Background: Little is known about how school breakfast programs are associated with school attendance and academic performance. This study evaluated Dallas Independent School District's (DISD) breakfast after the bell (BATB) program that provides breakfast for both habitually tardy and non-tardy students on (1) academic performance and (2) student…

Internalizing problems may be associated with poor academic performance and school absenteeism among youth. This study investigated the impact of the EMOTION: "Coping Kids" Managing Anxiety and Depression Program on academic achievement and school adaptation in children. Data were collected in a national cluster-randomized controlled…

Playworks is a program that aims to create "safe, inclusive school environments where kids can grow, lead, and thrive" (Playworks, 2013a). Through trained, full-time coaches focused on recess in low-income elementary schools across the country, Playworks provides opportunities for inclusive play, and physical activity. Based on prior…

The Communities In Schools (CIS) Model of Integrated Student Supports aims to reduce dropout rates by providing students with integrated and tiered support services based on their levels of need. The model includes preventive services that are available to all students (Level 1 services) as well as intensive, targeted, and sustained services…

The Communities In Schools (CIS) Model of Integrated Student Supports aims to reduce dropout rates by providing students with integrated and tiered support services based on their levels of need. The model includes preventive services that are available to all students (Level 1 services) as well as intensive, targeted, and sustained services…

Attendance is probably the most fundamental behavioral indicator of student engagement with school. Though many students fall off-track to success for the first time in ninth grade, poor attendance patterns often begin increasing in middle school and become worse in high school. Missing school during the secondary grades can often be traced to low…

This study evaluated the efficacy of an intentionally brief school-based mentoring program. This academic goal-focused mentoring program was developed through a series of iterative randomized controlled trials, and is informed by research in social cognitive theory, cognitive dissonance theory, motivational interviewing, and research in academic…

Too many students in high-poverty, urban communities drop out of high school, and too few graduate prepared for college and careers. Three national organizations--Talent Development Secondary, City Year, and Communities In Schools--have formed "Diplomas Now" in an effort to transform urban secondary schools so fewer students drop out and…

Elementary school-age children are particularly vulnerable to infections. While handwashing is the best method of preventing infections, many elementary schools are housed in buildings that have barriers to effective hand hygiene. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an alcohol gel as an adjunct to handwashing in…

I estimate the impact of attending a magnet school on student achievement in mathematics in a moderately large Southern district. Admission to magnet schools is through lotteries. Actual attendance by lottery winners is of course voluntary. I use lottery outcomes as instruments to control for bias due to self-selection of enrollees. Because…