Shortridge Academy Announces Collaboration with OutcomeTools

Shortridge Academy has forged a relationship with OutcomeTools, a new service that integrates with BestNotes and other electronic health record systems, to begin the implementation of a comprehensive, web-based, program evaluation. Shortridge is guided by a Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective. Because most standardized research instruments are designed to measure problems, deficits, or risky behaviors, Adam Rainer, Shortridge President & Founder, and Kristine Baber, Ph.D., Shortridge's Research Consultant, designed and selected instruments for the evaluation that reflect the school's strengths-based approach.

A unique aspect of the instrumentation of the program evaluation at Shortridge Academy is the dual purpose of the instruments. They are designed for both therapeutic and academic use and as research tools. Individualized Positive Development Plans (PDPs), Shortridge's alternative to traditional treatment plans, are developed based upon student and parent responses to a variety of instruments which are electronically completed at enrollment, at graduation, and at the points when the PDPs are being revised.

Instruments like the PDP Progress Rating Form and the Academic Progress Rating Form provide regular feedback to families while offering a concrete and transparent framework to inform each student's personalized plan. Instruments such as Student Strengths at Enrollment, Connections to Family and Friends, and the Family Communication Scale not only provide information for counselors as they develop and revise a plan of care for each student and family, but they also serve as vehicles for tracking students' progress over their stay at the school.

The complex system of therapeutic and research tools would be almost impossible to implement were it not for Shortridge's technology partner, OutcomeTools. OutcomeTools helps providers such as Shortridge collect and access quality process and outcome data. By streamlining the data collection process and immediately scoring, storing, and graphing the collected information, results can be used for real-time decision making as well as for more sophisticated analyses. Baber explained that, "OutcomeTools offers a tremendous amount of utility to service providers and researchers. The services available from OutcomeTools are a researcher's dream come true allowing efficient, user-friendly data collection; automatic coding; and secure storage of data. Mike Petree and the OutcomeTools group are available, knowledgeable, forward thinking, and ready to work with us on the most challenging data issues."

Shortridge has utilized OutcomeTools ability to integrate customized measures into their system in order to tailor the school's evaluation to be consistent with its theoretical grounding and specific goals and desired outcomes. Instrument delivery is easily scheduled for automatic distribution to parents, students, and staff and questionnaires can be conveniently completed online. Basic reports are available via OutcomeTools or data files can be downloaded for analysis with SPSS or another statistical package.

Mike Petree, CEO of OutcomeTools, praised the work that Shortridge is doing with the support of his company's services. "The research efforts at Shortridge Academy are progressive, well-planned, and thorough. In addition to measuring basic outcomes, Dr. Baber, Adam, and the Shortridge team are drilling deeper into the relationships between program philosophy and design and how these variables impact outcomes. Their research efforts are of the highest quality in the field of adolescent treatment."

Shortridge Academy is a year round, college preparatory, therapeutic boarding school for young men and women ages 14-18 years old, grades 9-12. Shortridge Academy is one of only a few therapeutic boarding schools in the Northeast accredited by the rigorous New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the only school of its kind that explicitly utilizes the evidenced-based Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective to guide the individualized therapeutic programming for students. Since 2002, Shortridge Academy has been helping students and families who are struggling with academic performance, loss of interest in activities and increased conflict in family or peer relationships. For more information call 877-903-8968 or visit www.shortridgeacademy.com

OutcomeTools is a state-of-the-art delivery and analysis system for organizations who want to track their effectiveness through the use of electronically delivered outcomes assessments. Choose from a wide variety of standardized assessments like the Y-OQ� or develop your own custom assessments. For more information call Mike Petree at 866-690-7555 or visit www.outcometools.com