Policy Matters Ohio looked at schools rated the highest over a two-year period in each of Ohio's eight largest urban districts. State, school, and district data were used to examine schools--district-run and charter--that were rated Excellent or higher for either the 2010-11 or the 2011-12 school year or both. The number of schools examined ranged…

This report provides a summary of the Home Instruction of Parents with Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program activities and its effectiveness for HISD student participants. A total of 577 students and their parents participated in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) HIPPY program during the 2013-2014 academic year, which was more than…

The content area of social studies has not been given as much attention as its counterparts despite its inclusion in the state wide TAKS exam in Texas. All students in grades 8, 10, and 11 are required to take the social studies portion, and must pass it in order to graduate. The consequences of such a test and the importance of social studies in…

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA's) 2017 Annual Report is intended to shine light on the agency's commitment to ensuring that every one of the more than five million public school students in Texas is prepared for success in college, a career or the military. In Texas public schools: (1) Graduation rates are at an all-time high and put Texas in…

Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A funds are provided to Houston Independent School District (HISD) through the 2002 reauthorization of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965" (ESEA), also known as the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB). ESEA was reauthorized in 2015 as the "Every Student Succeeds…

For more than 20 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, food insecurity,…

This paper estimates the impact of attending a preferred high school on mediating factors of student success, including engagement, behavior, and attendance. For example, the authors ask whether students are more engaged with their school or have higher attendance when successfully matched to their first choice versus their second (or lower)…

This qualitative study explored the voices of four small, rural high schools in Texas that had successfully minimized the gap in academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students in the 2006-2007 school year. The purpose of this study was to identify the inherent qualities of each identified school through the voice of the local school…

The CPB-PBS Ready To Learn initiative, funded by the U. S. Department of Education, brings engaging, high-quality media to young children who may be at risk for academic difficulties due to economic and social disadvantages. The initiative aims to deliver early mathematics and literacy resources on new and emerging digital platforms such as tablet…

This study examined the protective nature of youth reports of family interactions in relation to perceived exposure to violence and anger regulation in 84 children and early adolescents (mean age of 10.5; 7-15 years old) primarily from ethnic minority groups and living in high-risk communities in a large southwestern city. Path analysis and…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a southern state's department of education program to improve science achievement through embedded professional development of science teachers in the lowest performing schools. The Science Mentor Program provided content and inquiry-based coaching by teacher leaders to science teachers in their own…

In this cross-sectional study, we explore the relationship between prosodic sensitivity (suprasegmental phonology) and phonological awareness (segmental phonology) and investigate whether a group of poor readers display significant suprasegmental phonological deficits in comparison to chronological age-matched controls and younger, reading…

This article features Pierce County High School in rural southeast Georgia whose 965 students, almost half of whom are from economically disadvantaged families, have demonstrated what a focus on student learning can accomplish. In 2004, the school ranked at the bottom of the state in students passing the high school graduation tests, and only 55%…

Catholic schools are called to model themselves on gospel values including the exercise of a preferential option for the poor. This article seeks to recover the true sense of preferential option for the poor from the gospel of Luke and apply it to the state-funded Catholic schools in Scotland, which were historically established to serve the poor…

This paper examines psychological detachment (i.e., mentally "switching off") from work during non-work time as a partial mediator between job stressors and low work-home boundaries on the one hand and strain reactions (emotional exhaustion, need for recovery) on the other hand. Survey data were collected from a sample of protestant pastors (N =…