Policymakers continue to champion private school voucher programs as a way to improve educational outcomes through increased school choice. For nearly two decades Congress has supported vouchers in Washington, DC, providing federal funds for the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) to allow low-income children to attend private schools in the…

This appendix volume supplements Evaluation Report NCEE 2025-006r, which assessed whether families' expressed interest in and use of scholarships for the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) appears consistent with the goal for program expansion. Appendix A provides additional information about the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), including…

This report illustrates the statewide implementation and effectiveness of school breakfast in Ohio. In the 2024-2025 school year, approximately 94% of Ohio schools with USDA nutrition programs serve breakfast. In the 2023-2024 school year, 27.2% of enrolled children participated in the School Breakfast Program and 54.5% participated in the…

To gain insight into the farm to school practices implemented across the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS) regularly conducts the Farm to School Census (Census). The Census is an online survey sent to all school food authorities (SFAs) in the U.S. and its territories that participate in the National…

Magnet schools employ a variety of methods in order to enroll a diverse student body, such as targeted outreach, free and accessible transportation, encouraging choice across school districts, intentional school siting, and employing equitable lottery-based admissions policies. Many magnets also offer innovative programs around an attractive and…

This dissertation aims to elucidate the complexities of chronic absenteeism in Head Start Programs post-COVID-19 to enhance early childhood education practices and policies. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study investigates the causes of absenteeism by surveying and interviewing 50 participants from a Head Start Program in the New York…

Under section 1001 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA), the purpose of the Title I, Part A program (Title I, Part A) is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education as well as to close educational achievement gaps. The…

Interventions targeting school meals have been used to combat obesity in rural youth. Parents play a powerful role in childhood nutrition; however, we know little about parents' perceptions of school meal programs. This study aimed to understand parents' perceptions of school meal programs. Surveys were administered to middle school parents (n =…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental foods, nutrition education, and referrals to healthcare and other social services to low-income, nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children up to 5 years of age. About 40 percent of all infants and 22…

High-impact practices (HIPs), such as undergraduate research, first-year seminars, and learning communities, have been shown to generally advance college student success. However, there are often disparities in access, participation, and outcomes between white and racially/ethnically minoritized students. While scholars have critiqued HIPs and…

Parent and community involvement has always been a part of the public education system; from its inception in the early American colonies, local community control was a hallmark of schools. Today, with mandates present in the No Child Left Behind Act, the Race to the Top legislation, and amidst more pressing international comparisons, educators…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a significant relationship between student achievement and teacher perceptions of school climate. An additional purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in teacher perceptions between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools. The final purpose of this…

Food insecurity is widespread among college students in the United States. CalFresh food benefits, known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, can help students in California pay for food, but may not reach all eligible students. CalFresh enrollment rates among students have been difficult to estimate due to…

Two-generation programs are designed to provide services to children and their parents, yet the extent to which parents use family well-being and self-sufficiency services is not widely known. We used data from the Head Start Impact Study to examine the effect of early care and education on parents' use of family services. Demographic…

This qualitative descriptive study delved into how parents of Pre-Kindergarten through fifth-grade students in Title I schools in a Southeastern state perceive parental involvement, communication, and support for the home literacy environment. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory and Epstein's Model of Parental Involvement as…