Twenty years ago, a report by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) changed the national discussion about what must be done to improve America's schools so that all students experience success. The Commission drew attention to the overlooked fact that the most important school variable affecting student achievement is…

This paper examines thirty major American cities to determine how "choice-friendly" they are today. Selected for their size and geographic diversity, the cities reveal both the best and worst conditions for school choice to take root and grow. "School choice" is defined broadly to incorporate a wide range of public and private…

This study began with a readily understandable impulse: to enumerate the nation's outdoor arts festivals and to identify their shared and divergent traits, considering factors such as event programming, staffing, finances, and audience demographics. The reason for this query is also straightforward. To date, no single report or database carries…

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, is a federally-funded system of grants that focuses on preparing low-income students to enter and succeed in postsecondary educational programs. GEAR UP grants extend across 6 school years and require that funded districts begin providing grant services to students no…

For many years, policymakers and the public have been holding students and schools accountable for improvement, but there was no way to determine whether the public and its elected officials and community organizations were doing their part to strengthen public schools. To address this shortcoming, Public Education network (PEN), with funding from…

The Children's Services Council (CSC) of Palm Beach County funded Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago to conduct a 6-year longitudinal study to examine the use and effectiveness of an array of services in the county in promoting school readiness and school success and improving family functioning among children and families most in need of…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities…

The Children's Services Council (CSC) of Palm Beach County commissioned Chapin Hall Center for Children to conduct a longitudinal study to examine the effects of this service system on children and families. The goal of the longitudinal study is to describe the characteristics and needs of families the service system is intended to serve, how they…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities and…