SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: AYPF BLOG GOES LIVE!
AYPF is very excited to announce the launch of our blog, Forum for Thought. Our blog aims to serve as a home for insightful and relevant dispatches from the intersection of policy, practice, and research. Make sure to bookmark and stay tuned in the coming weeks, we have exciting projects in the works!
UPCOMING AYPF EVENTS
AYPF EVENT DETAILS
Education systems across the country are beginning to experiment with competency-based models in which students advance based upon mastery. As schools, districts, and states pursue these innovations, it is important to remember that many expanded learning providers have been implementing competency-based models for many years and expanded learning stakeholders should be considered key partners in this work. Those in the expanded learning community should see a shift to a competency-based system as an opportunity for schools to validate the learning happening in non-formal settings and as a valuable tool for promoting school-community partnerships.
While much of the work to move toward a competency-based system happens within schools and programs, district and state level stakeholders can play an important role, both in developing an encouraging policy context and through guidance and technical assistance. Previous webinars have showcased promising competency-based expanded learning opportunities and discussed some local considerations. This final webinar in our series will highlight the role districts and states can play in facilitating this shift and discuss the policy barriers and opportunities at play. Presenters will include Stephanie Krauss, Senior Fellow, Forum for Youth Investment, Kate Nielsen, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association,Michelle Un, Project Manager, Research & Data, Rhode Island After School Plus Alliance, and Sharon Lee, Director, Office of Multiple Pathways, Rhode Island Department of Education.
AYPF PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
What are the key components of “Deeper Learning,” and why are they important? AYPF’s Senior Director Loretta Goodwin’s first blog post on the subject.Fourm for Thought Blog: What is Deeper Learning?
Webinar Recording: Predictors of Postsecondary Success: Understanding the Value of Workforce Data in Driving Student Success As part of our series building on the brief, Predictors of Postsecondary Success, which summarizes research that identifies student skills, behaviors, and other characteristics that predict future academic and workplace success, this webinar provided an overview of workforce data and its utility. Presenters discussed the opportunities and trends related to workforce data as well as the challenges and opportunities of building connections to education data. Presenters included Rachel Zinn, Director, Workforce Data Quality Campaign; Dr. Josh Hawley, Director of the Ohio Education Research Center; and Bill Hurwitch, Director, Statewide Longitudinal Data System, Maine Department of Education.
Ready for Success Blog The Ready for Success Blog, operated by College and Career Readiness and Success Center at the American Institutes of Research, provides practitioners and policymakers with many posts related to college and career readiness. Topics span the field of strategies which help prepare students for postsecondary education and beyond, including accelerated learning; dropout prevention and recovery; increased learning time; and federal, state, and local policy initiatives to name a few.
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RECOMMENDED READING AND RESOURCES
Check these out – recommended reading from the AYPF staff:
Migration Policy Institute Critical Choices in Post-Recession California: Investing in the Educational and Career Success of Immigrant Youth
This report examines the educational experiences and outcomes of first- and second-generation immigrant youth ages 16 to 26 across California’s educational institutions, encompassing secondary schools, adult education, and postsecondary education. ELLs are a central focus of the analysis at all levels, as this group has unique educational needs. The findings draw from qualitative fieldwork—including interviews with educators and community leaders in California—and quantitative analyses of the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau and state education agencies.
Bellwether Education Partners Playbook for Personalized Learning
This policy playbook is designed to provide state and local policymakers with actionable ideas that can support the growth of high-quality and accountable personalized learning opportunities in their states and communities. In our multilayered system of public education, states and local districts have different, but often overlapping, roles in developing and implementing education policies. As a result, some of the policy ideas in this playbook primarily target policymakers at the state level; others target policymakers at the local level. Still others can potentially be implemented at either level. Because the specific roles and responsibilities of states and local districts vary, we have not created separate plays targeting policymakers at the state or local level, but we have tried to indicate the level at which each play is most likely to be applicable, or how application might vary between the state and local levels of government.
ACT Communicating College and Career Readiness through Proficiency Standards
This brief has several policy recommendations for states adopting new educational standards. It describes how Kentucky, New York, Florida, and the District of Columbia transitioned their state assessments to reflect college and career readiness but made different decisions about whether or how to determine performance and proficiency standards to match. Lessons learned from these examples may help other states currently negotiating their own transitions.
The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics America’s Young Adults: Special Issue, 2014
This is a one-time report on young adults in the United States, ages 18–24. Findings highlight data trends and snapshots of the education, health and well-being of this population as they transition to adulthood.
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels.
AYPF events and publications are made possible by a consortium of philanthropic foundations: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and others.
