Summary
Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR), offered by the BARR Center, provides an organizational approach to SEL. It includes programming for K-12 and demonstrates evidence of effectiveness at grade 9. Translated materials for BARR are available in Spanish.
Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) is a whole-school, strengths-based model that provides schools with a comprehensive approach to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of all students. BARR uses block scheduling, in which a group of core subject teachers works as a team with a group of students, similar to a school-within-a-school. Team members get to know students as individuals. BARR’s SEL curriculum, “I-Time,” is a 30-minute weekly lesson facilitated by core subject teachers in which students learning more about themselves, discover their strengths, and build relationships between staff and students, and among students themselves. Members of the teacher teams meet regularly to discuss each student’s strengths and progress and identify obstacles to learning. Staff participate in risk-review meetings to design and implement comprehensive strategies to address the needs of the students who are most at risk. Parents are involved in BARR, participating in an orientation and a parent advisory council. Extensive professional development and coaching are provided to teachers, counselors, and administrators.
Strategies supporting educational equity (CASEL)
BARR features strategies for understanding context and working with bias. This includes guidance for facilitating activities with students that help educators understand student experience more deeply and adjust instruction accordingly. Also, during initial training adults are guided through reflections on their own biases. These reflections are built into the action planning and coaching model for the subsequent school year.
Implementation
Below are key implementation details for this program. These specifications help determine if the program is a good fit for your school or organization.
Setting
Classroom, Schoolwide, Home, Clinical
Language
English, Spanish
Cost
$240,000
# Lessons
Weekly
Program Design
Tier 1 (Universal)
Technology Requirements
None Required
Staffing Requirements
The model requires .3-.5 FTE staff member to coordinator BARR implementation and activities.
Professional Development
Extensive professional development provided for this 3-year model. In addition to the two training days per year, a BARR coach visits the school four times in the first year and three times in years two and three. The BARR coach connects weekly with the schools’ BARR coordinator to help problem solve, answer questions, share best practices and provide encouragement. The BARR coordinator and the school administrator are also invited to participate in quarterly Professional Learning Community (PLC) calls to connect with other schools across the country that are implementing the model and to attend the annual BARR National Conference.
Outcomes
Improved SEL skills and attitudes
Reduced Emotional Distress
Improved Identity Development/ Agency
Improved Academic Performance
Reduced Problem Behavior
Improved School Climate
Improved School Connectedness
Improved Prosocial Behavior
Improved Teaching Practices
Improved SEL Skills and Attitude
Evidence of Effectiveness
Results from a within-school randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation conducted in 2011-2012 (published in 2015) supported the effectiveness of the BARR program for high school students. This evaluation included 548 grade 9 students in suburban and rural high schools in the U.S. West and Northeast (52% white, 37% Latinx; 68% of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL)). The study found that students receiving the program earned significantly more credits towards their graduation and had higher standardized test scores in mathematics and reading compared to students in the control group (outcomes reported one academic year after baseline, while controlling for standardized scores for mathematics and reading at pre-test).
Results from an RCT conducted over three consecutive academic years from 2014-2017 (published in 2018 and 2019) supported the effectiveness of BARR with high school students. This evaluation was conducted with a sample of approximately 4,000 students in grade 9 from diverse regions and geographic locations across the U.S. (predominantly white and Latinx; 79% eligible for FRPL). These evaluations found that students who participated in the program had higher academic achievement (i.e., GPA, reading and mathematics standardized test scores, greater number of core credits earned, more likely to pass all their core courses) compared to students in the control group (outcomes reported nine months after baseline while controlling for outcome pretest and a host of relevant demographic covariates). Additionally, students who participated in the program self-reported significantly greater school engagement, teacher expectations, and more supportive student-teacher relationships in the spring of grade 9 compared to students in the control group.
VIEW LESS
Academic
Strong
Strong Relationships
Strong
Published Studies
Bos, J. M., Dhillon, S. & Borman, T. (2019). Building Assets and Reducing Risks (BARR) validation study: Final report. American Institutes for Research.
Corsello, M., & Sharma, A. (2015). The Building Assets-Reducing Risks program: Replication and expansion of an effective strategy to turn around low-achieving schools. Investing in Innovation (i3) Development Grant. Final report. Grantee submission. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Borman, T. H., Bos, J. M., O’Brien, B. C., Park, S. J., & Liu, F. (2018). I3 BARR Validation Study Impact Findings: Cohorts 1 and 2. American Institutes for Research.