In the past few years, four states have established programs that provide public financial support to students who choose to attend a private school. These programs--a tax-credit-funded scholarship initiative in Florida and voucher programs in Indiana, Louisiana, and Ohio--offer a glimpse of what expansive statewide choice might look like. What…

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to supporting local afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs. Over the years, the program has evolved to become a local afterschool model -- serving students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools in…

Postsecondary early awareness strategies are a fast-growing component of college access to attainment efforts. Broadly defined, these programs and policies encourage low-income and first-generation students to gain the information, skills, and resources they need to successfully take part in higher education. They focus on students in fifth…

Everybody knows that children's exposure to learning opportunities prior to age 5 has a profound and lasting effect on their success in school and beyond. Each fall, millions of children enter kindergarten; some of those 5-year-old children have a preschool education experience and some of those children do not. To ensure a child's learning…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…

Are students who attend full-day kindergarten better prepared for future academic success than their peers who attend half-day kindergarten programs? Much of the current research on full-day kindergarten programs suggests they are. Researchers cite gains such as increased academic achievement, lower grade retention rates, improved attendance, and…

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the effectiveness of the language experience approach to beginning reading instruction when used with pupils described as culturally deprived. Ten teachers of first grade classes in inner-city schools in Indianapolis volunteered to participate. Five teachers agreed to continue using a…

The goal of the report is to provide useful information to Indiana policymakers as they debate the merits of full versus half day programs. This report sought to answer three questions: (1) What does the national research say about the effectiveness of full day kindergarten; (2) What does the Indiana data say about full day kindergarten; and (3)…

This report has describes how the young Indianapolis charter school initiative can claim a number of successes: (1) Many community leaders have stepped forward to spearhead the creation of charter schools, bringing new energy and resources into public education; (2) Parents have flocked to the new schools, lining up on waiting lists and noting…

Jeb Bush campaigned for Governor on a clear and bracing set of education reforms in 1998. Having won office, he immediately pursued a dual track strategy of education reform: standards and accountability for public schools, choice options for dissatisfied parents. Florida lawmakers followed these reforms with additional measures, including…

This evaluation attempts to measure the extent and effectiveness of ESEA Title I programs designed to meet the needs of disadvantaged children and apprizes the public and the legislature of program outcomes. In keeping with USOE requirements for evaluating Title I programs, this document is constructed of (1) responses to USOE probes by…

"The Achiever" is a monthly newsletter designed expressly for parents and community leaders. Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. Highlights of this issue include: (1) Proposed Budget Invests More Into NCLB, Neediest Students; (2) Making History: L.A. County School With Disadvantaged…