This study used comparative interrupted times series analyses to assess the impact of a continuous improvement-focused family engagement intervention on ninth grade attendance and course passing rates. The intervention, conducted in an urban district, sought to improve middle and high school family engagement practices during the transition to…

Transportation is one of many potential obstacles that students might face as they attempt to attend school, but there are few opportunities to identify the unique contribution of transportation to school attendance. We apply models of commuting stress developed for adult commuters to students in an open enrollment school district to examine…

Positive perceptions of school climate correlate with many dimensions of academic well-being and student health. Unfortunately, some existing research finds more favorable perceptions in middle school for general education students (GENs) than for students with disabilities (SWDs). Given the importance of ninth grade to student success, it is…

In this study with 153 middle school students, we investigate the influence of the number of decimal places from the reading of a measurement device on students' decisions to change or keep an initial hypothesis about falling objects. Participants were divided into three groups, introduced to two experiments--the time it takes a free falling…

District leaders have invested widely in the creation of parent portals, but have paid less attention to ensuring that they are achieving their purpose in providing information that parents can use in supporting their children's academic success. This study, based on qualitative field note data from a larger four-year study of a continuous…

Diplomas Now is a partnership of three national organizations--Talent Development Secondary, City Year, and Communities In Schools--collaborating in an effort to transform urban secondary schools so that fewer students drop out and more graduate ready for postsecondary education and work. With the goal of a continuous system of support through…

District leaders have invested widely in the creation of parent portals, but have paid less attention to ensuring that they are achieving their purpose in providing information that parents can use in supporting their children's academic success. This study, based on qualitative field note data from a larger four-year study of a continuous…

Part II of the Houston Longitudinal Study on the Transition to College and Work (HLS) examined potential indicators of college enrollment school and district staff might use to identify and support students at risk of not attending college. The study used administrative data from the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and tracked two…

This report examined three potential indicators of college enrollment school and district staff might use to identify and support students at risk of not attending college: (1) Chicago: Designed to predict high school graduation; based on earning six course credits--the minimum to advance to the next grade in HISD--and having at most one semester…

These are the appendices for "Transitioning to College and Work. Part 2: A Study of Potential Enrollment Indicators," which examined potential indicators of college enrollment school and district staff might use to identify and support students at risk of not attending college. The study used administrative data from the Houston…

This report presents initial psychometrics from testing a cultural adaptation of the Psychological Wellbeing and Distress Screener (PWDS) with a sample of urban adolescents in Turkey (N = 399). Results from confirmatory factor analyses indicated that responses to the Turkish version of the measure (PWDS-T) were characterized by a two-factor…

There are racial/ethnic disparities associated with school punishment practices and academic progress. In addition, research suggests that urban schools have stricter school punishment practices and higher grade retention rates. What remains unknown, however, is the relationship between race/ethnicity, school punishment practices, and retention…

In May of 2012, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education approved the creation of the Secondary Reading Initiative (SRI) program to target students in the 6th and 9th grades who are reading below the 50th percentile as measured by the Stanford/Aprenda Achievement Test in the previous year. The district provided to have…

Purpose: In this clinical focus, the authors argue for robust vocabulary instruction with emergent bilingual learners both in inclusive classroom settings and in clinical settings for emergent bilinguals with language and literacy disorders. Robust vocabulary instruction focuses on high-utility academic words that carry abstract meanings and…

Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education approved the creation of the Secondary Reading Initiative (SRI) for 6th and 9th grade students. In the 2013-2014 school year, the SRI program was expanded to include students in the 7th grade. Students in the 6th, 7th, and 9th grades, whose…