Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) Program Enables Strategies to Improve Outcomes for Disconnected Youth

The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education released a notice for funding opportunity for The Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) program. Authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, Division H., Section 526 (the Act), the P3 program will provide $7.1 million total to ten pilot sites to test outcome-focused strategies to achieve significant improvements in educational, employment, and other key outcomes for disconnected youth. The Act defines ``disconnected youth'' as individuals between the ages of 14 and 24 who are low-income, and either homeless, in foster care, involved in the juvenile justice system, unemployed, or not enrolled in, or at risk of dropping out of, an educational institution. Outcomes are the intended results of a program or intervention. An outcome can be at the participant level, such as in employment retention, or at the system level, such as in improved efficiency in program operations. The program requires grantees to use new flexibility to blend existing Federal funds and to seek waivers of associated program requirements.

Eligible applicant: An application must be submitted by a lead applicant on behalf of a partnership that involves all public and private organizations (including non-profit, business, industry, and labor organizations) that will participate in pilot implementation and governance. The lead applicant must be a State, local, or tribal government entity, represented by a Chief Executive, such as a governor, mayor, or other elected leader, or the head of a State, local, or tribal agency.

To learn more, join the representatives from Federal agencies as they present the details of the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) on P3, including application requirements and selection criteria, for potential applicants. The conference call will occur December 1, 2014, 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT. Details and additional contact information are also available on grants.gov.

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply is January 8, 2015. Note: Submission of a notice of intent to apply is optional. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications is March 4, 2015.

Housing Authorities Tackle Educational Improvements in Neighborhoods Across the Country

Recognizing the importance of access to good quality education for public housing residents to move up and out of poverty, housing authorities across the country are investing in education related initiatives that boost student academic performance and support the improvement of nearby schools. In a recent publication entitled “Bringing Education Home: Housing Authorities and Learning Initiatives”, the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities has explored a number of education-related strategies and approaches that are being implemented and supported by housing authorities. 

The publication profiles initiatives and programs in 14 different cities.  It groups the initiatives in to four categories:

(1)   A Strong Start.  Focusing on early childhood education programs and engaging parents when their children are infants and toddlers, this category includes examples from Boston, Akron and New York.

(2)   Partnering for Success. Including examples from Tacoma, King County and Washington DC, this category highlights housing authorities that have partners with school districts successfully to collaborate around data sharing and leveraging community resources.

(3)   Opportunities Outside of School. Under this category, efforts in Denver, Seattle, Cambridge, Camden and Chicago are lifted up because they have strong after-school programs that have resulted in positive outcomes for students living in and around public housing.

(4)   Creating a Culture of Success. Focusing on ways in which housing authorities incentivize a strong priority on education, this category highlights strategies being implemented successfully in Milwaukee, Vancouver and Atlanta.

Earlier this year, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, in partnership with HUD, released a promising practice guide on how the Seattle Housing Authority, a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grantee, has been placing school improvements and student achievement at the center of neighborhood revitalization in the Seattle’s Yesler neighborhood. The guide highlights similar strategies to those outlined in CLPHA’s publication around forging strong education partnerships, creating effective after-school programming, and partnering with the school district around data sharing.

School Improvements and Student Achievement in Seattle's Choice Neighborhood

Choice Neighborhoods, a Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative program operated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is designed to not only revitalize distressed public or HUD assisted housing, but to also transform the entire community in which the housing is located. The program brings together stakeholders such as residents, local leaders, schools, private developers, nonprofits and cities to create and execute a vision for the entire neighborhood surrounding public housing or HUD-assisted housing.

Improving access to quality schools is an important part of holistic neighborhood revitalization. Boosting school quality often boosts the surrounding housing market and improve both the appeal of the neighborhood for new residents and the viability for current families to stay in the neighborhood for the long term.  

Recognizing the importance of improving educational outcomes for their neighborhood, the Seattle Choice Neighborhoods grantee team prioritized school improvement in the Yesler neighborhood.  As a result, positive educational outcomes are emerging for students in Yesler’s local elementary school. 

Seattle’s story is the focus a newly-released Choice Neighborhoods Promising Practice Guide.  The guide provides details on how:

·        Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) partnered with Seattle University as an anchor institution to draw on their educational expertise, existing commitment to the neighborhood, and robust volunteer network

 

·        SHA and Seattle University built out an Education Collaborative with multiple local partners, including the local elementary school, to begin to create a cradle-to-career pipeline to support students in the Yesler area

 

·        The partnership has successfully used tools such as routine collaborative meetings, data sharing agreements, and creating staff roles to ensure the pipeline of supports is working for Yesler’s youth and their families.

This guide is one of a series of Choice Neighborhoods promising practice guides that the Center for the Study of Social Policy is developing in partnership with HUD to lift up the exceptional work that grantees of the Choice Neighborhoods program are doing all over the country.  These guides intend to provide other neighborhoods insight and resource that can be useful for their own neighborhood revitalization work. To see more of the guides, visit HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Technical Assistance website.

Webinar: Improving the Learning Environment through Increased Access to School Breakfast

Later this month, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) will be hosting a webinar exploring efforts to increase participation in school breakfast programs. Titled "Breakfast for Learning: How Education Groups are Joining Efforts to Improve the Learning Environment through Increased Access to School Breakfast," the presentation will look at ways in which stakeholders across the country are trying to maximize the health and academic benefits of the School Breakfast Program.

Research has shown a connection between participation in school breakfast and positive outcomes such as decreased tardiness and absenteeism and improved focus in the classroom. At the same time, students face barriers to participation in the program, including stigma arising from the belief that school breakfast is for low-income students and difficulties in getting to school early enough to participate in traditional programs. This webinar will explore these and other challenges and ways in which groups across the nation are tackling them in order to help students be healthy and academically successful.

Scheduled speakers include:

• Kelly Beckwith, AASA (The School Superintendents Association)
• Kara Boyer, National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation
• Annelise Cohon, Senior Project Coordinator, National Education Association Health Information Network
• Eyang Garrison, Child Nutrition Policy Analyst, FRAC
• Whitney Meagher, National Association of State Boards of Education
• Heather Parker, National PTA
  

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, August, 19 from 3:00 - 4:00pm ET.

To learn more about and register for this webinar, please visit FRAC's website here.

ED Launches New Blog Highlighting State and Local Ideas on K-12 Reform

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has a new online resource called PROGRESS. The site highlights best practices and lessons learned from implementing K-12 education reforms, with a particular focus on capturing the perspectives of educators, administrators and students at the state and local levels.

Key themes include:

• How students are being prepared to succeed in college and careers;
• How educators are receiving higher quality support and opportunities; and
• How innovative leaders and educators are transforming school systems to meet new, higher expectations.

PROGRESS will provide examples of how educators, districts and families are working with ED, state and local governments and other cross-sector partners to implement reforms. For instance, in Florida, a recipient of a Race to the Top grant, a new initiative is focusing on exposing students in rural communities to opportunities in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). STEM professionals help to make the program a success by providing students with mentoring and hands-on learning experiences.

This initiative and other stories on the blog demonstrate the importance of partnerships in achieving better results. Gathering input and participation from diverse partners and multiple sectors expands the knowledge, skills, relationships and other resources that can invested to produce lasting change. However, partnerships also require building members’ capacities to work together. For tools and templates on developing accountable partnerships, check out the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program Resource Center.

Learn more about state and local K-12 reform efforts on PROGRESS. If you have an idea for content you would like to see on ED’s new site, email progress@ed.gov.

America's Promise Alliance Launches GradNation.org

Earlier this month, America's Promise Alliance announced the launch of GradNation.org, a new website featuring a wide range of information, resources, and opportunities to connect with others on issues related to dropout prevention. The Grad Nation campaign has a two-part goal: achieving a 90 percent graduation rate across the nation by 2020, with no high school graduating less than 80 percent of its students, and regaining America's standing as first in the world in college completion. The new website marks the latest effort of the Grad Nation campaign, which began in 2010 with an extensive series of community summits to build awareness and motivate action toward dropout prevention across the country.

The Grad Nation website provides a wealth of information, including current statistics on high school graduation rates across the country, as well as practical tools and descriptions of promising and proven practices to stem our nation's dropout problem. The resources on the website are arranged into over a dozen "channels," each covering an area such as early childhood, family engagement and college and career success. Each channel includes two "levels" - tools and reports and research and best practices - that can help users to understand the challenges and opportunities facing children and young people in a given area while also providing information about some of the best solutions the field has to offer. GradNation.org also provides users with the ability to create profiles and post and respond to content generated by people across the nation who are working to ensure all young people graduate high school ready for success.

To learn more about the Grad Nation campaign or to check out tools and resources and join a community focused on improving high school graduation rates, please visit GradNation.org.

Webinar: The Promise of Universities in School Reform

On January 31, co-sponsors the Anchor Institutions Task Force, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and Coalition for Community Schools at the Institute for Educational Leadership are hosting a webinar that will explore the variety of ways in which institutions of higher education can support efforts to strengthen schools and education systems. Entitled "The Promise of Universities in School Reform," the presentation will highlight case studies and examples presented in the latest issue of the Peabody Journal of Education.

Scheduled speakers include:

• Dr. Ira Harkavy, Associate Vice President and Director, Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) Dr. Henry Taylor, Founding Director, Center for Urban Studies, University of Buffalo (Buffalo, NY)

• Dr. Mary Walsh, Department Director, Boston College Center for Optimized Student Support, Boston College (Boston, MA)

• Dr. Robert Kronick, Director of University-Assisted Community Schools, University of Tennessee Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)

The webinar will take place on Friday, January 31, from 3:00 - 4:00pm EST.

To register for this webinar, please go here.

Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grantees Announced

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont as new state grantees to receive $280 million in grant awards from the 2013 Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) fund. The award will help to improve access to high-quality early learning and development programs throughout their states. These six states join the 14 existing state grantees who secured funding in the first two rounds, which began in 2011.

RTT-ELC has awarded over $1 billion under this administration towards states to align, coordinate, and improve the quality of existing early learning and development programs through multiple funding streams that support children from birth to age five.

Funds are used to:

1. Establish cultural, linguistic, and developmentally appropriate early learning and development standards across all the essential domains of school readiness for children from birth to kindergarten entry;

2. Ensure that quality program standards are applied to all early learning programs in the state;

3. Build and improve on state Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems designed to improve and inform parents about the quality of early learning programs;

4. Promote health and family engagement strategies.

For complete details of this announcement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website here.

Guide to Identifying Feeder Schools to Increase Graduation Rates

America's Promise Alliance recently announced the release of a guide to understanding school feeder patterns released by three of its partners: United Way Worldwide, Civic Enterprises, and Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. Entitled "Solving the High School Graduation Crisis: Identifying and Using School Feeder Patterns in Your Community," the guide seeks to provide local United Ways and their communities with a process for identifying local feeder patterns to support efforts to improve academic achievement.

While much recent attention has been paid to the country's high schools with the largest proportion of students who are failing academically or dropping out of school, the authors note that it is important to identify and support the students most in need of support before they even reach high school. To assist in those efforts, they developed this guide to help communities understand which elementary and middle schools "feed," or send, students to their lowest performing schools.

The authors suggest working with community members to first identify the lowest performing high schools in the community and then identifying the middle and elementary schools that send students to those schools. They recommend starting with the lowest performing high schools, rather than trying to create a map for every high school, because this will make the process more manageable and also help your community to identify and provide support to the students at greatest risk of poor academic performance or dropping out of school altogether.

The guide provides assistance in:

• Understanding your education landscape - This includes identifying the people and organizations that work in or with the school system. These stakeholders can include school principals and the superintendents. The guide also provides a list of data sources that your community can use to obtain key information about the education landscape in your community.
• Identifying Feeder School Patterns in Your Community - In addition to providing tips and examples, this section offers a short checklist that your local United Way and community can use to determine your readiness to identify local school feeder patterns.
• Using Feeder Patterns for Greater Impact - After your community has identified your local feeder patterns, you can use this part of the guide to help start thinking about how to use the data you've gained to impact student achievement. One option is to focus on what Diplomas Now, a collaboration of organizations that has developed an early warning system, calls the ABC's: Attendance, Behavior, and Course Passing and grades. This data can be used to develop a tiered approach to intervention at the school level that includes a mix of school-wide efforts and more targeted support, such as case management, for the students who are most in need. This section includes an example of how a local United Way in Phoenix piloted an early warning system.
• Implications for Public Policy - The guide concludes with some examples of the types of state and local policies that might be able to support your community's work to improve academic achievement.

For more information on this guide, including access to an archived webinar featuring Robert Balfanz of the Everyone Graduates Center, please visit here.

Recommendations for Successful District Summer Learning Programs

While summer is nearing its end, and kids across the country are heading back to school, it is not too early to start thinking about how your school district can plan a successful summer learning program. Earlier this month, the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit focused on public policy research and analysis, released a research brief entitled "How to Get the Most out of a Summer Learning Program" that presents a set of recommendations for making school district summer learning programs as effective as possible.

Research has shown that, over the course of the summer, students often lose some of the skills and knowledge they gained during the previous academic year. While this phenomenon, termed “summer learning loss”, affects most students, it can be particularly harmful for low-income students. Combined with the other challenges, such as a lack of positive activities, many children in low-income neighborhoods face during the summer, the presence of summer learning loss has led some school districts to look at how summer learning programs can reduce, if not reverse, summer learning loss.

The research brief draws on findings from a recently published RAND report entitled “Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success."  That report is the second in a five-part series that is exploring best practices in summer learning programs by sharing the results of a demonstration project taking place in five large urban school districts: Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County (Florida), Pittsburgh, and Rochester (New York).

Based on hundreds of surveys, interviews, and hours of direct observation of summer learning programs, the RAND researchers made several recommendations for school districts and organizations working to implement a summer learning program in areas such as planning, staff selection and training, and the tracking of program costs. Selected recommendations include:

• Commit to having a summer program by January.
• Establish firm enrollment deadlines and keep electronic student records.
• Develop a rigorous selection processes to recruit motivated teachers.
• Keep in mind that it is not necessary to disguise academics to boost attendance.
• Anchor the program in a commercially available and evidence-based curriculum.
• Operate the program for five to six weeks. 
• Schedule three to four hours a day for academics and focus on academic content during those hours.
• Put resources into tracking and boosting attendance.

While the researchers caution that these are not "proven practices" - the academic performance of the students in the programs they are studying through the demonstration project is currently being evaluated - they are evidence-based and provide the best guidance on summer learning programs that is available at this time.

For more information on this summer learning program research, please visit RAND’s website to view the research brief or the full report.

Grants Awarded for School Turnaround AmeriCorps Program

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced the first round of grants for the School Turnaround AmeriCorps program.

Launched in February, the School Turnaround AmeriCorps program places AmeriCorps members in persistently underachieving schools throughout the U.S., including those implementing school turnaround interventions required by ED’s School Improvement Grant program or through Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility. AmeriCorps members will support efforts to increase high school graduation rates, improve college and career readiness and provide college advice and enrollment assistance.

Thirteen awardees were selected from 66 applicants and will place members in approximately 70 urban and rural schools in 14 states and the District of Columbia. The program will award $15 million in federal funds with $15 million in grantee match funding during a three-year cycle.

One of the 13 awardees is LearningWorks of Maine, where AmeriCorps members will serve approximately 1,800 elementary and high school students and over 2,000 community members by providing extended-day learning and tutoring and fostering community and family engagement.

For the full announcement and list of awardees, click here.

Guide to Securing Funding for Summer Learning

With support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) has released Moving Summer Learning Forward: A Strategic Roadmap for Funding in Tough Times, a guide on how to obtain funding for meaningful academic programming during the summer. NSLA is a network center for summer learning program providers and stakeholders that provides tools and resources to improve summer program quality, garner support and increase youth access and participation.

According to Moving Summer Learning Forward, most students lose two months of math skills each summer, and low-income children generally lose another two to three months in reading skills. Recently, research has shown that high-quality summer programs that include individualized instruction, parent engagement and small class sizes not only stop summer learning loss, but increase student achievement.

Despite their importance in closing the achievement gap and supporting student success, funding these kinds of programs can be difficult for school districts and community organizations. This guide include a comprehensive description of relevant federal, state and local funding streams, as well as case studies showcasing various ways summer programs have been successfully funded.

In recent years in Oakland, school district leadership has made summer learning for low-income and academically-behind students a priority. The support of school district leadership has made it possible to blend ESEA Title I funding from the district and individual school sites in order to support the district’s summer learning initiative. This funding has been leveraged to access other funding resources for summer learning, with 23% of the program’s $2.7 million budget coming from private grants. In 2012, the initiative included 17 different programs across 50 school sites serving about 6,500 students from pre-K to young adult.

NSLA recommends several key strategies for accessing federal funds for summer learning:

• Understand the landscape and breadth of federal programs;
• Plan early to align timing for awards and budget cycles;
• Constantly work to build partnerships for sustainability;
• Collect, analyze, and share outcome data; and
• Publicize programs and their benefits to communities. 

Federal funding sources highlighted in the guide include the Educational and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Waiver Flexibility, Promise Neighborhoods, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Community Development Block Grant Program, AmeriCorps, the Workforce Investment Act, the Summer Food Service Program and the Summer of Innovation Initiative. Several state and local funding sources are also described.

Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Now Accepting Applications for School Improvement Projects

Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program, funded by the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, provides grant awards of up to $5,000 to go towards school improvement projects at K-12 public schools nationwide. Over the past six years, the program has donated more than $35 million to over 8,000 schools.

For the 2013-2014 school year, the foundation will give priority to basic necessities. Preference will be given for projects that will have a permanent impact, such as facility improvement or landscape/cleanup projects. Recognizing the link between parent engagement and student success, the Foundation encourages projects that include a parent and/or community engagement component.

Examples of projects include: reading gardens, vegetable gardens, landscaping projects, nature trails, parent involvement centers, tutoring centers, playgrounds, fitness areas and student art exhibits. Examples of past grant winners can be found here.

Public K-12 schools or nonprofit parent groups associated with a public K-12 school are eligible to apply.

Grant requests must be between $2,000 and $5,000 for each school. Lowe’s anticipates donating $5 million to schools and parent groups at over 1,000 different schools throughout the school year.

The deadline for applications for the fall 2013 application cycle is October 15. For more information on how to apply, click here.

The National Center for Family Literacy Announces Grant Opportunity

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is now accepting applications for its Toyota Family Learning (TFL) initiative. TFL aims to become a movement for families to learn together to promote environmental stewardship, financial literacy, volunteerism and civic participation. To date, NCFL’s Toyota-funded initiatives have raised at least $228 million to support family-involvement programming.

NCFL will award five organizations a $175,000 grant over three years. In addition to these funds, NCFL will provide training and support to these organizations as their programs are implemented. The grant will fund services that engage families in learning together, help families mentor other families and promote family service learning projects. Applicants should show modifications of existing family engagement in education programs to include the family mentoring and service learning aspects. Specifically, components of a proposal should include:

• Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time –literacy activities that promote interaction between parents and children
• Parent Time –activities that train parents how to be partners in their child’s education
• Mentoring - families mentoring other families to learn together through online and offline activities
• Service Learning - family service learning through sharing on the TFL community website.

Eligible applicants include public and charter schools, community-based organizations, libraries and other organizations that provide services to families. Applicants must currently provide family-focused intergenerational educational activities for families and their children ages 4-18, serve a high percentage of minority and/or low-income families in two or three sites and agree to TFL grant requirements. Grant awards and services for years two and three are contingent upon the success of the first year. Applications are due on June 24 by 5pm EST.

To learn more and/or apply, click here.

Webinar: Transportation Departments & Safe Routes to School

In June, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership will host a webinar on how communities can work with their local transportation departments to help ensure children are safe when traveling to and from school. Entitled "Maximizing City Involvement in Safe Routes to School: Educating Municipal Transportation Departments", the event will allow participants to learn from staff of local transportation departments that have prioritized bicycling and walking, including through the development of partnerships with Safe Routes to School staff. Working to develop or maintain safe routes to school can help protect children while removing a barrier to school attendance and promoting healthier, more active lifestyles.

Webinar presenters are scheduled to include:

• Gabe Graff, Safe Routes to School Organizer, City of Portland;
• Nancy Nichols, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, City of Fort Collins;
• Dave Cowan, Program Manager, Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

The webinar will take place on Thursday, June 20, from 2:00 - 3:00pm ET.

To register for this webinar, please go here. And for more information about the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, visit here.

The Effect of Longer School Days in ExpandED Schools

The After School Corporation (TASC) has released an initial evaluation of its ExpandED Schools initiative, a network of 11 elementary and middle schools in New York City, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The demonstration was launched in 2011 to assess the impact of extending the school day by three hours at these schools with the help of youth-serving community organization partners. Recognizing the importance of involving community partners to address the comprehensive needs of students, ExpandED schools work with community organizations to redesign the school day in order to provide disadvantaged students with educational and cultural opportunities to support their academic and personal development and overcome the challenges of poverty.

Drawing from research indicating that extended learning time is an important factor in better student outcomes, ExpandED Schools use four main elements while designing longer school days:

• Extended time for a balanced curriculum;
• Partnerships between the school and community;
• Engaging teaching practices; and
• Sustainable cost models.

Key findings from the first year of a three year evaluation include:

• Students in ExpandED Schools increased their math proficiency at a greater rate than citywide gains in all three cities;
• School attendance rates improved in ExpandED Schools, while chronic absenteeism dropped;
• Students, teachers, and parents gave higher rankings to ExpandED Schools than other community schools on communication, safety, academic expectations, and student engagement; 
• ExpandED Schools students have access to a broadened curriculum that includes physical education, art, music, technology, dance, health, foreign language, drama, and tutoring;
• Student achievement data is utilized effectively by ExpandED Schools but is not always shared with partners in a timely manner;
• Multiple funding streams are used by ExpandED Schools in order to provide and sustain services; and
• ExpandED Schools vary on how well they foster community and family engagement.

The report outlined several takeaways for communities interested in increasing student achievement by expanding learning time. For example, funding for ExpandED Schools cannot rely on school funds alone. PS 186, an elementary school in Brooklyn, raised $800,000 for the 2012-2013 school year by combining funds from local taxes, federal education grants, Title I and Title III money, AmeriCorps funds, and private funds raised by TASC. Accessing these multiple funding streams is necessary in order to provide high-quality services, but can put a burden on school administrators who need to navigate complex and often time-sensitive, competitive grant applications.

For more information on how to evaluate expanded learning programs, please click here.

Toolkit for Improving School Attendance

Recently, a partnership, including America's Promise Alliance and Attendance Works, released a toolkit for reducing chronic absenteeism among students, which is defined as missing 10 percent of the school year, or just 2 - 3 days each month. The toolkit, Count Us In! Working Together To Show That Every School Day Matters, discusses how chronic absenteeism is related to poor academic performance and provides resources and strategies for a whole host of community stakeholders, from mayors and politicians, to school administrators and local philanthropic organizations, interested in improving attendance in their schools.

Specific resources include templates for press releases and proclamations to draw attention the issue and efforts to address it, strategies for using data to drive community outreach and assess progress in improving attendance, and suggestions for leveraging partnerships with national service organizations.

For more information about this toolkit and other resources related to improving student attendance, please visit here.

ED Webinar on Rural Dropout Prevention & Recovery

On February 28, the U.S. Department of Education and Jobs for the Future will be hosting a webinar on dropout prevention and recovery in rural communities. Entitled "Utilizing The Village: Effective Reengagement and Recovery Programming in Rural Communities," the event is the third and final webinar in a series focused on strategies for helping at-risk young people in a rural context. Presenters will share concrete examples of efforts that have been successful in rural communities and participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences with each other. The event is intended for leaders at the school and district level as well as staff and community partners engaged in recovery efforts.

Featured panelists include:

• Gary Chapman, Executive Vice President, Communities In Schools (CIS), National network;

• Constance Thomas, Executive Director, Berrien County Collaborative, Inc., Communities In Schools/Family Connection - Nashville, GA;

• Jeff Fite, Director of Job Readiness and Training, Sojourners Care Network, Youthbuild of Southeast Ohio - McArthur, Ohio

The webinar will take place on Thursday, February 28 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm ET. A recording of the webinar will be made available after the event.

To register for this webinar, please go here.

New School Turnaround AmeriCorps Program Announced

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced a new AmeriCorps program aimed at supporting school turnaround efforts across the country. The School Turnaround AmeriCorps program will involve a competitive grant process aimed at placing an estimated 650 AmeriCorps members annually for three years in approximately 60 schools that are participating in the federal School Improvement Grant program. ED and CNCS will together provide approximately $15 million over the course of the program with the hope of attracting additional private investment.

Applicants are encouraged to focus on efforts in areas such as improving family engagement, improving school safety and attendance, and increasing graduation rates. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, schools, districts, institutions of higher education, cities and counties, Indian Tribes, as well as partnerships of these bodies. 

Applicants must submit a notice of intent to apply to CNCS by April 2, 2013, and applications are due April 23, 2013. Grants are expected to be awarded by mid-July.

For more information about this funding opportunity, including links to the notice of funds availability and application instructions, please visit ED's website here.

Webinar: Broadening Parental Engagement

On Tuesday, February 19, Justice Matters, an organization working to build a racial justice movement focused on transforming education, will host a webinar on approaches to engaging parents. Entitled "Broadening Parental Engagement: Valuing, strengthening, and empowering communities of color," the webinar will explore parental engagement strategies that go beyond merely providing volunteer opportunities or PTA involvement. In particular, the webinar will describe the experience of Chicago's Telpochcalli School and their Telphochcalli Community Education Project (TCEP), which uses the school as a hub for connecting families in addition to providing them with a wide array of valuable services and training.

Webinar presenters include:

• Tamara Witzl, Principal, Telpochcalli School;
• Maria Velazquez, Director, Telpochcalli Community Education Program;
• Esperanza Emiliano, Telpochcalli Parent, TCEP Volunteer;
• Amina Luqman-Dawson, Senior Policy Strategist, Justice Matters

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, February 19 from 4:30-5:30pm ET. You can register for the webinar by visiting here.