AYPF RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS
Report: Persistence to Graduation
The Kentucky Department of Education has released a publication entitled Persistence to Graduation, co-written by Samaura Stone, Senior Policy Associate at AYPF, and Nancy Martin, consultant. The publication consists of a full report and four individual practice briefs in the areas of Alternative Education, Community Partnerships, Culture and Climate, and Student Transitions and Reengagement. The briefs highlight successful schools and programs throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky that promote high school graduation
Capitol Hill Forum Resources: College Promise – Supporting Students in College Access and Success (Friday, April 26, 2019)
Community college students face various obstacles on the road to achieving a postsecondary degree. These challenges include tuition, the cost of books, and a lack of support on campus. However, a new movement is taking hold aimed at helping students start and complete their college education without taking on mountains of debt: College Promise Programs. This forum, which was co-hosted by MDRC, focused on the impact of College Promise Programs as well as MDRC’s College Promise Success Initiative (CPSI), which addresses both affordability and student supports such as campus coaching and summer engagement.
Webinar: How States Use Professional Networks to Spread Deeper Learning (Thursday, June 27, 2019)
Following a recent AYPF study tour on Deeper Learning, many participants wanted to know more about how states are using professional networks to scale deeper learning efforts. This webinar highlighted the work being done in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Idaho. We invited leaders from these states to share their lessons learned with colleagues across the country. Panelists included Kristina Catanese, Office of Continuous Improvement, Kentucky Department of Education; Denise Airola, Director of Innovation for Education, University of Arkansas; Crystal Beshears, Learning Design and Innovation Leader, Office of Innovation for Education, University of Arkansas; and Kelly Brady, Director of Mastery Education, Idaho State Department of Education. Access the webinar recording by clicking here. Please also see the blog post written by Ben Pults, AYPF Intern, that provides a summary of the webinar.
Video: Informing State Leaders through AYPF Study Tours
AYPF has conducted over a hundred study tours, or first-person experiences of innovative schools and their practices, for state policy leaders. This video describes what study tour participants learn and encounter, what ideas and strategies they take back to their state, and what makes AYPF study tours unique. To learn more about AYPF’s study tours, click here to view the short video and contact us for more information.
Alternative Education Resource Hub
Foster, Juvenile Justice, and Crossover Youth Resource Hub
To view all AYPF publications
To view all AYPF information hubs
Please visit our YouTube channel at
http://www.youtube.com/amyouthpolicyforum
for video clips of events, interviews and more.
FORUM FOR THOUGHT BLOG
Equity: The Missing Piece of Most Back-to-School Conversations
By: Maria Duarte
This blog addresses the need for social justice and equity in schools from the perspective of a young woman who attended schools in Miami-Dade County and grew up in a low-income community. She explains why the first day of school was not always a happy day for her, given family responsibilities, safety concerns, and financial limitations, and she makes a compelling case for teachers and school leaders to know more about their students’ lives.
From Foster Care to College: An Uphill Battle
By: Maddie Donley
This blog appeared in 2017, but the plight of youth in foster care trying to get into and through college has hardly changed.
RECOMMENDED READINGS AND RESOURCES
Check these out – top five recommended readings from the AYPF staff:
Center for American Progress: Elevating Student Voice in Education
This report outlines strategies to increase authentic student voice in education at the school, district, and state levels. There are limited studies that show a direct connection between student engagement and students valuing their education and opportunities to make their voices heard. Many advocates and researchers encourage schools to create opportunities for students to participate in decisions about their education as a means of increasing student engagement and investing students in their education. Increasing student voice is particularly important for historically marginalized populations, including students from Black, Latinx, Native American, and low-income communities as well as students with disabilities.
Education Commission of the States: A Look at the History of State School Safety Legislation in the Last 2 Decades
This series of blog posts explores state efforts to improve school safety through legislation, initiatives, task forces, and more. The series aims to inform state efforts to make schools and higher education institutions safe places to learn and work.
Education Trust: Broken Mirrors: Latino Student Representation at Public State Colleges and Universities
This report details how much work states have to do to increase the population of Latinos with a college degree, from enrolling proportional numbers of Latinos in community colleges and four-year colleges and universities, to ensure Latinos are just as likely as their White peers to cross the finish line once they start college.
Hunt Institute: Attainment for All – Postsecondary Pathways
This brief focuses the early college high school model, which allows students to earn a significant amount of college credit, and in some cases an associate degree or credential, by the time they graduate from high school. The brief provides policymakers with a roadmap for how they can identify aspects of their state’s policy framework that may be preventing their state from adopting, strengthening, or scaling the early college high school model. These potential barriers include funding structures, educator licensure requirements, or a lack of credit transfer agreements. Additionally, the brief examines two states, North Carolina and Texas, that have created a framework that has allowed for the widespread implementation of the early college high school model.
National Center for Educational Statistics: Student Questionnaires Results – Classroom Instruction for Mathematics, Reading, and Science
This report examines trends in responses to student questionnaires and links the data to student achievement results, offering a look at the differences between the content teachers emphasized and the instructional strategies they used with low-scoring students and high-scoring students. Students who scored low on a national test reported being less likely to have teachers who asked their classes to engage in higher-order thinking or offer them advanced work than teachers whose students scored high.
