American education has problems, almost everyone is willing to concede, but many think those problems are mostly concentrated in America's large urban school districts. In the elite suburbs, where wealthy and politically influential people tend to live, the schools are assumed to be world-class. Unfortunately, what everyone knows is wrong. Even…

California's degree gap is a growing concern. According to recent reports and news articles comparing the number of degrees awarded with the jobs expected in the coming decade, California will not have enough university graduates to meet the needs of the labor market. Previous work by the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) showed…

While educators have long argued that when local schools are successful, local communities benefit; there's now clear evidence that is the case. A new report, "The Economic Benefits from Halving the Dropout Rate: A Boom to Businesses in the Nation's Largest Metropolitan Areas," released in January by the Alliance for Excellent Education…

Few people realize the impact that high school dropouts have on a community's economic, social, and civic health. Business owners and residents--in particular, those without school-aged children--may not be aware that they have much at stake in the success of their local high schools. Indeed, everyone--from car dealers and realtors to bank…

Today's long-term jobs crisis is not about the current financial meltdown. It is about an accelerating talent showdown. The basic cause is that unprecedented technological advances are ever more rapidly transforming the world of work. The global economy will be more tech-driven with each passing year. This will continue to raise the U.S. talent…

This report summarizes what we have learned in the course of the "Innovation America" initiative, paying special attention to the role of governors in establishing best practices. In collaboration with leading experts, the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices produced several reports expanding on…

The momentum behind high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten is growing dramatically across the country--in families, in communities, and in the halls of academia and government. Thanks to this strong wave of support, state spending on pre-k increased from $2.4 billion to $4.2 billion nationwide between 2002 and 2007. This investment is built upon…

The ACE model, an impact model that offers a number of specific, interrelated equations to provide quantitative results of college operation in the local economy, is discussed. The components affected include local business, governments, and individuals, with both positive and negative economic impacts on each group. A table presents Cypress…

The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU) emphasizes development of the community's potential by making possible the opportunity for community ownership of businesses located in East Los Angeles. (NQ)

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a…

In the spring of 1957, the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of California, Berkeley was formally established as an organized research unit, enabled by an initial grant from the Carnegie Corporation and making it the first academic enterprise in the United States focused on higher education policy issues. Since then,…

This study sought to determine the need for labor market information in the San Francisco-Oakland and San Jose Metropolitan areas of California. Respondents included representatives of public and private employment agencies, community antipoverty agencies, school administrators and counselors, employers, union members and high school students. Top…

A set of processes, occurring throughout the urban Southwest, is fragmenting and dislocating the barrios that exist in and around metropolitan areas, displacing the Chicano population and acting as a source of disruption and instability in the community. This pamphlet presents three interviews describing projects undertaken by Chicanos in three…

This 1993 study attempts to define the size and scope of state-wide economic activity generated by the arts in California. The analysis is based on data from surveys of nonprofit arts organization and five case studies. The case studies, which provided context for the core research, include examinations of: (1) artists in Los Angeles County; (2)…