After bringing hidden inequities to light, a high-performing school district set out to reverse course. The district adopted two key practices to center issues of equity: the development of a district-specific metric, the Opportunity Index, and deep analysis of deceleration patterns in course taking among certain groups. These practices, alongside…

Understanding the challenges of Latino undocumented students in high school is crucial to improving their success rates in college. Based on interviews with 60 Latino undocumented youths, I explore the barriers to proper educational guidance for this population. Results indicate that undocumented youths often lack accurate information about…

When it comes to educational challenges, the nation's 12.1 million Hispanic schoolchildren face plenty: language, poverty, lower-than-average graduation rates for high school and college, and, more recently, a wave of laws targeting illegal immigrants that has made school seem like less of a safe haven for Hispanic students in some states. Yet, as…

National and regional trends mask important variation among states in the supply of high school graduates. This profile provides brief indicators for New Jersey related to: current levels of educational attainment, projections of high school graduates into the future, and two common barriers to student access and success--insufficient academic…

A qualitative, hermeneutic phenomenological study conducted through interviews with 20 non-traditional (NT) Hispanic/Latino female part-time community college students and located at an urban community college in southern New Jersey explored for factors of persistence and discontinuation. Six themes emerged. Theme 1: Institutional persistence…

This qualitative, longitudinal study documents the academic and professional journeys of 8 college graduates or "scholars" of the Paterson Teachers for Tomorrow (PT4T) program. Data from this study further contribute to the growing body of research focusing on preparing diverse candidates--particularly those from urban and low…

The growth in public preschool education is based on research that shows high-quality prekindergarten has a positive effect on children's chances of succeeding in school and life. Beneath the surface of this growth, however, lies a troubling lag in preschool education participation by the nation's largest, fastest growing and yet most…