Innovation in education is vital for responding to emerging challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and for building progress on longstanding challenges in schools. The infusion of substantial, highly flexible pots of federal relief dollars created an opportunity to pilot new programs and initiatives. Many states and districts opted to invest…

The stakes are incredibly high in California to provide access to a high-quality education in a safe environment for all students. As districts across the state resumed full-time instruction and began the task of pandemic recovery, members of the California Collaborative on District Reform convened three times in 2021-22 to continue and deepen…

America's Promise's ReadyNation initiative has released this brief, which "makes the case" to business leaders on why investing in early childhood should be important to them. The brief includes "how-to" tips, helpful statistics and more.

This article highlights San Diego's dropout problem and how much it's costing the city and the state. Most San Diegans do not realize the enormous impact high school dropouts on their city. The California Dropout Research Project, located at the University of California at Santa Barbara, has estimated the lifetime cost of one class or cohort of…

Teachers matter. Educators, policymakers, and the general public alike agree that great teachers are vital to a thriving K-12 education system, yet the pathways to assembling a high quality teaching force remain elusive. This case study of Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD), winner of the 2004 Broad Prize for Urban Education,…

Building on its previous work examining education and the economy, the Alliance for Excellent Education (the Alliance), with generous support from State Farm[R], analyzed the economies of all fifty states and the District of Columbia to determine the economic benefits that states could see by improving high school graduation rates. Using a…

Every year millions of students enroll in colleges with the goal of completing a college degree or certificate so they can find a well-paying job. Unfortunately, many arrive on college campuses, take a college placement exam and discover they will need to complete remedial education courses in math, reading, or writing that won't count toward a…

To prepare students for success in life, the twenty-first-century American high school needs to shift its focus from preparing for college or career to achieving college and career readiness for every student. One of the most comprehensive efforts towards this goal is the "multiple pathways" initiative in California, which is a reform…

It takes more than a vision to be called a visionary. One also needs the organization, determination, and spirit to see it through. Four educators are being chosen to be spotlighted as visionaries conceived, developed, and guided technology-driven initiatives perhaps initially thought to be impractical. But their unusual foresight allowed each of…

A few years ago, in "Student Success in College (SSiC)," the authors profiled twenty colleges and universities that were unusually effective in fostering student engagement and success, defined as better-than-predicted scores on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and better-than-predicted graduation rates. These schools are…

The "four spheres" model of transformation, as viewed through the lens of the urban mission of California State University, Fresno, is examined through current projects in economic development, infrastructure development, human development, and the fourth sphere, which encompasses the broad vision. Local projects will be highlighted.

Chapin Hall partnered with the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation to host a convening for the Stone Foundation Education Grantees in October of 2008. The purpose of the convening was to gather key leaders in the education field for a discussion of the lessons learned in their work and how these lessons inform future practice and policy…

Few people realize the impact that high school dropouts have on a community's economic, social, and civic health. Business owners and residents--in particular, those without school-aged children--may not be aware that they have much at stake in the success of their local high schools. Indeed, everyone--from car dealers and realtors to bank…

Institutional leaders, educators, and policymakers are challenged to improve educational outcomes for all students, including Latinos. "Excelencia" in Education responds to this challenge by linking research, policy, and practice that supports higher educational achievement for Latino students. Premier in this effort is Examples of…

The importance of college degree completion for U.S. society and economic competitiveness makes it imperative to improve educational outcomes for Latino students. Institutional leaders, educators, and policymakers who recognize this imperative are challenged to determine what they can do to improve educational outcomes for Latino students.…