Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar;94(3):228-234.
doi: 10.1111/josh.13389. Epub 2023 Aug 8.

Lessons Learned from an Academic Partnership to Review Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services' Annual Survey

Deepa L Sekhar  1 , Eric W Schaefer  2 , Alicia M Hoke  1 , Perri Rosen  3 , Roberta A Chuzie  3 , Dana M Milakovic  3
Affiliations

Lessons Learned from an Academic Partnership to Review Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services' Annual Survey

Deepa L Sekhar et al. J Sch Health. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Pennsylvania's Student Assistance Program (SAP) began in the mid-1980s to address student barriers to academic success. SAP teams, groups of trained school and community professionals, review referrals, and connect students to services. State leadership conducts an annual SAP team survey, but capacity to evaluate data and affect change is limited. In 2020, leadership partnered with [institution name] to collaboratively review the survey data.

Methods: Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Open responses were coded. Logistic regression models evaluated the association between SAP team size, team meeting frequency, and team maintenance.

Results: The 2019 to 2020 survey had 1003 respondents. Median number of SAP team members was 8 (range 1-21). The majority (54%) indicated their SAP team met once per week/cycle for 30 to 90+ minutes. Larger teams met more often. Annual team maintenance occurred for 38% of teams, and was more common for larger teams. SAP team members identified mental health (68%), trauma (44%), and parent engagement (36%) as top training needs.

Conclusions: An academic partnership successfully provided the capacity to review SAP survey responses, and informed evidenced-based discussion of best practice guidelines and realignment of staff professional development opportunities.

Keywords: academic-public health partnership; data-driven decision-making; student assistance program.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services. What is the student assistance program? 2019. Available at: http://pnsas.org/Portals/0/About%20SAP/General%20SAP%20In%20PA/WhatIsSAP.... Accessed January 9, 2023.
    1. PNSAS-Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services. Student assistance program liaison handbook. 2022-2023. Available at: https://www.ddap.pa.gov/Documents/Agency%20Publications/SAP%20Liaison%20.... Accessed January 9, 2023.
    1. California Department of Education. Student Assistance Programs. 2021. Available at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/at/sap.asp. Accessed January 9, 2023.
    1. Student Assistance Center at Prevention First. Student assistance center student assistance guidebook. Available at: https://www.prevention.org/Resources/c54b613c-d9d7-456d-99d2-2521e531e00.... Accessed May 30, 2023.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC). 2021. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/wscc/index.htm. Accessed January 9, 2023.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources