Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way of organizing learning environments to accommodate people with a wide array of learning preferences, needs, and ways of expressing and receiving information and demonstrating competency. This brief provides an overview of how applying UDL to Registered Apprenticeships can result in a more welcoming…

This evaluation brief describes how a district in receivership (state takeover) invested in PBIS to (a) enhance their systems to support staff, (b) implement evidence-based practices to support students, (c) use data to guide their implementation, and (d) ensure equitable supports for all students, including students with disabilities, to…

The environment shapes the foundation of healthy development and learning. The aim of this colloquium is to share the authors' recent research efforts to center children as necessary codesign partners in their built learning environments. To do this, the authors believe that it is important to reposition preschool inclusion as a bottom-up, or…

Many students in the United States suffer from mental health issues resulting from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Often, students exhibit negative behavior as a result of these issues and many schools continue to implement punitive approaches to discipline, such as suspensions or expulsions, which serve to further isolate and disconnect…

The social, economic and technological changes of the 21st century have increased the awareness of teachers and educational researchers of the importance of a relevant and interesting learning environment, collaborative learning, personalization and values in education. However, most of the currently available programs focus on only one of these…

An account of a persistently failing New York City high school's rapid transformation. Urban Assembly School for Green Careers had a 39% graduation rate in 2013 and ranked in the bottom 1% of high schools citywide. As a transformation strategy, the school employed an innovative educational design known as Learning Cultures, which distributes…

This brief presents select findings from the "Conversion of Enrollment Slots from Head Start to Early Head Start (HS2EHS) Case Studies," six case studies of grant recipients that converted enrollment slots from Head Start to Early Head Start in 2021. This brief focuses on "implementing new or expanded Early Head Start services…

For decades, the fields of early childhood intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) have been promoting child participation in naturally occurring family and classroom activities and routines as the context for intervention and the use of caregiver coaching as a capacity-building, family-centered interaction style. The…

School leaders across the state of California seek tools to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline and improve school climates. Research suggests that restorative practices (RPs) have the potential to achieve these ends, particularly when staff throughout the school implement, and students throughout the school experience, these practices.…

Over recent years, innovative learning environments (ILEs) have become the default style of new-build educational architecture in New Zealand. While offering potential benefits, the implementation of ILEs represents a departure from established practice in most schools and therefore requires significant change leadership support in order to…

In recent years, there has been an increased research focus on developing tools to support the design, installation, and evaluation of tiered systems of support. In this special issue, we focus on research validating freely available tools to (a) measure fidelity of implementation of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports…

Equity gaps in students' experiences and academic outcomes often exist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college courses, particularly early prerequisite courses. The Student Experience Project (SEP) is a collaboration between college instructors, university leaders, and national education and improvement organizations to…

School closures due to the COVID-19 virus have presented schools with the responsibility to make unprecedented decisions, and have brought many deep-seated equity issues in the U.S. education system to light. Now, more than ever, it is evident that outdated, one-size-fits-all approaches to education exclude the most vulnerable students, creating…

Widespread efforts to curb exclusionary and discriminatory discipline in schools have led to a growing focus on restorative approaches, a set of practices aimed at building strong in-school relationships and attachments, rather than pushing students out of school. This brief reviews research illustrating the benefits of these practices for…

This project brief maps out how the Oregon Department of Education, with support from Region 16, conceived, developed, and implemented the six Student Success Plans, co-developed in collaboration with the communities surrounding six student focal groups: (1) Black/African American students; (2) American Indian/Alaska Native students; (3)…