This article addresses the question of how theatre interventions as elements of a participatory and action-oriented research design can contribute to justice-oriented Caring Community processes. Caring Communities are local initiatives that strengthen everyday solidarity through civic engagement and neighbourhood support, link informal and formal…

An account of a persistently failing New York City high school's rapid transformation. Urban Assembly School for Green Careers had a 39% graduation rate in 2013 and ranked in the bottom 1% of high schools citywide. As a transformation strategy, the school employed an innovative educational design known as Learning Cultures, which distributes…

The purpose of this article is to clarify what the authors of the Second Edition of the NAPDS Nine Essentials (NAPDS, 2021) intended related to Essential Nine. This article includes a look back on the original, provides a rationale for changes and offers some ideas and examples intended to help partners implement this important Essential. With the…

This article highlights the challenges, triumphs, and setbacks experienced by a mid-sized, public institution in Eastern Canada that is now more than two years into the SEM process. It shares how a team built a sense of urgency in an institution with historically-low retention rates and developed a variety of strategies and structures to improve…

Schools are implementing Restorative Justice in Education (RJE) initiatives across the United States, often to reduce the use of out-of-school suspension, which is known to increase the risk for dropout and arrest. Many RJE initiatives also aim to strengthen social and emotional competencies, reduce gender and racial disparities in discipline, and…

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth aged 10-25 years, and approximately one in six adolescents reported serious suicidal ideation in the past year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] in Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe, 2017). Schools are…

In Utah, public education is a community endeavor. It is shaped by the dedication and service of teachers, the curiosity of children, the commitment of families, and the support of policymakers and partners. This annual report reflects the collective effort that makes Utah's education system unique. The data and stories within shows the challenges…

This report describes the activities and accomplishments of Austin Independent School District's (AISD's) CARES team during the second year of implementation, school year 2019-2020. Highlights include how CARES team members were able to: maintain and in many cases exceed high-quality standards, continue progress monitoring, and provide support and…

The Washington Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Committee (referred to in this report as "the Committee" and "Committee") was established in 2019 through Senate Bill 5082 (SB 5082) to address the growing body of evidence that shows the need for improving a student's social and emotional competencies which are critical to every…

A sense of belonging and wellbeing at school influences educational and health outcomes. Here we widen the traditional focus of Assessment News to focus on the use of student wellbeing data in schools. We discuss the Wellbeing@ School (W@S) toolkit that is freely available to support schools to self-review as they examine and monitor student…

Mindfulness-based interventions have increased in popularity over the past decade and interest continues to increase in the potential to use mindfulness-based interventions in schools. The current research concerning school-based mindfulness-based interventions is reviewed in this article. This research base is fragmented, as most of the studies…

This appendix augments a report that updates 2013 guidance to school district leaders and their partners across the country who are interested in launching summer learning programs or improving established ones. In that report, the authors present recommendations based on evaluations, conducted between 2011 and 2016, of summer programs in five…

This article describes a learning partnership between district or county leaders and school leaders to create a system of principal professional learning that came to life in principal learning communities across a district or multiple-district region. For more than a decade, Learning Forward has engaged with district-level leaders as learning…

This paper discusses the fundamental importance of achieving quality implementation when assessing the impact of social and emotional learning interventions. Recent findings in implementation science are reviewed that include a definition of implementation, its relation to programme outcomes, current research on the factors that affect…

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that district leaders--including superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of student support services, or others--can take to support school climate improvements. Key action steps are provided for…