School of the future project

The School of the Future Project was a large-scale demonstration of a full-service school providing specialized child and family services such family crisis intervention and social skills training. The focus of the project was on the local community and the involvement of parents and teachers in decision-making. Subjects were largely Latino, urban, and of low socio-economic status. The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas initiated the project in 1990 with grants to individual elementary and middle schools in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio Independent School Districts. Data were collected between the years of 1990 and 1995 for the purpose of evaluating the success of the project. The data set includes measures of students' performance in classes and on outcome assessments; the number of student absences per semester; student, family, and teacher perceptions of their school and of the project; level of student and teacher support; and family background and use of services. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were used, including student grades and subjectcompetency test scores as well as surveys and interviews administered to students, teachers, and parents. The Murray Center holds computer data for the Austin, Houston, and San Antonio sites.