Like many states across the nation, California is facing persistent teacher shortages. School districts continue to find it difficult to fill vacancies with fully credentialed teachers, especially math, science, special education, and bilingual education teachers. Teacher shortages impact student learning as districts resort to relying on a…

To better understand the supports needed to positively impact student outcomes, the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) has been examining several model demonstrations of PBIS implementation in schools residing within high need Local Education Agencies (LEAs). In particular, this brief provides an initial examination on…

This Special Issues Brief from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) outlines the unique characteristics of high-need schools, supports state and district leaders as they consider their role in implementing initiatives with a focus on equity, and explores how programs can be customized to meet the unique circumstances of a…

Teach For America (TFA), founded in 1989, has grown to become one of the largest providers of educators in the country for high-needs, under-resourced schools. TFA recruits high-performing college graduates and professionals and prepares them for teaching during five to seven weeks of intensive pre-service training at one of its regional or…

Schools have become the main provider of services to children with mental health needs. Although there is substantial literature on barriers to implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in under-resourced school districts, less has been written on how to overcome those barriers. Providing mental health services in the school setting…

Research for Action (RFA) has completed its second year of a five-year external evaluation of the Project Leadership and Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Initiative in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District (CMS). Project LIFT is a public-private partnership between CMS and the local philanthropic and business communities in Charlotte,…

Purpose: This paper seeks to describe the design, implementation, and lessons learned from an obesity prevention pilot program delivered in a low resource school in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: A planned program evaluation was conducted to: document explicitly the process of designing and implementing the program; and assess the…

In this 1-year experimental study of 254 students across 27 high-poverty preschool classrooms in an urban setting in the northeast, use of a technology-based prekindergarten literacy curriculum in addition to the district curriculum was compared with the use of the district curriculum alone. Results indicated no main effects for the experimental…

The evaluation revealed that most of the Disadvantaged Schools Program's initiatives reflected the guidelines provided and that, in many instances, several imaginative and well-planned programs were undertaken. However, the objective of involving the community was found to be less well-attained. (Author/IRT)

"Evaluation of Title I Accountability Systems and School Improvement Efforts: Findings from 2002-03" examines the implementation of Title I accountability systems and school improvement efforts at the state, district and school levels. Based on surveys of all states, a nationally representative sample of districts, and a sample of…

"The No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB) aims to strengthen state Title I accountability systems to spur the improvement needed to reach the law's goals: that all students will reach proficiency by 2013-14. NCLB requires states and districts to report and act on student test results in a host of new ways. Among the many actions states and…

In response to a legislative mandate, this report examines the ways in which migrant students are served in schoolwide program schools and the involvement of migrant representatives and migrant program staff in the schoolwide process. A survey was sent to a nationally representative sample (696) of the 2,770 Title I schools that implemented the…

Authorized in 1994, schoolwide programs are intended to enable high-poverty Title I schools to improve curriculum and instruction for all students without restricting services to only some students. Also part of Title I, the Migrant Education Program (MEP) supports supplemental instruction and support services for qualifying migrant children. In…

The Education Law Center (ELC) sought an independent review of special education funding in New Jersey as part of a larger group of studies intended to critique the cost study conducted by Augenblick and Palaich and Associates (APA) and the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) and inform the ongoing public debate. In doing so, ELC recognized…