Opportunity youth

Transforming High Schools to Serve Students Who Are Off Track to Graduate

The Barr Foundation’s Engage New England (ENE) initiative was an effort to catalyze high school innovation by developing exemplary schools that support the success of students who are off track to graduate. Grounded in the tenets of positive youth development, the ENE initiative provided grants and technical assistance to support new or redesigned schools in … Continue reading Transforming High Schools to Serve Students Who Are Off Track to Graduate

Study of the Engage New England Initiative Cross-Site Learning Brief 4: Early Insights from Academic Case Conferencing

This brief describes the approaches Engage New England (ENE) schools used to support academic case conferencing and their implementation of key practices.

Study of the Engage New England Initiative Cross-Site Learning Brief 3: Improving Instructional Systems

This brief describes common facilitators and challenges experienced by Engage New England (ENE) grantees as they worked to further their instructional systems. It also provides some promising practices that grantees used to support these efforts or to address challenges.

Study of the Engage New England Initiative Cross-Site Learning Brief 2: Learnings from the Cohort 1 Launch Year

This brief presents the lessons learned and common themes across Engage New England (ENE) grantees, as well as implications for planning and implementation that may be useful for subsequent cohorts of ENE grantees as they prepare to launch their programs or schools.

The Potential of College and Career Pathways in Alternative School Settings

Alternative high schools were originally conceived of as a place where students who were not succeeding in a traditional setting could have their academic needs met. These schools have developed negative stigmas, with the reputation as being credit-recovery factories for students who are off-track to graduate.

Designing Schools with and for Students

This research brief identifies promising strategies for embracing student voice in school design based on the experience of Engage New England (ENE) grantees. Successfully engaging students in decision-making and school design is not as simple as inviting them to attend staff meetings. As ENE grantees learned, meaningfully engaging students requires planning, scaffolding, and sustained attention … Continue reading Designing Schools with and for Students

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 4—Academic Self-Efficacy)

Every fall semester, first-time college students across the country embark on an academic journey full of promise. Unfortunately, some students do not make it to the finish line because they have trouble adjusting to the academic demands of college.

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 3—Institutional Knowledge Required to Navigate Higher Education Systems)

Academic institutions can be difficult to navigate, especially for students who do not have college-educated parents. At 4-year institutions, first-generation students are twice as likely than students whose parents have a bachelor’s degree to leave before their second year.

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 2—Financial Supports Beyond Institutional Financial Aid)

The high cost of tuition at public and private 4-year academic institutions is a hot topic in national media today. However, students face many financial barriers to degree completion introduced by expenses that aren’t fully covered by their financial aid packages.

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 1—An Overview)

The transition from high school to college can be difficult in the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic. Our previous post on Supporting Postsecondary Transitions During COVID-19 offers practical resources for supporting students and families navigating the college application and enrollment process during the pandemic.

Study of the Engage New England Initiative Cross-Site Learning Brief 1: Learnings from the Cohort 1 Planning Process

This brief is designed to benefit all three cohorts of Engage New England (ENE) grantees as they plan and build their schools and to highlight key elements of planning for innovative school models.

Evaluation of the Engage New England Initiative

SRI is helping the Barr Foundation and the broader education community better understand how to design and implement innovative schools for students who are off track to graduate high school