As the only federal funding stream that provides dedicated funds for afterschool programs across the country, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative plays an important role in supporting the innovation that takes place in afterschool programs. Social innovation has been defined as "a novel solution to a social problem…

To be effective, teachers must be prepared to collaborate with families to support student success. Many studies confirm that strong parent-teacher relationships relate to positive student outcomes, such as healthy social development, high student achievement, and high rates of college enrollment. Thus, by giving teachers the support they need to…

There is widespread agreement that family engagement leads to increased student achievement, reduced drop-out rates, and a host of other positive outcomes for kids. Teachers are rarely trained or supported in engaging families, and, according to the 2005 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, find family engagement to be their biggest challenge.…

Graduation and dropout rates are the center of the conversation about high school reform, with President Obama and the U.S. Department of Education leading the charge to boost high school and college graduation rates among our nation's students in the next ten years. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to keeping teens in school and…

The U. S. Department of Education has adopted using data for school improvement as one of its major education reform priorities. However, as states, districts, and schools develop new approaches to track academic progress, both accessing and understanding data are often out of reach for average parents. While school leaders and teachers have begun…

A growing body of evidence suggests that family engagement matters for student success. Research shows that family engagement improves school readiness, student achievement, and social skills. Furthermore, an increasing number of innovative approaches to education leverage and connect the many settings and times in which children learn and grow to…

This purpose of this report is to examine the role of after school and summer learning programs in supporting student success and to help bridge the divide between out-of-school time programs and schools by offering research-derived principles for effective expanded learning partnership efforts. Discussion points include: (1) Benefits of expanded…

Harvard Family Research Project's (HFRP) series of "Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshots" distills the wealth of information compiled in our Out-of-School Time (OST) Program Research and Evaluation Database into a single report. Each "Snapshot" examines a specific aspect of out-of-school time (OST) evaluation. This "Snapshot" describes…

The focus on the achievement gap and growing debate about No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization have sparked increased recognition that schools alone cannot meet the learning needs of American children. There is growing interest at all levels in identifying non-school supports and opportunities that both complement learning in schools and…

This issue of "The Evaluation Exchange" spotlights one of the central components of complementary learning: family involvement. There are 28 articles herein: (1) "Thinking Big: A New Framework for Family Involvement Policy, Practice, and Research" (Suzanne Bouffard and Heather Weiss) reframes family involvement as part of a broader complementary…

This research brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective family involvement in middle and high school. As the third and final report in a series on how family involvement matters across the developmental continuum, this brief synthesizes research studies that link family involvement in middle and high school to youth's academic and…

This research brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement for elementary school children--that is, the studies that link family involvement in elementary schools to children's academic achievement and social development. It synthesizes the outcome-based empirical research published between 1999 and 2006 that were cataloged…

This resource guide contains annotated Web links to recent (published in and after 2000) research, information, and tools about family involvement. Family involvement involves a broad range of constructs and this is reflected in the guide, which covers resources about parenting practices to support children's learning and development, home-school…

A growing body of evidence confirms what makes sense intuitively--quality matters for participation in after school programs. Nationwide, a chief concern among after school stakeholders is programming for middle schoolers--too "old" to be told what to do after school and too "young" to be left home alone. A national dialogue about the state of…

Harvard Family Research Project's series of "Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshots" distills the wealth of information compiled in the Out-of-School Time (OST) Program Evaluation Database into a single report. Each "Snapshot" examines a specific aspect of out-of-school time evaluation. This "Snapshot" describes instruments used by current OST…