The student-centered school model of Epic Charter School in Oakland, California, framed around a hero's journey empowers middle school students with sense of unity and purpose in life, where they can feel part of a culture with a shared experience and with more opportunities to experiences growth and accomplishment. Design and engineering is front…

The founders of Montessori For All, which opened Magnolia Montessori--a PK-8 public charter school in Austin, Texas--created a new school model that blends the best of authentic Montessori schooling (hands-on and self-directed learning) with best practices from high-performing charter schools (basic skills mastery to excel on standardized tests…

The past few years have seen a persistent and consistent focus on Career Technical Education (CTE), including a particular focus on graduation requirements. This brief from Advance CTE highlights a few ways in which states are exploring embedding and elevating CTE programs, assessments and experiences within their statewide graduation…

Not much that state boards of education will undertake is harder than transforming low-performing high schools. Yet what they do is pivotal. State board members should keep 10 key principles in mind when they are working to transform low-performing high schools. These 10 key principles are presented in this article: (1) The school is the unit of…

Nearly 10 million students are enrolled in California's schools, colleges, and universities. These students will benefit from the steps California policymakers have taken to shift more systems toward equity -- including adopting more rigorous K-12 standards, adopting an English learner roadmap, implementing the Local Control Funding Formula for…

Early College High School (ECHS) provides students with the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and 60 college hours, which lead to an associate's degree. This report describes demographic characteristics and academic outcomes of the students served by ECHS and highlights emerging topics from the program coordinator survey.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) updates its Comprehensive Strategic Plan for Elementary and Secondary Education each year, as required by Public Act 93-1036 (the Education Reform and Accountability Act of 2004). This annual "Strategic Plan Progress Report" details actions the agency is taking to fulfill the Board's mission,…

For more than 30 years, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has partnered with states, districts and schools to identify and implement strategies that empower young people to connect what they learn in the classroom with the world of work. Their efforts began in 1987 with High Schools That Work, SREB's premier school improvement process. This…

The College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013 (CCR-CCA) established a number of requirements designed to increase college and career readiness as well as degree completion in Maryland. With a rapidly changing economy and a focus on increasing the percent of young adults with postsecondary degrees, the intent of the Act is to…

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…

The New Mexico Public Education Department's (NMPED) mission is to ensure all students in New Mexico receive the education they deserve and that students are prepared for college, careers, and lifelong learning. To do this, the department is focusing on supports, sustained learning and outreach to districts, charter schools, tribal education…

The 3Ls™ is a unique approach that places learning grade-level content at the center of the educational experience for English Language Learners (ELLs) integrating in a seamless and purposeful way language and literacy development. The approach includes newly designed elements and re-envisioned strategies, all integrated into the unique flow of a…

Teachers and leaders who say "yes!" to classroom formative assessment practice find it's a fast, proven, sustainable way to collect and act on key information while engaging ALL students. It's also an ideal complement to MAP and other data. Curious about which research-based practices get the most raves? Then check out the first article…

Analysis of student-level data to inform policy and promote student success is a core function of executive higher education agencies. Postsecondary data systems have expanded their collection of data elements for use by policymakers, institutional staff, and the general public. The State Higher Education Executive Officers association (SHEEO), as…

Graduates from AISD in the Classes of 2011 through 2014 were increasingly more likely than their peers statewide to have been college ready in English language arts, math, and both subjects. Economically disadvantaged, African American, and Hispanic students closed gaps against their peers, and White students continued to outperform their peers…