Humanizing family engagement practices seek to foster the community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge to working with and for immigrant families and communities. In this manuscript we explore asset-based theories for working alongside families and communities in our schools, with a focus on classroom examples for involving parents and…

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 "Combatting Classroom Censorship." Contents include: (1) A Wolf in Sheep's…

Early intervention supports infants and toddlers with confirmed or suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in achieving optimal outcomes, and caregiver-implemented NDBIs are recommended as a developmentally appropriate intervention approach for very young children and their families. Research highlights discrepancies between early…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has a profound impact on families throughout the United States (U.S.). These impacts resonated within Hispanic families, a rapidly growing demographic. This phenological study explored the lived experiences of Hispanic fathers of children with ASD, resulting in implications for social work education. The objective of…

This brief is part of a five-part series that reports findings from research conducted by ACT in collaboration with Region One Education Service Center. This brief focuses on family engagement with social and emotional learning (SEL) and includes results from surveys administered to two samples of parents/family members, one sample within Region…

In 2019, the Texas legislature passed a historic education finance bill that included an initiative to add up to 30 days to the school-year calendar. One way districts can do this is to offer a voluntary summer learning program. In 2020, the American Institutes for Research, with support from The Wallace Foundation, launched the six-year Texas…

The Individual with Disabilities Education Act specifies that families should be include in the special education process and they must provide informed consent. However, families from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, often report barriers to participation. In this study, we provided a forum for Spanish-speaking families to tell their stories using…

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 "Fair & Effective Education Policy." Contents include: (1) Community…

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 "Family Engagement." Contents include: (1) Solving the Digital Divide Requires…

Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices, an innovative framework intended to counteract discipline disparities and improve school climate and culture, entered year 3 of implementation in 2020-2021. Highlights from ten participating schools included improved perceptions of school climate by students and staff and consistent participation in…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down public school buildings across the United States in early 2020, research on academic indicators has documented disproportionate--and potentially long-lasting--impacts on Latino students. This report examines several strategies and practices that have tremendous promise for accelerating Latino students'…

Social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) is a holistic approach to supporting students' development and learning that is integral to ensuring positive outcomes in school and beyond. Schools must ensure students experience healthy development and rigorous learning. Unfortunately, students of color, students from low-income backgrounds,…

With the recent changes in student demographics in the United States and the development of technology, virtual professional development (VPD) for teachers of English learning students(ELs) has become a valuable means to support teachers and their students. We developed a federally funded, five-year VPD program, Project Massive Open Online…

This study examines the COVID-19 shift to online instruction and its impact on a charter school system (CSS) 3rd-10th grade students' academic achievement through the lens of noncognitive factors. We recruited 693 students and utilized qualitative and quantitative analyses. We found that students' NWEA math and ELA scores continued to increase…

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 "Bridging the Digital Divide." Contents include: (1) Texas Needs an Equitable…