"Scaling Up School and Community Partnerships: The Community Schools Strategy" builds on both practice and research to describe the what, why, and how of system-wide expansion of community schools. The guide is written for a wide audience and for communities at different points in planning for, implementing, and sustaining a community…

For two decades, Ohio's district and school report cards have been the linchpin to a transparent and accountable public school system and have highlighted student outcomes in the state's 3,000 plus public schools and 600 plus districts. Report cards offer key academic information about how students perform on the year's state assessments and how…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Authentic Family & Community Engagement." Contents include: (1) Recent…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

This report is the result of the participation of hundreds of students, families, school educators, and researchers who dedicated their time and energy to investigating the critical role that families and communities play in ensuring students and schools can flourish. It is a culmination of over two years of collaborative research and hundreds of…

When Black and Latino students are given advanced opportunities, they thrive alongside their peers. However, only a fraction of eligible students is enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses, which means that most Black and Latino students are being denied vital learning opportunities that can set them up for…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. After a two-year pandemic, issues related to funding, teacher recruitment and retention, and serving disadvantaged students have become more severe in rural school districts. In the five-part report series, "Educational Equity for Rural Students: Out of the Pandemic, but Still Out of the…

This set of resources organizes evidence-based strategies for re-engaging and supporting students with disabilities and their families through school completion. This document is comprised of three related quick references--Part 1: Identify Who Is Missing; Part 2: Re-Engaging Students; and Part 3: Continuing Ongoing Dropout Prevention. Each…

This article is a literature review of the professional competencies and personal qualities commonly associated with successful leadership in rural schools. Multiple definitions of the term rural are provided. A delimitation of this research is that findings reflect literature published from 2005-2015, positioning this document as a current…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made the assessment that COVID-19 (coronavirus) can be characterised as a pandemic and the virus has now spread to many countries and territories. While a lot is still unknown about the virus that causes COVID-19, we do know that it is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an…

Since 2012, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has supported educational enrichment in rural areas by awarding over $3.3 million in grants to six outstanding organizations operating in Iowa, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In this report, the authors combine the experiences of these organizations with findings from the…

Recent research on parental involvement has explored connections between parental involvement in school and children's academic achievement. While many schools have active parent organizations and a base of parents who offer additional support, others struggle to make connections with their parents or community members. Even in places with active…

Student Service Learning (SSL) provides students the opportunity to actively participate in the community and build the skills they need to be successful students and citizens. This booklet provides information about the Maryland State Department of Education SSL graduation mandate. Completing 75 SSL hours is a requirement for high school…

How can low-income, non-English-speaking parents become advocates, leaders, and role models in their children's schools? "A Cord of Three Strands" offers a close study of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, a grassroots organization on the northwest side of Chicago, whose work on parent engagement has drawn national attention. The…

Developing positive school climates and improving school discipline policies and practices are critical steps to raising academic achievement and supporting student success. However, there is no single formula for doing so. Rather, the growing body of research and best practices in the field should inform locally developed approaches to improving…