Between 2012 and 2018, the U.S. Department of Education invested nearly $350 million in 22 Comprehensive Technical Assistance (TA) Centers that operated across the nation. These Centers were charged with delivering TA that builds the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to support local education agencies in improving student outcomes.…

Between 2012 and 2018, the U.S. Department of Education invested nearly $350 million in 22 Comprehensive Technical Assistance (TA) Centers operating across the nation. These Centers were charged with delivering TA that builds the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to support local educational agencies (LEAs) in improving student outcomes.…

Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services to enrolled children and families. The Head Start program provides comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged…

This report is the second from the congressionally-mandated evaluation of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) program authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act (P.L. 107-279). For this report, 8 (out of 24) impact study reports produced by the RELs under their 2006-2011 contracts and published by IES were rated by expert panels for…

The Department of Education (Education) created Race To the Top (RTT) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. From 2010 through 2011, Education awarded $4 billion in competitive grant funds to 19 states to reform core areas of K-12 education. RTT states also committed to building capacity to implement and sustain reforms. GAO and…

This report includes key information on the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2014-2018 (FACES 2014) study design and a set of data tables presents descriptive statistics for the characteristics of classrooms, teachers, centers, and programs serving Head Start children and families in spring 2015. Data are drawn from the spring 2015…

The School Improvement Grant (SIG) program funds reforms in low performing schools. Congress provided $3.5 billion for SIG in fiscal year 2009, and a total of about $1.6 billion was appropriated in fiscal years 2010-2012. SIG requirements changed significantly in 2010. Many schools receiving SIG funds must now use the funding for specific…

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awards grants to provide shelter and services to runaway and homeless youth through the Basic Center, Transitional Living and Street Outreach Programs. In response to a mandate for a review of the grant award process for these programs in the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No.…

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) Program is the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) primary vehicle for providing technical assistance (TA) to individuals and organizations responsible for serving children with disabilities and their families. The evaluation is part…

Although Early Head Start (EHS) is a federal-to-local program, there are opportunities for collaboration at the state level that have expanded in recent years. State leaders can seize opportunities to break down silos and create collaborative state systems and programs to better meet the needs of vulnerable young children in their states. This…

In 2009 the Obama administration announced a focused commitment to turn around 5,000 of the United States' chronically lowest-performing public schools as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This commitment came with $3 billion in funding for the School Improvement Grant program, or SIG, along with new guidelines to ensure…

The federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program aims to improve student achievement by promoting the implementation of four school intervention models: transformation, turnaround, restart, and closure. Previous research provides evidence that low-performing schools adopt some practices promoted by the four models, but little is known about how…

In preschool settings, the majority of interventions are individualized for children at high risk for challenging behavior. However, a few early childhood sites have begun to conceptualize and implement prevention and intervention initiatives modeled after the principles and key features associated with school-wide positive behavior support. In…

This report synthesizes findings and draws lessons about the implementation and results of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ("NCLB") based primarily on two longitudinal studies funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Progress to date suggests that "NCLB's" ambitious goal of having 100 percent of U.S.…

Geographical, economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing services in rural areas are widely reported. Less widely discussed are dilemmas posed by individual and community reluctance to address sensitive health issues. This article, focusing on the highly sensitive area of mental health, and employing a participatory action approach,…