This research study focused on the potential factors impacting students with disabilities (SWDs) course placement and graduation rates at Simmons High School (SHS), a large urban school in Massachusetts. Preliminary research found that approximately 50% of SWDs graduate each school year at SHS and are historically marginalized compared to their…

Few public schools in Massachusetts offer a sex-positive, inclusive sexuality education curriculum at the elementary school level. One Massachusetts public elementary school identified the need for such a program that addresses communication, sexuality, gender, and consent. The LETS! Teach, Affirm, Learn, Know (T.A.L.K.) curriculum was developed,…

In an effort to meet the needs of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while hospitalized, a team of experts and providers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MGH for Children as well as parents of individuals with ASD was sparked in 2013. This became a multidisciplinary collaborative, the MGH Autism Care Collaborative, to improve…

In this brief, the perspectives of special education administrators from Massachusetts and Indiana, who have been engaged in college-based transition services (CBTS), are shared. It summarizes the conversations they had during a fall 2019 Think College webinar and a follow-up discussion in summer 2020. Each administrator has had extensive…

In recent years, a new breed of political organizations has had remarkable influence in American educational policymaking. Proponents of neoliberal reform, these groups have been labeled as Education Reform Advocacy Organizations, or ERAOs. I situate these organizations within the larger network of Intermediary Organizations (IOs). To understand…

With the recent mandates involving students with disabilities, there has been ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of inclusive programs in today's public schools. Recent research has demonstrated that teacher collaboration is an essential component to the success of inclusive education programs (Hernandez, 2013). There is an abundance of…

"Collaboration for Student Transfer: A Nationwide Degree Qualifications Profile Experiment" highlights key lessons learned from AAC&U's Quality Collaboratives project. It focuses on learning outcomes assessment and faculty leadership in the context of increased rates of student mobility and transfer. The project sought to build the…

The 2017 Thought Leaders report focuses on "Transforming Facilities to Achieve Student Success." The report makes the case that student success starts with retention and graduation, but it can expand to include factors from personal career goals to social responsibility. A key message from the report is that through strategic investment…

The Winter Hill Community Innovation School in Somerville, Massachusetts and the Paul Revere Innovation School in Revere, Massachusetts, winners of the 2017 Pozen Prize for Innovative Schools--excel in attending to the social, emotional, and intellectual needs of all students in the diverse communities they serve. Leveraging autonomy to strengthen…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) and the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are deeply committed to ensuring that every student in the state has access to a high-quality education, and they have combined this commitment with an openness to innovation. After just one year of School…

With many cities showing an interest in afterschool system building and research providing a growing body of useful information, this Wallace Perspective offers a digest of the latest thinking on how to build and sustain an afterschool system, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for this promising work. The report (a follow-up to a…

A public, Catholic, and charter school in Boston all work together to share their strengths and learn from each other in an effort to deliver the best education for all of their students. The arrangement is called the School Performance Partnership, and it is a grantee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In this report, the Rennie Center for Education Policy & Research focuses on Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) as a key tool that districts and schools can use to prepare students for college and career success, as well as the costs districts incur to implement ILPs. In Massachusetts some public school districts have utilized ILPs to pursue…

The Synergy Charter Academy, one of three charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), used to occupy a cramped church space in south LA. Despite the facilities challenges, its more than 300 K students have generally scored in the top 10% on statewide tests in reading and math over the past seven years. When the district…

Of the many inequities in the education system, gaps in access to strong teaching have proven to be among the most stubborn. That is not to say that there are not excellent teachers in high-poverty schools. Research shows an indisputable and wide-spread pattern in schools and districts across the country: Low-income children and children of color…