As the nation transitions from responding to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to navigating its ongoing impact on youth and their communities, K-12 students continue to experience mental health and wellbeing challenges. In the fall of 2021, Redwood City School District (RCSD) placed a full-time, district-employed mental health counselor in each…

In the fall of 2021, Redwood City School District (RCSD) placed a full-time, district-employed mental health counselor in each of its twelve schools in order to bolster district capacity to support student mental health and wellbeing. Stanford's John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (Gardner Center) conducted a Year 1…

This study explores the ways in which local students experience housing instability--and how cross-sector strategies can better identify and serve these students. The report accompanying this brief considers a rich set of school administrative data, collected over the course of three school years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic: 2016-17 through…

In partnership with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and 22 San Mateo County school districts, this report and research brief explore the ways in which local students experience housing instability, and how cross-sector strategies can better identify and serve these students. This study considers a rich set of school administrative data, which allow…

Redwood City School District (RCSD) has a long history of attending to the needs of its students and their families, and it has responded to this moment of crisis by setting a goal that by June 2024, every student will receive "appropriate social-emotional supports designed to meet their needs." The plan for achieving this goal includes…

Redwood City School District (RCSD) has a long history of attending to the needs of its students and their families, and it has responded to the current incidence of mental health challenges among youth by setting a goal that by June 2024, every student will receive "appropriate social-emotional supports designed to meet their needs. The plan…

This report summarizes the deliberations and recommendations of the California Advisory Task Force on Alternative Schools (Task Force). The Task Force is a public service project of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford University and is convened in collaboration with the California Department of Education (CDE). A…

The Oakland Unified Schools District's (OUSD) strategic plan commits to ensuring that "every student is able to attend a quality school in their neighborhood (OUSD, 2015)." To operationalize this goal, a growing number of OUSD schools are supported to implement community school strategies. This brief describes organizational outcomes,…

The Community School Manager (CSM) in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) integrates a school's partnership work with its academic mission. The CSM collaborates with principals to: (1) identify school goals; (2) align partners and resources to those goals; and (3) build relationships with families, students, and the community. At mature OUSD…

In 2012, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) leaders, staff, families, students, and community partners launched an ambitious effort to transform the district into a community school district. What started as a pilot in mostly secondary schools has expanded to become a far-reaching district strategy across all school levels. Currently, 42 OUSD…

In San Francisco, where both housing costs and income inequality continue to grow, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is increasingly focused on supporting homeless children and families. To inform this work, SFUSD partnered with Stanford University's Graduate School of Education (GSE) and John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their…

The four case examples presented in this brief are drawn from the Gardner Center's substantial experience conducting rigorous research in research-practice partnerships. The first case describes a partnership approach that enhances a school district's capacity to use integrated longitudinal data to tackle persistent problems of practice and…

Oakland is home to one of the most demographically diverse populations in the country, with residents of different racial, ethnic, national, linguistic, and other cultural groups. In response to these vast disparities, in 2010, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) launched an initiative to transform all district schools into full service…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…