Transcend’s Whole Child Model Evaluations

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SRI is evaluating Transcend’s Whole Child Model, a research-based, community-driven schoolwide approach to promoting student well-being and academic dispositions in high-need elementary schools in diverse urban and rural contexts.

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Summary

SRI Education is conducting two mixed-methods evaluations of Transcend Education’s Whole Child Model (WCM), focusing on its impact, implementation, and scale-up through regional capacity-building as part of two Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants. WCM is a research-based, community-driven approach to enhancing student engagement, well-being, prosocial interactions, academic dispositions, and academic success in high-need elementary schools. Under an early-phase EIR grant, Transcend is testing WCM implementation and impact in 20 elementary schools in two urban districts, with final reporting in early 2026. Under a mid-phase grant, launched spring 2025, Transcend is scaling WCM to 30 low-income rural and urban schools and developing regional capacity to implement and sustain the program in an additional 30 schools after the initial study period. SRI’s evaluations feature randomized controlled trial (RCT) and quasi-experimental (QED) designs to assess WCM’s impact on student and teacher outcomes, assessment of implementation fidelity and scaling strategies, and exploration of factors that influence WCM’s impact in diverse contexts.

Full description of project work

SRI Education is partnering with Transcend Education to conduct an evaluation of a research-backed schoolwide approach to enhancing elementary school students’ engagement, well-being, academic dispositions, and academic success. Transcend’s Whole Child Model (WCM) is a community-driven, comprehensive schoolwide approach to improving student outcomes through integrated supports for students, educators, and families. With funding from two Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants from the U.S. Department of Education, SRI is evaluating both the implementation and impact of Transcend’s direct delivery of WCM in two urban districts (under an early-phase grant) as well as the scaling of WCM to rural schools, where Transcend staff focus on developing the capacity of regional networks to support school-level implementation (under a mid-phase grant). SRI Education serves as the external evaluator of both initiatives, assessing WCM’s impact on students and teachers, evaluating implementation fidelity and scaling strategies, and exploring the factors that influence WCM’s impact in diverse contexts.

The Whole Child Model

The Whole Child Model is a flexible, community-driven approach to school design that can be tailored to each school’s context and strengths to support student well-being and success. WCM is designed to foster critical skills that improve student engagement and academic outcomes, including goal-setting, focus, collaboration, and problem-solving. WCM includes three core components: CARE, which cultivates schoolwide practices to promote a safe and connected environment; BOOST, which provides tailored support for students as needed; and Family Circle, which engages caregivers as key partners. Grounded in foundational research in the learning sciences, the model brings students, educators, and families together to create a community and learning environment that provides authentic, engaging learning experiences and supports the whole child.

Transcend is implementing WCM in two large urban school districts under an EIR early-phase grant. With support from an EIR mid-phase grant, Transcend is testing strategies for scaling WCM in two consortia of remote rural schools and one large urban district serving high proportions of multilingual learners. Transcend’s scaling strategies include training and support for regionally based WCM coaches to work with school design teams and sustain local WCM implementation, rather than Transcend staff providing these training and coaching services directly to schools.

The Evaluations

SRI Education is conducting two rigorous, mixed-methods evaluations of the Whole Child Model. The early-phase evaluation includes 60 schools in two large urban districts with high proportions of students from low-income families. The mid-phase evaluation includes 60 elementary schools in rural, low-income communities and in an urban district with high percentages of multilingual learners. The two evaluations have a combined sample of 15,000 students in 50 WCM treatment schools nationwide.

The evaluations include a randomized controlled trial (RCT) or a quasi-experimental design (QED) with matched comparison schools to assess WCM’s impact on student and teacher outcomes related to well-being, engagement, and academic performance. In addition, SRI will conduct mediator and moderator analyses to explore how and for whom the model works best. SRI will also examine how WCM is implemented across participating schools and evaluate the success of scaling strategies to identify the conditions under which implementation is most effective and to offer guidance for future implementation.