Between 2002 and 2007, the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative (CHSRI) opened 23 small high schools. Implemented in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), this initiative aimed to provide populations of low-performing students in under-served areas of the city with high-quality, small high schools. These schools were formed (1) by…

In this study, the author and her colleagues examined the higher education pipeline of Early Childhood teachers in Chicago in order to make recommendations for strategies to increase the number of qualified Early Childhood teachers. Key findings of this study include: (1) The Chicago Early Childhood Education (ECE) pipeline for undergraduate…

Education Resource Strategies (ERS) works with school and district leaders to help them more strategically use resources--people, time, and money--to improve student performance. They have found that many school districts begin creating small high schools without a clear sense of how much they will spend or how to ensure that small schools…

This report provides an update on the Illinois public high school class of 2002 and its progress through the higher education system. Three years after graduation, who has persisted, who has stopped out, who has transferred, and who has completed a two-year program? (Contains 16 tables and 5 footnotes.) [This publication was produced by the…

IN A 10 YEAR STUDY OF 1,200 CHILDREN LIVING IN A MIDWESTERN CITY, IT WAS FOUND THAT THOSE FROM DEPRIVED BACKGROUNDS MISSED ABOUT THREE TIMES AS MANY DAYS OF SCHOOL AS THEIR CLASSMATES FROM UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES. REASONS FOR THIS SITUATION WERE POOR DIET, UNCARED-FOR ILLNESSES AND ACCIDENTS. ALSO THE FEELINGS THAT CHILD HAD ABOUT HIMSELF…

Despite increasing recognition that a high school diploma is a minimum requirement for success in the workplace, nearly half of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students fail to graduate, and in some CPS high schools, more students drop out than graduate. Research on dropping out has shown that the decision to persist in or leave school is affected by…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…