Student success and achievement can be measured in myriad ways; however, the impact of teacher effectiveness in each classroom is an essential part of the formula for student success. Although most teachers work in isolation in their classrooms, it is important for school leaders to support student success by supporting teachers. This study…

Success Boston, a city-wide initiative to boost college persistence and ultimately improve college completion rates for Boston's high school graduates, has one-on-one transition coaching as a core strategy. Transition coaching offers students sustained, proactive, and responsive support in their first two years of college. Specifically, coaches…

Starting with the high school graduating Class of 2009, Success Boston has provided transition coaching to Boston Public Schools (BPS) high school graduates, many of whom are from groups traditionally underrepresented in college. In the first few years of Success Boston Coaching (SBC), the program served approximately 300 students per year. In…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the experiences of a high school senior, a doctoral student, a university professor and an online academic coach with a rapid, unplanned shift to online learning in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the challenges and distinct skills they identify as essential for success in a 100% virtual…

When COVID-19 hit, Holyoke School District was nine months into an ambitious three-year strategy, the Homegrown Talent Initiative (HTI), designed to help rural communities across Colorado better prepare youth for success after high school by offering new career exploration and training opportunities. In the midst of school closings, remote…

Statewide College Promise programs have the potential to broadly increase affordability, access, and success for students pursuing a postsecondary credential. Statewide College Promise programs also generate controversy because they encompass critical decisions about how a large proportion of state financial aid dollars are spent, and on whom.…

"Success Boston Coaching" is a coaching intervention for students who are traditionally underrepresented in college to help them transition from high school to college and progress in college. Students are paired with a dedicated coach starting as early as the spring of their senior year of high school and receive coaching through their…

How can we dramatically increase the number of low income young people who graduate high school and earn a postsecondary credential by age 25? One strategy that reaches beyond traditional education boundaries is gaining traction: broad regional partnerships that bring together K-12 school districts and higher education with workforce development,…

This report presents findings of the implementation of Communities in Schools (CIS) Success Coaches within five Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) middle schools during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years. End-of-year outcomes, including attendance rates and English language arts and mathematics grades, are examined and compared between the…

Are statewide college Promise programs an effective way to increase college access and success? It's hard to say. While these programs are becoming more common, they vary widely along a number of dimensions. RFA's new "Statewide College Promise Framework" is a tool that can be used to capture and compare important variation in the…

Research for Action has studied statewide Promise programs since 2017, with in-depth analysis in four states--Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Tennessee. Our research in these states includes an extensive review of legislative and policy documents; 146 interviews with policymakers, institutional leaders, and high school staff; site visits to 8…

Most young people face challenges on the road to a college degree. They must make important decisions about career preparation, financing a college education, and how college and work fit together to ensure income security while in school. These challenges often seem particularly daunting for two groups of students: opportunity youth (OY)--the 5…

"Success Boston Coaching" is a coaching intervention for students who are traditionally underrepresented in college to help them transition from high school to college and progress in college. Students are paired with a dedicated coach starting as early as the spring of their senior year of high school and receive coaching through their…

"Success Boston Coaching" is a coaching intervention for students who are traditionally underrepresented in college to help them transition from high school to college and progress in college. Students are paired with a dedicated coach starting as early as the spring of their senior year of high school and receive coaching through their…

Many parallels exist between quality coaches and quality classroom teachers--especially AP teachers, who often feel the pressure to produce positive test results. Having developed a series of techniques and strategies for building a team-oriented winning culture on the field, Jim Fornaciari writes about how he adapted those methods to work in the…