Urban Alliance is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides training, guidance, and work experience to high school students in resource-poor communities in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Northern Virginia, Chicago, and Detroit. The program aims to help students successfully transition to higher education or employment before they drop out of school. The program has been evaluated through a randomized controlled trial impact and process assessment conducted by the Urban Institute since 2012. The evaluation found positive impacts on high school graduation and soft skill development for students who completed the program, particularly in terms of college enrollment rates and middle school GPA for students who completed the program. In 2016, Urban Alliance commissioned the Urban Institute to conduct a second impact and process assessment of its high school internship program, which expanded to include Chicago and Northern Virginia. The evaluation did not include the Detroit program, which was launched after the start of the study. This report presents process assessment results based on observations of the program, interviews with young people, program staff, work mentors, and school counselors, and program data. It provides baseline information on Urban Alliance and the young people who participated in its high school internship program in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, and Northern Virginia during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years. This report is the first in a series of three. Mid-term and final reports will describe the program's impacts on students' educational attainment and economic self-sufficiency and skill development.
