Family and Community Engagement

This study uses a nationally representative sample of parents to determine their perceptions of college costs and the extent to which misrepresentations are connected to family income and parental race/ethnicity and education. Results revealed that socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority parents are more likely to make larger errors when estimating the cost of college tuition, and parents, regardless of their race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, provide predominately biased estimates of college costs.

This document extends the National High School Center’s Eight Elements of High School Improvement: A Mapping Framework and offers specific school-level benchmarks that provide a deeper level of detail for each indicator of effectiveness and describe school-level practices that can be implemented to support high school improvement at the local level. High school improvement teams will find this tool useful once they have already identified areas of strengths and concerns through the use of the Center’s self-assessment tool.

This online self-assessment tool is a starting point for identifying high school improvement priorities and enables users in schools and districts to a) identify the strengths and weaknesses of their current high school reform efforts, and b) align and build on these current and planned reform initiatives to develop a comprehensive high school improvement plan that will result in rigorous and high-quality teaching and learning for all students.

This report provides a profile of 38 schools and details how these schools have implemented strategies to promote and advance college readiness. The report outlines each school, characteristics that make the school unique, and lessons learned from undertaking particular strategies. The report is organized into six sections: 1) alternative schools, 2) charter schools, 3) comprehensive schools, 4) early college high schools, 5) magnet schools, and 6) private schools. In several cases, schools may have utilized more than one strategy to achieve their goal.

This policy brief discusses the growing second-language learner population in schools. Through case studies of schools in Austin and the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas, it provides state and federal policymakers recommendations for policy changes that can help schools increase student achievement among this population.

In this conference paper, the author notes that good jobs require access to postsecondary education and training. There is a growing economic divide between adults with and without postsecondary education and training. The author recommends that policies be put into place that assist non-traditional students and students with barriers to access postsecondary education.

This policy statement from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) provides reasons why the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) should be reauthorized. The authors include recommendations for ESEA reauthorization in the four core areas of reform: standards, assessments, and accountability; data and reporting; teachers and leaders; and supports for next-generation learning.

This report describes the Keeping Options Open program, a collaborative partnership between Johnson County Community College and Johnson County high schools that help students develop career and life plans. This three-year tiered pilot program for parents and students intends to link academic readiness with career development. The program led to communication among school counselors and parents.

This research synopsis from the Harvard Family Research Project summarizes the findings of the full report, “Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time.” The report examines the program practices and structural features of out-of-school time (OST) programs in six U.S. cities that primarily serve low-income youth.