In the past few decades, the cost of college has risen significantly, while federal, state, and institutional financial aid and family income have remained stagnant or declined (Goldrick-Rab, 2018). As a result, many college students struggle to afford the full cost of college attendance and may experience basic needs insecurity, including the…

Schools have long partnered with local organizations to support access to essential services like food, housing, or mental and physical health. Schools can build on wrap-around school models by helping students and families intentionally cultivate community relationships, skills, and knowledge, thus putting students on a path toward long-term…

The "Forum Guide to Data Governance" highlights how data governance programs benefit education agencies and provide timely and useful best practices, examples, and resources for agencies implementing or updating their data governance programs. This resource is intended to address the needs of federal, state, and local agencies related…

Affording living expenses presents a major barrier to degree completion for many community college students. Food, affordable housing, transportation, and childcare are central conditions for learning. Yet with stagnant incomes, rising tuition and living costs, and insufficient support from financial aid and the social safety net, approximately…

On June 11, 2020, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released the "Reopening Washington Schools 2020 District Planning Guide" (ED606044) as a resource for local education agencies in planning for a safe and healthy start to the 2020-21 school year. The guidance was developed in collaboration with the state…

The Baby Bridge program was developed to ensure timely and continuous therapy services following neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge. A systematic process for development of the Baby Bridge program included a review of the evidence, integration of theory, and input from NICU health care professionals, early intervention leadership, and…

The recommendations in this brief create a framework for using data effectively to make instructional decisions. The availability of student-level data for educators has pushed forward the movement to strengthen the role of data to guide instruction and improve student learning. While improvements in technology and assessments, as well as recent…

"The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation: Early Findings on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program--A Report to Congress" presents the first findings from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE), the legislatively mandated national evaluation of the Maternal, Infant, and…

The National Forum on Education Statistics convened the Data Disaggregation of Racial/Ethnic Subgroups Working Group to identify best practices for disaggregating data on racial/ethnic subgroups. This guide is intended to identify some of the overarching benefits and challenges involved in data disaggregation; recommend appropriate practices for…

This implementation research report describes the local programs, home visiting staff, and families who participated in the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE), a national evaluation of the federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program launched in 2011. This national evaluation is…

This paper examines the key aspects of stakeholder engagement that can strengthen the design, implementation and sustainability of outcomes-based funding policies. We seek to help policymakers understand the prevailing starting-point attitudes of institutional stakeholders, primarily college and university administrators, faculty and staff, and…

The human brain develops rapidly in the first five years of life. High-quality early learning experiences can have a profound and lasting positive effect on young children during these years, setting the stage for success in kindergarten and beyond. This is especially true for young children with high needs who are from low-income families; who…

A central problem of practice for professional preparation programs--especially those that are well established and have developed a reputation for doing their job successfully--is to take a careful and critical look at their work at periodic intervals. It is too easy to rest on reputation. And it is also easy to ignore the evolving context for…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

Background: Teachers need classroom-based programs to develop and support mental health fitness in adolescents because this age group faces significant challenges to their mental health. There is a paucity of such ready-made programs. This article describes the development and proposed implementation of a low-cost, effective, adaptable, 6-week,…