This report highlights progress made by the API through 2016. In this report you'll learn about the people, programs, communities, and projects that we support. The API is very proud of what it have accomplished so far, and looks forward to making even more of an impact in the coming years.

This research by Avivar Capital, funded by The Kresge Foundation and Lumina Foundation, identifies capital barriers and maps opportunities to deploy various forms of capital – including mission-related and program-related investments – to support America's need for talent while addressing challenges such as the increasing cost of education, the changing demographics of students and the rise of enabling technologies.

This is a study of the distinctive characteristics, activities, challenges and opportunities of a specific type of sustainability institute, one that spans the many disciplines of the university and, to do so, reports to upper administration (provost or vice president of research). Among research universities within the Association of American Universities (AAU), 19 were identified, and 18 agreed to participate in this study. Directors are sent a 71-question survey in January 2017 that covered issues of Governance, Research, Education, Engagement, Campus Operations and Best Practices.

Public education is a cornerstone of democracy. In the U.S., however, a growing number of families are withdrawing from the public school system, by choice or because that is their only option. Many of these families did try public school, but found it did not meet the needs of their children at at that time and place. Dismissing all homeschoolers as anti-school would be an unfortunate mischaracterization.

Without ethical practices, student data could be used to curtail academic success rather than help ensure it. For example, without a clear plan in place, an institution could use predictive analytics to justify using fewer resources to recruit low-income students because their chances of enrolling are less sure than for more affluent prospective students. In this report, New America lays out important questions to consider as administrators formulate how to use predictive analytics ethically.

In New York City, one out of every eight public school students has been homeless at some point in the past five years. One in four (26%) of these students is in high school. In More Than a Place to Sleep: Understanding the Health and Well-Being of Homeless High School Students, we begin to explore differences in risk behaviors and health outcomes between homeless high school students and their housed classmates. Homeless high school students are struggling to not only find a place to sleep, but to meet their mental, emotional, and physical health needs as they pursue educational goals necessary to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

Homeless students face disproportionate burdens across the board—they are more likely to fall behind academically due to school transfers, absenteeism, and other instability factors; they are more likely to be suspended; they are less likely to receive timely identification for special education services; and the list goes on. What this report reveals is that these students face yet another set of obstacles to educational achievement— their health and risk behaviors—that, if unaddressed, will make it harder for them to finish school, follow professional goals, and remain stably housed in their own adult lives.

As New York City works to improve outcomes for homeless students, those efforts must incorporate an understanding of risk behaviors and health outcomes, which have been shown to predict well-being and productivity later in life. This report uses data from the Centers for Disease Control’s 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which for the first time includes survey questions allowing us to distinguish homeless from housed students.

One promising approach is ensuring the access of homeless teens to school-based health centers. While homeless students have limited access to these centers, they are more likely than their housed peers to use health services when they are available. Moreover, many shelters could be re-envisioned as Community Residential Resource Centers (CRRCs) where educational resources and support services could be made available to not only homeless students, but all students in the community. 

Meeting the needs of homeless high school students is paramount, as risk behaviors and health outcomes impact their futures. These students have unequivocally worse health outcomes than housed teens. They also make up a disproportionately large segment of students facing the most extreme health risks. At only 12% of the YRBS sample, homeless high school students represent a third or more of all students facing a range of health risks. Without targeted policy and program interventions, the future of these homeless teens is not promising. Just read the accompanying quotes throughout this publication—in their own voices, students share some of their struggles, hopes, and disappointments as they navigate high school while homeless.

The IDEABOOK is a research-based framework to guide and broaden family engagement in libraries.

The framework helps libraries move beyond thinking of family engagement as random, individual activities or programs, but rather as a system where library leadership, activities, and resources that are linked to goals. The framework represents a theory of change that begins with a set of elements—leadership, engagement, and support services—that build a pathway for meaningful family engagement beginning in the early childhood years and extending through young adulthood.

This IDEABOOK was developed for anyone who works in a library setting—from library directors and children’s and youth librarians, to volunteers and support staff—and shares many innovative ways that libraries support and guide families in children’s learning and development.

The IDEABOOK is a research-based framework to guide and broaden family engagement in libraries.

The framework helps libraries move beyond thinking of family engagement as random, individual activities or programs, but rather as a system where library leadership, activities, and resources that are linked to goals. The framework represents a theory of change that begins with a set of elements—leadership, engagement, and support services—that build a pathway for meaningful family engagement beginning in the early childhood years and extending through young adulthood.

This IDEABOOK was developed for anyone who works in a library setting—from library directors and children’s and youth librarians, to volunteers and support staff—and shares many innovative ways that libraries support and guide families in children’s learning and development.