African American males are three times more likely than their White male counterparts to be suspended or expelled in public schools. Changing these odds requires not only addressing disparities in discipline practices, but also lifting up a new narrative of hope, possibility, and brilliance so that young Black men can see and realize their…

Preparing students as 21st century learners is a key reform in education. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills developed a framework that identifies outcomes needed for successful implementation of rigorous standards. The Dual Language (DL) program was identified as a structure for reform with systems and practices which can be used to prepare…

The 2004 California Mental Health Services Act requires large-scale system change in the public mental health system through a shift to recovery-oriented services for diverse populations. This article describes an innovative strategy for workforce recruitment and retention to create and sustain these systemic changes. The California Social Work…

American public education is in a constant state of experimentation, with new waves of reforms and education initiatives unveiled routinely--many recycled and some reinvented. Yet few are truly innovative. The newest and most promising reform thus far are the Common Core State Standards, which are rigorous standards in English language arts and…

The tapestry of classrooms today is transforming into a mosaic of colors, languages, and backgrounds. As the population of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students continues to rise, a deeper understanding of how teachers construct meaning and understand their internal and relational experiences when working with these students has…

Immigration presents both challenges and opportunities that affect students' academic achievement. Over the course of five years, varying academic trajectories were identified for recent immigrant students from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. Latent class growth curve analysis revealed that although some students…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

Various surveys have documented widespread support among US parents, students, teachers and health professionals for school-based comprehensive sexuality education. In many school districts, however, the sexuality education provided is minimal, incomplete or fragmented, and essential topics are often omitted or inaccurately presented. To help…

This qualitative case study reports on processes and outcomes of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded System-Wide Change for All Learners and Educators (SCALE) project at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN). It addresses a critical challenge in studying systemic reform in complex organizations: the lack of methodologies that…

California's school-to-career (STC) efforts were examined in a statewide evaluation study that was initiated in December 2000 and scheduled for completion by June 2002. The study's first phase was assessed in an interim report that focused on the following major activities: (1) development of a white paper describing the STC's national and state…