California's alternative education options for youth vulnerable to dropping out of school have been established at different historical points and for different student age and target populations. For purposes of this brief, "alternative school" is defined as belonging to one of six legislatively authorized types of public (non-charter)…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

More than half of all Denver Public Schools (DPS) students who start in the ninth grade do not graduate within four years. If DPS is to significantly impact this graduation crisis, it must prioritize the implementation of systemic and research-based strategies around prevention, recuperation, and recovery of off-track students. With a 100 percent…

This report examines the consequences of increased student demand for higher education in Colorado, in light of constrained resources for state-supported higher education, and offers strategies to address this demand. The report describes enrollment trends at Colorado colleges and universities, workforce training needs, and trends in state funding…

Summary budget data are presented for Colorado's Community College Division and the state's two-year colleges. After an introductory section, the goals and objectives of the community college section are outlined in terms of student access, quality of instruction, response to community needs, and accountability; and emerging issues, such as…

This report presents tables, charts and analysis on projection of demand for Colorado postsecondary education from 1993 to 2002 for use as a baseline in policy making discussion. The projections are called "baseline" because they are based on an "All Things Remaining the Same" assumption, assuming that current enrollment…

This paper looks at meeting Colorado student expectations of higher education by looking at demographic trends within Colorado's current undergraduate student population and some of the factors that may influence future student needs. Section I looks at the state's student population and notes that, though nationally 33 percent of undergraduates…