effective communication with other school staff. Schools also have the opportunity for peer-to-peer learning through a national network of other BARR schools.
- Strategies
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School climate and student behavior
Multiple studies with rigorous designs demonstrate that BARR is a well-supported strategy for improving student academic achievement, student attendance, and teacher experiences and attitudes.
A 2022 randomized controlled trial found that BARR increased the proportion of credits students earned from core courses by 3.6 percentage points, increased the percentage of students who passed all of their courses by 5.8 percentage points, increased students’ GPA by an average of 0.13 points, and reduced the proportion of students who were chronically absent by 2.8 percentage points. BARR schools also exhibited changes to teacher experience, including increased teacher collaboration and data use and an improvement in teachers’ views of their school’s supports.
A 2018 randomized controlled trial found that BARR increased the proportion of credits students earned from core courses by 5.4 percentage points and increased the percentage of students who passed all of their courses by 15.8 percentage points. BARR schools also exhibited changes to teacher experience, including increased teacher collaboration and data use and an improvement in teachers’ views of their school’s supports.
- Secure leadership buy-in:School leaders are expected to commit time, attention, and staff resources to the implementation of the BARR model. By having direct and ongoing involvement in the day-to-day implementation of the model, school leaders position BARR as a priority and build greater organizational support for the model.
Take advantage of implementation supports: The BARR Center provides schools with intensive coaching and training opportunities during their first three years implementing the model. As program evaluations have shown that these services increase the fidelity of implementation, schools should ensure that teachers and administrators are given sufficient time to actively engage with these resources.
Anticipate challenges with time constraints: In some BARR schools, staff have reported having insufficient time to fully and consistently implement aspects of the model. For example, some BARR schools have struggled to hold and/or get through the entire student caseload during risk review meetings. As resources allow, schools should craft a schedule that dedicates staff time to fulfilling BARR-related responsibilities.
Participate in peer-to-peer opportunities: Staff at schools that implement BARR become part of a national network of educators who have experience with the model. By engaging with the network, staff can develop peer-to-peer relationships and share ideas and advice on how to promote student success.