Raising the Bar: Impacts and Implementation of the New Heights Program for Expectant and Parenting Teens in Washington, dc

participate at any level that meets his or her needs. 
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To learn about the intended program, we talked with two district administrators and three program leadership staff 
members in the Office of Youth Engagement. In Chapter V, we discuss how the program was implemented, drawing 
on additional data from the school-based coordinators, the students, and case files that coordinators maintained on 
the students. 
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RAISING THE BAR: IMPACTS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW HEIGHTS PROGRAM
 
New Heights’ key feature is placing a dedicated staff person, a coordinator, in every school. 
The coordinators are trained staff employed by the district who operate primarily out of a 
dedicated office or classroom space in each school. They lead program delivery in each school, 
delivering the program’s multiple components tailored to the needs of their students. Each 
coordinator serves as a free resource for their school, assessing the academic and personal needs 
of participating students and helping them identify concrete strategies and achievable goals to 
meet those needs. 
Coordinators are responsible for integrating four main components into the regular school 
day: (1) advocacy, (2) targeted school-based case management, (3) weekly educational 
workshops, and (4) incentives. Taken together, these components aim to help expectant and 
parenting students identify their strengths to overcome barriers, become self-sufficient, and 
achieve educational success (Figure II.1). In the short term, New Heights seeks to increase 
school engagement through improved attendance. The program supports students in overcoming 
the barriers that keep them out of the classroom, thereby working to increase the number of days 
attended per year. But the program also helps students to understand the criteria for excused 
absences and the administrative process for having an absence designated as excused, as opposed 
to unexcused.
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 The program also aims to increase credit accumulation and empower students to 
advocate for themselves and become self-sufficient. These short-term outcomes are expected to 
lead to long-term improvements, such as increased graduation rates, postsecondary enrollment, 
employment opportunities, and the delay of subsequent pregnancies.