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American Youth Policy Forum: Bridging Youth Policy, Practice and Research
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State Education Policy

Briefs

09/21/2007
Exemplary CTE Districts and Programs with Gary Hoachlander, Executive Director, ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career, Michael Hanlon, Founder, Health Careers Academy at Palmdale High School, California, Michael Owens, Associate Secretary, Adult Education and Workforce Development, Delaware Department of Education, Patrick Savini, Superintendent, Sussex Technical School District, Delaware (Forum Brief)
06/22/2007
The Role of Career and Technical Education in High School Reform: State Efforts to Integrate CTE with Rigorous Standards with Patrick Ainsworth, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary, Postsecondary & Adult Education, California Department of Education, Kathy Oliver, Assistant State Superintendent, Maryland Department of Education, and Alex Harris, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association (Forum Brief and webcast)
06/15/2007
Afterschool for All: California's Launch of Proposition 49 with Joseph Ames, Principal, Ames & Associates; Steve Fowler, Partner, FowlerHoffman; and Jennifer Peck, Executive Director, Bay Area Partnership for Children and Youth (FORUM BRIEF)
05/10/2007
The Role of Career and Technical Education in High School Reform: Career and Technical Education Responding to Industry Needs with Phyllis Eisen, Vice President, The Manufacturing Institute and Executive Director, The Center for Workforce Success, Duane Crum, California State Director, Project Lead the Way (FORUM BRIEF and webcast)
04/13/2007
Opening the Door to the American Dream: Increasing Higher Education Access and Success for Immigrants with Wendy Erisman, Senior Research Analyst and Director of Evaluation, Institute for Higher Education Policy, and Deborah A. Santiago, Vice President for Policy and Research, Excelencia in Education, and Margie McHugh, Co Director, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, Migration Policy Institute. (forum Brief)
03/8/2007
Philadelphia’s Project U-Turn, Citywide Efforts to Address the Dropout Problem with Paul Vallas, Chief Executive Officer, School District of Philadelphia, Ruth Curran Neild, Research Scientist, Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University,  Courtney Collins-Shapiro, Director, Multiple Pathways to Graduation, School District of Philadelphia, Laura Shubilla, President of the Philadelphia Youth Network. (forum Brief)
09/29/2006
Secondary-Postsecondary Learning Options: Best Practices in the Field with Ron Kindell, Director, Miami Valley Tech Prep Consortium, Chery Wagonlander, Principal, Mott Middle College High School, and Jennifer Brown Lerner, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum (FORUM Brief)
06/23/2006
Middle Grades Reform: Breaking Ranks in the Middle and Schools to Watch with John Nori, Director, School Leadership Services, National Association of Secondary Schools Principals, Irv Howard, Director, California Schools to Watch, Linda Hopping, Co-Chair, Georgia Lighthouse Schools to Watch (Forum brief)
03/10/2006
Rhode Island High School Diploma System: Lessons Learned from Implementation with Joe DiMartino, President, Center for Secondary School Redesign, Andrea Castaneda, Development Officer, Providence Public Schools, and Joe Maruszczak, Principal, Ponaganset High School (Forum brief)
04/29/2005
A CALL TO ACTION: Transforming High School for All Youth, with Joe DiMartino, Director, Student Centered Learning, LAB at Brown University; Naomi Housman, Director, National High School Alliance; Colleen Callahan, Rhode Island Board of Regents; Michael Bell, Assistant Superintendent, Miami Dade Public Schools; and Lucy Fernandez, Principal, South Texas High School for Health Professions. (Forum Brief)
10/1/2004
Statewide Afterschool Networks: Creating Public-Private Partnerships for High Quality, Sustainable Afterschool Programs. With Audrey Hutchinson, Program Director for Education and Afterschool, Youth, Education, Family Institute, National League of Cities; Janelle Cousino, Vice President, FowlerHoffman, LLC, consultant to the Afterschool Alliance; Jennifer Becker Mouhcine, Director, Illinois Afterschool Partnership; and Nancy Kellogg Harper, Director of Kansas Enrichment Network, The Institute for Education Research and Public Service, University of Kansas School of Education. (Forum Brief)
7/16/2004
States and Districts Can Make Progress and Close the Achievement Gap. Research Reveals Clear Results in School Improvement in Schools Using America’s Choice School Design, The No Child Left Behind Act encourages schools to seek out school improvement plans that have been scientifically proven to raise student achievement. This forum looks at one such plan: the America's Choice School Design. (Forum Brief)
1/8/2004
California's Public Schools: From First to Worst, A Documentary Premiere with Jounalist John Merrow, Today’s forum screened the national premiere of John Merrow’s and John Tulenko’s dramatic one-hour film documentary, FROM FIRST TO WORST, scheduled to begin airing around the U.S. in February on the Public Broadcasting System. (Forum Brief)
10/17/2003
Increasing College Access: State and Local Efforts, with Christina Milano, National College Access Network (NCAN), Wendy Ault, MELMAC Education Foundation and Patricia Lonergan, Early Awareness initiative at the Cleveland Scholarship. Panelists representing three different programs and initiatives spoke about their various approaches to increasing college access and presented recommendations for policymakers engaged in the reauthorization of the HEA. (Forum Brief)
9/20/2002
Innovative State Strategies To Promote Youth Development. Co-Sponsored by AYPF and the National Governors Association (NGA). Thomas MacLellan, Policy Analyst, Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association (NGA), will moderate a panel including three members of NGA’s Youth Policy Network: Glenn Daly, Director of the Office of Youth Development at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health & Human Services; Sally A. Herrick, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Youth Development, New York State Office of Children & Family Services; and Quentin Wilson, Cabinet Secretary for Governor Holden of Missouri. (Forum Brief)
6/22/2001
Federal, State and Local Leadership for Extra Learning Opportunities, with Sharon Deich, Program Manager, The Finance Project; Karen Johnson, Program Director, National Conference of State Legislatures; Theresa Clarke, Policy Analyst, National Governors Association; Mark Emery, Project Director, Council of Chief State School Officers; Audrey Hutchinson, Program Director, National League of Cities; and Adriana de Kanter, Partnership Liaison, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education. (Forum Brief)
12/1/2000
School-to-Work and Youth with Disabilities: State and Community Policies to Serve All Youth, with David Johnson, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, and representatives from the State of New Jersey and Linking Learning to Life, Burlington High School, VT. (Forum Brief)
7/28/2000
Service-Learning in State Legislation (Part II): South Carolina's Efforts to Integrate Service-Learning into Schools and Communities, with Kathy Gibson Carter (Executive Director, Commission on National & Community Service), Dr. Janet Mason (University of South Carolina), and Jamaal Young. (Forum Brief)
4/7/2000
Oregon's Proficiency-Based Admissions Standards System (PASS) with David Conley, Associate Professor, Educational Policy and Management, College of Education, University of Oregon. (Forum Brief)
7/30/1999
Standards-Based Reform and Accountability: Analysis of Two States — North Carolina and Texas, with John Barth, National Education Goals Panel and David Grissmer, RAND. (Forum Brief)

 

Trip Reports

 

11/7/2007-
11/9/2007
State Policy Trip to Little Rock, AR, November 7-9, 2007: Expanding Advanced Placement Participation and Building Public Will. Highlights from this trip include meetings with T. Kenneth James, AR Commissioner of Education; Senator Jim Argue, Chair of the AR Senate Education Committee; Kathryn Hazelett, Governor Mike Beebe's Education Policy Advisor; Steve Floyd, Director of the AR Department of Higher Education; as well as other policy and education experts at the state level. In addition, we visited the historic Little Rock Central High School and the Wilbur Mills University Study School. (Trip Report)
10/18/2007-
10/19/2007
State Policy Trip to Miami, Florida, October 18-19, 2007: Career Pathways and K-12 Education. Highlights from this trip include meeting with Rudy Crew, Superintendent of Miami-Dade Country Public Schools, as well as other policy and education experts at the state and local levels. In addition, we visited Miami Edison Senior High School, MacArthur South Senior High School, and Robert Morgan Educational Center. (Trip Report)
1/24/2007-
1/26/2007
State Policy Trip to Georgia, January 24-26, 2007: College and Work-ready Standards. Highlights from this trip include meetings with Governor Sonny Perdue and State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox, representatives from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, Georgia Department of Education, the University System of Georgia, and the business community, as well as visits to the Central Educational Center, Gateway to College at Georgia Perimeter College, Morgan Country High School, and the Early College High School. (trip report)
11/15/2006-
11/16/2006
State Policy Trip to Indiana, November 15-16, 2006: Supporting Students At Risk of Dropping Out and Increasing Course Rigor.  Highlights from this trip include meetings with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed, state legislators, representatives from the Governor’s Office, Department of Public Instruction, higher education, and the business community, as well as visits to the Lawrence Early College High School for Science and Technologies and Shelbyville High School. (trip report)
10/5/2006-
10/6/2006
State Policy Trip to North Carolina, October 5-6, 2006: STEM and Early College. Highlights from this trip include visits to the School of Health and Life Sciences, Information Technology High School, and Robeson Early College High School, as well as meetings with state legislators and representatives from the Governor’s Office, Department of Public Instruction, Community College System, and the business community (trip report)
5/25/2006-
5/26/2006
State Policy Trip to New York City, May 25-26, 2006: Dual Enrollment and Multiple Pathways to Graduation. Highlights from this trip include visits to South Brooklyn Community High School, The Bronx Academy of Letters, and Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College, as well as meetings with Joel Klein, NYC Chancellor of Education, and Sheila Evans-Tranumn, Associate Commissioner of Education. (TRIP REPORT)
3/12/2006-
3/14/2006
State Policy Trip to Boston, MA, March 12-14, 2006: Extended-day Policies and Turning Around Low-
Performing Schools. Highlights include visits to the Boston Day and Evening Academy, Boston Community Leadership Academy, Another Course to College, and three small schools at the South Boston Education Complex, and meetings with Superintendent Thomas Payzant, and Massachusetts Commissioner of Education David Driscoll (trip report)
2/15/2006-
2/17/2006
State Policy Trip to San Diego, CA, February 15-17, 2006: College-ready Curriculum and High Tech High. Highlights include visits to High Tech High, Madison Senior High School, School of International Business, the San Diego MET, and meetings with Superintendent Carl Cohn and Deputy Superintendent Geno Flores, and California State Deputy Superintendent Sue Stickel (trip report)
3/17/2003 -
3/19/2003

Education, Community and Workforce Development in Rural Mississippi. Field Trip to to learn about statewide education reform initiatives, community organizing for education reform, and successful after-school and out-of-school youth programs in the Delta region of Mississippi.  (Trip Report)

Publications

View PDF

Federal, State, and Local Roles Supporting Alternative Education
This white paper examines the roles that various levels of government play through legislation, policy, and other initiatives that support quality alternative education programs to reconnect youth to education and the workplace. It raises issues for policymakers at all levels to consider in facilitating the development of expanded alternative education pathways, which reduce the number of students dropping out of school and provide well-lit reentry points for those who leave school before obtaining a diploma.

View PDF 		Rigor and Relevance:
A New Vision for Career and Technical Education
With the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act due to be reauthorized in 2003, it is appropriate to ask the question, What should the role of the federal government in Career and Technical Education (CTE) be? To provide one angle on this debate, the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) organized a series of discussion groups with a diverse range of individuals to focus on this topic. The discussion groups helped inform this paper, and while not all participants endorse all aspects of this paper, they are hopeful of a serious review of many of its contents during the reauthorization process.

View PDF 		HIGH SCHOOLS OF THE MILLENNIUM: Report of the Workgroup
High schools are out of date and need to be redesigned to meet the needs of today's youth, claims a new report High Schools of the Millennium: Report of the Workgroup, published by the American Youth Policy Forum. The report argues for a new vision of high school, one that uses all the resources of the community to create smaller learning environments, to engage youth in their striving for high academic achievement, to support them with adult mentors and role models, and to provide them with opportunities to develop their civic, social, and career skills.