Retaining people no longer credited toward college completion--a group known in academic parlance as "stop outs"--is a core concern among administrators seeking to remove barriers to education. Preventing stop outs from becoming stay outs means re-enrolling students beset by debt, or targeting vulnerable demos close to graduation.…

Adolescent suicide is a growing public health concern. This research explores adolescent perceptions of suicide to identify potential focus areas for future prevention programming. This qualitative study utilized focus groups with 14 high school students. Thematic analysis was used to capture key concepts. Salient themes included: "Deciding…

Ohio has a long history of providing a range of educational opportunities for students, and public community schools offer various instructional models and curricula that contribute to these educational options. Designed to operate independently of a traditional school district, Ohio community schools are authorized by an approved community school…

On May 4, 1970, four students were killed and nine were wounded when National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protestors at Kent State University. This case study explores the tragedy and the experiences of student affairs professionals at KSU leading up to and after the shootings. Although the field of crisis management did not exist in 1970,…

The academic and economic benefits of school spending are well-established, but focusing on these outcomes may underestimate the full social benefits of school spending. Recent increases in U.S. child mortality are driven by injuries and raise questions about what types of social investments could reduce child deaths. We use close school district…

The current study describes the use of a procedure called the "potty party", an all-day toilet training method using basic learning principles of "errorless" discrimination with 3 children with incontinence diagnosed with autism. At the start of treatment days, each participant was greeted and prompted to request the bathroom.…

The purpose of this study was to apply two of Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation to evaluate the implementation of PAX Good Behavior Game training in a challenged Ohio middle school. The study explored teacher "reactions" to and perceived "learning" from the training as it relates to the middle school's goals, and…

Nearly half of students who enter college do not graduate. The majority of efforts to increase college completion have focused on supporting students before or soon after they enter college, yet many students drop out after making significant progress towards their degree. In this paper, we report results from a multi-year, large-scale…

Among programs designed to reduce teen pregnancy, few evidence-based interventions specifically aim to reduce repeat pregnancies. Repeat pregnancies among adolescent mothers, however, are both prevalent and consequential. About one-sixth of births to adolescent mothers are repeat births. Compared to adolescent mothers with only one child, those…

Prevention-focused services in schools are a proactive approach to student wellness and can help students succeed in school and life. The implementation of prevention-focused services builds supportive learning environments where students can attend school, be ready to learn, and are prepared for future success. Ohio law requires school districts…

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's strategic priorities are literacy, accelerating learning, workforce readiness, and student wellness. Under the leadership of Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and the Ohio General Assembly, Ohio's districts and schools receive Student Wellness and Success Funds and Disadvantaged Pupil…

In 2019, MDRC launched the Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students, such as students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, at community and broad-access colleges (those that have open or minimally selective admissions…

In-person safety programs for pre-kindergarten children were not able to go on in their usual way during the summer of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While some communities opted to cancel the programs, one organization in Northwest Ohio chose to reformat it, knowing that this education is a critical introduction to lifelong safety habits.…

Mental health challenges for youth continue to be a growing concern. Youth-serving organizations have the potential to play a significant role in recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges in youth. The Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training course is widely used to equip adults working with youth with skills to support…

With sexual violence prevention programs gaining traction in secondary schools, students' attitudes toward sexual violence have begun to be measured more frequently. While these attitudes are measured as outcomes of prevention programs, students' preexisting attitudes toward sexual violence shape how prevention programs are received by the…