The growth and geographic diversification of the school-age Latino population suggest that schools in areas that previously had very few Latinos now serve many of these students. This study uses the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey and the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to compare public high schools in new and established Latino…

The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a relationship-focused supplement for teachers to accompany the Holy Nation Citizenship (HNC) curriculum. Recent studies have confirmed the need for nurturing relationships in childhood and beyond for proper psychological, emotional, and academic development. This emphasis on the power of nurturing…

For the past two decades, diverse stakeholders have been trying to reform public schools. Among these reforms are charter schools which embody: choice, innovation, regulatory flexibility, and accountability. The purpose of this study was to examine the educational programs of three charter schools and to describe their distinguishing…

Over the last few years, state accountability systems across the country have directed an increasingly bright light at the problem of chronically underperforming schools. The problem is hardly new, but the sheer number of failing schools facing takeover and restructuring is unprecedented. This crisis is rapidly becoming the leading concern of the…

The environmental agenda is gaining momentum as an international policy issue. This is reflected in an increase in environmental education research focussing on children's awareness and attitudes toward the environment. In this study, we focused on this issue from a school effectiveness perspective and evaluated (a) which student characteristics…

The six national content standards from NASPE define what a student should know and be able to do as a result of a high quality physical education program. The "NASPE SIX" serve as a North Star to guide teachers as they prepare and implement programs. Simply stated, the NASPE Standards for Physical Education are all about six simple…

Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this study examines the association between high school socioeconomic segregation and student attainment outcomes and the mechanisms that mediate those relationships. The results show that socioeconomic segregation has a strong association with high school graduation and college enrollment.…

Educators and policymakers are paying increased attention to the academic outcomes of students in the middle grades (i.e., Grades 6-8). One reform proposed to improve outcomes for these students is to replace middle schools (with Grade 6-8, 7-8, or 7-9 configurations) with K-8 schools. This longitudinal study evaluated the effects of continuously…

Small schools have been set forth as one response to low academic achievement in urban settings, and recently, the small school movement has gained support in educational reform models. However, small schools are not homogeneous and much more needs to be known about the unique attributes of various small school models. This dissertation exams a…

In this report the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution presents the results of a self-developed Education Choice and Competition Index (ECCI) along with an interactive application that grades large school districts according to the ECCI. The index is composed of 13 pro choice criteria. The authors present the ECCI as a…

This case study reports on the work of Denise Watts, who in 2011 was the newly named Project L.I.F.T. executive director and a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools zone superintendent. She approached Public Impact for help in meeting the new Project L.I.F.T. (Leadership and Investment for Transformation) goals. Facing urgent needs for real change, Watts…

This article explores the results of a study of Latino youth in New York City public high schools. We propose that the common element among the schools is what we call here "transcaring," an overarching culture of care that allows for the creation of third spaces within school, transcending traditional dichotomies around language,…

The 2015 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report is our opportunity to share the Fordham Foundation's work as the sponsor of eleven schools serving approximately 3,200 students in five cities, and our related policy work in Ohio and nationally. Charter school policy took a giant leap forward in Ohio in 2015 with the passage of HB 2. The road to a…

Estimates using admissions lotteries suggest that urban charter schools boost student achievement, while charter schools in other settings do not. We explore student-level and school-level explanations for these differences using a large sample of Massachusetts charter schools. Our results show that urban charter schools boost achievement well…

The report aims to help education authorities in Norway and other OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries to understand the importance of lower secondary education and to find approaches to strengthen this key education level. It provides an overview of the structure of lower secondary education and the main…