The Center for Data Insights at MDRC has partnered with organizations to develop and execute a variety of data projects, some with long-standing partners that have participated in MDRC's long-term evaluations; others with newer partners that are just beginning to use data for program improvement. Important lessons about the essential ingredients…

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recognizes that there is a need to provide better and more targeted supports from students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) students across the Commonwealth. To inform these supports, districts are looking for a numeracy and literacy screener that can both…

Research findings have identified the importance of university/district partnerships in the preparation of principals along with points of dissatisfaction of traditional preparation programs outcomes. While change had and was occurring in some programs, impactful change in the quality of programs and program completers must involve all…

Like many state education agencies, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) recognized it needed more structure to parts of its school improvement approach. NDE leaders wanted to consider the work through an equity-focused lens, ensuring supports were effective for multilingual students, and create a process that would be replicable, scalable,…

Senate Bill 19-190 created the Teacher Mentor Grant Program within the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE). The purpose of this program is to provide funding to educator preparation programs (EPP) that partner with local education providers (LEP), including school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools to provide…

The Charter School Programs (CSP) State Entities (SE) grant's primary goal is "to award grants to state entities to enable them to award subgrants to eligible applicants to enable such eligible applicants to open and prepare for the operation of new charter schools and to replicate and expand high-quality charter schools." Another…

At a listening session held by the Employment Partnerships Workgroup, supported by the Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network, five state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency leaders explored successes and challenges in partnering with higher education programs for students with intellectual disability. This Insight Brief provides an…

Schools, state and local education and workforce agencies, colleges, career education and training programs, and employers collect and use education and workforce data. But without a connected, cohesive system through which students, job seekers, and college and career counselors can get that information, it often remains just out of reach for…

State education agencies (SEAs) play a unique and essential role in supporting schools and school districts as they develop prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery protocols for their emergency operations plans (EOPs). With input from a broad array of stakeholders and experts, SEAs are positioned to aid schools and school…

The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) has invested in a multifaceted effort to improve and sustain literacy outcomes for all students to address the declining literacy rates in Vermont. This project summary describes how the Region 1 Comprehensive Center partnered with the AOE to develop an early literacy playbook to operationalize the Blueprint…

This policy playbook presents a comprehensive set of strategies aimed at empowering state policymakers, governors, and state agency leaders to cultivate a strong, diverse, and multigenerational workforce capable of driving the development and maintenance of our nation's new infrastructure. By implementing the following recommendations, state…

Texas depends on a talented workforce to fuel its economy, and Texans depend on our public education system to prepare them for the jobs of today and tomorrow. But unfortunately, workforce and public education systems often operate independently, making innovation and improvement difficult. Between now and 2036, over 70% of the jobs in Texas will…

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) state agency leaders explored successes and challenges in partnering with higher education programs for students with intellectual disability at a listening session held by the Employment Partnerships Workgroup, supported by the Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network. This concise brief summarizes the key…

Rural schools face unique and complex challenges and opportunities specific to rural contexts. Recognizing this, the Region 15 Comprehensive Center (R15CC) created and facilitates a community of practice (COP), the Rural COP, focused specifically on rural education in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. The goals of this COP are to share…

The Bring Bobcats Back program was established at Texas State University in 2018 for students who had "stopped out" to return and finish their degrees. Bring Bobcats Back has expanded thanks to federal and state grant funding born out of the pandemic. Through the U.S. Department of Education's Stabilization Fund Program via the…