Maine Department of Education
This website, Maine’s Department of Education, provides information about the state’s vision, goals, and core priorities. Maine’s website is well-organized and provides education information for a number of different audiences. It is worth taking a look at if you are interested in learning more about how a state might support a student-centered education system. Source… Read More ›
Council of Chief State School Officers: Innovation Lab Network
The Innovation Lab Network (ILN) is a group of states taking action to identify, test, and implement student-centered approaches to learning that will transform our public education system. The goal of the ILN is to spur system-level change by scaling locally-led innovation to widespread implementation, both within and across states, with a constant focus on… Read More ›
Gaining Attraction: Urban Educators’ Perspectives on the Critical Factors Influencing Student Achievement
This study finds that higher performing schools displayed greater focus and competency in three broad areas of practice: leadership and staffing; school culture; and curriculum and instruction. The study report outlines specific strategies employed by higher performing schools with respect to each of these areas of practice and presents illustrative case vignettes drawn from these schools.… Read More ›
Student Voice Matters: Resources
To support organizations and districts interested in implementing student-voice policies such as constructive feedback or student involvement in teacher evaluation, Student Voice Matters has created a page of resources that includes: surveys on school climate; student-to-teacher constructive feedback form; student-to-administrator feedback form. Source Organization: Youth on Board Visit The Resource
Student Research for Action
From 2003 – 2006, What Kids Can Do provided competitive grants to high school students nationwide, inviting them to tackle important school and community issues. Here we provide a rich archive of this initiative. Student Research for Action sends several critical messages: that complex problem solving, independent judgment, and teamwork merit a place in every… Read More ›
The Schools We Need: Creating Small High Schools That Work For Us
What’s so different about a small high school, compared to a large one? When school leaders decide to create more small schools in their district, how do students experience the change in their everyday routines, as well as in their sense of power and possibility? In this publication-a joint effort of What Kids Can Do,… Read More ›
Center for Youth Voice in Practice and Policy
This organization, the Center for Youth Voice in Policy and Practice—a virtual center—provides a fresh new platform for young people as knowledge creators and policy advocates. Using well-honed research and documentation strategies, the work digs into issues that matter to youth: good schools, college access and success, technology, discrimination, equality, negative youth stereotyping, programs and… Read More ›
Innovating Under Pressure: The Story of the 2009 Recovery Act Summer Youth Employment Initiative
This study documents the implementation of the ARRA summer youth employment initiative in four featured communities: Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana; and Phoenix and Maricopa County, Arizona. This report describes the local context for implementation, provides insight into specific assets and innovations that were used to achieve the community goals, identifies… Read More ›
Unfinished Work: Building Excellence in Washington DC’s Summer Youth Employment Program
This study by Brandeis University identifies best practices and examines the potential of Washington DC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) as currently organized to provide the city’s young people with an introduction to work, with opportunities to earn money over the summer, and with positive learning experiences that support their future employability. Source Organization: Center… Read More ›
ELO: Beyond Classroom
This website is written for New Hampshire educators who are ready to explore student learning outside the traditional classroom. Here you can find information, tools, and resources to help educators understand what extended learning opportunities (ELOs) are (as defined in New Hampshire), how they work, and and they can be used at schools. This website… Read More ›
The Learning Edge: Supporting Student Success in a Competency-Based Learning Environment
The Learning Edge: Supporting Student Success in a Competency-Based Learning Environment delves into one of the elements of the definition of competency education: Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs. Understanding how to structure supports is important because learning in a competency-based environment means that students and adults are often on… Read More ›
The Role of Digital Technologies in Deeper Learning
To compete in today’s global, knowledge-based, innovation-centered economy, young people must go beyond a high school diploma and acquire not just academic knowledge, but cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal capacities. That is, they must engage in deeper learning. As schools shift away from traditional education models in favor or providing deeper learning environments, they are required… Read More ›