Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the enablers and barriers to implementation of local school wellness (LSW) policies in Massachusetts schools. Findings will help inform the development of resources to support school nutrition directors and other important stakeholders who have the potential to influence implementation of these…

In this portrait, Simone A. Fried investigates the first six months of a state education department's takeover of a public school district. Using interviews, observations, and artifact analysis, the article explores how school district employees experience the significant reorganization of governance structures and policies that accompanies…

This study examines the efforts of higher education systems in six states to implement large-scale changes to improve student outcomes in mathematics in community colleges and four-year colleges and universities as part of the Mathematics Pathways to Completion (MPC) project. The three-year project was launched in 2015 to help Arkansas,…

In order to upgrade school buildings and make them healthier for students and staff, a recent trend has been to build environmentally sustainable schools, which benefit the environment and offer improved learning experiences for students. This qualitative case study examined Sustainability High School, a school in Massachusetts that successfully…

"Improving Education Together" offers a step-by-step guide to Labor-Management-Community (LMC) collaboration, an intervention that has successfully improved student outcomes in a wide variety of school districts across the country. The authors illustrate how a culture of collaboration between labor, management, and community stakeholders…

This article presents findings from a 2013 qualitative study of social work continuing education (CE) in Massachusetts. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 75 participants from key stakeholder groups: practitioners, educators, licensing board members, and agency administrators. Although positive perspectives surfaced--such as diversity of CE…

In the United States, health insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorder treatments has been historically limited. In response, as of 2015, 40 states and Washington, DC, have passed state autism insurance mandates requiring many health plans in the private insurance market to cover autism diagnostic and treatment services. This study examined…

The research presented in this report examines the effect of prison-based postsecondary education (PSE) on offenders both while incarcerated and after release. Urban Institute researchers worked with the staff of four institutions in three states to conduct inmate focus groups and stakeholder interviews to explore the motivations for enrolling in…

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…

The Pilot schools Experiential Education Demonstration (PSEED) project was intended to deepen and embed high-quality experiential education within each participating school's academic programs. A continuation of a multiyear set of initiatives by the Barr Foundation, PSEED was an effort to unify the foundation's content area foci on arts,…