In March 2018, metal construction kits were distributed to all elementary schools in Rhineland-Palatinate as part of the project called "Technikkiste" [translation from German: technology box] to promote STEM education. At the end of the year 2018, three more expansion sets followed. So far, no requests have been made to schools, even…

Background: School-based physical activity (PA) programs are an equitable, evidence-based approach to combat health and PA disparities. This study examined factors associated with implementation of BE Physically Active 2Day (BEPA 2.0), a K-5 school-based PA program, and examined how support from Cooperative Extension via Supplemental Nutrition…

This improvement project was designed to ensure students enrolled in elementary schools with a high poverty index received literacy instructional strategies that promoted literacy achievement. When analyzing Graham County School data, I noticed third-grade students attending high poverty elementary schools were not achieving literacy success at…

Public preschool boosts academic skills in kindergarten, but little is known about whether that boost lasts to third grade because many studies stop directly assessing children after kindergarten. The current study tests for sustained associations between preschool attendance and an array of repeatedly measured, directly assessed language and math…

In this paper, we explore how tutoring could become a permanent feature of the U.S. public education system. We outline a blueprint for taking tutoring to scale nationally and estimate its costs, while highlighting a range of design and implementation challenges. Our blueprint is centered on ten core principles and a federal architecture to…

Background: The long-term effectiveness of Head Start remains a topic of debate. Previous research with families of children enrolling in Head Start at three years of age has shown patterns of familial risk moderate the short-term effects of Head Start suggesting some children benefit more than others. However, we know little about patterns of…

This study examined the literacy trajectories of 185 Head Start-eligible Black children from preschool to first grade enrolled in a high-quality early learning program physically connected to an elementary school where they attended kindergarten and first grade. Social emotional, language, and literacy skills were assessed in the fall and spring…

Many district-led summer learning programs are at the intersection of in-school and out-of-school time (OST) learning. These summer programs play a critical role in providing students with academic supports and enrichment during the summer months. Districts offer a range of program types, but most are motivated by district and state policies…

Over the past 150 years, schools in America have been governed by various legislations geared toward increasing learning. One recurring theme across the various acts is that of parental involvement. This led to the broad question, "How does parental involvement impact student progress for primary students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 reading…

This report examines the implementation of Summer 305, an enhanced summer program which operated from June 14 through August 5 during the summer of 2021 at 179 sites in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). Eighteen program offerings were provided in a variety of physical and virtual delivery modes. Summer 305 was comprised of a suite of…

Background: We sought to determine the impact of school gardens and nutrition education on student fruit and vegetable consumption from limited-income communities in Alabama. Methods: Third grade students at 99 Alabama schools with and without gardens on-site were randomized to receive either nutrition education or to a wait-list control group.…

This article contributes to the literature on school turnaround by examining the effect of the North Carolina Transformation (NCT) initiative, which was implemented in 75 low-performing schools after the state's efforts to turn around the lowest performing schools under Race to the Top ended, on student reading score growth in grades K-3. Reading…

The National School Lunch Program's (NSLP) original goal was to help students in need, but policy changes in the past decade have made students from middle-income and upper-income families eligible for federally funded school meals. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), an expansion of the NSLP enacted in 2010, effectively created a federal…

Food insecurity poses a serious threat to children's development, but the mechanisms through which food insecurity undermines child development are far less clear. Specifically, food insecurity may influence children through its effect on parents' psychological well-being and parent--child interactions as a result, but past research on the role of…

This issue brief describes the programs and systems of the MDRC Center for Data Insights. Ranging from simple descriptive summaries to advanced machine learning algorithms, the Center's eight current projects aim to use institutions' increasingly rich data to provide new insights that can help refine and target their client's services: (1)…