It’s been months since Ruby earned her diploma, but she still lets out a little laugh every time she looks at it. “It makes me so happy,” she said, “but, to be honest, it just all seemed too good to be true.” She had been out of school for more than 20 years when she
When researchers surveyed school districts across the nation, they found a surprising diversity of holiday vacation spans. For Thanksgiving, some districts offered their students and teachers as little as three days off; others had breaks that lasted more than a week. Some winter breaks were a week long. Others lasted nearly three weeks. No matter
Driving across Highway 410 is like driving across America. There’s a little bit of everything. The freeway crosses the beautiful White River, past forests and farm fields, through several small towns and suburbs. This is Tonya Hammer’s daily drive. The Graduation Alliance local advocate works with students in three school districts along the 410 in
It was 1919, and the boys were home from World War I. But the world was changing — and changing fast — and leaders from the National Education Association and American Legion were distressed to learn that a quarter of all war veterans were illiterate. Yet many Americans didn’t see that as a problem. Fewer
For as long as she can remember, Cheyenne has wanted to be a nurse. “Ever since middle school, and maybe before that even, it’s just something I really wanted to do,” said the former Pennsylvania resident, who is now living in Ohio. But before Cheyenne had the chance to finish high school, her plans had
What happens when you put new eyes on an old challenge? Sometimes, the steps that need to be taken to solve that challenge become very clear, very quickly. The same thing happens in schools. The start of the school year is a time in which teachers are getting a “new look” at students, often meeting
Two and a half months. That’s all the time it took for Jonathan to “transform” from a nearly straight-A student with ambitions of becoming a scientist to a quiet and discontent young man who didn’t even want to be at school. School leaders figured it was a phase. They’d seen it before. Teen years are
The history of summer school as a place for students who have fallen behind is nearly as old as the concept of a summer break: An educational innovation with roots in the 19th century school reform movement. And yet until recently, there wasn’t much research on the effectiveness of summer programs. That has begun to
Students who are gone for two days in the first month will likely be gone that many days in the months to come — no more and no less. And it’s the same thing when it comes to those who miss up to four days. After that, however, something changes: Early absences predict a rate
The first few days of school can be a “make or break” time for students on the cusp of disengagement. But if you know what to look for, these days can be a critical time to identify students in need of immediate interventions. Here are four early warning signs: 1. EARLY ABSENCES Maybe they’re just