Opportunity by Design: New High School Models for Student Success

Schools throughout the country will soon begin to implement the Common Core State Standards and adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. These new standards, which are "fewer, clearer, and higher" than existing state standards, are designed to provide all young people with the knowledge and skills they need for success in a global economy. Though they are a powerful tool for improving our educational system, standards alone cannot deliver widespread, meaningful change. To bring all students to much higher levels of achievement and to help underprepared students catch up to meet the standards' new demands, we must "do school differently." This means redesigning how schools use teaching, time, technology, and money to create opportunities for more young people to succeed. And, it means replacing existing one-size-fits-all approaches with rigorous, personalized learning that creates multiple opportunities for students to be successful.Individual interventions are important, yet by themselves, they are not likely to produce sufficiently strong outcomes to help all students meet the demands of the new standards. Instead of retooling individual elements such as teacher preparation, learning time, or technology in isolation, all the elements that we know work and some emerging tools must be integrated into comprehensive school designs that will truly meet the needs of every student

A Model

to be released at conclusion of embargo

Canadian Citizens’ Helping Intentions toward Syrian Refugees

Abstract  Since 2011, over 5 million refugees have fled civil war in Syria (UNHCR, 2018). Canada has responded tothe Syrian refugee crisis by resettling over 50,000 Syrian refugees and encouraging its citizens to supportthe integration process. Previous research has shown that when in-group members take the perspectiveof an out-group it leads to increased helping intentions toward that out-group (Mashuri, Hasanah,Rahmawati, 2013). To replicate and extend these findings in a Canadian context, the current study soughtto answer the question: How does national identity impact the relationship between perspective taking andhelping intentions toward Syrian refugees? The results indicated that when undergraduate participantsengaged in perspective taking, it led to increased financial helping intentions toward Syrian refugees,and this relationship was mediated by empathy. It was also found that individuals with a greater ethnicnational identity had lower levels of political and financial helping intentions toward Syrian refugees.  Keywords: Syrian Refugees, Immigrants, Newcomers, Canada, National Identity, Ethnic National Identity, Perspective Taking, Empathy, Helping Intention

Expanded Child Tax Credit payments have not reduced employment

Approximately 60 million American children living in 35 million households are now receiving monthly payments from the federal government as part of the temporary Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion. Recently, a debate has emerged over whether or not the expanded CTC will cause parents to leave the workforce. On one side of the debate, a large number of economists have argued that the CTC will not cause a reduction in employment. However, a recent study used a simulation approach to estimate that 2.6% of parents will exit the labor force as a result of the CTC. The reports below address the question of whether the CTC is affecting parents’ employment by using data from the Census Household Pulse to compare employment trends among parents and non-parents before and after the CTC payments began

Stricter welfare rules are not the solution to poverty

Over the past three decades, American welfare policy has moved towards ever more restrictive eligibility criteria, reflecting a growing belief that generous benefits encourage dependence. In this essay, I argue that harsher welfare rules actually make it more difficult for low income families to support their children, transition to work and maintain long term financial independence. In some cases such as drug testing, these rules represent an unconstitional intrusion into the lives of citizens and are ultimately a waste of government resources. Moving towards a model of support rather than punishment for families in need would be an ultimately more effective method of poverty alleviation

Voices From The 'Holler': Implementation And Analysis Of An Advanced Advocacy Practice Course In Rural Appalachia

The availability of quality macro education is a critical determinant to policy engagement among social workers, especially for those in geographically isolated areas. This mixed methods, pilot study compares self-assessed CSWE policy competencies of graduating MSW students who completed an Advanced Advocacy Practice course with a comparison group. Student course reflections were also analyzed for common themes. Results indicate that students who completed the course rated themselves higher across policy competencies than graduating MSW students who had not completed the course. They were also more likely to see policy advocacy as a “primary skill” for social workers. Qualitative analysis suggests that participants gained greater confidence in their macro practice skills. This pilot study provides an important contribution to the limited existent research on best practices for social work policy education, especially for those in rural areas

Preparing Children For Success: Parents’ Perspectives On Promoting Savings And Education

Many states are implementing asset development strategies to promote postsecondary education for low- to moderate- income families, realizing that limited education is a powerful predictor of poverty, and poverty mediates the likelihood of obtaining postsecondary education. Using demographic and qualitative data collected from two groups of low- to moderate-income parents (N = 24), this article highlights two programs that promote savings and increase post-secondary education for these children and families. The 21st Century Scholars Program targets youths, and the complementary Educational Development Accounts program targets their parents. This article also explores perspectives of the participants’ experiences, beliefs, and perceptions relative to savings and education and the success of their children in these areas. It concludes with implications for asset-building programs and policy whose aim is to assist low- to moderate- income families in achieving economic and educational mobility and implications for social welfare policy

Experimental Evidence on Consumption, Saving, and Family Formation Responses to Student Debt Forgiveness

As policy-makers grapple with whether or not to forgive student debt, for who, and how much, it is important to explore how student debt forgiveness would relate to intended household decisions and behaviors. We conducted a survey experiment that asked participants with student debt to imagine a scenario in which the federal government forgave a certain amount of student debt. We then had these participants report on how this would affect their decisions and behaviors. 1,053 participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions that offered $5,000,$10,000, $20,000, and complete debt forgiveness. Our results indicate that student debt is strongly influencing intended decisions and behaviors that can have large implications for household economic stability (e.g., emergency savings) and mobility (e.g., saving for a down payment on a home). These results also demonstrate that the amount of student debt forgiveness matters, with larger amounts of forgiveness more effectively motivating both short- and long-term saving and investment intentions. Finally, we also observe that the proportion of student debt forgiven and the income of the borrower alter the relationships between the amount of debt forgiven and intended behaviors

How are families in the U.S. using their Child Tax Credit payments? A 50 state analysis

The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is projected to cut American child poverty by more than half. The CTC expansion provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six and$3,000 for every child between the ages of six and 17. The vast majority of U.S. families with children are eligible for the CTC. In this brief, we use data from the Census Household Pulse survey to examine how a representative sample of CTC-eligible families making less than $150,000 a year report using their payments. This survey was administered between July 21st and August 16th, covering the period in which the first two CTC payments were deposited in families’ bank account. These fact sheets include key data on CTC receipt, payment usage, and changes in families’ food security after the payments went out. This report is currently composed of one national overview brief, 50 state briefs and a Washington D.C. brief. Puerto Rico and other territories are not included because while they are eligible for the expanded CTC, there is no provision for them to file for or receive advance payments. Additionally, the territories are not included in the Household Pulse Surveys so updated data about household impacts are not available for analysis. To access these briefs as separate pages you can find the full list of states here. For more information and any media requests you can email us a

Foster Parent Support And Retention: A Policy Approach

Foster parent retention is an important, yet often overlooked, component to long term outcomes for children in the foster care system. A recent pilot study examining the perspectives of four Arkansas foster care caseworkers found that, much like the rest of the country, Arkansas experiences high foster parent attrition. This current study explores the perceived effectiveness among sixteen foster parents of the Foster Parent Support Act of 2007 for improving retention in Arkansas. It was discovered that Arkansas foster parents were largely unaware of the act and reported insufficient support, voice and information in the child welfare process