K-12 School Improvement

Municipal, county and other local leaders in more than 150 communities have expressed commitment to boost children’s reading proficiency as part of their quest to receive the National Civic League’s (NCL) 2012 All-America City Grade-Level Reading Award.

Mayors’ education advisors from 45 of the nation’s largest cities gathered in Denver recently for a meeting of the YEF Institute's Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN).  EPAN members discussed new developments in education policy and emerging opportunities to shore up the birth-to-career educational pipeline in their communities.

A new YEF Institute report highlights municipal strategies to help reduce dropout rates by expanding the range of options for students who are unlikely to reach their full potential in traditional high school settings.  Expanding Options: City Roles in Creating High School Alternatives for Struggling Students features lessons from a YEF Institute project that helped five cities increase the choices available to students, including those at risk of dropping out.
Expanding Options: City Roles in Creating High School Alternatives for Struggling Students (PDF)

Under the new Educational Alignment for Young Children initiative supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and an anonymous donor, and with early support by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the YEF Institute is working with city officials, superintendents and other key local stakeholders to identify strategies for developing seamless early learning systems. The Institute recently joined four cities - Petal, Miss.; Richmond, Va.; San Antonio; and Seattle - in hosting community conversations on early educational alignment strategies.

This searchable online database contains examples of policies that can facilitate the growth of high-quality alternatives for high school.  The Association for High School Innovation (AHSI) Policy Database is accessible to all city leaders and is designed to help them make the case for local, state and federal policy and funding changes to expand alternatives and options for students who struggle in traditional high school settings. 
AHSI policy database | AHSI policy framework | Association for High School Innovation
Setting the Stage for New High Schools (PDF)

This report draws upon lessons learned from a YEF Institute project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in which five cities increased the choices available to students who struggle in traditional high school settings or are at risk for dropping out.

The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families identifies the nation's most cutting-edge city strategies to help children and families thrive.  This chapter highlights the broad range of innovations and trends in municipal leadership around education. 
Full report (PDF) | Education chapter (PDF) 

This report outlines seven key policy conditions that facilitate the expansion of alternatives and options for dropouts and other students who struggle in traditional high school settings, as well as promising collaborations among mayors, school district officials, and alternative high schools program innovators. 

The first in the YEF Institute's series of reports documenting "lessons learned" from technical assistance projects, this report describes insights and strategies from the six cities that participated in the Municipal Leadership in Education (MLE) project.
Full report (PDF) | Summary of lessons learned (PDF)

This action kit outlines a wide range of ways that municipal leaders, working in partnership with school officials and the community as a whole, can help ensure that our public schools work for all children.

More K-12 school improvement tools and resources

Formed in May 2003, the Mayors’ Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN) is a national network that facilitates communication among senior municipal staff who are working with mayors on key issues related to education reform and school improvement.  EPAN is only open to senior mayoral advisors from the 75 largest cities.  For more information, contact Marjorie Cohen at (202) 626-3052 or cohen@nlc.org.

The YEF Insititute has launched a new initiative to help cities better align local early care and education programs with their public school systems. The goal of the initiative is to increase the likelihood that children will be poised for educational success by the time they reach the third grade. Through the initiative, made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and an anonymous donor, and with early support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the YEF Institute will identify, explore and document strong city models for aligning early childhood and K-12 systems.

Striving to help cities reduce dropout rates and improve students' educational outcomes, the YEF Institute, along with its partners in the Association for High School Innovation (AHSI) network and with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, worked intensively with the cities of Indianapolis, Nashville, and Newark to establish new innovation-model alternative schools for students who struggle in traditional high school settings.
AHSI network | Education Week commentary | AHSI policy database | AHSI policy framework

This project helped five cities develop and implement strategies for expanding options and alternatives for high school to prepare all students for college, work, and citizenship.  Lessons learned from cities' experiences are documented in the YEF Institute report, Expanding Options: City Roles in Creating High School Alternatives for Struggling Students.
Expanding Options report (PDF)

This project strengthened the capacity of municipal leaders in six cities to improve the quality of public education.  Lessons from these cities' initiatives are available in the YEF Institute's report, Stronger Schools, Stronger Cities.
Stronger Schools, Stronger Cities report (PDF)