Schools should be safe places for young people, educators, school staff, and community members, and policies and practices can help create learning environments where kids thrive. Gun violence in U.S. schools has prompted calls for increased school safety measures; however, which policies contribute to safe school environments is often a topic of…

When Black and Latino students are given advanced opportunities, they thrive alongside their peers. However, only a fraction of eligible students is enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses, which means that most Black and Latino students are being denied vital learning opportunities that can set them up for…

In 2021, California made historic investments in early learning to expand transitional kindergarten (TK) to serve all of California's 4-year-olds. Transitional kindergarten began in California in 2012 as a free public school program for 4-year-olds who were not yet eligible for kindergarten (a non-compulsory grade). Yet by 2019, just 28 percent of…

The Education-to-Workforce Indicator Framework (E-W Framework), commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and developed in partnership with leading experts representing more than 15 national and community organizations, is designed to encourage greater cross-sector collaboration and alignment across local, state, and national data…

There's unprecedented opportunity for state and local educators to invest in digital tools and professional development to transform teaching and learning. Rapidly evolving technology has provided new ways for all students, including those with disabilities to learn and for educators, students, and their families to interact. At the same time, the…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) provides a foundation for healthy development. It is the process children, youth, and adults go through to develop the skills to engage with others, manage their emotions, show empathy, handle stress, resolve stress, set goals, and make responsible decisions to succeed in work and life. School climate is a…

It is well-documented that students of color, and other historically underserved students, have had less access to an equitable and supportive learning environment, perpetuating school failure and, too often, a school-to-prison pipeline that is difficult to escape. This report shows how a number of states are taking advantage of opportunities in…

The purpose of this fact sheet is to make this information easily available to policymakers, activists, and parents/caregivers, and to contribute to a substantive discussion about developing equitable educational opportunities for all children.

Gene Sperling, author of the seminal 2004 report published by the Council on Foreign Relations, and Rebecca Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education, have written this definitive book on the importance of girls' education. As Malala Yousafzai expresses in her foreword, the idea that any child could be denied an education due to…

This list of resources offers promising strategies that communities and policymakers can use to make sustainable advances in achieving equitable transportation systems. Resources are organized into seven categories: transportation equity, Safe Routes to School, school siting, complete streets, non-motorized transportation, community design, and…

Educational opportunities and outcomes for California's Latino students have improved over the last half century. Even so, Latino students continue to face barriers in opportunity that make it harder for them to achieve college, career, and future success. The goal of this report is to describe what Latino students currently experience in…

"The Achiever" is published semi-monthly during the school year for parents and community leaders. Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Spellings Calls High School Reform a 'National Priority'"; (2) "Leading…

Classification of people according to gender begins in infancy. This booklet aims to remove some old ways of thinking that limit expectations for girls and boys. It also clarifies for educators, parents, and the community specific elements of the federal legislation called Title IX. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was the first…

This report is divided into a series of "snapshots" that form a "portrait" of the status of Hispanics in the U.S. educational system. Chapter 1 introduces the situation of Hispanics in U.S. education. Chapter 2 provides a brief summary of Hispanic demographics, and chapter 3 covers the condition of Hispanic children from…

Operation SMART (Science, Math and Relevant Technology) is a project of the Girls Clubs of America, a national organization serving mostly low-income girls in local club centers. Girls clubs provide out-of-school programming that pays special attention to the needs of girls and helps them take charge of their futures. Operation SMART's hands-on…