
Education and Literacy, Parenting and Families
The James Irvine Foundation launched the Families Improving Education (FIE) initiative in 2008 by funding eleven community-based organizations in California's Central Valley and Inland Empire to support parent involvement in K-12 educational policymaking. Families In Schools, a Los Angeles-based advocacy organization was selected to serve as a technical assistance provider and grant-making intermediary. The FIE initiative is based on the premise that parent-engagement efforts can foster more responsive and appropriate school policies that enhance student success. This report, prepared by Harder+Company Community Research, highlights the insights and promising strategies of the FIE initiative, looking closely at three core components: increasing the involvement of parents in K-12 decision-making; influencing educational decisions, policies, and practices that lead to improved academic outcomes; and strengthening the capacity of community-based organizations to engage in educational advocacy.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Western)-California

Children and Youth, Education and Literacy
Many public school districts across New York State provide sex-ed instruction that is inaccurate, incomplete and biased, according to Birds, Bees and Bias: How Absent Sex Ed Standards Fail New York's Students. This report examines sex-ed materials used during the 2009-2010 and 2010-11 school years from across New York State.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Northeastern)-New York

"Irreplaceables" are teachers who are so successful they are nearly impossible to replace, but who too often vanish from schools as the result of neglect and inattention.To identify and better understand the experience of these teachers, we started by studying 90,000 teachers across four large, geographically diverse urban school districts.
We also examined student academic growth data or value-added results for approximately 20,000 of those teachers. While these measures cannot provide a complete picture of a teacher's performance or ability on their own -- and shouldn't be the only measure used in realworld teacher evaluations -- they are the most practical way to identify trends in a study of this scale, and research has demonstrated that they show a relationship to other performance measures, such as classroom observations.
We used the data to identify teachers who performed exceptionally well (by helping students make much more academic progress than expected), and to see how their experiences and opinions about their work differed from other teachers' -- particularly teachers whose performance was exceptionally poor.
So who are the Irreplaceables? They are, by any measure, our very best teachers. Across the districts we studied, about 20 percent of teachers fell into the category. On average, each year they help students learn two to three additional months' worth of math and reading compared with the average teacher, and five to six months more compared to low-performing teachers.
Better test scores are just the beginning: Students whose teachers help them make these kinds of gains are more likely to go to college and earn higher salaries as adults, and they are less likely to become teenage parents.Teachers of this caliber not only get outstanding academic results, but also provide a more engaging learning experience for students. For example, when placed in the classroom of an Irreplaceable secondary math teacher, students are much more likely to say that their teacher cares, does not let them give up when things get difficult and makes learning enjoyable.
Irreplaceables influence students for life, and their talents make them invaluable assets to their schools. The problem is, their schools don't seem to know it.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States

Education and Literacy;Government Reform;Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Offers a framework for designing and implementing state accountability systems that enable consistent, aligned goals to ensure college- and career-readiness; valid measurement, support, and interventions; transparent reporting; and continuous improvement.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States

Community and Economic Development, Education and Literacy, Parenting and Families
Based on focus groups with parents, explores why school turnaround options such as closing failing schools and replacing principals and staff provoke community opposition. Outlines ways for leaders to build trust, address concerns, and engage parents.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States

Education and Literacy;Government Reform;Human Rights and Civil Liberties
Examines approaches to and the rationale and support structures for human rights training in primary, secondary, and higher education; the community and voluntary sector; the public sector; and the legal industry. Outlines a national plan.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: Europe (Northern) / Ireland

Children and Youth;Education and Literacy
Evaluates trial outcomes of a preschool program designed to raise awareness of diversity issues, increase empathy, and promote inclusive behaviors among children, early childhood practitioners, and parents. Considers implications for further development.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: Europe (Northern) / Ireland

Children and Youth, Education and Literacy
Examines how the state's licensed early childcare and education providers would rate according to the proposed system based on ratio and group size, teaching and learning, family involvement, staff education and training, and program leadership.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Western)-California