The nation's education system currently does an uneven job of preparing students for college and careers. High-poverty and high-minority high schools in particular lack the rigorous education and support elements necessary to prepare their students. This report examines the inequities faced by African-American male students and makes policy recommendations that address these inequities.

Higher Achievement is an intensive summer and after-school program that began in its current form in 1999 in Washington, DC. Today there are Higher Achievement programs in Washington, DC/Alexandria, VA; Richmond, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Baltimore, MD. The study includes the five Higher Education Achievement Centers that were operating in DC and Alexandria when the study began.

Each center serves about 85 students, or "scholars", recruited mainly through school referral. Starting the summer before youth enter fifth or sixth grade and extending through eighth grade. Higher Achievement provides scholars with up to 650 hours of academic instructio0n per year, as well as enrichment activities and targeted, academic mentoring.

Higher Achievement is an intensive summer and after-school program that began in its current form in 1999 in Washington, DC. Today there are Higher Achievement programs in Washington, DC/Alexandria, VA; Richmond, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Baltimore, MD. The study includes the five Higher Education Achievement Centers that were operating in DC and Alexandria when the study began.

Each center serves about 85 students, or "scholars", recruited mainly through school referral. Starting the summer before youth enter fifth or sixth grade and extending through eighth grade. Higher Achievement provides scholars with up to 650 hours of academic instructio0n per year, as well as enrichment activities and targeted, academic mentoring.

Many businesses, especially those that rely on skilled trades workers, report difficulty finding qualified individuals to fill open jobs. We believe it's time to meet this training challenge by creating partnerships that provide an opportunity to better align the skill needs of businesses with the education and training offered by community colleges. Unfortunately, many businesses and community colleges interested in such partnerships don't know where to start.

That's why this playbook was created -- as a tool for businesses, community colleges and anyone else trying to find out if this solution may make sense, showing how to get started building a partnership and the benefits that may result. It includes checklists and links to outside resources throughout this playbook that can be used either to have a conversation about beginning a partnership or guiding efforts to sustain an existing partnership.

The ideas in this playbook in part grew out of a Partnerships in Practice event at the Aspen Institute in February 2013, where business leaders, community college presidents and academic experts discussed the reality and scope of the skills gap, the challenges they face, and how businesses and schools can work together to prepare the future and incumbent workforce. This was combined with real-world examples of local partnerships that are preparing skilled trades workers.

Many businesses, especially those that rely on skilled trades workers, report difficulty finding qualified individuals to fill open jobs. We believe it's time to meet this training challenge by creating partnerships that provide an opportunity to better align the skill needs of businesses with the education and training offered by community colleges. Unfortunately, many businesses and community colleges interested in such partnerships don't know where to start.

That's why this playbook was created -- as a tool for businesses, community colleges and anyone else trying to find out if this solution may make sense, showing how to get started building a partnership and the benefits that may result. It includes checklists and links to outside resources throughout this playbook that can be used either to have a conversation about beginning a partnership or guiding efforts to sustain an existing partnership.

The ideas in this playbook in part grew out of a Partnerships in Practice event at the Aspen Institute in February 2013, where business leaders, community college presidents and academic experts discussed the reality and scope of the skills gap, the challenges they face, and how businesses and schools can work together to prepare the future and incumbent workforce. This was combined with real-world examples of local partnerships that are preparing skilled trades workers.

Many businesses, especially those that rely on skilled trades workers, report difficulty finding qualified individuals to fill open jobs. We believe it's time to meet this training challenge by creating partnerships that provide an opportunity to better align the skill needs of businesses with the education and training offered by community colleges. Unfortunately, many businesses and community colleges interested in such partnerships don't know where to start.

That's why this playbook was created -- as a tool for businesses, community colleges and anyone else trying to find out if this solution may make sense, showing how to get started building a partnership and the benefits that may result. It includes checklists and links to outside resources throughout this playbook that can be used either to have a conversation about beginning a partnership or guiding efforts to sustain an existing partnership.

The ideas in this playbook in part grew out of a Partnerships in Practice event at the Aspen Institute in February 2013, where business leaders, community college presidents and academic experts discussed the reality and scope of the skills gap, the challenges they face, and how businesses and schools can work together to prepare the future and incumbent workforce. This was combined with real-world examples of local partnerships that are preparing skilled trades workers.

The PAIR (Partnerships for Arts Integration Research) complete final report is an evaluation of a four year, federal Department of Education funded Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) project administered by the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools.

This project brought together 3 pairings of school populations (a world languages focused magnet cluster school with a fine-arts focused magnet cluster school; a math and science focused magnet cluster school with a fine arts focused magnet cluster school; and a literature and writing focused magnet cluster school with a fine arts magnet cluster school) to work with teaching artists in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classrooms. Results from the six schools were compared with six control schools of similar status, resources, student population, demographic factors, and comparable levels of academic achievement prior to the start of the PAIR project.

The PAIR research and evaluation focuses extensively on teacher impact and student achievement. Two principal investigators noted for their work in the fields of teacher education, student learning, and arts in education teaching and learning practices engaged in this research: Dr. Gail Burnaford, School of Education faculty at Florida Atlantic University, who examined the impact of PAIR on classroom teachers, and Dr. Lawrence Scripp, Director of the Center for Music-In-Education, Inc, who analyzed student arts integration and academic learning outcomes and their relation to PAIR teacher professional development outcomes and controlled for student demographic factors. Burnaford's and Scripp's cumulative findings on the impact of PAIR on teacher professional development, student learning and the intersections between teacher and student outcomes over the three-year time period of the project are presented in the three-part comprehensive report.

Lawrence Scripp and Laura Tan Paradis (PAIR research coordinator) provide a brief summary of the project findings as an addendum to the comprehensive three-part PAIR Report.

The PAIR (Partnerships for Arts Integration Research) complete final report is an evaluation of a four year, federal Department of Education funded Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) project administered by the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools.

This project brought together 3 pairings of school populations (a world languages focused magnet cluster school with a fine-arts focused magnet cluster school; a math and science focused magnet cluster school with a fine arts focused magnet cluster school; and a literature and writing focused magnet cluster school with a fine arts magnet cluster school) to work with teaching artists in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classrooms. Results from the six schools were compared with six control schools of similar status, resources, student population, demographic factors, and comparable levels of academic achievement prior to the start of the PAIR project.

The PAIR research and evaluation focuses extensively on teacher impact and student achievement. Two principal investigators noted for their work in the fields of teacher education, student learning, and arts in education teaching and learning practices engaged in this research: Dr. Gail Burnaford, School of Education faculty at Florida Atlantic University, who examined the impact of PAIR on classroom teachers, and Dr. Lawrence Scripp, Director of the Center for Music-In-Education, Inc, who analyzed student arts integration and academic learning outcomes and their relation to PAIR teacher professional development outcomes and controlled for student demographic factors. Burnaford's and Scripp's cumulative findings on the impact of PAIR on teacher professional development, student learning and the intersections between teacher and student outcomes over the three-year time period of the project are presented in the three-part comprehensive report.

Lawrence Scripp and Laura Tan Paradis (PAIR research coordinator) provide a brief summary of the project findings as an addendum to the comprehensive three-part PAIR Report.