Across the United States, policymakers, educators, and community members increasingly support community schools as a method of supporting whole child outcomes. Oakland Unified School District (Oakland Unified) in California has made whole child education central to its community schools initiative. Oakland Unified's community schools provide a…

If the state of California finds the funds, the Cal Grant Reform Act--as enacted in the 2022 Budget Act--is to be implemented in 2024 to support hundreds of thousands of Californians in affording, accessing, and succeeding in higher education. Instead, the state has proposed adding more funding to the less equitable Middle Class Scholarship (MCS)…

The second of three "bright spot" briefs examines how states are leveraging ARP funds to improve SEL for all students through collaboration among schools, families, and communities. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) provided a $122 billion historic federal investment in K-12 education to help states and districts safely reopen…

Equity-centered preparation builds novice teachers' capacity to make meaningful instruction accessible to all students, particularly those historically excluded from high-quality learning experiences. Drawing on social learning theory, we examined Teacher Study Groups as a model for supporting preservice special educators' development of…

The bachelor's degree remains a fundamental path to economic opportunity in the United States. Critical for policymakers, then, is ensuring equitable access to such benefits--a task often constrained by long-standing structural barriers. One of the most obvious structural impediments for bachelor's degree-aspirants in California (CA) is the…

The primary goal of this evaluation report is to effectively communicate the value and impact of the Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy to a diverse set of community college stakeholders and to provide valuable insights into the program's effectiveness. This report presents the findings from the 2021-2022 LFM Academy pilot evaluation, assessing…

The importance of teacher collaboration and professional growth are highlighted by their inclusion in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In ESSA, it is recommended that teachers are provided with opportunities to collaborate and participate in learning communities. The purpose of this action research study was to address the problem of…

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of students formally enrolled in a California community college promise program at Mountain View Community College, Lakeview Community College, Hillcrest Community College, and Ocean Valley Community College, each located in Southern California. The…

The Town Hall Meeting (THM) program at California State University, Fullerton has been annually incorporated into several Introduction to American Politics course sections since 2011, to improve academic performance and promote civic engagement among enrolled students. This article provides a detailed analysis of results from a 2017…

TICAS partnered with higher education researcher Dr. Donald E. Heller to examine the "affordability gap" that students are facing when paying for college. The report uses federal data to determine the so-called "college affordability gap" in three states--California, Michigan, and New York--with a focus on students who are…

Located in Redding, California, Shasta College is an inspiring example of why serving students with "some college, but no degree" is critical to supporting the local community. Most residents in the area, which is one of the state's northernmost counties, live and work in the immediate area and serve the community through local…

This study focused on how self-efficacy and a student's self-assessed level of preparation for college level English impacted their success in a first-year composition course at a community college. The purpose of this study was to uncover the factors that led to successful writers with a focus on self-efficacy and collegiate writing. The research…

Interest in universities as anchor institutions within their communities and cities is growing as civic leaders search for ways to build local wealth. Systematic analysis of the effects of anchor institution initiatives remains difficult due to the disparate nature of anchor initiatives and a relative lack of a shared language describing the work.…

A growing body of literature indicates that Latinx immigrant families are adversely affected by restrictive immigration policies and anti-immigrant rhetoric. Little is known about how educators working with Latinx immigrant communities in restrictive immigration climates fare. Using mixed-methods, this study sought to better understand how the…

This study explored the journeys of Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men (FILM) who are turning to higher education as a reentry support for their lives after being released from prison. Offering programs like higher education during reentry is not just about creating new paths and opportunities, something higher education already does for many. The…