Coaches and district leaders can use this brief to support their efforts of aligning and integrating School Mental Health (SMH) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The experiences of two districts are described to provide context in the application of the Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF).

Whether through transfer and articulation, through grants that bring disconnected learners back to higher education or through short-term credentialing and applied bachelor's degrees, four-year institutions remain integral to career pathways systems beyond the traditional degree pathway. They also have a clear role in supporting all learners,…

Teachers need comprehensive support to improve students' literacy. This Policy Update shares how state boards of education can provide this holistic support to improve through: (1) better teacher preparation standards in early literacy; (2) professional development guidance; (3) high-quality literacy coaches and other support professionals; and…

Dual enrollment equity pathways (DEEP) is a research-based framework for rethinking dual enrollment as a more equitable on-ramp to college programs of study that lead to family-supporting, career-path jobs for students who might not otherwise pursue education after college. The DEEP approach involves community colleges and K-12 schools partnering…

Indian River State College (IRSC) transforms lives by offering high-quality, affordable, and accessible education online and on five campuses located on the southeast Treasure Coast of Florida. Between 1988 and 2000, IRSC took the initiative to rally the communities IRSC serves around innovations to stimulate economic development and to prepare…

The teacher preparation programs at University of Central Florida graduates approximately 1,000 prospective teachers annually. They are well prepared for teaching positions in the schools that look like the suburban, middle class ones which most of the teacher candidates attended. They have not been as well prepared for the Title I schools that…

For 20 years, Prime Time Palm Beach County, a nonprofit organization in Florida, has supported local out-of-school time programs with professional learning, capacity building, and other resources. One of the organization's most popular and longest-running professional learning offerings is called Bringing Yourself to Work, which helps…

The author is disappointed to hear about the feedback that several states have received from the United States Department of Education (USED) regarding the proposed additional indicator of school quality and student success for grades 3-8. The "equity indicator" has been used in Wyoming and Utah for several years and there is substantial…

As additional states embark on the process of implementing four-year degrees at community colleges, they can learn from others' experience for help navigating the legislative, regulatory, and program approval processes. This brief uses examples from states currently offering bachelor's degrees at their community colleges to provide guidance for…

Educator micro-credentials present a unique opportunity to link professional learning to practice. Through each competency-based credential, educators demonstrate application of their learning. School districts are seeing the value of embedding micro-credentials in existing professional learning pathways to promote educator agency, recognize…

Since the publication of "Redesigning America's Community Colleges" (Thomas Bailey, Shanna Smith Jaggars, and Davis Jenkins) in 2015, guided pathways reform has become a national movement in community colleges. As of spring 2018, more than 250 community colleges have committed to undertaking large-scale guided pathways reforms as part of…

This brief is a compilation of lessons learned from the American Youth Policy Forum's (AYPF's) last two years of work focused specifically on systems-involved youth. Following a discussion about the education and workforce barriers these youth face, their outcomes, and the policies that affect them, this brief is organized into three key lessons…

Once dubbed Vocational Education, Career and Technical Education (CTE) celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2017. The federal Smith-Hughes National Vocational Education Act signed in 1917 marked the first nationwide investment in career training at the secondary level. That initial investment has continued through the Vocational Education Act,…

Far too often, today's college students find themselves wandering through their academic experiences, choosing from a dizzying array of majors, courses, and out-of-classroom learning experiences. And while this smorgasbord of options is often portrayed as beneficial to the student experience, more than a decade of research suggests that too many…

As states and districts transition to college- and career-ready standards and aligned assessments, the need for high-quality instructional materials is clear. Open Educational Resources (OER) offer a low-cost solution with high potential to assist teachers nationwide in helping students meet the demands of higher standards. More and more…