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Through a collaboration among Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD), Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), George Mason University College of Public Health, federally qualified health centers, hospital systems, non-profits, and other agencies, this initiative targets underserved high school students as a way to increase diversity among community health professionals, build generational health, and provide participants with tools to enhance their post-secondary educational and career opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional health education efforts rarely align with youth social justice values. The Bigger Picture (TBP), a spoken word arts campaign, leverages a social justice approach to activate youth around the social determinants of type 2 diabetes (T2D). This quasi-experimental study examines the impact of embedding TBP in urban, low-income high schools (3 intervention schools received TBP; 3 comparison schools received a non-health related spoken word program) with respect to (1) health-related mind-sets and expectations; (2) sense of belonging; and (3) civic engagement among youth. Adults and youth who participated in programming at all 6 schools were interviewed, and a content analysis of students' poems was performed. TBP was well-received by adults and students. While students in both TBP and comparison programs described multiple social determinants of T2D, intervention students more frequently articulated the connections between race/ethnicity and T2D as a social justice issue. Further, all comparison students explicitly mentioned individual dietary behavior as a T2D determinant while most, yet not all, intervention students did. Students in both programs reported a high sense of belonging at school and confidence in civic engagement. Content analysis of TBP students' poems revealed youth's detailed understanding of T2D determinants. Future studies might explore program scalability, and how the integration of civic engagement opportunities into TBP curriculum might impact students' capacity to create positive social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: It has been argued that high schools with a majority of students of color and from low-income backgrounds must be purposeful in fostering a college-going culture in order to address the challenges and inequities historically underserved students face in preparing for and accessing a higher education. However, what this looks and sounds like in practice is not always clear, leaving schools seeking common ground on how to create a college-going environment. Purpose: Through a symbolic and ecological model of college readiness framework, the messaging associated with the college-going culture at three racially and economically diverse Texas high schools that had consistently high college ready graduate rates was examined. The research questions that guided the study included: What types of college-going culture messages are conveyed at the schools, and how? How might such messaging impact students, school staff and leaders? Research Design: This study drew on data from a three-year, multi-site descriptive case study of three public high schools in different regions of Texas that all served approximately 50% or more of students with financial need and 72% to 97% students of color, specifically Latina/o and Black students. Data Collection and Analysis: Data was collected during week-long, yearly visits to the three schools and included: school and district documents; individual and group semi-structured interviews with 194 individuals including administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members; observations of common areas and classrooms; archival data; and researcher-derived documents including field notes, memos, and photographs of the school grounds and school activities. This paper primarily drew on the pictures taken of the schools (in hallways, classrooms, and shared spaces like cafeterias and libraries), field notes, memos, and interview data that specifically spoke to the visual and verbal messaging associated with the college-going culture. Analysis of data revealed six themes: college is a revered goal with many options; varying degrees of integration; support and resources are at your reach; think college and career; finding funding for college is vital; college is an individual and shared success. Conclusions: This study’s findings suggest the need to: reconsider what a strong college-going culture entails, re-envision college-going cultures as dynamic, multi-layered, and responsive, reframe postsecondary opportunities so they are more expansive and varied, and re-evaluate inequities in college-going messaging and academic rigor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human rights literature on child soldiers has long emphasized conflict zones in the Global South, fostering the stereotype of the gun-toting African child while ignoring militarizing practices in the West. Of note, the existing human rights legal framework fails to address the reality of Western youth exposed to military recruiting in their schools. Seeking to address this limitation, we examine some of the primary methods the US military employs to “penetrate” American high schools in search of new recruits. We discuss the apparent targeting by military recruiters of communities with large numbers of low-income students, immigrants, and youth of color. Indeed, in many educational settings, students with limited access to college preparatory programs find themselves ensnared in a “web of militarism” that sharply limits their career options. Drawing on primary source material and military recruiting documents, we demonstrate how US schools are sites for the socialization of youth to a culture of militarism and, ultimately, the production of child soldiers. Thus, we argue that the military presence in US schools be included in the debate over the militarization of youth. We conclude by assessing the discourses and organizing strategies employed by US “counter-recruitment” activists, including some of those who use human rights-based arguments to curb militarism in American schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of a tuition-free high school program launched in FY2010 in Japan on the high school enrollment rate and household spending. We have some interesting findings. First, the program contributed to improvement in the high school enrollment rate for poorer households. Second, the program stimulated household spending significantly for poorer households relative to richer households. Third, the program altered the composition of household expenditure significantly for richer households with a surge in spending shares in non-tuition education, clothing, and recreational goods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bridging schools and communities has been a goal, if not hurdle, for reformers who aim to improve the education of low-income and underrepresented students from the bottom-up. Strategies to create these connections are often characterized as 'brokerage', where individuals or organizations bridge two or more social worlds. This paper details the design and implementation of educational technologies that support the brokering of school-community connections using a 'culturally responsive computing' (CRC) framework. Culturally responsive education is often limited to content and learning styles, which misses the opportunities it creates for a brokerage process that also connects to education-based social movements for economic access in underrepresented communities. This paper provides empirical support for the claim that the CRC framework is well suited for both purposes. It allows schools and communities to build assets together, translating the knowledge and skills of underrepresented communities into math and computing education, while illuminating the ways in which technologies can motivate education-based social movement building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathways to Education is a comprehensive support program developed to improve academic outcomes of high school students from very poor social-economic backgrounds. The program includes proactive mentoring, daily tutoring, and group activities, combined with intermediate and long-term incentives to reinforce a minimum degree of mandatory participation; it began in 2001 for entering grade 9 students living in Regent Park, the largest public housing project in Toronto. It expanded in 2007 to include two additional Toronto projects. Comparing students from other housing projects before and after the introduction of the program, high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates rose dramatically for Pathways-eligible students, in some cases by more than 50 percent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracking low-income students after high school graduation presents significant problems for data collection. The Connector Study is an attempt to increase and enrich outcomes data in a longitudinal study of low-income graduates of a national network of innovative high schools by gathering alumni updates through telephone interviews with high school staff members who remain in touch with their former students. Approximately 2 years after they worked with groups of students in high school, these individuals were able to provide information about education, job, and personal outcomes for 96% of 563 graduates. The Connector Study strategy offers a feasible method for collecting quantifiable outcome measures for longitudinal studies. This method also provides information about student change and individual circumstances that is difficult to obtain from students themselves, and that goes beyond the basic outcome indicators available through federal and state student tracking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A report released in April 2013 by Benjamin L Castleman of Harvard University and Lindsay C. Page of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University examines the implications of two forms of interventions during the summer between high school and the first year of college on college enrollment. "Summer Nudging: Can Personalized Text Messages and Peer Mentor Outreach Increase College Going Among Low-Income High School Graduates?" details findings that text message reminders and peer mentor outreach programs can be an effective way to mitigate summer attrition. The report details two large-scale randomized trials done in collaboration with three educational agencies: the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD), uAspire (a Boston-based nonprofit organization focused on college affordability), and Mastery Charter Schools (a network of charter schools in the Philadelphia metropolitan area). Castleman and Page reveal the positive impact these low-cost initiatives can have on college enrollment within low-income communities during an increasingly technological era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to numerous calls for more rigorous STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education to improve US competitiveness and the job prospects of next-generation workers, especially those from low-income and minority groups, a growing number of schools emphasizing STEM have been established in the US over the past decade. However, existing STEM schools vary substantially in the way they are organized, the students they attract, and the outcomes they advertise, and there have been few empirical studies of their effectiveness. This comparative case study examines the opportunity structures for STEM at eight public high schools, four in Denver, Colorado, and four in Buffalo, New York. All of the schools were "inclusive" (no admission requirements) and served predominantly low-income and majority minority students. All but one school had been designated "low-performing" for failure to meet federal accountability requirements. In each city, two of the study schools had recently been re-organized to be "STEM-focused" in some way, and two were traditional, comprehensive high schools. We found that the STEM-focused schools were launched with much enthusiasm and high expectations. In both cities, STEMfocused schools achieved some modest success initially but were unable to maintain their gains. Overall among the schools in this study, the STEM-focused high schools did little to improve STEM opportunities compared to the comprehensive high schools. We do not mean to suggest that STEM schools are a bad idea, but that claims and expectations for them must be examined in the context of their implementation, and STEM schools for low-income and minority students are unlikely to be successful without more attention to systemic issues in urban education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent low-cost interventions demonstrate that simplifying information about college and financial aid and helping students access professional assistance can generate substantial improvements in students’ postsecondary outcomes. We build on this growing literature by investigating the impact of two applications of behavioral principles to mitigate summer “melt,” the phenomenon that college-intending high school graduates fail to matriculate in college anywhere in the year following high school. One intervention utilized an automated and personalized text messaging campaign to remind college-intending students of required pre-matriculation tasks and to connect them to counselor-based support. Another employed near-aged peer mentors to provide summer outreach and support. The interventions substantially increased college enrollment among students who had less academic-year access to quality college counseling or information. Both strategies are cost–effective approaches to increase college entry among populations traditionally underrepresented in higher education and, more broadly, highlight the potential for low-cost behavioral nudges and interventions to achieve meaningful improvements in students’ educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents' beliefs about family obligation often reflect cultural variations in their family context, and thus are important for understanding development among diverse youth. In this study, we test hypotheses about the role of family obligation values in risk behavior and mental health in a sample of 194 low-income adolescent girls (mean age = 15.2; 58 % Latina, 28 % African-American/Black). We hypothesized that family obligation values can be both a protective and vulnerability factor, depending on the type of outcome and the presence of other risk factors. Across the sample, higher family obligation values tended to occur with indicators of positive family functioning (e.g., more frequent communication, less maternal hostility) based on mother and adolescent reports. As hypothesized, family obligation values moderated the relationship between established risk factors and adjustment in distinct ways, such that high family obligation values decreased risk in some domains (i.e., a protective factor) but increased risk in other domains (i.e., a vulnerability factor). Specifically, high family obligation values diminished the relationship between peer norms for risky behavior (sex and substance use) and individual engagement in those behaviors. At the same time, high family obligation values magnified the relationship between exposure to negative life events and poor mental health (PTSD and depressive symptoms). The results suggest that family obligation is an important but complex aspect of development among diverse adolescent girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teen dating violence and sexual victimization are serious public health concerns. Although research has highlighted the correlates and consequences of such abuse, little is known about early antecedents. The current study sought to identify the risk and protective factors evident in early adolescence that are associated with sexual and dating violence victimization in late adolescence. The sample involved 236 (52 % female) low-income Latino (69 %) and African American (31 %) youth, their older sisters, and their mothers who were studied when youth were, on average, ages 13 and 18 years. The results indicated that early indicators of a risky lifestyle (e.g., getting drunk, having sex) and having deviant friends and siblings were associated with a higher likelihood of subsequent victimization. Mothers' early strictness, monitoring, and conservative sexual attitudes predicted a lower likelihood of subsequent assault and served as significant buffers given specific risks, particularly for girls and Latinos. The findings suggest that behavior and social network patterns established relatively early in life increase one's vulnerability to victimization later in life, as well as point to aspects of parenting that serve a protective function against such outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time budgets represent key opportunities for developmental support and contribute to an understanding of achievement gaps and adjustment across populations of youth. This study assessed the connection between out-of-school time use patterns and academic performance outcomes, academic motivations and goals, and problem behaviors for 504 low-income urban African American and Latino adolescents (54 % female; M = 16.6 years). Time use patterns were measured across eight activity types using cluster analysis. Four groups of adolescents were identified, based on their different profiles of time use: (1) Academic: those with most time in academic activities; (2) Social: those with most time in social activities; (3) Maintenance/work: those with most time in maintenance and work activities; and (4) TV/computer: those with most time in TV or computer activities. Time use patterns were meaningfully associated with variation in outcomes in this population. Adolescents in the Academic cluster had the highest levels of adjustment across all domains; adolescents in the Social cluster had the lowest academic performance and highest problem behaviors; and adolescents in the TV/computer cluster had the lowest levels of intrinsic motivation. Females were more likely to be in the Academic cluster, and less likely to be in the other three clusters compared to males. No differences by race or gender were found in assessing the relationship between time use and outcomes. The study's results indicate that time use patterns are meaningfully associated with within-group variation in adjustment for low-income minority adolescents, and that shared contexts may shape time use more than individual differences in race/ethnicity for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work demonstrates that low-income higher achievers fail to apply to selective colleges despite their being admitted at high rates and receiving financial aid so generous that they pay less than at non-selective schools. The Expanding College Opportunities project, a randomized controlled trial, provides individualized information about colleges' net prices, resources, curricula, students, and outcomes. Our prior study shows that the intervention raises students' applications to, admissions at, enrollment, and progress at selective colleges. Here we use survey data to show that it actually changes students' knowledge and decision-making. We highlight topics on which they are misinformed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a recent study of aspirations for higher education by secondary school students from disadvantaged backgrounds in regional Australia. At the same time, it goes in search of explanations that transcend a Bourdieuian account of aspirations as produced by and reproductive of cultural histories and dominance, given the apparent inadequacy of these accounts in redressing disadvantage. To this end the authors distinguish between historicising and spatialising aspirations, taking up Appadurai’s notion of navigational capacity as a way of advancing greater agency for disadvantaged groups. Data from the research inform the analysis, including the mediation of students’ desired futures by their perception of what is possible given their differentiated locations and access to resources. It is concluded that while this spatial turn in theorising aspiration has potential for changing the terms of recognitioninternalto disadvantaged communities, there remain structural limits on change ‘from below’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines how three culturally relevant teachers in New York City public schools challenged the concepts of race and racism which low-income adolescents of color brought to the study of history and contemporary society. Framed by concepts of culturally relevant teaching and racial literacy, the study illustrated how the teachers used sustained and strategic instruction about race (Skerrett 2011) to complicate and challenge students’ ideas of race and racism. The authors conclude by examining the implications for teaching racial literacy in humanities classrooms with low-income students of color. They also explore how the teachers’ ‘alternate models of pedagogy’ (Ladson-Billings 1995) builds upon and extends the theory of culturally relevant pedagogy as it is commonly conceptualized. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry and success among low-income students, considerable gaps by socioeconomic status remain. To date, policymakers have overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students' transition to college, yet recent research documents high rates of summer attrition from the college pipeline among college-intending high school graduates, a phenomenon we refer to as 'summer melt.' We report on two randomized trials investigating efforts to mitigate summer melt. Offering college-intending graduates two to three hours of summer support increased enrollment by 3 percentage points overall, and by 8 to 12 percentage points among low-income students, at a cost of $100 to $200 per student. Further, summer support has lasting impacts on persistence several semesters into college. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this project were to create a program that would expose underrepresented minority (URM) and low income (LI) high school students to dental professions and provide an opportunity for dental and dental hygiene students from URM/LI groups to be engaged in teaching activities. Data were collected from participants during the school years 2009-10 (high school students: N=23, dental students: N=21, dental hygiene students: N=5) and 2010-11 (N=27, N=11, N=3, respectively). The students participated in fifteen Saturday sessions from October through March each year. The data showed that, from the begin-ning, mentees and mentors were very interested in participating in the program and getting to know each other. Lectures, general program activities, and patient-related events such as organizing a health fair and shadowing during two outreach clinics were evaluated positively by mentees and mentors. The end of program evaluations showed that the program and the mentee-mentor relationships were rated very positively and that the mentees had an increased interest in oral health-related careers. In conclu-sion, creating opportunities for URM/LI high school students to explore dental careers and for dental and dental hygiene students to engage in teaching resulted in positive experiences for both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the longer-run effects of a college-preparatory program implemented in inner-city schools that provided teacher training in addition to payments to 11th- and 12th-grade students and their teachers for passing scores on Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Affected students passed more AP exams, were more likely to remain in college beyond their first and second years, and earned higher wages. Effects are particularly pronounced for Hispanic students who experienced a 2.5-percentage-point increase in college degree attainment and an 11% increase in earnings. While the study is based on nonexperimental variation, the results are robust across a variety of specifications, and most plausible sources of bias are ruled out. The results provide credible evidence that implementing high-quality college-preparatory programs in existing urban schools can improve the long-run educational and labor-market outcomes of disadvantaged youth. ( JEL I2, I24, J0) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second part of a two-part study examining issues related to professional development in high-poverty schools. The findings from the initial study indicated that principals in high-poverty, high-performing schools perceived higher levels of implementation of quality professional development standards in their schools than did principals of high-poverty, low-performing schools. This study was conducted to determine whether these principals faced similar or dissimilar barriers in implementing high-quality professional development standards and whether they had similar factors in place to facilitate the use of such standards. While the barriers appeared to be quite similar, there were wide differences in the facilitative factors present in the two types of schools. Principals in high-performing schools appeared to be aware of and able to use facilitative factors to foster high-quality professional development practices, while principals in low-performing schools are not. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) on college readiness outcomes using a quasi-experimental design. GEAR UP is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education by providing 6-year grants to states and district partnerships to provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools. Specifically, this study sought to evaluate whether 173 schools that participated in GEAR UP showed increases in the percentages of students who were prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education, as compared to students from similar, non-GEAR UP schools. Seven years (2003–2009) of matched cohort data were compiled to include all regular (e.g., nonspecial education) high schools with grade 12 enrollment as documented by the National Center for Educational Statistics. Participation in and performance on three College Board assessments that measure college readiness at the high school level (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and AP) as well as percent free/reduced-price lunch were used to identify comparable schools. Results showed that, overall, the GEAR UP program showed positive evidence of improving college readiness outcomes for low income students using a variety of college readiness measures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract:The authors interviewed Black and Latino students from five high-poverty high schools as they attempted to make the transition into college. Their ability to exert individual agency with regard to their entrance exams and their college transition was circumscribed by the messages and behavioral norms that dominated their low-performing high school context. Students preserved their sense of academic competence, yet they drastically misestimated the relevance of their scores while remaining uninformed about their level of college readiness or how to improve it. The framework for analysis comes from three theories: college choice process, cultural capital, and self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several developments involving the Idaho State Bar (ISB) association's Diversity Section (DS), and it mentions the inclusion of DS in the redesign of the ISB's website, various continuing legal education (CLE) programs, and the hosting of several 2018 and 2019 Love the Law! events for high school students. According to the law, the Love the Law! programs are designed to expose minority and low-income students to the legal profession.

The discusses that some children from Washington (D.C.) are deprived of schooling. Topics include Opportunity Scholarship Program for students from low-income families, priority being given to sibling of students already in program and the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act. Also, an example of Gary Jones, whose two daughters are affected by the issue is highlighted.

The article discusses research on the supply of high-achieving low-income students in the U.S. It references a study by Caroline M. Hoxby and Christopher Avery published in the December 2012 issue of "National Bureau of Economic Research." The study assessed the population of high-achieving students who graduated in 2008. According to researchers, admissions staff from selective postsecondary or college schools underestimate the large population of such students and just rely on data sent by some schools about low-income applicants.