This article presents an interview with Dr. Ken McCluskey, Dean and Professor of Education at the University of Winnipeg. He is known internationally for his work in several areas including: (1) mentoring; (2) attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; (3) at-risk children and youth (where his "Lost Prizes" and related projects serve as…

The study reviewed in this paper examined whether winning an admissions lottery to attend a small school of choice (SSC) in New York City improved high school graduation rates, influenced the type of diploma students received, or increased the likelihood of college readiness. An SSC is a small, nonselective public high school emphasizing academic…

Postsecondary early awareness strategies are a fast-growing component of college access to attainment efforts. Broadly defined, these programs and policies encourage low-income and first-generation students to gain the information, skills, and resources they need to successfully take part in higher education. They focus on students in fifth…

Scheduling in any school or organization plays a vital role in the effectiveness that stakeholders' needs are met. The administration at a large comprehensive high school in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District realized that in order for their school to meet the changing needs of its student body, it had to build a culture and climate that…

The U.S. Department of Education tested a set of promising, low-cost advising strategies, called "Find the Fit," designed to help low-income and "first generation" students enrolled in the Department's Upward Bound program choose more selective colleges and stay in until they complete a degree. About 200 Upward Bound projects…

Opportunity gaps have plagued American education for decades. The gaps are widening, not shrinking, as economic inequality increases in U.S. society. This study draws together themes and actions taken by schools and teachers who are outliers on that trajectory: those who manage to reduce the effects of opportunity gaps in education, supporting…

There is emerging evidence to suggest community-based interventions can change community-wide behaviors and attitudes toward cardiovascular health. This article describes a partnership between an academic institution and a community nonprofit organization to develop and implement a cardiovascular health promotion program targeting at risk high…

In Milwaukee, The Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program (MPCP) is a program that "allows low-income Milwaukee Students to attend participating private or religious schools located in Milwaukee with no charge for tuition if certain eligibility criteria are met" (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction). The program allows for…

School choice policies, a fixture of efforts to improve public education in many cities, aim to enable families to choose a school that they believe will best meet their child's needs. In New York City (NYC), choice and the development of a diverse portfolio of options have played central roles in the Department of Education's high school reform…

In this first of a kind breakdown of data from over 26,000 U.S. middle and high schools, the authors estimate that well over two million students were suspended during the 2009-2010 academic year. This means that one out of every nine secondary school students was suspended at least once during that year. As other studies demonstrate, the vast…

Historically, the mission of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) schools emphasized providing gifted and talented students with advanced STEM coursework. However, a newer type of STEM school is emerging in the United States: inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs). ISHSs have open enrollment and are focused on preparing…

International Baccalaureate (IB) programs are turning up in a diverse mix of school districts, an attempt to add rigor and depth. For rich and for poor, for big schools and small ones, IB has become a way to add rigor and depth to public school curricula. But each school district has adapted IB for its own needs. Some use it in all schools for all…

MDRC develops and studies programs to help young people who face major barriers in finding a path to stable adult life. Their recent roster of youth-related projects mainly targets three groups: at-risk high school students; dropouts disconnected from school and work; and system-involved youth at risk of disconnection, including youth exiting…

While mathematics education research has often focused at the level of the classroom (Rousseau Anderson & Tate, 2008), there are emerging calls for attention to shift from individual classrooms to consider the process of reform at the school or district level. Investigating the role of the institution and conditions of the organization becomes…

Pathways' students in Regent Park now talk about a new culture of expectation. They bristle at, and obviously reject, most of the labels the media and others place on them and, by extension, their community. They say words such as disadvantaged, poor, violent, and at-risk--to cite a few--do not address the fullness of reality and life in their…