In 2007, spurred by University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research reports, leadership at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a new targeted approach to reducing course failure in the ninth grade. The research suggested that the transition between eighth and ninth grade played a critical role in shaping…

In Illinois school districts, a service-learning mentoring program is being used to increase student retention and achievement by providing student-led social support for high school freshmen, as well as opportunities for student development, civic engagement and academic success. The National Dropout Prevention center/Network (NDPC/N) recommends…

The transition into high school is a critical point in the educational pipeline, and ninth-grade can be characterized as one of its leakiest junctures. This policy brief examines how some states and districts are currently easing the transition into high school for students. It focuses on five key challenges that states, districts and schools…

Personalized learning: Everyone knows it needs to happen, but how? It is one thing to believe in the importance of high school reform. It is quite another to embrace a system that helps every student leave high school with a diploma and plans for postsecondary education or training that lead to productive and self-sufficient adulthoods. This…