In 2013, the NYC Leadership Academy (NYCLA) developed a leadership intervention--the Targeted Intensive School Support (TISS) program--in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) to support schools that were facing particular challenges. NYCLA asked the RAND Corporation to provide an independent evaluation of the…

Understanding how mental health treatments benefit those who receive treatment comes with a challenge: Often different people involved in treatment have different impressions of the treatment's ultimate effects. How do people reconcile these different reports to understand the true benefit of treatment? In a series of 4 experiments, we tested…

Concerns for student safety are a commonly cited reason for the presence of police in schools. But as the nation grapples with the appropriate roles and responsibilities of police more broadly, the time is right to shine a light on what we know about the effects of police in schools. This brief summarizes the research related to this question.…

Most studies of test-based promotion policies focus on measuring the effect of retention (being left back) on later student outcomes, and the evidence is fairly mixed. However, test-based promotion policies do not only affect the students who are retained. Presumably, they also affect students and schools as they try to improve reading performance…

Introduction: Youth in disadvantaged urban areas are frequently exposed to chronic stress and trauma, including housing instability, neighborhood violence, and other poverty-related adversities. These exposures increase risk for emotional, behavioral, and academic problems and ultimately, school dropout. Schools are a promising setting in which to…

In December 2017, the Smithsonian unveiled a new Strategic Plan. The plan sets goals to help be more collaborative and efficient in work, build and deployment of digital competency, and engage new and more diverse audiences in meaningful ways. The plan also continues to improve facilities maintenance and collections care to be even better stewards…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the National Institute for School Leadership's (NISL's) Executive Development Program (EDP) and paired leadership coaching as implemented in three states, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program. NISL's Executive Development Program (EDP) is a…

This report explores the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Deep-End Initiative, which is helping juvenile justice jurisdictions safely and significantly reduce youth confinement -- especially for young people of color. In America today, youth of color are consistently over-represented in courtrooms and detention centers, youth prisons and other…

Traditional professional development is often characterized as being expensive, time consuming, and lacking impact. In contrast, online professional development provides greater flexibility and is becoming increasingly popular for school personnel. In this article, we report the process and outcomes of gathering feedback to adapt traditional…

Parental involvement programs aim to increase school-and-parent communication and support children's overall learning environment. This paper examines the effects of low-cost, group-based parental involvement interventions in Mexico using data from two randomized controlled trials. The first experiment provided financial resources to parent…

Study aims included (a) characterizing provider feedback on parent engagement strategies integrated into a parent-mediated intervention for toddlers at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and (b) identifying provider characteristics that predict attitudes about parent engagement strategies. A mixed method approach was utilized, including…

The steady decline in secondary students' achievement and interest in science and mathematics is an area of concern for governments, industry, and the education sector. Increasing student engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines is a top priority if countries are to meet demands for STEM based expertise in…

Blended Learning (BL) in English language learning programs in Canada is defined as the combination of f2f learning with instructor-facilitated use by students of online activities and resources that complement the in-class teaching (Kennell & Moriarty, 2014). Blended Learning is increasingly in demand by students, teachers, and programs…

The present study focused on the perceived effectiveness of using mindfulness as a stress-reduction technique among special educators. Studies have shown more focus on using mindfulness with students, versus mindfulness for personal use by educators. Yet, teachers of children with special needs face unique social-emotional challenges in carrying…

One-to-one device initiatives provide access to digital learning for students; however, little is known about how this process occurs in rural schools. Implementing a one-to-one device initiative may have positive effects on student access to digital technologies as well as student and teacher efficacy when sufficient training happens beforehand.…