In elementary schools, boys of color are punished more often and more severely, despite not engaging in infractions any more frequently than their White peers. Previous research has identified these disparities as a form of racial criminalization, and that many boys of color regularly resist this criminalization as a healthy response to…

Through an analysis of Black urban high school youth's critical engagements with literacy, the authors examine school suspensions--particularly disproportionality--as anti-Black symbolic violence. By historically mapping the terrain of discipline, from chattel slavery to "The New Jim Crow," the article unearths the connection between…

Joaquin, a 15-year-old Latino high school student, was arrested and removed from the Upward Bound (UB) program following a student-on-student sexual assault allegation. UB adopted a student-centered discipline approach that promoted socioemotional learning opportunities. However, the staff was regulated by complex state and federal policies and…

StudentU is a comprehensive program that provides education, nutrition, and social support services to disadvantaged middle and high school students outside of the regular school day. In this paper I investigate the effects of this multiyear program on the early high school outcomes of participating students by exploiting data from oversubscribed…

StudentU is a comprehensive program that provides education, nutrition, and social support services to disadvantaged students outside of the regular school day. In this paper I investigate the effects of this multi-year program on the early high school outcomes of participating students by exploiting data from oversubscribed admissions lotteries.…

Positive behavior support, with its emphasis on teaching desired actions rather than punishing undesirable actions, can be a powerful tool for managing young people's behavior. In recent years, positive behavior support (PBS) strategies have been promoted as alternatives to traditional discipline for children and youth. School use of PBS has been…

California has long been on the cutting edge of social and political change. This trendsetting continues today on issues from addressing climate change to supporting immigrant communities to ensuring equal rights for all. But, when reviewing the grades of this year's California Children's Report Card, it is difficult not to ask the question: why…

A number of challenges continue to influence the schooling experience of Black students. While some progress has been made for some, chronic underperformance has remained largely unchanged over the past two decades. What has become increasingly a part of the experiences of Black children and other students of color has been the increasing police…

The 2020 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the comprehensive roadmap at the state level to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to tear down the structural barriers to all kids, especially kids of color, from growing up healthy, safe, and ready for college, career,…

Lack of progress for improving the lives of kids is unacceptable. All children need stability and a path to opportunity. This is true for nearly half of California's children who live in low-income families, where caregivers struggle to afford the quality support and services they need for their kids. This is also true for the approximately…

California is home to more than 9 million children. With 12 percent of the nation's children, the well-being of California kids has a big impact on the well-being of children nationally. Unfortunately, California recently ranked 38th out of 50 states in children's well-being. Research has shown a strong connection between children's socioeconomic…

"The 2021 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California" is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty and undocumented kids, from…

Schools are changing rapidly, and the pressure is on to find ways to effectively support the growing diversity of student needs found in general education classrooms. Urban high schools, which serve students of diverse backgrounds, are in dire need of proactive approaches to discipline that will support student behavior rather than remove them…

This purpose of this report is to examine the role of after school and summer learning programs in supporting student success and to help bridge the divide between out-of-school time programs and schools by offering research-derived principles for effective expanded learning partnership efforts. Discussion points include: (1) Benefits of expanded…

This report summarizes evaluation findings about the impact of AISD's summer 2007 BEST transition camp program for students entering middle school at 6th grade.