Purpose: This practitioner-focused article highlights a collaborative, school-wide project at a PDS that showcased elementary students' strengths and talents. Based on the children's book, The Smart Cookie (John, 2021), teachers and the university professor-in-residence developed professional learning communities, which inspired the creation of a…

College health promotion departments frequently employ peer health educators to disseminate relevant education and conduct outreach to their student body. While there are certainly benefits to these programs, this approach is outdated and does little to empower students or engage them in the process of health promotion. In this viewpoint article,…

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…

The existing literature offers little insight into the participation of commuter, adult, and part-time students in the myriad civic engagement initiatives of higher education institutions. The landscape related to both the foci of this article has become more complex over time, and the issues have become more acute. This article describes the…

For students with disabilities in rural locations, there can be unique barriers related to postsecondary transition. Reverse Career Fairs (RCFs), wherein employers take the role of attendees and students with disabilities focus on showcasing their skills and talents, are one way to provide U.S. students with experiences that support evidence-based…

Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is an emancipatory practice that may be used to facilitate meaningful discourse related to exploring postsecondary, college, and career pathways among youth. Through collaborative processes and consensus decision making, youth engage in YPAR as a process that develops collaborative research, teamwork, and…

Teaching self-determination to students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may empower them to become self-regulated problem solvers. This article, using the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI), outlines a framework for teachers to facilitate mathematics instruction and goal attainment relative to in-school and…

This field report is the eighth in a series produced by the Center on Innovations in Learning's League of Innovators. The series describes, discusses, and analyzes policies and practices that enable personalization in education. This report introduces sessions from the "Conversations with Innovators" event held at Temple University, June…

Traditionally, schools have often made decisions about instruction, discipline, and other schoolwide policies without youth involvement. And yet, research suggests that when students have choice, control, and leadership opportunities, their motivation and engagement increase, which in turn is linked with better educational outcomes. This new guide…

This paper explores how an Alaskan school district shifted from a traditional K-12 education system to a personalized, performance-based system, embedded in the culture of the community, which led to increased student achievement. Chugach School District (CSD) first implemented competency education over twenty years ago, paving the way in…

This governing document for the public education system in Hawai'i provides a common foundation of expectations and supports for public education, centering on closing the achievement gap to ensure equity and excellence for each student. The Strategic Plan is a compact between the Board of Education (BoE), the Department of Education (DoE), and…

Educators can implement strategies to build positive relationships with students that will help them become more autonomous and less anonymous in school. These strategies allow young adolescents to become more self aware, to take greater responsibility for their actions, to reflect on their own lives and actions, and to have choices regarding…

A pilot program in a public high school positions experienced student writing center tutors to become WAC liaisons who foster writing across the curriculum by raising questions, identifying needs, and providing support to their teachers with the goal of strengthening writing instruction school-wide. This article discusses the background and…

This article describes Kid-to-Kid, a group discussion program that gives students a strong voice and lets them connect with their peers in an environment where it is safe to be honest, where feelings and thoughts can be expressed without fear of judgment, and where the teacher talks less than the students. Guidelines for starting such a program…

Although school restructuring often calls for modifying the roles and responsibilities of teachers, students, and administrators, most restructuring efforts involve educators, not students. A team of university researchers trained high school sophomores as documenters of the school restructuring process. These documenters helped develop the…