Articles #IRRE

This report is the first publication about an ongoing, large-scale evaluation of a District-wide, comprehensive school reform initiative underway in Kansas City, Kansas called First Things First (FTF). The initiative is directed and implemented by a partnership of three organizations: the Kansas City, Kansas School District; the Institute for Research and Reform in Education – developer of the FTF framework and primary technical assistance provider to the District; and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation – FTF’s major private supporter. The FTF model is an example of the newer breed of comprehensive reform, called “theory of change” initiatives, which took shape in the 1990s as a promising approach to systems change. The theory of change approach entails specifying and sequencing each step required to achieve the desired systemic outcomes, which allows for early, intermediate and long-term progress and outcomes to be identified and monitored over the course of a reform.

First Things First (FTF) is an education reform initiative that aims to raise the academic performance of all students to levels required for post‐secondary education and high‐quality employment without remediation. Developed by the Institute for Research and Reform in Education (IRRE) in 1996, FTF strives to create meaningful change for all students –particularly young people in low‐income communities whom public education is failing. The FTF framework provides a set of expectations and articulates the ways in which these expectations can be met by schools and districts. Over time, the framework has evolved from an abstract theory to a tested set of interlocking processes, strategies and implementation standards aimed at improving critical student outcomes.