As of October 2022, over 53,000 children and youth are in foster care in California, including approximately 13,000 youth between the ages of 16 and 21. The State has an obligation to offer services and supports to help these young people transition into adulthood. The Independent Living Program (ILP) helps transition age youth currently or…

California recently committed to making prekindergarten (PreK) universal through the expansion of transitional kindergarten (TK) and other state-funded programs. Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, TK enrollment doubled, from about 75,000 to over 151,000 children. Approximately 59% of eligible 4-year-olds enrolled in TK in 2023-24. Across publicly funded…

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Summer Bridge Programs (SBP)across the California State University (CSU) system vary in design and delivery. This mixed-methods study investigated six CSU SBP designs, delivery, and 4-year graduation rates of SBP participants during the 2015 through 2019 years. The qualitative portion of this study consisted…

Chicana/Latina undergraduate students represent a significant and growing proportion of student enrollment in higher education institutions in the United States, particularly in states like California that have critical masses of Chicanx/Latinx communities. Despite their increasing enrollment rates, Chicana/Latina college students continue to…

In this study, we examine an at-scale effort to encourage the formation of career pathways in California, with the goal of estimating the initiative's causal effects on community college enrollment. We leverage a discontinuous assignment rule used to award grant funds to obtain credibly causal estimates of an ambitious $500 million effort to…

With the implementation of AB 705 in fall 2019, California Community Colleges began to transition to a majority of students' first English and math enrollment starting at transfer level. Research has shown that with the vast increase in access to transfer-level courses, the one-year completion rate of a transfer-level course (i.e., throughput)…

California Community College campuses are struggling to enroll Latinx students. As identified through the literature, most Latinx students navigate the college enrollment process with little to no guidance and seek support in navigating it. Using Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth framework, I investigate how Rose Grace College's Familias…

In California, 2021 legislation expanded transitional kindergarten (TK) to be universal for all 4-year-olds by 2025-26. This expansion will require an additional 11,900 to 15,600 credentialed teachers. Given projected workforce needs and historic investments in teacher preparation, early childhood-focused residencies can help districts…

U.S. Census Bureau Report (2020c) showed Hispanic students constituted 18.5% of the U.S. population, 36% attended higher education and only 14% completed postsecondary education. Research has shown Hispanic, specifically Latinx, students faced barriers in accessing higher education's hidden curriculum, compounded by deficit beliefs about their…

Objective: To examine how veterans resource centers (VRCs) and corresponding services influence student veteran transitions by applying the Schlossberg Transition Model. Participants: 12 student support staff and 6 junior/senior undergraduate student veterans at a four-year public university in California. Methods: In-depth semi-structured,…

Obtaining the perspectives of autistic young adults is critical for planning educational and service delivery systems focused on the preparation for a high life quality after high school. The perspective and voice of autistic young adults who participated in the Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism (CSESA) multi-site follow-up…

This narrative inquiry research study explored the experiences of three migrant families living in California. This research contributes new knowledge that will support Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) administrators, early childhood practitioners, elementary school principals, and kindergarten teachers in understanding transition events…

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) funded Manhattan Strategy Group and Abt Associates to conduct the Advancing Innovation in Adult Education project. The goal is to inspire and promote the development and use of innovate approaches in adult education that can result in high quality services…

Research on the inequities present within dual language (DL) programs demonstrates that these programs are not immune from the racial stratification prevalent in the United States. Despite intentions to center justice for minoritized students in DL programs, unexamined ideologies among educators can inadvertently perpetuate the existing status…

This study explored the journeys of Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men (FILM) who are turning to higher education as a reentry support for their lives after being released from prison. Offering programs like higher education during reentry is not just about creating new paths and opportunities, something higher education already does for many. The…