Resources

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_Motivation2010.pdf

Takeaways:

• Students’ motivational beliefs are significant predictors of their achievement.
• Classroom practices that encourage effort and understanding and create a caring learning environment potentially yield higher achievement by increasing students’ motivation to learn.
• Changes in classroom practices are associated with changes in students’ motivation

http://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/resources/publications/Motivation%20-%20Feb%202012.pdf

Takeaways:

• Students’ motivational beliefs are predictors of their math achievement.
• Caring classroom practices are associated with increases in students’ motivational beliefs.
• Perceptions of caring classroom practices differ according to students’ grade and math proficiency level (7th graders have a dip in perception of care).

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/Absence_IB_final.pdf

Takeaways:

• Kindergarteners had highest rates of chronic absences.
• Students who were chronically absent were more likely to repeat their chronically absent behavior in subsequent grades.
• Missing school had a significant negative effect on CST percentiles in math and ELA for 3rd-8th graders, and GPA in high school students.
• For 3rd-12th graders, middle- and higher-achieving students are at greatest risk of academic decline due to chronic absence.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/SHSS_IB_7.2013.pdf

Takeaways:

• Students’ grades were positively associated with high average scores on three school climate measures: Academic Care, Academic Expectations, and Overall Sense of Care at School.
• All else equal, females had a greater likelihood than males of reporting positive ratings on their perceptions of Academic Expectations and Overall Sense of Care at School.
• Compared to seniors and those without disciplinary infractions, students enrolled in the 11th grade and those with at least one suspension were less likely to report that they experienced a sense of care at school or perceived opportunities to exercise their autonomy.
• The transition from 8th grade to Sequoia High School had a positive influence on those 8th grade students who reported low average perceptions of overall care at their middle school.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_AlternativeSchoolStudentsTransition2010.pdf

Takeaway:

• Data helps predict the likelihood that a student exiting a community school finishes the school year after entering a comprehensive or continuation high school. Key predictors of student success can be used to monitor and support students/use predictors to tag students for additional support.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_CourtDependentYouth2009.pdf

Takeaways:

• Dependent youth were more likely to receive special education services, more likely to qualify for FRPL, more likely to be African American, and less likely to be English learners.
• Compared with other youth, dependent youth had lower CST scores and credits earned; had much higher rates of absence, mobility, and grade retention; and were much more likely to be suspended or expelled.
• Educational outcomes were generally better among youth in involuntary family maintenance, compared to youth in out-of-home placements.
• Long time in dependency was not necessarily associated with poorer educational outcomes. Educational outcomes were generally better for youth who have been in dependency for 6 months to 2 years, compared with those who were newer to dependency and those who had spent longer periods of time in dependency.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/PFA_IssueBrief_2014.pdf

Takeaways:

• PFA students were just as likely to be persistently proficient (3-4 years of proficiency) on report cards as non-PFA students in listening/speaking and work study skills, but less likely to be persistently proficient in reading, writing, and math than students who did not attend PFA.
• Among students in traditionally underserved subgroups—in particular Latino students, low income students, and students with a parent who did not complete a high school diploma—PFA students were more likely than their non-PFA peers to be persistently proficient in many report card subjects, depending on the subgroup.
• Two-year PFA participants were more likely to be persistently proficient (3-4 years) and less likely to have never been proficient compared to one-year PFA participants. They were just as likely as non-PFA students to be persistently proficient on all report card subjects.
• When compared to each other, half- and full-day PFA participants were performing similarly on report card subjects, except in work-study skills where half-day participants were more likely to be persistently proficient between kindergarten and third grade.
• PFA students attending a community school for their first four years in elementary were more likely to be persistently proficient in listening/speaking and work study skills than PFA students attending traditional schools, and just as likely to be proficient on other report card subjects.
• “Overall, our analysis suggests that participating in a high-quality preschool program was associated with positive academic outcomes for children once they entered the K-12 school system.”

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/OEPAGradRates2013.pdf

Takeaways:

• The lack of data on students enrolled in charter or private schools and the high number of students who left the district and returned show the need for enhanced data systems that go beyond district boundaries (e.g., improved data-sharing initiatives and more robust student databases like CALPADS).

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/reports/HealthySchoolsInitiativeStudy42013.pdf

Takeaways:

• Nearly 100% of study participants valued health and wellness in schools.
• Study participants familiar with HSI believe that the initiative positively influenced awareness of health and wellness in schools, but just 25% of those interviewed were knowledgeable about the initiative.
• All study schools coordinated health and wellness programs and activities prior to the implementation of HSI; where wellness coordinators became involved, coordination was more strategic and intentional. Teachers and other staff committed to student wellness played an important role in increasing access to health and wellness info, programs, activities, and resources.
• Effective and purposeful coordination was associated with increased integration of health and wellness programs within and across schools and districts, reaching more students equitably and leveraging resources

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_PhysicalFitnessAcademicAchievement2009.pdf

Takeaways:

• There is a strong link between a student’s health and academic performance.
• Students who are consistently physically fit are already doing better academically in fourth grade than those who are consistently unfit.
• Those who improved fitness saw slight improvements in test scores compared to those whose fitness has declined, but being consistently physically fit is more of an advantage.
• Higher SES can be a buffer in fitness-achievement.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23498112

Takeaways:

• The tool seems to complement other assessments and assist decision-makers in consensus-building processes for environmental change.

http://med.stanford.edu/sprc/goals/

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_BGCELLs2009.pdf

Takeaways:

• Boys and Girls Club attendance is associated with gains in English proficiency from one academic year to the next, particularly in students’ listening and speaking skills.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/reports/Youth_Development_in_RWC_Full_Report.pdf

Takeaways:

• Youth reported overall physical safety but many also expressed concerns about specific physical safety issues (e.g., bullying, gang violence).
• Most elementary school students in after-school programs felt that peers and adult leaders cared about them. Fewer middle school students reported feeling this way in after-school programs.
• Most elementary school students in after-school programs felt they were in respectful environments where students did not make fun of each other/didn’t say mean things. Fewer middle school students reported feeling this way in after-school programs.
• Many reported opportunities to stretch and deepen thinking in school; fewer reported those same opportunities in after-school settings.
• Many reported having voice and choice in activities; youth leaders engaged in youth-adult partnerships felt efficacious in making a change. All ages noted that in successful youth-adult partnerships, adults needed to be accessible and genuinely interested in connecting with youth, and youth needed to feel respected by adults. Trusting relationships, shared leadership, mutual recognition of experiences and skills, and a focus on community issues were very important.
• SHS students identified drug and alcohol prevention and education, suicide and depression, bullying and homophobia, and sexual and reproductive health as key issues in the school.
• Most partners aimed to provide opportunities for collaborative projects, engage adults as mentors, and facilitate youth-adult dialogue. Adult partners reported challenges to engaging youth as leaders, including a lack of necessary staff skill to engage youth in meaningful ways, difficulty recruiting youth who have enough free time and leadership skills, and a lack of appropriate opportunities to engage youth as partners.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_AfterSchoolPhysicalFitness2011.pdf

Takeaways:

• Participation in primarily fitness-focused programs after school is associated with a 10% increase in the likelihood of being fit over time.
• For the highest risk groups—lower income and Latino students—lower levels of participation in fitness-focused programs and smaller effects of participation on fitness outcomes were found.
• Activities primarily focused on sports, fitness, or physical activity were shown to have the strongest positive effects on youth physical fitness outcomes.
• Latino and initially unfit students had lower rates of participation.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/reports/FamilyEngagementIssueBrief2013

Takeaways:

• All study participants agreed that the goal of family engagement is to improve students’ academic success and emotional well-being. Staff identified benefits to families and schools.
• Community school staff and families envisioned three main approaches to family engagement:
  • Participation in school activities and events,
  • Strong communication and positive relationships, and
  • Mutually beneficial partnerships between schools and families with shared responsibility for student and school outcomes.
• Schools implemented lots of family engagement activities that were rarely aligned with a school-wide shared vision or specific goals.
• Parents and students most often described family engagement as support for children’s schoolwork and general wellbeing at home. School staff most often described family engagement in the context of the school setting.
• Staff and parents identified obstacles to family engagement: perceived cultural barriers, parents’ lack of confidence in ability to support student learning and contribute to school community.

http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/journals/Kirshner_JA_Critical%20Civic%20Engagement%20Among%20Urban%20Youth_2003_Final.pdf

Takeaways:

• This study suggests that participatory action research has potential as an educational strategy for promoting skills and dispositions of citizenship.