Overcoming the Poverty Challenge to Enable College and Career Readiness for All: The Crucial Role of Student Supports

This white paper focuses on an important and under-conceptualized thread in the weave of efforts needed to ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared for college and/or career training: enhanced student supports. It argues that in order to overcome the educational impacts of poverty -- the poverty challenge, schools that serve high concentrations of low income students need to be able to provide direct, evidence-based supports that help students attend school regularly, act in a productive manner, believe they will succeed, overcome external obstacles, complete their coursework, and put forth the effort required to graduate college- and career-ready. Next, it highlights the unique role that nonprofits, community volunteers, and full-time national service members can play in the implementation of these direct student supports. It concludes by exploring how federal and state policy and funding can be designed to promote the implementation and spread of evidence-based, direct student supports. The paper draws on the emerging evidence base to examine these topics, and calls upon the insights gleaned through the author's fifteen years of participant-observation in the effort to create schools strong enough to overcome the ramifications of poverty and prepare all students for adult success

Unfulfilled Promise: The Dimensions and Characteristics of Philadelphia's Dropout Crisis, 2000-05

Examines extensive data from schools and social service agencies to establish Philadelphia's public high school graduation rate, and provides recommendations for cities across the country to use in solving their dropout problem

A Path Forward: Evidence-Based Approaches to Educational Policy and Practice

In the complex landscape of public education, participants at all levels are searching for policy and practice levers that can raise overall performance and close achievement gaps. The collection of articles in this edition of the Journal of Applied Research on Children takes a big step toward providing the tools and tactics needed for an evidence-based approach to educational policy and practice

Downtown Eye Care: Focusing On The Community

This case is about a husband and wife optometry firm in one of America’s beautiful vacation locales, Marquette, Michigan. Jon and Jenny Webb moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2005, after selling their practice in downstate Michigan. They were in love with the charm of the area, on the banks of Lake Superior, and had plans to retire and move to the Upper Peninsula eventually, but the move was hastened after the sale of their practice and Jon’s desire to open a new one in a different location. With a retirement home already purchased in Marquette, Michigan, they decided that then was the time to make the move. The Webbs have grown Downtown Eye Care from one customer to many thousands of customers in a short period of time with sales growing every year. What is remarkable is that they’ve grown the business every year without spending a large amount of their budget on advertising and marketing

Radio Daze

Radio has been a part of the American advertising landscape since the 1920s. Many threats to the industry have been thwarted by the strength and effectiveness of the medium. Prior to the deregulation of the industry in the 1990s and the technological change of the 21st century, there were literally hundreds of small entrepreneurs, owning one or two stations, spread across the country. This is the mythical story of Gus Rowekamp, who owns two stations in a midsize Midwestern market. He hangs on as an owner/operator, putting most of his focus on the efforts of his advertising sales staff

Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic

This fourth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that for the first time the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020 -- if the pace of improvement from 2006 to 2010 is sustained over the next 10 years. The greatest gains have occurred for the students of color and low-income students most affected by the dropout crisis. Many schools, districts and states are making significant gains in boosting high school graduation rates and putting more students on a path to college and a successful career. This progress is often the result of having better data, an understanding of why and where students drop out, a heightened awareness of the consequences to individuals and the economy, a greater understanding of effective reforms and interventions, and real-world examples of progress and collaboration. These factors have contributed to a wider understanding that the dropout crisis is solvable.While progress is encouraging, a deeper look at the data reveals that gains in graduation rates and declines in dropout factory high schools occurred unevenly across states and subgroups of students (e.g. economically disadvantaged, African American, Hispanic, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency). As a result, large "graduation gaps" remain in many states among students of different races, ethnicities, family incomes, disabilities and limited English proficiencies. To repeat the growth in graduation rates in the next ten years experienced in the second half of the last decade, and to ensure progress for all students, the nation must turn its attention to closing the graduation gap by accelerating progress for student subgroups most affected by the dropout crisis.This report outlines the progress made and the challenges that remain. Part 1: The Data analyzes the latest graduation rates and "dropout factory" trends at the state and national levels. Part 2: Progress and Challenge provides an update on the nation's shared efforts to implement the Civic Marshall Plan to reach the goal of at least a 90 percent high school graduation rate for the Class of 2020 and all classes that follow. Part 3: Paths Forward offers recommendations on how to accelerate our work and achieve our goals, with all students prepared for college and career. The report also offers "snapshots" within schools, communities, and organizations from Orlando to Oakland that are making substantial gains in boosting high school graduation rates

Psychology internship training in evidence-based treatments for youth with disruptive behavior problems

The implementation of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) has become a topic of significant debate amongst researchers and mental health practitioners alike. While current research has indicated a shift in attitudes amongst treatment providers for what constitutes as best practices in treating clients, less is known regarding the dissemination and teaching of EBTs for early career, training clinicians. The focus of this study was to take a closer look at clinical training in EBT strategies, specifically those for children and adolescents with disruptive behavior problems (DBPs). Sixty-four internship training directors and program representatives from American Psychological Association (APA) accredited and Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) approved child and adolescent-focused internships completed a survey developed specifically for the current study and based on previous research in the domain of EBT. A systematic review of the publicly accessible information presented on each eligible participant\u27s training agency website was also conducted in an attempt to compliment the data collected from the survey. The results of the study were consistent with previous findings from James and Roberts (2009) that supported placing a greater emphasis on training clinicians in EBTs, with the majority of participants noting specifically how training in EBTs helped to target treatments to diagnoses and ultimately lead to better client outcomes. Multiple concerns were also raised regarding the depth of an intern\u27s exposure to the EBT protocols being trained, the lack of funding and qualified supervisors required to administer the EBT training, as well as the real-world applicability of EBT practices. Limitations of the study included a small sample size, the potential for biases in those who responded to the survey, as well as limitations pertaining to the research instrument, design, and methodology. Recommendations for future studies include conducting a more thorough examination of an agency\u27s current and future plans for incorporating training in EBTs, conducting an in-depth analysis of an agency\u27s website and online training handbook, as well as utilizing web-based surveys in addition to surveys distributed through United States Postal Service (USPS) mail as a way to increase the survey response rate

Studies and Strategies for Board Development: The Workbook of a Board Trainer of Voluntary, Not-For-Profit Organizations

Not available

Don’t Let Fear Guide Your Path

Founder of BRICKK, a fitness lounge, Kathy Pavlik was determined to create a friendly, healthy, non-intimidating atmosphere where clients would feel welcome. Pavlik believes ‘fear’ causes many people to begin then quit working out. Inspired by her own experiences, Pavlik created a new concept in the health club business in Alma, Michigan. Now that BRICKK is a reality, the next steps need to be determined in the effort to make the fitness lounge a financial success. Pavlik is considering a number of marketing strategies in order to build up attendance in the classes. She’s also considering marketing ideas on how to increase business with her lunches/smoothie bar and possible lunch delivery within the county. &nbsp

An Extreme Degree of Difficulty: The Educational Demographics of Urban Neighborhood High Schools

Despite the growth of a variety of alternatives to the neighborhood high school, most students in big-city school systems still attend large comprehensive high schools that serve a particular residential area. The authors contend that the extreme concentration of educational need at these schools is often overlooked by policymakers, school reform programs, and even district personnel. To illustrate the challenges facing neighborhood high schools, this paper examines key academic characteristics of ninth graders in Philadelphia during 1999-00. The authors find that a large percentage of ninth graders at neighborhood high schools have been ninth graders for two or more years. Many of the first-time ninth graders are either over-age, two or more years below grade level in reading and math, or had weak attendance in eighth grade. These data suggest that large and sustained investments of human and financial capital are desperately needed in the many neighborhood schools that serve primarily, and often almost exclusively, students with multiple risk factors for academic failure