Diplomas Count 2009 - Broader Horizons: The Challenge of College Readiness for All Students

This new report, produced by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is now available online at www.edweek.org. To celebrate the graduation season, this report is totally open to the public for the rest of the month of June. At the end of the promotional month, Edweek.org will be available to paid subscribers.

America's Promise Alliance (APA) Gallup Student Poll

APA, together with Gallup and the American Association of School Administrators, launched the Gallup Student Poll, a nationwide survey of 5th through 12th graders to gauge their levels of hope, engagement, and well-being. Some of the results are as follows:

One-third of students surveyed are struggling or suffering, and half are not hopeful.
One-third indicated they were stuck, while 17% feel discouraged.
More than 9 in 10 say they will graduate high school. Those who are close to their parent/guardians, or have a caring adult in their life are more likely to believe they will graduate.

For more on the Gallup Student Poll, see the full report.

Preventing Childhood Obesity: A School Health Policy Guide

Policymakers, educators, health professionals and parents working to curb the pandemic of childhood obesity now have a new tool at their disposal. A report by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) explains why childhood obesity needs to be confronted on a broad scale. Childhood obesity affects not only young bodies in the present, but also students' academic performance, and future physical and emotional development, not to mention health care costs and needs, earnings potential, and the national economy at large. For full report visit NASBE.

Health Promotion Practices

The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) announces the release of a supplemental issue featuring the work of communities that have taken remarkable steps to modify policies, systems or the environment to support health and well-being, reduce risk factors associated with chronic disease and achieve health equity. All articles supplement "Fostering Healthy Communities" are available open access here.

Title I Resources

Use of Title I for extended learning and community school activities is not a new phenomenon. Approximately 40% of Title I schools use some portion of these funds to contribute to extended learning programs. See Using Title I to Support out-of-School Time and Community School Initiatives by The Finance Project

Title I is meant to help disadvantaged students reach higher academic standards-a portion of these funds can be used to support afterschool programs and summer programs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has funds under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for distribution through state and local education agency grants. For more on this topic visit The Afterschool Alliance.

Using NCLB Funds to Support Extended Learning Time: Opportunities for Afterschool Programs is a strategy brief which describes how six major funding streams included in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) can support extended learning opportunities. The brief provides important context for those seeking to access these funding streams, and includes a discussion of strategies, considerations and tips for accessing each source. This publication is the product of a collaborative effort between the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and The Finance Project.

For an overview of Title I, visit the U.S. Department of Education's website.

A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness

This report provides a developmental perspective on what competencies young people need to be ready for college, the workplace, and the transition to adulthood. National hand-wringing about the lack of preparedness of high school graduates for college and the workplace has catalyzed researchers, educators, and policymakers to define the skills and competencies students need in order to be successful. These prescriptions tend to focus either on college readiness or on workplace readiness. At the same time but on a separate track, youth development research has identified the assets that youth need in order to make a successful transition to adulthood. To read more, click here.

Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males

For over five years, The Schott Foundation for Public Education has tracked the performance of Black males in public education systems across the nation. Past efforts by Schott were designed to raise the nation's consciousness about the critical education issue affecting Black males; low graduation rates, high rates of placement in special education, and the disproportionate use of suspensions and expulsions, to name a few. This report details the drastic range of outcomes for Black males, especially the tragic results in many of the nation's biggest cities. Given Half a Chance also deliberately highlights the resource disparities that exist in schools attended by Black males and their White, non-Hispanic counterparts. Visit the Schott Foundation for the full report.