The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to explore if and to what extent a correlation existed between the implementation of the Sown to Grow social and emotional learning curriculum, academic growth, and attendance. The study was grounded in the CASEL framework used by district leaders and curriculum designers to guide the…

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, American students have demonstrated substantial losses in achievement (Amplify, 2021; Domingue et al., 2021; Dorn et al., 2020; Storey & Zhang, 2023), while chronic absenteeism doubled after the pandemic, with the largest increase among low-income students (Chang et al., 2022; Dorn et al., 2021). Among…

In 2019, the Texas legislature passed a historic education finance bill that included an initiative to add up to 30 days to the school-year calendar. One way districts can do this is to offer a voluntary summer learning program. In 2020, the American Institutes for Research, with support from The Wallace Foundation, launched the six-year Texas…

Public schools across the United States are charged with engaging all students in learning to improve academic performance. Recent studies (Apugo et al., 2023; Sutton et al., 2018) show an unexpected reduction in the achievement of Black girls, specifically, a decline in their graduation rates. For many years, the focus has been on Black males but…

Educational inequalities persist between students of low socioeconomic status and their more affluent peers. At the same time, there is evidence of positive relations between student engagement and achievement. This multiple case study investigates a national project aimed at increasing student engagement and achievement through post-COVID-19…

Intentionally designed afterschool and summer programs can benefit students' social-emotional skills, accelerate their learning, and even increase their school attendance during the school year. This infographic touches on the value of these programs, possible barriers that might limit access to students, and states with innovative models.