According to current estimates, more than a quarter of all students and over 40 percent of African American and Hispanic students do not graduate from high school on time. The vast majority of those young people who do not graduate with their peers drop out. The enormous costs to these individuals, their communities, and our society require us to…

Schools with large numbers of students falling off the graduation path need comprehensive reforms that create a solid foundation of high-quality instruction and positive behavioral supports for all students. They also need data-driven response systems that provide targeted and intensive interventions for students who need additional academic and…

Boredom and failure combine in a toxic brew that propels too many young people off the graduation path. Research shows that engaged students are more likely to perform well academically, that students who are challenged are less likely to be bored and disengaged, and that high-quality instruction and meaningful activities are key factors in…

Given that information age technologies are as natural to the Net generation as breathing, it is time to provide learning experiences that maximize their use in schools. The authors argue that integrating technology into learning is central to creating the meaningful learning opportunities needed to engage and motivate youth today. To achieve this…

Reforms aimed at expanding learning for low-income children must do more than add hours and days to the school year; they must push beyond the traditional boundaries of school-based learning and find ways to maximize and integrate the assets that cities, districts, and communities can offer. This article reviews research on how schools are using…

Policy has traditionally emphasized the completion of academic requirements as the gateway to postsecondary education. There is, however, growing understanding that youth need to develop a wide range of knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal resources for career success, civic engagement, and lifelong learning. It also is necessary to address…

Districts and states that have begun to get traction in improving their graduation rates are pursuing a reform agenda that includes both the redesign of failing high schools and the development of multiple alternative pathways that help young people get back on track to graduation and to postsecondary education. Unlike traditional alternative…

Interview and survey data reveal significant disconnects among the insights and perspectives of dropouts, parents, teachers, and administrators on the causes and solutions to the dropout challenge. Many educators, for example, do not see boredom as a factor for most dropouts, while young people who drop out see it as the central cause. The author…

Through sustained community organizing and strategic partnerships, the Mobile (Alabama) County Public School System is improving achievement and creating beat-the-odds schools that set and achieve high academic expectations despite the challenges of poverty and racial disparity. The authors chart how Mobile's Research Alliance for Multiple…

The federal role in education will soon be transformed in ways that could produce an even greater society than President Lyndon B. Johnson envisioned. The authors identify underlying principles of this new role and describe how it represents a significant departure from the past. Historically, for example, the federal government has been…

The son of a Lithuanian artist, Antanas Mockus was the president of the National University in Colombia before he became mayor of Bogota in 1995. As mayor, he transformed the city into a huge classroom, not only bringing to his administration a new view of governing but also transforming the way people exercised their citizenship. Mockus resorted…

Indigenous cultures throughout the Americas and the rest of the world have to deal with problems of cultural assimilation, migration, and dissemination of their populations. Some of them, in countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Nigeria, have developed radio programming to maintain home languages; gain access to health, education, and employment…

Considering the limited opportunities and resources for creative education, artists David Bade and Tirzo Martha, along with art historian Nancy Hoffmann, developed a dynamic platform to support creative young talent on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao. The aim of Instituto Buena Bista (IBB), founded in 2006, is to strengthen the arena of…

An irrepressibly popular musical phenomenon, hip-hop is close to spoken word and focuses on lyrics with a message, reviving local traditions of song that tell histories, counsel listeners, and challenge participants to outdo one another in clever exchanges. A hip-hop music-making program in Edmonton, Canada, successfully reengages at-risk…

The Cartoneras projects aim to promote the celebration of language, culture, and creativity through a collaboration between top literary minds and cardboard collectors in Buenos Aires and Lima. They produce and publish beautiful books with hand-painted cardboard covers that speak of the wonderful literature inside. Inspired by those projects, the…