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…

Background: Children residing in households with very low food sufficiency (VLFS), where there is "often" not enough to eat, are more likely to experience academic, health, and psychological challenges. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a temporary universal free school meals (UFSM) policy was implemented, improving food access for children…

For more than a decade, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has prioritized apprenticeship expansion by promoting apprenticeship in nontraditional occupations (i.e., outside the construction sector) and by encouraging apprenticeship as a training option to increase the number of apprentices. Two ways to expand apprenticeships are to approve new…

Promise programs are discussed as a policy movement that began with the 2005 launch of the Kalamazoo Promise. Since then, programs bearing the Promise label or sharing similar features have spread across the higher educational landscape, appearing in most states and across postsecondary sectors. Simultaneously, scholarly literature discussing…

We examined the impact of 4-H participation on workforce readiness skill development, including personal, work, communication, and problem solving/decision-making. The study examined two levels of 4-H activities: county-level and state-level. The online survey instrument contained questions about demographics, skill development and 4-H…

Even in good economic times, many adults in the United States have trouble finding jobs that pay enough to support their families. One policy response has been to help these workers build more skills, with promising findings from some sector-based programs that train individuals to work in specific high-demand industries. The Pay for Success Clean…

A 50-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products has been endorsed by California voters to fund early childhood services under Proposition 10, California Children and Families First Act of 1998. In compliance with the legislative requirement of Result-Based Accountability (RBA) on revenue spending, this report delineates evaluation…

Policy research established that it is possible to predict a student will drop out of school based on academic, attendance, behavior indicators. Little is known about the processes that put Early Warning Systems (EWS) in place. This case study of the Montana EWS describes the characteristics of a statewide implementation, the efficiency of the EWS…

Identification of the problem: Coaching programs (CPs) in schools often focus on student and teacher wellness, leadership development for teachers and administrators, nutrition and physical activity, and academic achievement. However, there is limited use of CPs for the development and implementation of Local School Wellness Policy (LSWP). The…

Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (MO SW-PBS), with support from the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), has provided training and support to build local capacity and positively impact student outcomes. Numerous years of descriptive data and a recent peer-reviewed research article both show the effects of…

In response to urgent student mental health needs across Virginia's college campuses, the 2022 Virginia General Assembly appropriated funds to support a two-year mental health workforce pilot program at public institutions of higher education. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), in consultation with the Virginia Health Care…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) approved the first nationally registered K-12 Teacher Apprenticeship Program in January 2022, opening the door to a rapidly growing pathway for prospective teachers. DOL approved Arkansas' registered teacher apprenticeship program in November 2022, and has now approved registered teacher apprenticeships in more…

The Region 15 Comprehensive Center (R15CC) supported the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) in developing an evidence-based menu of more rigorous interventions (MRI) for the state's Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), schools identified as CSI, including the bottom 5 percent of Title…

New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account (EFA) program is restricted to families that make no more than 350% of the federal poverty level. (That's $90,370 for a family of three and $112,525 for a family of four.) Republicans in the state Legislature have proposed removing the income cap and allowing all students to participate in the program.…

Educators and researchers often think of program design and program evaluation as separate endeavors, even intentionally creating a firewall between them. But what if designers and evaluators worked together, combining their insights to strengthen both the program and the study of it? In the work of evaluating a statewide professional learning…