Identifying methods of increasing student achievement is a focus of school administrators. The problem was there was a need for academic performance data for suburban public high school students in New Jersey that identify the difference of involvement in extra and co-curricular participation on student academic performance. The purpose of the…

This article focuses on the research-practice partnership between Syracuse City School District (SCSD) and Syracuse University (SU) and the work to conduct an equity audit. Syracuse, the city at the center of this collaborative equity audit, is one of the most hyper-segregated cities in the nation, with one of the highest concentrations of…

In this report, students were grouped into three distinct categories for analysis, based on patterns that emerged in arts participation during high school, which we named spartans, explorers, and deep divers. The patterns in arts participation represent not just the students, but also the opportunities and barriers they encountered. We found that…

In this brief report, students were grouped into three distinct categories for analysis, based on patterns that emerged in arts participation during high school, which we named spartans, explorers, and deep divers. The patterns in arts participation represent not just the students, but also the opportunities and barriers they encountered. We found…

This article explores collective identity as a useful theoretical framework for understanding social and developmental processes that occur in youth programs. Through narrative analysis of past participant interviews (n = 21) from an after-school theater program, known as "The SOURCE", it was found that participants very clearly describe…

There is renewed interest in the role of arts education in the curriculum of U.S. public schools not only because of the intrinsic value of the arts and its believed impact on achievement, but because cultivating creativity is thought to promote innovation and fuel economic growth. Still, we know little about basic access to arts education. Using…

The purpose of this study was to take a look at the academic achievement of students who are involved in co-curricular when statistically compared to the performance of their peers who are not involved in co-curricular activities. The scope of the investigation only includes high school students and the relationship between their involvement in…

The goal of this study was to explore the longitudinal associations between youth activity participation and adjustment over the high school years by examining (a) correlations between participation and adjustment growth curves, and (b) bidirectional links between participation and adjustment from one year to the next. Participation was…