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Ensuring that students come to school prepared to learn involves comprehensive emergency management planning that supports students in all settings and at all times. This includes protecting students as they participate in online spaces. As Internet communication technology continues to advance, so do opportunities for criminals to entice, exploit, and victimize children online. The prevailing use of mobile devices and the popularization of mobile applications, particularly social media, have given rise to new types of Internet-based crimes, including child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data, and sextortion. This fact sheet describes sextortion and its impacts on students and outlines how schools can protect youth from sextortion through the creation and modification of a Sextortion Annex in the school emergency operations plan (EOP).

In this paper we examine academic recovery in 12 mid- to large-sized school districts across 10 states during the 2021-22 school year. Our findings highlight the challenges that recovery efforts faced during the 2021-22 school year. Although, on average, math and reading test score gains during the school year reached the pace of pre-pandemic school years, they were not accelerated beyond that pace. This is not surprising given that we found that districts struggled to implement recovery programs at the scale they had planned. In the districts where we had detailed data on student participation in academic interventions, we found that recovery efforts often fell short of original expectations for program scale, intensity of treatment, and impact. Interviews with a subsample of district leaders revealed several implementation challenges, including difficulty engaging targeted students consistently across schools, issues with staffing and limitations to staff capacity, challenges with scheduling, and limited engagement of parents as partners in recovery initiatives. Our findings on the pace and trajectory of recovery and the challenges of implementing recovery initiatives raise important questions about the scale of district recovery efforts.

Providing instruction in multiple languages has the potential to simultaneously help both native English speakers and English learners to develop language proficiency. "Dual language programs" can help native English speakers develop proficiency in a second language and English learners develop proficiency in both their native language and English. Typically in "dual language programs," classroom teachers instruct students from an early age and over multiple years in both English and a second language called the partner language. These programs vary widely by partner language, primary language of the student population, and duration. Because reaching proficiency in a second language may require substantial exposure over an extended period of time, this report examines "dual language programs" that (1) span at least the elementary grades; and (2) provide at least 50 percent of instruction in the partner language. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviews existing research on educational interventions to identify evidence-based programs and practices. This WWC intervention report summarizes the available evidence on the effects of "dual language programs" on student outcomes. [For the Intervention Brief, see ED625370.]

Providing instruction in multiple languages has the potential to simultaneously help both native English speakers and English learners to develop language proficiency. "Dual language programs" can help native English speakers develop proficiency in a second language and English learners develop proficiency in both their native language and English. Typically in "dual language programs," classroom teachers instruct students from an early age and over multiple years in both English and a second language called the partner language. These programs vary widely by partner language, primary language of the student population, and duration. Because reaching proficiency in a second language may require substantial exposure over an extended period of time, this report examines "dual language programs" that (1) span at least the elementary grades; and (2) provide at least 50 percent of instruction in the partner language. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviews existing research on educational interventions to identify evidence-based programs and practices. This Intervention Brief provides an overview of the full Intervention Report. [For the Intervention Report, see ED625372.]

California is expanding transitional kindergarten (TK) to become a universal preschool program for all four-year-old children. Upwards of 300,000 children are expected to enroll in universal transitional kindergarten (UTK) by 2025, requiring thousands of additional lead teachers and classroom aides to meet lower student-to-teacher ratio requirements and new student demand. This report presents the first comprehensive data collected from California's transitional kindergarten teachers about their teaching experiences. In the fall of 2020, the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) surveyed almost 300 TK teachers in classrooms throughout California as part of the California Early Care and Education Workforce Study. This report provides an exploratory picture of the composition of the TK workforce, the characteristics of the TK job, and the experience of teaching TK. Recommendations for policymakers conclude the study.

Despite the growing demand and availability of non-degree workforce training, outcomes for these programs are mixed. For some, non-degree programs are a faster, more affordable pathway to a good job, and, more importantly, a career that offers economic security--they represent the future of education. But for others, non-degree programs are a hyped-up distraction from degree attainment that leads to unemployment, underemployment, or employment in poverty-wage jobs with limited advancement opportunities--particularly for Black and Brown learners. The New Models for Career Preparation Project aims to help unlock the full potential of non-degree workforce training, especially at public community colleges where these programs are commonly found. This brief is the first in a three-part series that focuses on creating non-degree workforce programs. It outlines approaches and strategies that colleges should use during the initial stage of deciding whether and how to offer a workforce program.

Despite the growing demand and availability of non-degree workforce training, outcomes for these programs are mixed. For some, non-degree programs are a faster, more affordable pathway to a good job, and, more importantly, a career that offers economic security--they represent the future of education. But for others, non-degree programs are a hyped-up distraction from degree attainment that leads to unemployment, underemployment, or employment in poverty-wage jobs with limited advancement opportunities--particularly for Black and Brown learners. The New Models for Career Preparation Project aims to help unlock the full potential of non-degree workforce training, especially at public community colleges where these programs are commonly found. This brief is the second in a three-part series that focuses on creating non-degree workforce programs. It outlines approaches and strategies that colleges should use in the day-to-day process of administering a successful program.

Today's youth suffer through challenges on multiple fronts. Alongside the COVID-19 pandemic and its related social and educational fallout, they've experienced trauma from increasingly frequent school and community violence, homelessness, family separation related to immigration, and sustained child poverty. Exposure to these and other traumas triggers health, psychological, social-emotional, behavioral, and educational harms. In response, and as part of efforts to increase holistic support for students, educators and policymakers have sought to implement educational practices that increase awareness of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma while preventing future trauma. This policy brief explores both the promise and challenges of trauma-informed education, suggesting that it may be best designed as a systemwide commitment, rather than an intervention, and that the concept of equity-centered trauma-informed education may offer a productive path to addressing the conceptual and implementation challenges involved.

The Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings has been investigating efforts to scale and sustain evidence-based initiatives leading to large-scale improvements in children's learning. CUE has been implementing a series of collaborative action research initiatives called Real-time Scaling Labs (RTSL), in partnership with local institutions in several countries. The goal of these RTSLs is to generate evidence and provide practical recommendations around the process of scaling in global education--encouraging a stronger link between research and practice. These summary findings and the accompanying full report (ED626286) focus on one of the scaling labs in Jordan -- launched in 2019 in collaboration with the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), the Ministry of Education, and Jordanian nonprofit organization INJAZ. The lab focused on this partnership-led process of implementing, adapting, and scaling the National Financial Education Program (FEP) in grades 7-12 across the country. While the lab has focused on the experience of FEP to date, it serves as a case study into larger questions of how an evidence-based initiative can achieve progress toward national sustainable scale, with lessons that are transferable beyond FEP and Jordan. [This summary was written with Jenny Perlman Robinson, Maya Elliott, and Omar Qargha.]

The Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings has been investigating efforts to scale and sustain evidence-based initiatives leading to large-scale improvements in children's learning. CUE has been implementing a series of collaborative action research initiatives called Real-time Scaling Labs (RTSL), in partnership with local institutions in several countries. The goal of these RTSLs is to generate evidence and provide practical recommendations around the process of scaling in global education--encouraging a stronger link between research and practice. This report focuses on one of the scaling labs in Jordan, launched in 2019 in collaboration with the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), the MoE, and INJAZ. The lab focused on this partnership-led process of implementing, adapting, and scaling the National Financial Education Program (FEP) in grades 7-12 across the country. While this report is focused on the story of the FEP, it also serves as a case study into larger questions of how an evidence-based initiative can achieve progress toward national sustainable scale, with lessons that are transferable beyond FEP and Jordan. Section one of the report provides a brief background on the case, including an overview of the education ecosystem, movement to promote greater financial inclusion in Jordan, and brief descriptions of key actors and initiatives engaged with FEP. Section two details the story of implementing, adapting, and expanding FEP in Jordan to date--exploring critical factors, opportunities, and challenges related to its design, delivery, financing, and enabling environment. [This report was written with Jenny Perlman Robinson, Maya Elliott, and Omar Qargha. For the Summary Findings, see ED626288.]

The path to an excellent, high-quality education can be complex for students who have been historically and systemically excluded, including students of color, students experiencing poverty, students with learning differences, and multi-language learners. In 2020, Digital Promise launched the Equitable School Systems Transformation (ESST) Initiative, engaging eight K-12 school districts nationwide to address specific equity challenges within their districts through a multiyear process of system transformation. ESST gives participating districts several supports, including a clear framework for education systems change; exposure to diverse models of systems transformation from the U.S. and countries around the world; deep, customized coaching in the context of each district's Problem of Practice (PoP); and a collaborative design process to ideate, prototype, and develop solutions. Year 1 of the ESST Initiative shows that following these principles will take time, but participating districts acknowledge that the investment was worth it because they were able to begin developing deeper and more sustainable solutions to entrenched problems than they had in the past. Throughout the past year, Bellwether partnered with Digital Promise to document the districts' journey through the ESST Initiative process and capture lessons. This report provides a detailed description of the first year of implementation of ESST (2021-2022), including an overview of the processes driving Inclusive Innovation and resources from the work that may be useful to other educators. The authors conclude with key takeaways that can inform the work of other school systems seeking to use an Inclusive Innovation approach to drive equitable systems transformation around the country.

Elevate [Math] is a 19-day (76-hour) in-person summer math program created by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation to help middle school students who are struggling in math to achieve math proficiency, increase their interest in math, and develop a growth mindset. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person summer program was adapted to a 19-day (67-hour) online synchronous summer program for summer 2020. This report follows students who attended the in-person summer program in 2019 and the online summer program in 2020. It analyzes results for incoming grades 6 and 7 students in summer 2019 and incoming grades 7 and 8 students in summer 2020 and a 2-year component that analyzed results for the returning incoming grades 7 and 8 students in summer 2020. Key findings include: (1) Two years of participation in Elevate [Math] raised students' probability of earning a passing grade and earning a B or higher in their math courses; (2) The 2020 program participants experienced a slightly larger 1-year impact on course grades than did 2019 program participants; (3) In comparison to nonparticipants, students who participated in Elevate [Math] for 2 years scored higher on the standardized math assessment after the second year; (4) Compared to nonparticipants, grade 7 students who attended the Elevate [Math] program for two summers earned higher assessment scores and were more likely to earn a math grade of B or higher; and (5) Patterns of impacts on standardized math assessment scores and course grades were not consistent for other subgroups of students, including groups defined by student race/ethnicity and free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) participation.

The Association of Public & Land-grant Universities (APLU) launched the "Powered by Publics: Scaling Student Success" initiative in the fall of 2018. The South Eastern Cluster brought together a diverse set of institutions from this region of the country that included several of the larger universities, the North Carolina System Office and its regional universities, as well as a group of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in this region. The South Eastern Cluster decided that the success of transfer students should be the focus for improving student success at their institutions. In this report, the authors provide insights and a view across institutions as to how the cluster works with state agencies and each other to provide students pathways across institutions, programming in support of their success, and the work done to develop key metrics for assessment. The authors provide some detail on the perspectives of the four states on the transfer of credit, as well as detailing some of the key transfer student success programs and initiatives that have been implemented at each of the institutions and across the North Carolina System of institutions. They also provide some reflection on the difficulties encountered in developing a comparable transfer student success data set across institutions, much of this difficulty resulting from a lack of consistency in defining the metrics used for assessment. Finally, they provide some insight into lessons learned from this collaboration and on how institutions focus on student success. The authors' hope is that other academic leaders can find some takeaways for building successful programs and initiatives at their institutions, leading to the success of transfer students, with more of them obtaining their degrees.

C.R.S. 24-33.5-1905 (4) directs the Department of Higher Education (DHE, the Department) to prepare a report detailing progress made towards critical state cyber-security goals at institutions of higher education that received an appropriation through SB 18-086. Specifically, the report must include, at a minimum: (1) The number of faculty or adjunct faculty hired at each institution of higher education as a result of the funding; (2) The number of student internships created with the funding at each institution of higher education; (3) The number of degrees or certificates that have been awarded at each institution of higher education in connection with the funding; (4) The number of scholarships awarded at each institution in connection with the funding; (5) The number of presentations and seminars given on cybersecurity by each institution of higher education; and (6) The amount of all other money that has been raised to match the state investment, which may include tuition, fees, federal funds, and industry donations. Six governing boards were awarded funding in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. This report summarizes their spending.

The state of Michigan is increasing its commitment to deeper learning strategies to transform classroom instruction and learning through a competency-based approach to education. Competency-based education (CBE) is a school-based shift in teaching and learning designed to give students individualized support and opportunities to advance based on their own levels of mastery. Section 21j of the 2017-2018 School Aid Act allocated $500,000 in grants to seven pilot districts for the design and implementation of CBE programs, with an additional $500,000 in the 2018-19 school year. The pilot program afforded participating districts flexibility in instructional requirements, allowing them to implement CBE practices. The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State University partnered with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to conduct a multi-year study of the implementation of CBE in the 21 pilot districts. This brief presents findings from surveys administered to teachers and students in the 21J pilot districts during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.

In 2015, Abt Associates received a grant from the Institutes for Education Sciences (IES) for a five-year "Development and Innovation" study of PTC. The purposes of the study were to gauge progress in implementing PTC and to develop and test improvements where needed. Fein et al. (2020) summarize the IES study's approach and findings. A subsequent grant from Arnold Ventures provided support for extending the two analyses--to three follow-up years for Study 1 and to four years for Study 2. This report provides findings from these longer-term analyses. Study 1 found no difference in average earnings or months enrolled in college in follow-up Years 2 and 3 between young adults assigned to PTC and their control group counterparts. (As expected, the PTC group earned less and spent more time in college than the control group in Year 1, when participants were still in the program.) The results also show modest increases in receipt of credentials (mostly short-term certificates based on credit earned at partner college during PTC).

This study synthesizes existing research on the implementation of tutoring programs which we define as one-to-one or small-group instruction in which a human tutor supports students grades K-12 in an academic subject area. Tutoring has emerged as an especially promising strategy for supporting students' academic success with strong causal evidence finding large, positive effects on students' math and reading test scores across grade levels. Prior studies have reviewed this causal evidence of effects, but none have summarized the evidence on implementation. We iteratively developed search and selection criteria to identify studies addressing key research questions and synthesized these 40 studies which employ a range of research methodologies to describe how tutoring is implemented and experienced. We find that existing research provides rich descriptions of tutoring implementation within specific programs of focus, with most studies describing after-school tutoring and small-scale programs run by university professors. While few elements of implementation are studied in depth across multiple studies, common patterns emerge. Tutoring program launch is often facilitated by strategic relationships between schools and external tutoring providers and strengthened by transparent assessments of program quality and effectiveness. Successful tutoring implementation often hinges on the support of key school leaders with the power to direct the use of school funding, space, and time. Tutoring setting and schedule, tutor recruitment and training, and curriculum identification influence whether students are able to access tutoring services and the quality of the instruction provided. Ultimately, the evidence points to strong tutoring being driven by positive student-tutor relationships through which tutors provide instruction strategically targeted for students' strengths and needs driving towards a long-term academic goal.

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP), introduced in the academic year 2020-21, is an important part of the Government's COVID-19 recovery response, supporting schools to respond to the disruption to education caused by the pandemic and subsequent school closures, offering targeted tuition support to disadvantaged pupils who have been hit hardest by this disruption. The programme has three routes of support - Tuition Partners (TP), Academic Mentors (AM) and School-Led Tutoring (SLT). This evaluation used a mixed methods approach (drawing on quantitative survey and qualitative interview data) to explore: (1) implementation of the NTP, particularly the School-Led Tutoring (SLT) route which was new in 2021-22; (2) teacher and leader perceptions of whether the NTP has affected workloads; (3) the effect of the NTP on pupil premium spending on tutoring; and (4) reasons for participation or non-participation in the NTP overall or its individual routes. The evaluation of the first year of the NTP focused in depth on the implementation of the TP and AM routes, and therefore the evaluation in the second year, reported here, focuses more on the SLT route which was introduced in the academic year 2021-22. [For the Study Plan, see ED624476. For the Technical Appendix, see ED624478.]

This document contains the blueprint for the project "Evaluation of the National Tutoring Programme Year 2." It contains a summary and context for the programme, the research questions to be answered, and the methodology and timeline of the study. [For the Research Report, see ED624473. For the Technical Appendix, see ED624478.]

This evaluation of the KIPP school leadership programs, funded by a grant from the Supporting Effective Educator Development program in the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education, aims to support sustained implementation of effective programs to prepare and support school leaders. KIPP administers three school leadership programs examined in this evaluation: (1) the Successor Prep program, which prepares new principals to lead existing schools; (2) the Fisher Fellowship program, which prepares new principals to lead new KIPP schools; and (3) the KIPP Leadership Design Fellowship (KLDF) program, which disseminates effective school leadership development strategies outside of KIPP. In addition to supporting KIPP to improve the design of the KIPP school leadership programs, the evaluation findings can guide the replication of effective tools and strategies that increase the number of highly effective principals among other charter and traditional public schools as well as across the principal preparation field. To understand how KIPP school leadership programs support the development of effective school leaders, this evaluation (1) conducted a descriptive analysis of results from surveys that we designed and administered to former program participants, (2) compared outcomes for teachers and students in schools that received Successor Prep principals to those for other similar KIPP schools in a comparison group, and (3) examined properties of the instrument KIPP uses to select participants for the Fisher Fellowship program, including its reliability.

In the ESSA Leadership Learning Community (ELLC), education agency leaders, community organization leaders, and others have together taken on challenges facing schools and school leaders in their states. They have produced advice to state agencies on policy design and rollout, for example on official definitions of equity, on requirements for principal certification, and on approaches to improvement for schools that are identified for low student achievement. They have created new programs of professional learning for school leaders and contributed to changes in existing programs of preparation and professional learning. They have produced materials for statewide use by community members and educators, focused on equity or on ways in which parents and communities can work with their schools. These practical results have emerged in 11 participating states, in each case because a team brought together different voices to articulate a shared vision and act on it. This report provides a look at the accomplishments of the teams and how the ELLC structure and resources contributed to them. It explores the ways in which teams influenced policies and practices related to equity-focused leadership and school improvement, and what factors made a difference.

Due to significant developments in the use of education technology (EdTech) in schools and colleges since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department for Education (DfE) has initiated a programme of research to understand what works in EdTech to establish a strong evidence base for effective use of technology and embed this across the school system, so that it is easy for schools and families to use the best products at the right time. The project aimed to develop an understanding of the key features or approaches that schools or colleges need to take to successfully implement and embed new technology. The findings of which will help the DfE to better advise schools and colleges on selecting the right technology for their setting. The research identified the key stages that schools and colleges considered to be important when implementing technology. Following a sequential and structured process, schools and colleges highlighted the importance of preparing for technology implementation (for example, identifying needs and sourcing appropriate EdTech), ahead of the implementation process itself. Alongside this, the feedback from schools and colleges highlighted training and support and monitoring processes as underpinning the planning and implementation process.

This report presents findings from the annual evaluation of the MacPhail Center for Music Online School Partnerships and Sing Play Learn programs. Results are reported in aggregate, across all schools that participated in the evaluation this year. The MacPhail Center for Music Online School Partnerships program aims to increase access to high-quality music education for students who attend schools in greater Minnesota in order to improve student interest and knowledge in music, and to improve or maintain positive school engagement and non-academic skills. Sing Play Learn with MacPhail® Online Early Childhood Music Partnerships strives to increase access to high quality music education for early childhood students in greater Minnesota. The program is designed so that student participants benefit developmentally with gains in executive functioning, social-emotional skills, foundation in musical concepts, and cognition and language development through musical learning experiences. [For the 2020-21 report, see ED619857.]

This report presents findings from the annual evaluation of the MacPhail Intensive Strings Program, specifically at Ascension Catholic School in Minneapolis. It includes satisfaction and outcome data for the 2021-22 school year. [For the 2020-21 report, see ED619377.]

Program exposure is a key element of implementation fidelity and refers to the amount of an intervention received by participants. For students using IXL, setting a target program exposure (i.e., an IXL usage goal) both allows monitoring of implementation fidelity and enhances students' motivational and learning outcomes. IXL's proposed optimal usage guideline for students to strive to reach proficiency in at least two skills per week (2 SP/week) is based on a comprehensive analysis of various usage levels and associated outcomes (An, 2021a). This 2 SP/week implementation and usage goal encompasses a number of important characteristics (e.g., specificity, proximity, and appropriate difficulty) that are tied to achieving better learning outcomes as suggested by the literature. This document provides an overview of the theoretical background for setting this specific usage goal and summarizes the empirical evidence for the added value of reaching proficiency in at least two skills per week over typical IXL usage.

The Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (MIBEST) initiative is a statewide workforce and economic development effort led by the Mississippi Community College Board and implemented in partnership with the state's 15 community colleges. MIBEST concurrently delivers career and technical education and adult education, targeting residents without a high school credential, individuals with low incomes, and other nontraditional students. This evaluation assesses the implementation of MIBEST and program outcomes, including academic and earnings impacts and the program's return on investment between January 2016 and December 2019. Overall, we find positive impacts of participation in the MIBEST program as measured by completion of credits, credential attainment, and earnings impacts. Findings vary by field of study, race and ethnicity, and gender. Earnings impacts are initially negative while students are enrolled in the MIBEST program but improve one year after enrollment. During the second year after enrollment, student quarterly earnings were between $500 and $750 higher than they would have been without MIBEST. We find a positive return on investment, meaning the estimated growth in students' earnings exceeds the philanthropic and government investments in MIBEST.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the implementation of Dynamic Impact (DI) in Worcester County Public Schools (WCPS) by Johns Hopkins' Center for Technology in Education (CTE). As described by CTE, DI builds the capacity of school districts to form and sustain high-performing teams using several protocols to guide their work together as they implement school improvement plans. This descriptive study collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data to document perceptions of DI as implemented in WCPS, including regarding the experience of being on a DI team, fidelity of implementation, and perceived impact. All members of DI teams were asked to complete a survey that included closed- and open-response questions, and a selection of teachers, school administrators, and district personnel participated in focus groups. Data collection took place during the spring semester of 2022. Overall, findings suggest that educators on DI teams were faithfully implementing DI and believed that DI was strengthening their school improvement efforts. They saw clear DI protocols giving focus to team members' work and ensuring attention to student outcomes, root causes, relevant data, evidence-based interventions, and continuous monitoring of activity and progress toward goals.

Previous research has demonstrated a need for contextual fit when implementing behavior supports in high schools (Flannery et al., "The High School Journal," "96"(4), 267-282, 2013; Flannery & Kato, "Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth," "61"(1), 69-79, 2017). As high schools move beyond the implementation of Tier 1 and begin to implement Tiers 2 and 3, school implementation teams must identify effective interventions that fit the high school context. The current study assessed whether Check-In Check-Out (CICO; Hawken et al., "Responding to problem behavior in schools: The check-in, check-out intervention" (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press, 2021), with strategic contextual adaptations, could be implemented with fidelity and whether high daily implementation fidelity was related to student behavior performance. Teacher feedback quality was also explored. Results showed high fidelity implementation at the systems and procedural level for all participants and a significant, small correlation between procedural fidelity and daily points earned. [This is the online version of an article published in "Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth."]